India: Delhi through Kashmir on a Royal piece of.... - Page 2

Joe Motocross · 01-04-2011, 08:40 PM

If you've heard the new one's are an improvement, I guess you've heard a little about the old one's huh durtwurm?

durtwurm · 01-04-2011, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Motocross

If you've heard the new one's are an improvement, I guess you've heard a little about the old one's huh durtwurm?

Yes. Pete Egan of Motorcycle journalist fame, did a write up on a newer model and discussed the problems of older models and how the latest were much improved.

alekkas · 01-04-2011, 09:38 PM

I'm in. IRT on bikes! Awesome

New Trick · 01-05-2011, 05:24 AM

Yo Joe. I'm along for the ride!

ac_elite · 01-05-2011, 05:43 AM

krian · 01-05-2011, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Motocross

If you've heard the new one's are an improvement, I guess you've heard a little about the old one's huh durtwurm?

I'm sorry to hear that - it's a matter of maintenance usually, but you need the knowledge and the time to do that. And there is even a big difference between Indian and export models.

We've ridden 40.000 kms through half of Europe on ours so far - without any problems.

But since we're considering to rent an Enfield in India too, I'm now really interested in your report and the problems you were facing.

Cold commuter · 01-05-2011, 08:39 AM

Austrian maintenance for personal vehicle vs. Indian rental biz upkeep,
"There's your problem"

durtwurm · 01-05-2011, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cold commuter

Austrian maintenance for personal vehicle vs. Indian rental biz upkeep,
"There's your problem"

There is an Englishman that rents them in Spain I believe, where he runs his business. Late models and he says they are good for many of the roads available there. I doubt he'd rent bikes that would give him trouble. India? Different story, I would think.

sayonora · 01-05-2011, 09:44 AM

Well first off, when you're going to ride an enfield I would say you have to be ready for issues in the first place, that way you it would frustrate you less when the bike fails on you.
apparently even in India there are various qualities of enfields. Next year I'm planning to ride an enfield from India to my home, here in Belgium, and I got invited by someone in India who told me that I had to come to him, he knows people around there and knows where to get "good" enfields, like the police has. I suppose it's maybe a matter of which position you hold whether you get a good enfield or a bad one..or maybe its just murphy's law again ;)

nonetheless I'm very excited about this raport!

Buuurrrt · 01-05-2011, 02:48 PM

Part of the reason we ended up going with "Smart Motors” was because the Minxter had contacted multiple rental shops in India via email and Smart was the only outfit to return her email. Maja and I showed in Delhi a day early and toured the area where all the shops are located and we came across S.M. and went on in and talked for a while with Mohit Soni.

He is the co-owner of the Smart Motors along with his father Om Soni. He spoke great English and we felt good about the deal. He was not the cheapest in town, but he had all the right answers, racks for our bags and the bikes would be ready to go the next day. We gave him a deposit and told him we would return the next day with the rest of our crew.

The four of us returned the next day and spoke again with Mohit. He had both the bikes being completely looked over by his mechanics and said they would be ready to go later that night for pick up. He told us multiple times he was confident about his bikes and insured us they would be in top mechanical condition for our departure the next day.

That evening we ditched the girls at the Hotel and went to pick up the bikes. This is where we should have stopped and done a more thorough pre-ride inspection of the bikes. That was a huge mistake on our part and one we will never make again....I guess we were blinded by excitement and our trust in Mohit which was a very bad call. We grabbed some spare parts, tubes and cables and head into the crazy traffic of downtown New Delhi. As Joe mentioned before the bikes shift lever is on the right and you push down to advance to a higher gear unlike any other bike I have ridden. The rear brake is on the left and operates like you would think by also pushing down on the lever. It was all I could do to stay in traffic with Joe in sight and keep from being killed. The learning curve here was quite steep.

We had it all planned out that we would stop at the gas station on the way and top the bikes off for a early departure the next morning. We had taken the route back and forth from the hotel and we were both confident we had this in the bag. So off we went. Not only did we miss the gas station but we blew right through the intersection we needed to make it the Hotel. It was out of hand. Luckily I had some situational awareness from spending time in the area before and was able to take an alternate route to the hotel. We pulled up to the hotel and the adrenaline meter was just pegged on the red line. We couldn’t believe it and we really couldn’t see ourselves getting back on those bikes to go get gas. It was starting to get dark and felt it would be a much wiser decision to just get the gas on the way out of town the next morning when traffic was light.

