Category: Off-road

Six Bikers Touch World’s Highest Motorable Pass “Marsimik La”

Bangalore, 2 August 2004: The “TVS Fiero FX – OutThere Adveturers World Record Challenge” Expedition of six bike enthusiasts has set a new world record by crossing four of the world’s highest Motorable Passes including Marsimik La at 18,652 feet on their TVS Fiero FX bikes. The expedition will now formally claim their entry in Guinness Book of World Records. TVS Fiero FX is the first 150 cc motorbike to touch the highest motorable pass in the world.

In a 24-hour period between 31st July to 1st August, 2004, the expedition covered four passes i.e. Marsimik La (18,652 feet), Khardung La (18,380 feet), Tanglang La (17,582 feet) and Chang La (17,350 feet), covering a distance of 638 KMs between Leh & Pang. These passes are four of the world’s highest roads & TVS Fiero FX is the first bike to touch all the four passes with in a 24 hours period .

Expressing his joy over this great feat, Mr. Chandan Lahiri of OutThere Adventurers & the leader of expedition said, “it was a lifetime experience to be on top of the world. The dedication, determination, courage & an excellent team work finally triumphed over all the arduous challenges like lack of oxygen, rugged terrain, snow fall, melting snow, raging rivers, landslides and avalanches. More importantly, our TVS Fiero FX bikes proved to be a great machine on these terrains and more than lived up to our expectations as for as its power, handling, maneuverability, weight and balance were just the right combination required to do this grueling job successfully.”

Chandan is also the current world record holder of traveling across the three highest motorable roads in the world in 14 hours and 44 minutes. Other members of the expedition were Patrick Kerr, Michael Williams, Burgess Cooper, Sarosh Cooper and Saurav Gupta.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Cecil K. Dewars, Vice President – Corporate Communication, TVS Motor said, “Today is a great day for TVS Motor as it’s 150 CC Fiero FX was selected by the expedition team for this arduous job and has lived up to their expectations. The success of this expedition has established the fact that this new technologically advanced bike is also capable of scaling such heights & withstand the elements of any magnitude.”

“We are thankful to the expedition team for showing faith in our Fiero FX & exploring its latent potential & strengths on the highest & most difficult terrains of the world. I also take this opportunity to thank the Indian Army & TVS’ technical team led by Victor Obed for providing back-up support to the expedition & making it a great success.”, added Mr. Dewars.

Fiero FX with proven 150cc, 12 BHP 4 stroke engine & digital ignition combined with the intelligent carburetor delivers superb performance and mileage. The core essence of the Fiero FX includes its ‘Great looks’, ‘excellent pickup’, ‘good handling’ and ‘superior technology’. These attributes enhance its strong association as the only bike with good performance and the best engine in its category. To complement the Fiero FX, there were specially designed Snow Tyres by TVS Tyres. The patterns provide excellent drivability and maneuverability for both front and rear. The casing had been strengthened to withstand the rigor of the challenging terrain.

Chandan is also putting together a book – Himalayan Journeys: Tips on Travelling in the Himalayas – which provides useful tips for travelers embarking on a journey into the awesome mountains. The book will contain chapters on first aid, high altitude illness, how to be a responsible tourist, how to find water in the wild, and a chapter on the history of the mighty mountain range. The book is expected to hit the stands in August.