Infidelity

Dorje’s preferred bike mechanic is Mohan Sharma on the main highway, and for reasons that are not clear to me he's always referred to as "the Mohan." The Mohan would later tell Dorje that i shift very badly and that was the cause of Penelope’s mechanical problems, but a few days ago all i knew was that getting from first to second was exceedingly difficult and Penny needed repair.

So while the Mohan tinkered with Penelope, i pulled a John Edwards and took Dorje’s Bullet 500 for a spin. Technically speaking it's not Dorje's. A client of his rented the bike from a mechanic in Manali and had major altitude trouble in Leh, meaning he had to fly out the day he arrived. Hence the bike is here without an owner. Dorje asked me to drive the bike back from the Mohan, and stated that i could "take a little drive." Which i did.

The Bullet 500 is essentially similar to the Bullet 350, except with a larger engine. It's still 1 cylinder, so when you get it up to speed the thing rattles like an airplane coming apart. Being the largest bike on Indian roads, it is also the one with the worst mileage, so coming back from Basgo i actually ran the tank dry near the Ladakh Scouts base. Fortunately this one had a reserve tank (Penny lacks this), so i was able to switch and get to a gas station before major misfortune set in.