With the bikes now in our possession. The excitement level was also pegged at the red line.

Joe Motocross · 01-05-2011, 05:01 PM

DAY 1:
We strap the backpacks to the racks on the bikes and get ready to take off. The racks were pretty nice but just a little under engineered for the type of abuse they got by pretending these bikes were dirt bikes!!

The one bike wouldn't start. Hmmmmm? Foreshadowing? Then we realized the gas tank was bone dry!! We'd only ridden a short distance from Smart Motors so either someone took the gas while the bikes were on the street overnight or they were dry to start with. I suspect the latter. Anyway, our bad for not being on it. We grabbed a container and a tuk-tuk to the nearest gas station. The driver of the first tuk-tuk we hopped in was WASTED on liquor!! He'd obviously been up all night with his lips wrapped around a bottle. We had to wrestle to get him to stop and let us out. He wanted some Rupees anyway! We just hopped in another tuk-tuk and left. The drunk chased us down and slams into our new ride and pins us!

After a bunch of drunken carrying on, we flipped him a few Rupees just to be done with him, got some gas and the bike fired. What a start for the first day!! (pretty hot in Delhi as you can see from Buuurrrt's soaked shirt. Keep in mind this is like 5am in the morning!!)

Getting out of Delhi was challenging to say the least. Traffic was light at first but became super busy with very few road signs that we couldn't read anyway. We rolled through some very poor areas with little kids just crapping on the side of the road where there were literally tons of piles of crap.

We didn't have a GPS, just some maps downloaded from Google Maps. They did the trick and got us out of there. The map looks MUCH easier then when you're actually in it rolling through the madness.

After one tank of gas we stopped to fill up. My bike was low on oil, imagine that! Filled it and brought some extra knowing the reputation with the Enfields and oil consumption!

Trucks are a BIG hazard on the road. Buses as well. Lots of horn blowing and basically it's the "gross tonnage rule"; whoever's bigger has the right of way. Get used to vehicles coming at you on YOUR side of the road! So many close calls EVERY day!!

This video wasn't ours but it REALLY captures what it's like being on those roads. DANGEROUS!! (the guy ended up with only minor injuries)

Things are loose in India. You do WHATEVER works!! Trucks work pretty good for getting people around.

We were shooting for Chandigarh for the first day. It was about 250km from Delhi and we made it. Little did we know that 250km would be about the most km's that we'd go in a day!!

crazybrit · 01-05-2011, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Motocross

This video wasn't ours but it REALLY captures what it's like being on those roads. DANGEROUS!! (the guy ended up with only minor injuries)

Holy Shit. I was watching it .... like .... err .... ok .... when is something going to happen. Unreal.

Joe Motocross · 01-05-2011, 07:08 PM

Yeah, sketchy!! Buuurrrrt watched a truck lurch at me and Minxter just like that except it didn't go over. It's crazy over there man!

Operator7G · 01-05-2011, 09:31 PM

Of all the places I've been, I think New Delhi ranks highest in terms of crazy driving conditions, which says a lot since I've also experienced the wonderful automotive artistry of Cairo and Beijing. I was fortunate enough to be in a car with a hired driver, and even then I was thinking it was nuts. You guys are probably borderline crazy yourselves for doing that on two wheels!

For those of you not familiar with just how densely populated New Delhi is, go to Google Maps and look at the satellite view to get a better idea of the scale. Searching on "New Delhi, India" will put you pretty much where the A marker is on the first map. The circle to the left of the marker is Connaught Place, and it is a massive complex of shops. Zoom into it, and you'll soon see just what kind of urban jungle these guys were in.

I commend all four of you for taking on this challenge!

Cold commuter · 01-07-2011, 06:27 PM

"Lots of horn blowing and basically it's the "gross tonnage rule"; whoever's bigger has the right of way. Get used to vehicles coming at you on YOUR side of the road! So many close calls EVERY day!!"

If I remember right "rodgerdodger" had the same observation.... Funny that.

Glad you made it out alright.

