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Merry xmas comrades!
Im heading out to India in a few days and planning to ride down from Mumbai for 3 weeks. The plan is to buy a rideable second hand (or twenty second) moto in Mumbai and just head south through small villages and dirt roads.
Anyone has inside experience riding in India and could share the knowledge of do's and donts?
Thanks!
Tummy medicine and toilet paper will be your best friends.
when tking a shower.. do not open your mouth....
Insightful! Any riding related thoughts? Any experiences?
Thanks!
I have ridden in India, sometimes it's crazier than China, the people are more aware, but less predictable, and the animals on the road add another dimension, cows, monkeys, elephants, yep seen it all. It's been over ten years since I was last there, and I'm itching to go back fairly soon, but like China buying 2nd hand do your research. Luckily in India English is a very dominant language and you can find 2nd hand prices on the internet listed in Lakhs rupees, maybe like wans (10,000) or something on the many Indian versions of Taobao/ebay etc. People said buying from Sikhs was best as they give fairer prices than Hindus, sounds a bit racist, but actually from personal experience it's quite likely.
As far as I understand motorcycles are far more popular than China and some pretty decent, big bikes are made there these days. Or you can get something small and reliable like a Hero Honda 125-250 or something old and characterful like an Enfield 500 bullet. Get out of Mumbai asap and get down to Karnataka, freaking beautiful, or Goa if you need western type fun and dance parties booze and food.
Buy a handheld water filter to help avoid tummy bugs.
You'll have a blast, I'm jealous, don't hit a cow though! :lol8:
if you buy bottled water, make sure they are originally sealed! When I was there they loved to refill and sell it beside the road. For all other food -> well done ... grill it, boil it .... or forget it. I also took water disinfection pills with me in case I have no other possibility.
Take your own syringe, needles and other medical stuff with you.
Correct. If you buy bottle water mostly you're just paying for local well water re-bottled. They even buy in counterfeit 'sealed' bottle tops. Your own water filter is the only way to have a chance at keeping healthy. Cooking your own food might be an idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShuBen
Check out RyanPyle's India Ride. Keep heading south into Kerala, then around the horn and up into Tamil Nadu. Rural, rural, rural. Decent roads in many places, brilliant mountains. Read God of All Things by Arundhati Roy. I have to say, culturally, India is much more of a feast than much of China. The stuff you see and experience will often be more interesting than the riding. But there is great riding to be had once you are out of the Maximum City (Bombay). Maximum City by Suketa Mehta is an other great book to read...
I know a brilliant temple at Thirukkurungudi in the mountains south of Tirunelveli near the southern tip of India that is managed by a motorcycle engineer from TVS Motors. The chairman of TVS finances the upkeep of 100+ temples in this manner. Thirukkurungudi would be great place to visit on a bike!
cheers
euphonius
So theres been 3 days of riding in India and so far is clear, that 100cc Bajaj Discover bike I bought for 3000rmb is just slightly too weak for a mountainous roads. On the other hand I can ride 100km with 1.5 liters of fuel. How they do it is beyond me. Some pictures from me phone.Attachment 14774Attachment 14775Attachment 14776Attachment 14777Attachment 14778
Awesome adventure! Extreme envy! India is such a sensory treat. Just look at the colors in these few images alone! I've traveled there a lot by bus, train and plane, but being on a small motorbike gives you a freedom that is hard to imagine by any other means of travel.
Are you really riding in short pants and sneakers? I think I'd still want All The Gear, but selected and worn in such a fashion that it's easy to take off for breaks.
Dare I ask about such niceties as legal title, registration and license?
I can see from your shadow that you've got a camera on your helmet. Are you shooting only helmet video and phone pictures?
Keep it coming!
euphonius
You said it good sir, freedom is the word. Legalities is a pain and I will probably be in trouble at some point when crossing the state borders as I hear there are check posts. Will try to sneak in on the dirt roads. India's bureaucracy is much too much even after living in China for a few years. To go fully legal one would have to have a local address proof and the registration process can take up to 10 days. I paid 30k rps and signed the paper with the shop that upon return the of the bike they will give me back 23k. 700rmb for 20 days ain't bad. They gave me the original documents in someones name, Ive got insurance and pollution test but dont have the NOC paper which is needed to cross the borders of states as you pay road tax in the state you live and to drive across India I would need NOC. Thats how I understand it. But word of mouth is that a thousand rps can go a long way if needed.
I found a guy who agreed to rent me his Enfield 350, 600rmb for 20 days, but its just too heavy and too laud of the bike for what Im doing which is essentially going from village to village taking pictures.
As for the full gear.. My bike can do 85km/h when going down a steep hill with the positive wind, so 60kmh is the average, and this being India and the roads I choose to go its more like 50, so really no need. That being said, the sun burns on my knees are getting bad..
Just food alone is worth coming for, had 2 mango laasi's after dinner today and asked the waiter to refuse me the 3rd one if I beg. Some more phone pics.
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If you are using facebook, I try to update my ride daily, something to do while digesting those heavy awesome dinners. The pictures there might be slightly bigger as this app is somehow limited picture wise. Tune in facebook.com/bakaspictures for some Punjabi MC!
I don't know how much it costs these days but in 1996 or so it was an open 20 rupees to get a bike from Goa into Karnataka. You can sneak in behind a bus or truck. Legalities suck in India but there is a 'backsheesh' culture.
Will try and play the sneaking game as much as possible.
Meanwhile in Kolhapur I discover a DIESEL Royal Enfield. Amazed to bits.Attachment 14786Attachment 14787
Dear Bakas,
That Enfield is gorgeous, especially the color of the tank and the logo! Great find!
Anyone in MyChinaMoto who is not following Bakas' India ride on his Facebook page is really missing out. OK, this can be challenging from inside Great Firewall of China but if you haven't got a veepeeyen or other grannybuster by now, you're living with your head in the China Dream sands.
The Indian wrestlers are a special treat! Keep it coming!
euphonius
Those picture are indeed better viewed on facebook. Great stuff, keep it coming!
By the way 50km/h is plenty fast enough to take basically all your skin off on tarmac. And road rash fucking blows dude. At least wear jeans and some form of sleeves!
So here folks, after riding nearly 3000km from Pune to Guruvayoor on 100cc Bajaj Discover and Pune - Shrivardan - Pune on a 350 Bullet Im back in China in one piece. Amazing voyage. Surviving India's roads at night made me love the traffic in Shanghai and make me want to hug the smooth road surfaces. You have to go, its so easy to do and easily be the best ride ever. Go!