If you have the patience to go through it... write-up of our Vespidition Pakistan 2015.
VESPIDITION PAKISTAN powered by Scooter Kings Pakistan
A group of hard core outdoor adventurists; used to carrying out expeditions in their 4x4s, on their way
back from one of such expedition came up with the idea of restoring some vintage Vespas for casual city
riding and evening coffee runs and hence the idea of Scooter Kings Pakistan instigated literally on a Highway. Main aim was to bring Vespas back in to fashion in this part of the world by way of providing a
casual forum to likeminded enthusiasts so that everyone could benefit from the shared experience of the group.
Passion coupled with persistence results in success.
A couple of months down the road; we managed to
hunt down some vintage Vespas (early 60s VBB 150s and mid-70s VBIT 150s) and restored them. Believe
me, restoring these old beauties in this part of the world, where suitable parts are hard to come by, was
quite challenging and cost us many a weekends but the end product was nothing short of awesome. None
of us were used to riding motorized two wheelers, and your?s truly, in fact, had never ridden a two wheeler
ever in life. It took us good three to four months to get a good hang of riding these complexly balanced
machines.
Nothing worthwhile costs money, all it takes is some inspiration and sheer will.
While we were on another 4x4 expedition to the Northern Areas of Pakistan during mid of 2014, we came to know of a Pakistani youth who along with his young wife and a year and half old baby daughter had made a trip to the highest paved International border crossing between Pakistan and China, Khunjerab Pass at an altitude of 4,693 metres on a regular 125 cc Honda and that got us thinking. We had the two wheelers ready, and if they can do it, why can?t we? And hence the obsession of Vespidition Pakistan was born whereby we would take our vintage beauties for a stroll up to 4,693 metres. In addition to a personal sense of achievement, we wanted to show a positive side of our beautiful country Pakistan, which is truly blessed with some of the most amazing natural views.
Nothing inspires more than the fear of failure.
We had some work cut out for ourselves. For one, we were not used to two wheelers let alone riding a vintage Vespa on a Highway that too Karakorum Highway witha million twists and turns, and secondly the machines had to be prepped up to bear the grunt of the long and treacherous journey. We carried out numerous small rides with in the city of Lahore and a couple of out of city trips as well just to get to know our Vespas a bit better and to know what limitations, we and the Vespas had. Being the first of its kind for us and most definitely a unique one in this part if the world at least, we were more than skeptical about successful completion of our planned dream trip, and hence, planning had to be just about perfect if we stood any chance of making it to our target destination. Every minute detail of the route, road and weather conditions, Vespas and personal capabilities was looked in to and planned for, as we did not wanted to leave anything to chance. We even threw in some sessions of mechanical training done from our trusted mechanicNazir, who obliged us by sacrificing a couple of his Sundays to train us for some basic trouble shooting and arranged tools and spare parts for us to carry along.
A final trio, Bilal Ahmed Chaudhary on his 1975 VBIT 150 named Olaf, Ahmed Butt no his 1962 VBB 150
named Skyline and Kashif Bashir on his 1975 VBIT 150 named Granite, was all set to embark on the ride
of their lives. Bilal, 38 years old, a software engineer but doing his own business, an avid traveler of
Northern areas of Pakistan on 4x4s, bulky lad with a bad back, had been riding a motorcycle in his early
days as a means of daily commute but that was ages ago. Ahmed, 27 years old, a customer care professional at a Telecom company, a regular visitor of Northern areas of Pakistan on 4x4s, and most
capable rider amongst the three. Kashif, 38 years oslowest rider amongst the three. Apart from these three, Adeel Khalid, Bilal Hussain Akhtar, Mian Zahir
Said and Masood Alam Khan, a few gentlemen who had been the source of motivation and moral support
in addition to providing all out ground support during the restoration of the Vespas and throughout the
trip as well.