01-04-2011, 09:38 PM	#18
alekkas Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Dec 2010 Location: Far West Chicago Burbs Oddometer: 171	I'm in. IRT on bikes! Awesome __________________ Years on, then years off. Now back at it. Some ride reports: http://leroylanes.blogspot.com/

01-05-2011, 05:24 AM	#19
New Trick A guy that likes to ride Joined: Oct 2004 Location: The Hood Oddometer: 60	India: Delhi through Kashmir on a Royal piece of.... Reply to Thread Yo Joe. I'm along for the ride!

01-05-2011, 05:43 AM	#20
ac_elite Inspektor Joined: Sep 2008 Location: Just call me Victoria boy Oddometer: 533	In __________________ Work is just the time you have to spend between rides. ST1300A06 GSA08 The motorcycle chronicles of Jackie & Valentino Valentino's 2010 Winter Olympic Run

01-05-2011, 08:39 AM	#22
Cold commuter Adventurer Joined: Nov 2009 Location: Ashland, WI (Lake Superior) Oddometer: 20	Austrian maintenance for personal vehicle vs. Indian rental biz upkeep, "There's your problem" __________________ "Small minded man who says it cannot be done should not interrupt ambitious man who is doing it!"

01-05-2011, 02:48 PM	#25
Buuurrrt Adventurer Joined: Apr 2008 Location: S.L.C. Oddometer: 36	I thought this was a ride report about people riding motorcycles? Part of the reason we ended up going with "Smart Motors” was because the Minxter had contacted multiple rental shops in India via email and Smart was the only outfit to return her email. Maja and I showed in Delhi a day early and toured the area where all the shops are located and we came across S.M. and went on in and talked for a while with Mohit Soni. He is the co-owner of the Smart Motors along with his father Om Soni. He spoke great English and we felt good about the deal. He was not the cheapest in town, but he had all the right answers, racks for our bags and the bikes would be ready to go the next day. We gave him a deposit and told him we would return the next day with the rest of our crew. The four of us returned the next day and spoke again with Mohit. He had both the bikes being completely looked over by his mechanics and said they would be ready to go later that night for pick up. He told us multiple times he was confident about his bikes and insured us they would be in top mechanical condition for our departure the next day. That evening we ditched the girls at the Hotel and went to pick up the bikes. This is where we should have stopped and done a more thorough pre-ride inspection of the bikes. That was a huge mistake on our part and one we will never make again....I guess we were blinded by excitement and our trust in Mohit which was a very bad call. We grabbed some spare parts, tubes and cables and head into the crazy traffic of downtown New Delhi. As Joe mentioned before the bikes shift lever is on the right and you push down to advance to a higher gear unlike any other bike I have ridden. The rear brake is on the left and operates like you would think by also pushing down on the lever. It was all I could do to stay in traffic with Joe in sight and keep from being killed. The learning curve here was quite steep. We had it all planned out that we would stop at the gas station on the way and top the bikes off for a early departure the next morning. We had taken the route back and forth from the hotel and we were both confident we had this in the bag. So off we went. Not only did we miss the gas station but we blew right through the intersection we needed to make it the Hotel. *It was out of hand.* Luckily I had some situational awareness from spending time in the area before and was able to take an alternate route to the hotel. We pulled up to the hotel and the adrenaline meter was just pegged on the red line. We couldn’t believe it and we really couldn’t see ourselves getting back on those bikes to go get gas. It was starting to get dark and felt it would be a much wiser decision to just get the gas on the way out of town the next morning when traffic was light. With the bikes now in our possession. The excitement level was also pegged at the red line.

01-04-2011, 08:40 PM	#16
Joe Motocross ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: May 2007 Oddometer: 180	If you've heard the new one's are an improvement, I guess you've heard a little about the old one's huh durtwurm?

01-05-2011, 09:44 AM	#24
sayonora doesnt like airplans Joined: Jan 2011 Location: nowhere soon Oddometer: 5	Well first off, when you're going to ride an enfield I would say you have to be ready for issues in the first place, that way you it would frustrate you less when the bike fails on you. apparently even in India there are various qualities of enfields. Next year I'm planning to ride an enfield from India to my home, here in Belgium, and I got invited by someone in India who told me that I had to come to him, he knows people around there and knows where to get "good" enfields, like the police has. I suppose it's maybe a matter of which position you hold whether you get a good enfield or a bad one..or maybe its just murphy's law again ;) nonetheless I'm very excited about this raport!

