OK, I land in Delhi on June 30th and will head to Karol Bagh immediately hoping to find a non-Enfield rental, e.g. Karizma or Bajaj Pulsar, but if not I guess I'll head to Lali Singh for an Enfield.

My questions now are: what is a reasonable route/schedule to Leh? Especially the first part of the trip to Manali. Is Delhi to Chandigarh or Shimla then to Manali reasonable or should I take more than two days to get to Manali from Delhi? What is your advice as the best route from Delhi to Manali?
How early do I need to leave Delhi to get out of the city before the traffic starts? 3AM?

After Manali I was thinking Manali to Keylong to Sarchu to Leh. Is there accommodation in Sarchu that doesn't require a sleeping bag? I like to travel light so is a sleeping bag a must have item?

Route advice and any other things I need to know is much appreciated.

Hi ColdC, The duration of the trip depend on how much time you can take out. personally i think five days should take you to leh easily assuming its first time you would be driving in india with a new bike to get used to. People have done it in lesser time but most of them have been doing it for a challenge driving fast,driving in night and some just wanted to finish the ordeal as soon as possible or its just slow me i like to take time.
I have been to leh couple of time and the last one was a solo trip on my enfield 500cc through kashmir sirinigar and back through manali.
i have seen people do leh trip on less powerful street bikes like pulsar the only thing you have to take care on them is not to carry too much weight on them. Better still you can hire a enfield thunderbird or you can go for a std 350cc.
As for the route it purely a personal thing. the distance from delhi to manali is 570 Kms via Chandigarh-Ropar-Kiratpur-Bilaspur-Mandi mind you almost half of the route is hill drive which takes double the amount of time for the same distance as you would on plains.
you can stay in mandi cheap for 350rs night and then reach keylong the next day.
Best time to start from delhi is around 4 am not too early not too late. you can reach chandigarh by around 8-9 am and then if you feel like it you can continue towards manali or stay in chandigarh. if enroute want to take a break you can do so at mandi around hundred kms from manali. once you reach manali do adjust the carb jets for the height your self or get a mechanic to do it for you. just make sure not to reach manali on sunday as the market is closed on the day learned it the hard way when my friends wanted to buy some parts and shops were closed.

Yes there are accommodation available in keylong, sarchu and pang. you should bring along sleeping bag in case you do not find the beds to you liking. i normally carry two bed sheets and a pillow cover when i travel in india cheap.
if you need any more info just reply back. in mean time go to indiamike.com for in depth information on the route planning and also its useful place to find out if the route to leh is open or not.

take care
Sameer

__________________
Sameer
http://www.sameerthakur.com

hi,
i was on that route last september (on a HARLEY). leaving from amritsar to jammu and sri nagar. from there to kargil and leh. then move from leh to sarchu where i took a rest in a tents camp (500rs). the day after to manali, and in a day, from Manali to Agra... (i was crazy) driving at the nightime from chandigar
to agra. in leh i met 3 indian guys wich rode the track with small bajaj bikes
lights, handling, but with few power to approach the peaks. but they did it.
coming from manali, i think you'll face the worst part of the road. stones, sand and mud, a lot of mud, as the road were was closed for a couple of days. i did the whole route from sri nagar to leh and manali in 4 days, had a rest in kargil (200rs), and in sarchu. more time, more places. leaving manali you can choose keylong as the first stop, and once there, exploring the side
valley. move to pang, and the fourth day coming to leh. don't miss the
KHARDUNG LA.
if you wnat u can have a look on my website, it is in italian, but pictures are titled in english. a good mean for increase your wish...
have a nice trip!
Lungastrada.it > Home

i found this on a thread over on adv rider , FreeBird Goes .... @18,634ft - The highest so far - Page 5 - ADVrider
these must be the indian guys you met . scroll down for your pic,s .

hi,
yes it's me. surprized to find myself on other's own pictures, funny...
they did it a great "job" with that bikes. you just can have a little toy, to let a great dream get true.