29th May 2015, Day 1,Mansehra to Besham - Mansehra at an elevation of 1,088 meters is a small town
located in the Khyber Pakhtunkwa Province of Pakistan. We had about 122 kilometers to cover. Road condition was pretty decent. Although there was quite some traffic, we managed to maintain an average
speed of 50 KMs per hour. Started our ride at around 8 am and made it to Besham at around 5:30 pm. Stoppage time was enormous, as we had some mechanical issues with Bilal?s Olaf. We had to readjust the gear cables couple of times and Olaf also busted itsmain seal for which we took help from a local mechanic who although took 2 hours to custom make a seal and fit it but it held on throughout the trip. At the start of the ride, some local kids awed by our and our Vespas looks, came to greet us and offered us breakfast which to us was very humbling. We started our ride amidst their applause and cheers. We rode through rain for thirty odd minutes and that was the first and last time we used our rain jackets. Highlights of the day were passing through lush green tea plantations at a place called Shinkiari and the yummy lunch we had at a roadside restaurant near a place called Battal. We spent the night at Pakistan Tourism
Development Corporation?s motel at Besham. After a nice diner, we converted the motel?s car parking in
to our workshop and thoroughly inspected the Vespas and Ahmed rectified some minor issues with Olaf?s
and Skyline?s gear cables. We wanted to make sure that the Vespas were in their prime form as the next
leg of the journey was the most grueling one.
30th May 2015, Day 2, Besham to Chillas ? This leg of the journey was the most daunting, 200 kilometers
of treacherous road with a million pot holes, dry and hot weather, temperatures surging to around 40
degree Celsius. We left Besham at around 8 am, had a lovely breakfast at a restaurant in the Besham
main market. We intentionally rode at a snail?s pace, only averaging at around 20 kmph as we didn?t
wanted to risk any major breakdown of the machines and thereby jeopardize the whole trip. Had to
change the spark plug of Olaf once during this 200 kilometers leg apart from that it was smooth sailing as far as machines were concerned, for the riders on the other hand, it was very brutal. None the less, we
made it to Chillas in one piece. We stopped at a small town called Dassu for lunch, had a tea break and
some rest and took quite a few water breaks throughout the day. We checked in to a hotel called Shangrila on the main Karakorum Highway for the night?s stay. After the grueling day, we gave ourselves a treat by having a lavish diner. Worst part of the journey was behind us and a lush spot less Karakorum Highway stood ahead of us till the end and this fact made us very excited.
31st May 2015, Day 3, Chillas to Hunza ? It was the day that we had all been waiting for as the real game
starts beyond Chillas. We had about 235 kilometers to cover, about 50 kilometers of road at the start of
this leg was shabby but road beyond Raikot Bridge was a dream road to ride on. Spotless and clean, merely
define the road conditions beyond Raikot Bridge. After breakfast, we started our ride around 8 am and
after about three hours of ride through the rough patch we reached Raikot Bridge, as we had made multiple stops top just enjoy the views. Took a short water break and took some pictures for the record. As soon as we went past Raikot Bridge it started drizzling, but we were in nomood for stopping to put our rain coats on. Average speed had drastically increased to around 70 kmph amidst strong winds blowing in our opposite direction. We felt free and on top of the world. It was like falling in love with our Vespas all over again. Drizzling stopped after twenty minutes and the weather was just perfect for an awesome ride. We took just about 20 minutes from Raikot Bridge to Jaglot, another small town on Karakorum Highway.
We stopped at a mechanic to get lubricant filled in Olaf, the beating that Olaf had taken a day before had
busted a ring seal. It took about half an hour to get it done and we were off again. Bilal was not hwith Olaf?s performance and we decided to get its clutch plates changed. We had all the tools and spare parts with us but the scenery was urging us to go on. Highlight of this patch was a point where the three mountain ranges i.e., Karakorum, Himalaya and Hindukush meet and also the confluence point of river Indus and river Gilgit. Stopped for a while to take some pictures and absorb the beauty. We kept on riding till we reached Gilgit. Found a decent mechanic and he took just about thirty minutes to change the clutch plates as per the instructions of Ahmed, who basically is our one man army and solution to all mechanical problems, if not more. Sat for some lunch and tea and we were off again towards Hunza. Stopped for refueling and then at Rakaposhi Mountain view point for some tea and local pizza type bread. It was getting dark and we wanted to make it to Hunza at earliest, so we increased our pace a bit. We reached Karimabad Town Hunza at around 8 pm. The town was bustling with student tourists from central areas of Pakistan. It had been a long yet exhilarating day. We checked into a hotel, secured our machines, haddiner and called it a day.
