Royal Enfield India trip

wannabe_easy_rider

Just checked Hash666's thread which was v helpful. But he's a lot further down the proverbial road than I am. I'm planning to take 3 months off next year to do a road trip on an Enfield through North India. I have no intention of doing the package tour thing as this is to be a solo trip. I have a few questions for anyone that's had any experience doing this. All informative answers to any of the below questions will be greatly appreciated.

Do you need a valid motorcycle licence?

How much would a decent Enfield set me back (pounds or US if poss)?

Are parts and maintenance easy enough to obtain throughout India?

A recommended budget for 3 months? I intend to rough it a bit.

London users (if any) - Can anyone recommend a decent Enfield maintanence/repair course in London and would it be worth doing something like this?

Recommended routes and starting points for a 3 month trip (in the North)?

Thanks

anandi

I know this is a "solo" trip, but I know a guy that leads motorcycle tours in India. He is an expert, been doing this for 9 years...he has a fleet of motorcycles that you can use....he is an experienced mechanic...knows all the ins and outs of every road in India, including the Himalayas...when to go, where to go, safety, etc...you never know what could happen when you're out there on the road alone....and he knows how to have fun. If you want a companion, guide, helper, he's the best.

thomasjfletcher

I was in India in '93 (my God, how time flies....)
here are some pics from then---
http://www.thomasjfletcher.com/india.htmlindia 1993


I remember we met a few people doing the solo India trip and i went to a couple of Enfield shops to find out about the beasts (I thought of taking one back to Oz).

They cost new then about 500 US dollars. They were easy to get. You of course need a valid international (or just British) license. Quite a few people do this. The bikes are unreliable but I think it would be easy to get them fixed just about anywhere. Of course it would be easier on a Japanese bike, but those Enfields have such style. (assuming they still make them, which I'm sure they do...). About 3000 pounds would be more than enough for the 3 months.
cheers
tom

wannabe_easy_rider

Thanks guys.

Anandi - Is your friend Simon from Enduro India or is he based in India?

-m2-

I did a 5 month solo trip with a second-hand Bullet winter '94-95 so can try to answer a few questions, pass on some links for more reading, and offer some advice based on my own experiences.

First I should explain that I did not consider myself a novice; this was not my first trip to India so I was reasonably familiar with what to expect as to roads, traffic, etc. and I was also an experienced motorcycle rider and tourer with several solo winter-long trips to central america behind me.

The trip you are contemplating, while do-able, is a serious undertaking and there are a lot of things to consider. When you ask 'Do you need a valid motorcycle license?' makes me suspect that you do not have one (yes, you should and it is advisable to get an International Drivers Licence from your local automobile club) and if this means that you are a novice rider, then must caution you that India is not a good place to learn to ride.

The new price of a Bullet is 70-80k rupees or around $1500 depending upon the state purchased. Second hand units can go from a few hundred dollars on up. Be warned that older well-worn bikes will be patched up and kept running well after they would have been junked in other places -- it may be difficult to someone new to Enfields to tell a poorly rebuilt/restored bike from a good one. An unreliable bike will be nothing but misery -- and I speak from experience! While parts and service are widely available in virtually every town, local mechanics are of varying quality and the parts available (away from dealerships) will be 'fake' parts which look somewhat like the real thing but are cheap, low-quality substitutes; the object is to get you a couple of hundred kms down the road.

Budget -- for a modest budget, you could get by on $10/day for room, meals etc. the bike expenses will depend on a few things -- your initial outlay (including prep work like new tires, chain, spares etc) and your running expenses, (fuel, oil, maintenance) and the depreciation when you sell. Expect milage around 25km/litre (petrol around 35rp/litre) Also consider that the buying, setting up, and selling arrangements will chew up a lot of your 3 months.

Would it be worth finding someone to give you some maintenance instruction before leaving? Definitely yes! Also it would be a good idea to try to rent a Bullet and get some riding experience before you leave -- even if you are familiar with modern bikes, there is a lot to get familiar with as the gears and brakes of Bullets are reversed and starting the bike is a bit of a ritual.

