Mangalore lad to ride Hayabusa from London to Bangalore

Mangalore: Sushanth Shetty, 28, is attempting to ride one of the world’s fastest motorbikes from London to Bangalore in a solo challenge he calls The East India Express.
The Mangalore-born youth, who works in the UK, will ride 9,000km across 12 countries. He started from Alexandra Palace, London on October 25 on his Suzuki Hayabusa, which has a top speed of 300kmph, and is scheduled to reach Bangalore on November 18.
His father Jayananda Shetty, a retired Vijaya Bank manager and resident of Rajajinagar, Bangalore, told TOI: “Sushanth has been riding motorcycles for a long time and spent several years racing cars and bikes before moving to the UK.”
An alumnus of St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science, Sushant did his BE (mechanical) at MS Ramaiah Institute and MS in motorsports engineering from Coventry University, UK. Before joining Ford Europe, he had started a garage servicing hi-speed cars.
Sushanth has an adventure streak in him, said his father. “He refuses to travel by air whenever possible. Last December, he travelled across five countries by train via Mongolia, Russia, China, Bangkok and then flew from there to Bangalore,” he said.
Shetty said, “He’s a very determined fellow and passionate about work and motorsports. His mother Rekha, however, is rather scared for her only child. “Since he is disciplined, we’ve learnt to accept his adventures,’’ she said.
Sushanth will travel through Europe, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan and then to India. Shetty said: “The Pakistani embassy hasn’t granted him a visa yet. He’ll try to get it in Iran. Plan B involves riding to Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, taking a ferry to Dubai and then getting across to Mumbai on a dhow.’’
So, when did he tell them about this adventure? “For a year, he’s been saying he’ll ride to Bangalore from London. We thought it was a joke. But we realized he was serious about it when he shared the detailed plan three months ago. We now know he’s been on the job for a while as it involves getting visas from many countries,” Shetty said.
Sushanth thought of trying for an entry into the record books but there were technical difficulties in tracking his ride. “But records are not that important. Once he sets his mind on doing anything, he’s determined to achieve it,” said his father.
The Hayabusa will remain in India for some time and will be on display at the auto expo in New Delhi in January.