1st June 2015, Day 4, Hunza to Sust ? Hunza Valley at an elevation of 2,500 meters boasts some breath
taking views and it?s all famous Duikar View point enables one to view many 6,000 meter high peaks and an amazing Sun rise and Sun set. We only had to ride about 82 kilometers. Excitement levels were all time
high and soon after breakfast and refueling of Vespas we were off. Rode about 25 kilometers to reach
Attabad Lake, which was formed in 2010 owing to a massive land slide resulting in the blockage of Hunza
River and hence the lake was formed. Many a lives were lost as a small village Gojal was totally submerged. About 21 kilometers of the great Karakorum Highway drowned as a result as well. And since then, the only mode of transportation was via boats and barges. We had already called our boatmen to be ready when we left Hunza as we didn?t wanted to waste any time. As soon as we reached Attabad Lake,
Shahanshah our boatman greeted us with his usual smile along with some stunned looks as he was
expecting us on some 4x4 and not some docile vintage Vespas. After a cup of tea, we loaded our Vespas on Shahanshah?s boat and off we went again. Attabad Lake presents some of the finest views one can imagine. After about 40 minutes of the most calming ride, Shahanshah dropped us to the north side of Attabad Lake, and rode on. A patch of about 8 kilometers of offroad ride alongside a town Gulmit, lead us to Gulmit Glacier viewpoint. We stopped for some pictures and drinks and rode on towards Passu. We thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent views of the famous Passu Cones or Passu Cathedral, a cluster of
neatly packed cone shaped peaks which just look like a cathedral. We made many a stops to enjoy the
scenery and for taking pictures. Passu Glacier view point just on the main Karakorum Highway was
definitely worth stopping for. Made a tea stop at a hotel in Passu where the owner of the restaurant was
kind enough to offer us some freshly baked local bread. Another highlight of the day was the Batura
Glacier view point, where we rested for a while. We thoroughly enjoyed the smooth ride and so did our
Vespas. We reached Sust at around 3 pm and checked in to Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation?s
motel. Ordered lunch and went out for a stroll to the market. After lunch, we sat down at the roof top of
the motel for a cup of tea and admired the views of the surrounding peaks. We were thrilled to have made
it this far but we were still skeptical about the last leg towards our target. Soon after tea, we got down to
checking our Vespas, as we needed them in their prime form. Ahmed skillfully, checked and rectified minor faults and did some adjustments to the brake and gear cables. Motel staff was kind enough to lend a hand as well. We sat down with other guests of the motel who admired our courage to bring such old machines to such a place. After many a cup of tea down and exchange of stories, we called it a day.
2nd June 2015, Day 5, Sust to Khunjerab ?Sust, at an elevation of about 3,600 meters, is the border town
of Pakistan on way to China. It?s a port city and all the trade between the two countries is facilitated by
the dry port located at Sust. Excitement levels were through the roof. This was the day that we had all
meticulously planned and worked for almost a year. A ride amidst the clouds, a ride to the highest International Border Crossing of the World, a ride to the highest paved road in the World and most definitely a ride we will remember and cherish for the rest of our days. We had to cover 166 kilometers, 83 kilometers either way to and back from Khunjerab. Khunjerab pass, at an elevation of 4,693 meters, flaunts some of the most breath taking views. We were not used to such heights and hadn?t got much time to acclimatize. So with ample stock of bottled water and abundance of excitement we started to our dream ride. The road was as smooth as silk or maybe it was the fervor within us that we found ourselves just 17 kilometers short of the Khunjerab Pass. Although, we intentionally took quite a few water breaks as we wanted to maintain our oxygen level, yet we were making good time. The sceneries till this point were nothing short of mesmerizing. The weather was on our side too as it was a bright day. The last 17 kilometers, the last push, the last strokes of zest, as beyond this point the gradient of incline increased many a fold and our vintage Vespas really felt the grunt, yet our iron steeds forged ahead through the twisting and turning Karakorum Highway. The wind chill was quite a bit, although we were fully packed yet, as we were not accustomed to such temperatures, bearing the chill and handling the Vespas at the same time really took some doing on our part. That moment, that feeling, when astride our Vespas, after a turn, we caught our first glimpse of the Khunjerab Pass monument, it definitely cannot be described.
We had made it, we had taken our 50 and 40 years old restored vintage Vespas to an elevation of 4,693
meters, and at that moment nothing else mattered, as if all the harshness of the long journey had just
melted away. We stayed there for about half an hour or so. We took almost a million pictures. Had a chat
with some tourists from the other side of the border and then ? amidst all the silence, bbrraaappp!!! ?
we started our Vespas for return journey to Sust. A Vespa had never sounded so sweet.
About 800 kilometers Vespa ride, from 1,088 meters to 4,693 meters elevation, by no means was ?a never
done before thing? but for us it was a dream realized.
Nothing much has changed since then, except we are just a bit more humble and we are just a bit more
thankful for all the countless bounties that our creator has bestowed upon us.