A lease, or purchase with buy-back arrangement might be a better arrangement than a straight buy -- you'd have some assurance of reliability and you would have more of your 3 months for actual touring. One place that does this is Premji Tyrewalla in Mumbai -- here is a link to the site which has info on buying, renting, touring etc.

http://www.premjis.com/

If your experience with India and bikes is both limited, then you should at least consider an organized tour -- reliable bikes are supplied, mechanical help is along, and the leaders know about road conditions, routes, and places to stay. It could spare you a lot of hassles. There is a link from the royalenfield website to various operators. There are also tour write-ups, and a forum with discussions on many enfield topics -- some participants are from GB, so you could even pose some questions over there with hopes of good responses.

http://royalenfield.com/

There are also some information that should be of interest in a few old threads here. This one is particularly good and has many good links:

http://indiamike.com/india/showthrea...hreadid=416 9

I'll hold off on itinerary suggestions for now, but you might find some of the photos in the 'Transportation' section of the gallery interesting. There are some good illustrations of the traffic problem and even a few of my old Bullet pictures that start around here:

http://www.indiamike.com/photopost/s...=507&page=1 3

m2

anandi

no, my friend is not Simon... the guy I'm talking about is based in India

wannabe_easy_rider

M2 thank you kindly for a v.helpful reply. To allay your fears on this...I'm not plunging headstrong into this. I intend to plan the trip extensively over the next year or so and listen to the advice and wisdom of people that have actually done it.

I'm proficient on a bike. I used to ride trailbikes back home in OZ and have just let my licence lapse while over here in the UK. My India experience is zero, I'll grant you that. While travelling through SE Asia a mate and I did several 5 day trips together with day packs and scooters in Java and the mountains in Sumatra. Sure it was a 125cc scooter and it's not touring and it's not India...but the Indonesians do a damn good turn at complete traffic chaos with overladen trucks on blind bend take over bids and kamikaze bus drivers swerving randomnly in and out of shoulders with chickens flying off the roof. I kinda took that as a sort of India on training wheels.

I don't for a second underestimate how full on an undertaking this is and that is why I am seeking solid info and advice from experienced road trippers such as yourself that have done this kind of thing. I am considering taking a two week tour through the Western Ghats in Dec this year just to learn the do's and don'ts...but that'd take a hefty bite out of my budget and the main motivation behind all of this is to achieve something like this on my own back, plan my own trip, fix my own bike. go where I want to go and stay there when I want to stay.

Just as you said it is way too early to start talking itineraries, but at this point I'm considering starting in Delhi, heading to Manali and (if I could hook up with other riders) head up to Leh and Khardung La. Cut me down for my whimsical romanticism, but spluttering an Enfield up the highest piece of tarmac in the world is something I just have to do. Have you done this? Am I dreaming? And what are the best months to do a road trip in this part of India?

Thanks again for the advice

volga_volga

there is an annual Raid de Himalaya which is held in October just before road passes close for winter: Manali-Leh-Manali

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My other favourite place is Pakistan Travel Forum

-m2-

Hi again easy,

Motorcycle touring is my favorite mode of travel and IMO there is no better way of seeing India, despite the difficulties, so I am in complete sympathy with your desire to 'to achieve something like this on my own back, plan my own trip, fix my own bike. go where I want to go and stay there when I want to stay'.

It's good to learn that you are an experienced rider, and have even had a taste of riding in extreme conditions -- I've done a few bus trips in Java and Sumatra so know of what you speak . Your idea of a preliminary trip of a couple of weeks in the western ghats is really excellent. There are some of the best rides in the country here and your main-trip plan of 3 months, mainly in the north, would mean you would probably miss out on this area. Of course it would also offer a very good opportunity to get to know the Bullet and it's idiocyncracies in relatively lightly-trafficed, scenic area. As in earlier comments about renting/riding a Bullet in GB, part of the exercise is to get familiar with how the bike should sound/feel so that you are a more informed buyer as well as being more comfortable when the going gets rougher. One of the problems of checking out bikes in, say, Delhi, is that with the traffic and an unfamiliar bike, all of your concentration must be on staying alive with bike evaluation secondary. Getting out of town is another major hassle, although it is possible the recent road building program has eased the situation.

