Hit Quad

Five minutes into the recce, we were doing 75 kph emitting a sound like two tiny kerosene generators.

The river Beas was to our left, and not very incidentally, I was having second thoughts. Especially after I realised that Uri doesn8217;t like to brake, opting instead, around a bend, to tap the rear brakes, slide and rev on. All this while I hung on for dear life.

8220;You OK ?8221; he growled occasionally, advising me to 8216;hang loose8217;, intended to help me 8216;jump8217; with the ATV. Uri, in fact, hated the road too, which is why the Rincon8217;s fat, SUV-type tubeless radials cut across rocks and ditches on the berms! A sudden swerve Uri decides to take a short-cut and up the ATV went, hopping across the rocks, thanks to some 10 inches of ground clearance. After a few kilometres, we swerved to the left and seconds later, got ready to ford our first water crossing. Uri thumbed the 4X4 switch, stepped on the gas and took on the river8212;seconds later, the Quad was fully submerged and spinning around with the flow of water. But those fat tyres, known for grabbing anything they can, helped and soon, a slightly wet Uri I had hopped offwas riding up the rocks on the opposite bank.

8220;Piece of cake,8221; he yelled. With high-tech attributes like a sealed engine that breathes through a snorkel, on-the-fly 4X4 system etc, what else did he expect? A couple more water crossings later, we came to our 8216;mule track8217;, a patch of land with more rocks than earth. And I don8217;t know whether you8217;ve ever ridden a wild, bucking bronco, but this is precisely how it will feel! The Rincon8217;s sophisticated suspension made short work of the rocks and other surface undulations as it made its way up a thin, winding trail of rocks.

The ATV expedition began the next day and all 12 Quads screamed towards Rohtang, with me astride a Honda 400 driven by Yoav Shrieber. By now, especially after yesterday8217;s crazy experience, I really, really wanted to have a go at the Rincon, which was being driven by Jeff Croner.

We had hit the trail, and after a few kilometres of rock-crawling, Jeff reluctantly consented to let me ride the Rincon. I flicked the starter and the waterproof multi-function LCD display lit up as the engine purred to life. The accelerator grip was eagerly twisted, but nothing happened. Jeff pointed out that unlike normal vehicles, this one8217;s accelerator was a little 8216;twiddle8217; grip alongside. Having got the hang of it, we rode on, pulling along pretty nicely.

Until I encountered this tricky-looking rock face where I slowed, turned and gave the Rincon, which rides on an all independent, double-wishbone suspension, an almighty rev. The next thing I knew, the front wheels were in the air and the thing threw us off with the finesse of an American Mustang, leaving us with minor scratches. Needless to say, there were no second chances, and I had to be content with reverting to my earlier position behind Yoav. Jeff8217;s an ATV dealer in the USA, and has promised me a great deal on the Rincon. But with prices starting at 4,000 and going up to 8,000 for a Rincon, I think I8217;ll wait till their next trip!