Ask any Indian biker what their dream motorcycle ride destination is, and nine times out of ten, the answer will be Ladakh.
Every riding season - from April till September-end - thousands of bikers from across the country head to the high mountain passes in the Himalayas, riding all kinds of motorcycles, mostly wearing heavy adventure touring riding gear, and posting stories and updates on social media.
Currently, there is one such Instagram post that has taken social media by storm. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is touring Ladakh on a KTM 390 Adventure, where he visited the Pangong Lake to pay tribute to his father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Mr Gandhi's first post on his ride, has been liked by nearly eight lakh people on Instagram.
What's interesting about this ride is Mr Gandhi's choice of riding gear. Instead of heavy, all-weather touring gear, Mr Gandhi has chosen to sport enduro riding gear, that too from some of the top motorcycle gear brands in the world, like Shoei, Klim and Leatt - known for their safety.
Mr Gandhi has opted for an off-road helmet from Shoei, the VFX-WR Pinnacle, clubbed with Leatt 6.5 off-road goggles - an extremely light and breezy set-up, but something most Indian riders don't prefer for long distance riding. One usually sees most Indian riders in a full adventure touring helmet that has a fixed visor.
The lightweight theme continues for the rest of Mr Gandhi's gear. His jacket is a Klim Marrakesh - a highly technical and abrasion-resistant, light jacket that is known for ventilation in warmer climates - apt for riding during the day in Ladakh. The gloves are Klim too, S4 Baja - perfect to be used on trails.
For upper body protection, the Congress leader seems to be wearing off-road body armour under the jacket.
Mr Gandhi rounds off his gear with Leatt Moto 5.5 pants, Leatt's dual axis knee guards, and Forma Adventure boots - the only non-enduro gear in his arsenal. Most of Rahul Gandhi's riding gear was recently sourced from Pathpavers, a superbike store in Delhi.
The enduro-theme doesn't seem to be restricted to Rahul Gandhi's riding gear alone. On close inspection of the photos he has posted, the KTM 390 Adventure too seems to be lightly modified - it is running knobby tyres, which are as good on the road as off it, instead of the mostly on-road tyres the motorcycle comes with. The footpegs too have been changed on the bike to make them more neutral set for better standing up and riding position than the stock bike's canted forward footpegs which encourage a more seated riding position.
Rahul Gandhi's KTM 390 Adventure is shod with off-road tyres
Last month, during an interaction with "super mechanics" at Delhi's Karol Bagh market, Mr Gandhi had revealed that he has a KTM 390 motorcycle but it was just parked unused. "I have a KTM390 but it's lying unused because my security people don't let me use it," he had said in the video.
This is Rahul Gandhi's first visit to Ladakh since Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories, Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir, following the removal of Articles 370 and 35 (A) on August 5, 2019.
Rahul Gandhi has been meeting people and listening to their problems as an extension to his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' that began in Kanyakumari on September 7, 2022 and covered over 4,000 km before concluding in Srinagar on January 30, 2023.