One possibility for cutting the cost of a preliminary trip such as you mentioned, would be to think January rather than December. Because the holiday season is such an enormous peak period, there are many (expensive) charters to Goa during this period with return dates in early January -- this often means a huge surplus of eastbound seats early in the year and there could be some ridiculously low fares available on a last-minute basis if your work situation is flexible enough that you could take advantage of them. Renting a Bullet in Goa for a ghat trip would be straight-forward as well, as you are past the new year's peak. Another advantage of such a trip is that you could check out some bikes being sold by tourists before they head home. I'm not really up on the price of used bikes but I see a lot of Bullets with 'for sale' signs on them during the winter in Goa so you could talk to some owners and get a feel for the market.

As you have gathered, seasons are important in planning a trip to India -- the roads to Ladakh for example, are only open for a few months in the summer, monsoon season also affects driving in the hills, as would the heat on the plains pre-monsoon. If you are limited to 3 months, you will have to give consideration as to the timing of your trip. If it is at all possible to give yourself more time, it would really be worth it as a good part of your expense, and possibly time, is going to be set by the purchase, setting up, and selling of the bike. An extra month will only involve an extra few hundred dollars for living expenses and fuel. A rushed, or forced sale of a bike at the end of the trip could cost considerably.

I glossed over your question about the cost of a decent bike because I haven't looked into it for a while. Some thoughts on what constitutes 'decent' is in order though. Bullets require a careful and lengthy break-in period so even a new bike is not the perfect choice for a short one-season trip. The optimum would be a well-maintained recent model. One extremely important consideration is the front brake -- 350cc models more than a few years old came with a totally inadequate drum brake -- the newer 'big' drum brake of recent models is a big improvement. Older bikes can be updated with this, or even with the newer disc brake which is even better.

enough for now, welcome to the forum; several of our members are avid riders and I hope we can be of some help in your planning.

cheers,

m2

kokoda

Hi , I'm Rob, Aussie Bullet rider touring now in Meghalaya, Shillong right now. I've just turned 9000kms in Indian , Nepal, bhutan, Sikkim Himalayas.
EASY.
1)LEARN TO RIDE AT HOME FIRST for your safety. By Feb, with lots of home practise you will be capable and enjoy it.
2) See Lalli Singh at Inder Motors in Karol Bargh, Delhi. Absolutely honest, reliable, great bikes including familiarisation with funny old Enfield. I've rented and bought from him. ridden 15000kms on his bikes so far . Never a mechanical problem so far. Just punctures, maintenance. Do maintain and service your bike or it will stop regularly. Mine doesn't.
Current bike cost 55,ooo rupees built in June 2005 with racks, panniers and comprehensive spares as a guide.It is perfect. I need to sell it in the far south (Trivandrum/Goa around Dec16, 07. Pity you could have mine.

There are no road rules apparent except SIZE MATTERS. in priority as to who has right of way in every circumstance ... it is
Bus,Tata truck, smaller trucks, jeeps, cars, Bullets and other bikes , pedestrians. You will be forced off the road onto verge so be prepared for escape plans constantly.
Once you know , there are few acccidents considering the chaos. DO LEARN TO RIDE CONFIDENTLY BEFORE DEPARTURE. As a prevoius writer stated, it is dangerous to learn here from scratch.
Go to Lalli. Everything will be OK. Tell him , Rob from Australia suggested you see him if you like.
Good luck and enjoy your trip,
Robert Hodge (kokoda)

mira4bai4

If you are starting in Delhi I would recommend getting in touch with Balu at Bulletwallas . He has bikes to sell, buys them bake and rebuilds them to excellent quality. Plus Bulletwallas have franchise service centres round the country and places for customers to stay. All in all a good place to kick off from.

I am presently in the process of buying a Thunderbird from him which if all goes well will be rebuilt to a 500cc, very sexy thumper indeed.