The ‘Polar Odyssey - Arctic to Antarctic’ was a 51,000km journey from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle that concluded after 99 days of riding, in January 2019. The ride was completed by three riders – Deepak Kamath, Avinash PS, and Deepak Gupta, on slightly tweaked Bajaj Dominars, making it the first Indian motorcycle to complete the journey.
The Polar Odyssey was flagged off in Pune at the end of July 2018, and the bikes were shipped to their starting point in the Arctic Circle from where the ride took 99 days to complete the journey. The riders went from Anchorage to Tuktoyaktuk in the Arctic Circle and then all the way down to Ushuaia in Argentina by the Antarctic Circle. The ride passed through the James Dalton Highway, the Dempster Highway, the Pan-American section of the Atacama Desert in Chile and the Death Road of Bolivia – routes that are considered some of the most dangerous in the world.
Led by Deepak Kamath, the journey took them across 15 countries and three continents and Bajaj reports that temperatures went as low as -22 deg C and as high as 54 deg C. The Bajaj Dominars used for the ride also managed to complete the entire journey without breaking down.
The bikes were tweaked to adapt to the terrain and conditions that the riders would face during their journey. The front mudguard was replaced by an ADV-like beak, a larger fly screen and seat were installed, and they were also outfitted with hand guards. Other changes included all-weather tyres, panniers and jerry cans. Other than this, Bajaj has said the bikes were completely stock.
If you’d like to see more about this incredible journey, there’s a five part video series up on the Bajaj Dominar YouTube page that is worth a watch.
Ved Janve
Azaman Chothia
