Motorcycle Ride..finally...

indiawise

Enfield ride:

Was in Delhi this February 2004 and dithering and reluctant to face the long bus/train ride back to diu.. Then in the back of my mind was the fact that while I had been waxing eloquent on long journeys and mobikes and Enfields to all and sundry, the last I rode one of those was in 1998. The last long(ish) ride was in 1992. So reconciling myself to reality that any advice or suggestions from me were for the archives, I made a visit to my old mechanic at lajpat nagar (south delhi). In a way I was surprised to find him there. He must be 70 now. An old timer sardarji who started in the time of Harleys and red chiefs, Nortons and BSA motorcycles when they first came to India in a big way in the early 50s. He still had his small shack, measuring 10 by 6 feet, on the roadside, and he still finished his day by 8 evening with a couple of whisky’s. And he was still the best mechanic around and he still blew his top if you mentioned ‘distilled’ water for your battery. “I’ve been using for my bike tap water for 50 years… OK” he blew again as usual.

To cut my story short, (which will increase and improve greatly over time), (as per Colin’s excellent short thesis on the subject!) 15 minutes into our meeting, deep into ‘Bike’ talk and surrounded by Enfields, I decided to buy one. Next morning I did. A 1993 model 350 cc Bullet. And 2 days later was riding my excellent machine to Diu from Delhi.

So some info:
The bike cost me Rs. 22,000/-. I spent another 5000/- getting some minor jobs done, fixing panniers, new piston & rings (did not need one but just like that…), new battery, bulbs, and including a Rs.1,000/- tip to my mechanic. The tip wasn’t expected by him but I had got a great deal and the bike had been checked and selected by him, just fine and so…..
It was possible to buy bikes cheaper by a few thousand, however this one looked new and felt good to ride. The newer models cost more. Keeping in mind the new pollution controls it makes sense to buy a bike 1997 onwards, plus they have bigger front brake drums. Still even these would cost under 30,000/-.
The point to note is that with the simple system of an enfield, its possible to buy an old one and spend 10,000/- and have an almost new bike. This includes engine overhaul, suspension, tyres, basic paint job. And all within 2 days. So Does one shell out Nearly Rs.70,000/- for a new or anywhere between Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000/- for a bike that’ll do just as well.
So if u r looking to ride it for a few months and then sell it for Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 20,000/-, what would u figure…

About the ride: On the first day I drove to jaipur, about 300km. (4 hours excellent road) Then Jaipur to ahmedabad was a long haul of about 650 km. Took 16 hours. Not recommended. But I was in a hurry to make it to a party in ahmdbad that night. This way its no fun. However apart from the last 6 hours the feeling was great and good and I did the ride with both a song in my heart and on the lips (whatever….hmmm.. I mean I was singing…)!!!

A couple of things I figured on the ride:
1. I was 12 years younger 12 years back!
2. The average traffic density and speeds have increased a fair amount in the last 12 years. At the same time driver skills have not.. So faster vehicles coupled with more fools and more inept drivers on the road. All this makes cruising at 75 kmph not so easy at times. U end up driving 80 plus quite often just to be out of way of traffic. This is fine as long as the road is good, otherwise can be a pain, like the jaipur to beawar stretch with its trucks unlimited and rutted road.
3. I figured that any time after mid march is not much fun, unless u r riding early hours and finish your journey by 12 noon latest. Otherwise for the north it is simply too hot. It was hot even in mid February on the Jaipur- Udaipur section in the afternoon. In the morning however and upto 10 am my hands were frozen with the cold. Held the engine block (with gloves on!) to get them thawed!
4. The enfield appears still the best cruise bike in India. One can cruise very comfortably at 75 kmph. And a few times touching 100 kmph, when required or for fun, was effortless. The Pulsar 180 sounds like a hair dryer at higher speeds and well that’s what I felt.
5. The enfield, unfortunately is still an old British design, and be sure that you will have small maintenance hiccups, and oil on your hands & clothes.
6. The bike won’t let u down. Just make sure the electrics are in super shape (about the only thing that brings this bike to a halt) and it’ll run even with a loose/broken piston/big end etc etc etc. One of the things about this motorcycle is its simplicity unlike the newer bigger bikes.
7. Finally. Yes…. the bullet enfield ride was worth it. I'll do it again.

cheers....

vinayverma

heres my 2 cents
if u r still in Delhi..one good place to get ur bike serviced is 'John's Automobiles' on Panadara road opposite Bikanaer house near India gate. Its also a great place to meet fellow bikers.

__________________
If Life is a journey....travel on...and on..on..on.....

shere

>>The Pulsar 180 sounds like a hair dryer at higher speeds and well that’s what I felt.


