Motorcycle rides make travelling a whole different experience. Every single detail that one can miss out on – sitting in a cabin of a car or bus or train and much worse if it is a flight – is covered by a motorcycle. Long distance touring is great fun on motorcycles and three riders – Deepak Kamath, Avinash PS and Deepak Gupta are currently on a journey of a lifetime – the Polar Odyssey. Riding three Bajaj Dominar, the Polar Odyssey will span over four months, covering a distance of more than 50,000km across 17 countries in North, Central and South America.
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Express Drives got in a conversation with the three riders to talk about their experience on the road and the challenges they face. They tell us how well the Dominar fares when it comes to touring and what riders, hoping to do such rides, can do to make their ride safe.
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What are the additional accessories and modifications (if any) on the motorcycles being used?
Deepak: The Odyssey motorcycles are equipped with adventure panniers to facilitate the luggage carrying for this long duration as we are on our own. For the first leg of the journey, the tyres were upgraded to button tyres to suit the terrains of the Dalton and the Dempster highways. We did change the front fender to allow more breathing space for the muck that could possibly get collected while on the dirt on these precarious highways.
From Vancouver, the motorcycles are on regular street tyres. Other than these, we have also customized the seats to facilitate long-haul rides during the day with ample support for the tailbone to kill fatigue kicking in. The Dominar themselves are stock from the regular production assembly, however, being screened by the R&D from a sanity perspective.
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What do you think of the Bajaj Dominar 400 as a long-distance tourer?
Deepak: This is my second back to back stint with the Bajaj Dominar after the Trans-Siberian Odyssey, where 16000 km were covered across the Pamir Highway to the Road of Bones with no spare parts changed. This brought in a huge amount of confidence to use the same machine for the Dominar Polar Odyssey.
What must be clearly understood is the fact that India does not have a proper touring machine and I am not the one to sell dreams on high-end bikes. But bikes like this which are equipped with advanced technologies like Bosch ABS safety braking and Bosch Engine Management System (EMS ) not only ensures a smooth running of the vehicle but also gives confidence and provides the needed safety to go on such journeys.
With a reasonable amount of investment on a machine like the Dominar and investing a little more to build the necessities, this machine can take you across any place and #AdventuresBeyondBoundaries with Indians on Indian made motorcycles will be a true message for all those aspiring travellers.
You’ve been on the road for over a month, what challenges have you faced?
Deepak: Honestly, problems… nothing! We are close to over 11000 Miles between USA – Canada – USA and looking forward to the next many weeks that will take us to many more exotic places. The interaction with local people, the love and affection and wishes that have been pouring all along have made this Odyssey an absolutely pleasant one!
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A message or advice on safe riding for fellow riders who wish to embark on a cross-continent ride such as this.
Deepak: Dream Big.. It’s one life! Patience and perseverance coupled with commitment and a strong sense of dedication we should be able to achieve any goal. We are fortunate enough to have supporters like Bajaj and Bosch alongside Spartan ProGear, Castrol, Zana Motorcycles, and Titan Watches who have stood by us and fueled our dreams. For me, in my 3 decades of overland adventure, this one is definitely the toughest and the longest, but with absolute discipline and a goal to set aside any failures, no dream is too big!