01-05-2011, 05:01 PM	#26
Joe Motocross ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: May 2007 Oddometer: 180	DAY 1: We strap the backpacks to the racks on the bikes and get ready to take off. The racks were pretty nice but just a little under engineered for the type of abuse they got by pretending these bikes were dirt bikes!! The one bike wouldn't start. Hmmmmm? Foreshadowing? Then we realized the gas tank was bone dry!! We'd only ridden a short distance from Smart Motors so either someone took the gas while the bikes were on the street overnight or they were dry to start with. I suspect the latter. Anyway, our bad for not being on it. We grabbed a container and a tuk-tuk to the nearest gas station. The driver of the first tuk-tuk we hopped in was WASTED on liquor!! He'd obviously been up all night with his lips wrapped around a bottle. We had to wrestle to get him to stop and let us out. He wanted some Rupees anyway! We just hopped in another tuk-tuk and left. The drunk chased us down and slams into our new ride and pins us! After a bunch of drunken carrying on, we flipped him a few Rupees just to be done with him, got some gas and the bike fired. What a start for the first day!! (pretty hot in Delhi as you can see from Buuurrrt's soaked shirt. Keep in mind this is like 5am in the morning!!) Getting out of Delhi was challenging to say the least. Traffic was light at first but became super busy with very few road signs that we couldn't read anyway. We rolled through some very poor areas with little kids just crapping on the side of the road where there were literally tons of piles of crap. We didn't have a GPS, just some maps downloaded from Google Maps. They did the trick and got us out of there. The map looks MUCH easier then when you're actually in it rolling through the madness. After one tank of gas we stopped to fill up. My bike was low on oil, imagine that! Filled it and brought some extra knowing the reputation with the Enfields and oil consumption! Trucks are a BIG hazard on the road. Buses as well. Lots of horn blowing and basically it's the "gross tonnage rule"; whoever's bigger has the right of way. Get used to vehicles coming at you on YOUR side of the road! So many close calls EVERY day!! This video wasn't ours but it REALLY captures what it's like being on those roads. DANGEROUS!! (the guy ended up with only minor injuries) Things are loose in India. You do WHATEVER works!! Trucks work pretty good for getting people around. We were shooting for Chandigarh for the first day. It was about 250km from Delhi and we made it. Little did we know that 250km would be about the most km's that we'd go in a day!!

01-05-2011, 07:08 PM	#28
Joe Motocross ^OP Gnarly Adventurer Joined: May 2007 Oddometer: 180	Yeah, sketchy!! Buuurrrrt watched a truck lurch at me and Minxter just like that except it didn't go over. It's crazy over there man!

01-05-2011, 09:31 PM	#29
Operator7G Adventurer Joined: Dec 2010 Location: Houston, TX Oddometer: 54	Of all the places I've been, I think New Delhi ranks highest in terms of crazy driving conditions, which says a lot since I've also experienced the wonderful automotive artistry of Cairo and Beijing. I was fortunate enough to be in a car with a hired driver, and even then I was thinking it was nuts. You guys are probably borderline crazy yourselves for doing that on two wheels! For those of you not familiar with just how densely populated New Delhi is, go to Google Maps and look at the satellite view to get a better idea of the scale. Searching on "New Delhi, India" will put you pretty much where the A marker is on the first map. The circle to the left of the marker is Connaught Place, and it is a massive complex of shops. Zoom into it, and you'll soon see just what kind of urban jungle these guys were in. I commend all four of you for taking on this challenge!

01-07-2011, 06:27 PM	#30
Cold commuter Adventurer Joined: Nov 2009 Location: Ashland, WI (Lake Superior) Oddometer: 20	"Lots of horn blowing and basically it's the "gross tonnage rule"; whoever's bigger has the right of way. Get used to vehicles coming at you on YOUR side of the road! So many close calls EVERY day!!" If I remember right "rodgerdodger" had the same observation.... Funny that.Glad you made it out alright. __________________ "Small minded man who says it cannot be done should not interrupt ambitious man who is doing it!"

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: .
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode