Motorcycle Tour Advice

grover, if you are happy to chug around at 50 kmph whole day long you shd be fine with a new bullet thats comes CDI fitted and no contact/points... my drivel on bullets is always about the 'overall' package that comes with it even for a brand new bike, its pretty similer to milwaukee fraud, all image no substance situation... parts are avilable dime a dozen but then those are mostly fake in country side.. in a worst case situation a brand new bike with proper running in period shd see you safly across atleast once thru the length of india before first major over haul. i have had 3 different models of bullet in different ages and time zone but ultimately i found they are not worth the hassle for keeps sake.,, i hv returned to two strokes since then, atleast i know what i can bloody well do with engine consisting around 60 odd parts.

before anyone crack me up again about the bulls being most reliable and efficient machines, i'd just say i cant trust a machine thats been company fitted with a by-pass air breather right into the exhaust pipe so that fresh air charge can blink lean pollution fig on the monitor, they are never going to seriously invest in R&D nor in upgrading the machine, ever, as long they can push same stuff.

R1200GS on the other hand is prolly an overkill for one single trip in one country (i know where you coming from, having ridden bullet on last occasion you know better this time!!) and spares can be problem too... but if you'd like to ride the beemer only id suggest u buy nice conditioned second hand F 650, i think 650 with small variations was almost similer in all aspacts where ever it was launched.. though in india it flopped but i know, that rotex engine can take on almost anything.. there are some parts avilable with the Hero company (i have the whole list somewhere and it pretty sums up all, as far ragular consumables goes)..am not sure if you can sell the bike here but you can do a bit of reserch on that...

are are other indian options avil'ble as well apart from those bulls, if you look around.

Rightly said Hippie at Heart, but the problem is that most of the people who want to do touring, want to carry a lot of luggage. At the same time they are looking for a bit of history and for these reasons bullet fits the bill.

Apart from bullet only a karizma would be comfortable for a pillion, but then again you can’t carry the same amount of luggage on a karizma.

However if riding solo with luggage that would fit in a saddle bag + tank bag + a small rucksack, any 150cc+ 4st bike would fit the bill. When we went to Ladakh last year, out of the six bikes four were 150cc and they did fine no matter what the terrain was.

My four year old pulsar180 is happy cruising all day at 80kmph with me (100+ kg weight) and another 25-30kgs of luggage. Still climbed all the pass without missing a beat and I didn’t even had to tune the carb for high altitude.

But since most of the foreigners have high capacity bikes in their countries, they think these small capacity bikes will not do well. This is another reason which makes them choose bullets. Most of the bullets available for rent are not maintained properly and are quite old with tons of mileage. But if you buy a new one, then you would have to complete the running in. For a bullet that means 3000kms, don’t follow this and you might do fine or might end up with a seized engine.

Bringing in your own bike is a good choice, since you would be use to that bike. However the disadvantages could be…

If you need a part, it will take weeks before you will be able to get it.

Service can be a hassle in small cities; in metros you can find mechanics who maintain imported bikes.

An imported bike will attract crowds and every one would ask you tons of questions about the bike, would want to touch it or maybe sit on it. Rule out staying in small hotels with no provision for safe parking.

My advice to every one would be to make sure they check the bike they are about to rent and by that I don’t mean looking at how shiny it is! Rent it for a couple of days, try it out and try to get accustomed to it. Look for signs that might cause problem later on during the trip, if you feel the bike is not right, take another one or get it serviced from an authorized service center and change any part that are worn out or wont last long.

It might be a rented bike, but it will be carrying you across country.

Oh yes never race with a local, they know the road conditions better then you.

So far as Bike.Avenger by Bajaj is superb for cross country.Am planning a trip with that to Sikkim.
And the trip from Delhi..thru Dehi-Jhansi-Rewa-Amarkantak-Chatisgarh-Orissa-Ap route is superb.
miles of smiles

Hi Grover,
I am planning a similar trip with a friend for March 2007, Starting from Chennai. We were thinking about 2 x 350 enfields as we are not in any hurry and well it has to be bullets for us. Could you let me know if you found any info that may be of use for us. We aren't sure if we should buy or rent? Have fun on your trip all the best Seej