Most other bikes in India are like hair dryers compared to even the Enfield 350. The engines do not have the wonderful thud of the Enfield. Enfield is the way to go I would not touch anything else especially those Hero Hondas, Rajdoots etc.

-m2-

thanks for that, indiawise, excellent post. I think we could use a special place for motorcycle-touring information and ideas within the transportation section -- good threads like this tend to disappear too quickly in YAK-YAK; maybe with my new magical powers, we can work something out

m2

picklepak

Well, I thought I'd bring this thread back alive seeing as there's some good information and great links (thanks HerbyGreens) in it.

I have a question, though: what would you recommend as a good set of tools and parts to carry with you for traveling across the country? And more than that, where on earth do you pack all that stuff? I found that for even short trips a crescent wrench, a pair of pliers and a knife/screwdriver set were essential. Little things break on the bike all the time! After 30 minutes at top speed, I stopped only to discover that one of the main bolts holding together the frame was coming loose. Ack!

I know I should carry some brake cables, an accellerator cable and some other things, (maybe a spare tube?) but I don't know what stuff, or where I'd store it all. Any ideas?

On a side note, I seem to have this recurring dream about my Enfield 350, which is still waiting in Delhi for my return... every time in my dream I'm in a different place, but the bike is always parked and I've been sitting next to it for half the day, drinking chai and chatting with people. Then I walk somewhere to get some food, or to go talk to someone, or whatever, and when I get back the bike is gone. It's always gone. I bet I've had this dream six times now. Maybe it's because people tried to steal it several times in Goa, so I had to keep buying a bigger and bigger lock for the steering column. Or maybe it's a premonition to about what will happen when I go riding across the country when I get back to India... ?

-m2-

Yes, thanks for bringing this back, Kelly, I'm moving this thread over to 'Trains, Planes, and Automobiles' right now and out of the YAK-YAK high-speed treadmill.

I'm still thinking about the best way to put an all-inclusive thread for Motorcycle Touring together. The purpose would be to put useful info and links in one spot for easy reference for someone interested in the various aspects involved , but as much, to provide a kind of home for those of us with an interest in bikes and touring to drop in on and contribute experiences, ask questions, share tips on great sites to visit and scenic roads to drive.

...and a lot of etc etc etc's including opportunities for meeting up and rides. As mentioned, I haven't really got my head around this completely yet, but I haven't forgotten and as I am seriously thinking about doing it myself 'one more time' hopefully using what I learned the last time (jeez, it's been almost 10 years now) and what I can pick up from the rest of you guys.

m2

indiawise

Hi,
1. U get these steel cord combination nos locks very easy in india now and they seem the best as u can use them for other purposes/ securing etc. Just don't forget the nos! Am surpridsed that u had people attempting to steal yr. enfield. This is one bike thats prety low on the theives 'wanted' list. Well maybe goa has a higher demand for such bikes!
2. TOOLS:
I made sure that i had the following.
a. A damn good set of pliers. A lockable type too..can't get the name, a set of spanners, screw drivers, size 26/27 ? spanner for removing the rear wheel..check the size..i forget.
b. A good hammer...chain locks, bent tyre rims..
c. A spare chain lock.
d. SPARE TUBE..always..used to keep driving with a flat, when stuck in the midle of nowhere...reached the tyre shop and needed the spare tube. Happened twice..usually in india there r shops(tyre) everywhere and u don't need to ruin a tube.
e. I always used hard tyres. They were quite lousy on the grip factor but compare to the number of flats on softer tyres and for heavy loading.mileage they became my favourite for long distance. Pushing an enfield with a flat rear tyre is impossible even with engine running..unless u have a medium/hard tyre. On the other hand the last ride i used goos MRF tyres and no problem.
f. MUST carry...spare clutch cable, accelerator, brake. Others u might consider. 1. contact points, condenser, s-plug, hedalight bulb(bother to keep from breakining). The clutch cable is the most important and just change it every 1000 km regardless of how u feel.
g. As regards storing your tools. Well i used the side boxes till i regularly lost tools...the vibration used to set open the locks and things spilled out and i never noticed!. So I finally fixed one of those fibre glass boxes at the rear. Spacious and easy to open close. They are essentialy ment for helmets. Cost a few hundres only.
I always just used a lock on the handle. With the steel cable lock i always tend to forget and drive off and get into a tnagle and spend the next 15 minutes untangling and mesing up hands and head and cursing and all that.....

indiawise

m2 thanks for yr. pm. Just been tied down with lifes problems and will apply my mind to yr. idea of having a more evolved/developed section on bikes and driving through india. Have been away from Diu for a month and maybe another month before i get back....