TOP OF THE WORLD

Trial by fire (and ice!) for the Harley-Davidson Pan America as it takes on the world’s highest motorable road

- VIJAY PARMAR

THE CALL FROM RAVI AVALUR, THE HEAD of the Harley-Davidson business unit at Hero Motocorp, was not unusual. The contents of our discussion were however not the usual banter about biking gear, our alma mater atop a pine-infested hilltop, or the advantages of raising the gear lever two notches so that a pair of fat-toed, waterproof boots from Klim could be useful through lively water crossings. The conversation was brief, yet startling.

“Could you lead an expedition up the Key La?” he asked.

“Yes”, I replied, even before he had managed to finish his question.

“On Harleys,” he added.

In the minute’s silence that ensued, as I struggled to drum up a coherent response, he cut the call, quite sure that the connection had dropped. By the time he called back I had regained some composure. Obviously I wasn’t going to do this but decided to humour him.

“Let’s take this slowly,” I said. “When you said Harleys which ones did you have in mind? The Fat Boy?”

“Actually, the Pan America,” he replied.

I sat down and thought about the project. To be fair my first port of call was the internet and YouTube provided a host of reviews on the Pan America.