India: Delhi through Kashmir on a Royal piece of....

[flaldrider]

Great RR for us to follow. Lots of fun, excitement, inconvenience and joy. You are a terrific story teller and you had some great riding companions as well as posting followers.

Thanks for the time and insight.

Mike

[fredgreen]

I had never considered a ride in India, but your adventure is bending me that way.....First Russia...

[tracyprier]

This has been a great RR :)

Personal experience is that you DO need to be mindful of who you sign up with.

If anyone is thinking of a similar trip and will be starting off from Delhi then Lalli Singh who owns Inder Motors in Karol Bagh has always had a first rate reputation for service and well-maintanined bikes.

Enfields are reliable enough.. if looked after properly and they DO need regular "fettling" to keep them that way.

cheers
Tracy

[longslowdistance]

Best thread ever!

[MTrider16]

Originally Posted by Joe Motocross

Nice chit chat back and forth here on east vs west. It is part of the adventure to see differences in culture. I hope I don't come off like "wow, I can't believe how bad we were treated" or "all Indians are lame and should be like people in the US". I shared the story of Myheap because it was part of the adventure and not to say "don't go to India because those Easterners are all kooks". You'll run across dishonest people all over the world just like Reryder.

Do I think Myheap should have initially said "hey, that journey is a stretch for these bikes and we're only going to cover some of the repair costs if they break down"? Yes. Do I hold all Indians to a low standard because of Myheap? No, of course not.

One thing I can say no matter where you are is that if you tell someone something you should be able to hold your head up proud about your statements. This was something Myheap couldn't do and you could tell he wasn't proud by his demeanor and actions that night. Perhaps he is a product of his "Delhi shopkeeper" environment and is forced into operating like that.

I'm not mad or upset or feel like I deserved better, I'm just telling the story. My experience is that if you're going to get some rental bikes in India, try to be as careful as you can in choosing who you get them from and beware that there are operations like Smart Motors who will tell you one thing and not follow through.

Thanks for clarifying that Joe. I for one, think you have kept to the high ground.

David

[roninwva]

Took me a couple of evenings to catch up to the story but I really enjoyed the ride. Thanks a lot for taking us along on your adventure.

[Petrolburner]

Awesome report! I'm glad you guys didn't give him a bad impression of Americans by beating his ass out of frustration!

[azbrown]

Great R.R.- thanks for taking the time to post it up. Your first Utah report on the KTM's is still one of my all-time favorites, but the adversity you overcame on this one has made for a great read.

[PJungnitsch]

Originally Posted by arn

There is a trick to dealing with this kind of situation.

Don't go WITH the bikes, just the receipts, and don't tell where the bikes are unless he is prepared to pay. If the person finally agrees to pay, you collect the money and tell him to come with you to pick up the bikes, if not, you tell him that you will meet him the next day as you are short of time, and walk off.

People WILL buy the bike without the papers, and if you don't need the money, you can simply trash the bikes wherever they are parked and move on.

It will be difficult for that guy to get a bike for the usual deposit amount

That is clever, and a way to sort the situation without much drama. They don't want to pay 'No Problem', head wobble, walk away and they'll probably come running with the cash. (Possibly screaming and yelling).

Have to say, New Delhi is not typical India. It is the scam capital and is noted for that. Probably because it has gotten a never-ending stream of newbie (and relatively) wealthy tourists for a very long time while the locals have stayed poor, sort of like Cairo. Scamming visitors has gone on so long it has worked itself into the culture as almost an entitlement. Fake 'tourist information centers', 'goo on a shoe', triple prices for train tickets, etc. I don't think I met one person who started out in New Delhi who wasn't skinned in some way. Nobody got hurt, but they all got conned.

Anywhere else (except maybe Agra) it was (relatively) much easier.

[CapCal1000]

Originally Posted by PJungnitsch

That is clever, and a way to sort the situation without much drama. They don't want to pay 'No Problem', head wobble, walk away and they'll probably come running with the cash. (Possibly screaming and yelling).

Have to say, New Delhi is not typical India. It is the scam capital and is noted for that. Probably because it has gotten a never-ending stream of newbie (and relatively) wealthy tourists for a very long time while the locals have stayed poor, sort of like Cairo. Scamming visitors has gone on so long it has worked itself into the culture as almost an entitlement. Fake 'tourist information centers', 'goo on a shoe', triple prices for train tickets, etc. I don't think I met one person who started out in New Delhi who wasn't skinned in some way. Nobody got hurt, but they all got conned.

Anywhere else (except maybe Agra) it was (relatively) much easier.

Right,
In Mumbai for example they spend most of their time just stealing from each other and the companies they work for.

[arn]

Originally Posted by PJungnitsch

That is clever, and a way to sort the situation without much drama. They don't want to pay 'No Problem', head wobble, walk away and they'll probably come running with the cash. (Possibly screaming and yelling).

Have to say, New Delhi is not typical India. It is the scam capital and is noted for that. Probably because it has gotten a never-ending stream of newbie (and relatively) wealthy tourists for a very long time while the locals have stayed poor, sort of like Cairo. Scamming visitors has gone on so long it has worked itself into the culture as almost an entitlement. Fake 'tourist information centers', 'goo on a shoe', triple prices for train tickets, etc. I don't think I met one person who started out in New Delhi who wasn't skinned in some way. Nobody got hurt, but they all got conned.

Anywhere else (except maybe Agra) it was (relatively) much easier.

Yep, Delhi is notorious for having developed that into an art form even for us Indians. Again, a good hotel (ask the inmates!) or a local contact can make it comparatively painless.

[say.gcett]

Originally Posted by Jishnu

Finally a thread, I can really relate to and contribute to.....

About Royal Enfield....guilty as accused...true to the point, but it is pretty much among the decent touring bikes one can get in India (you also have a really nice touring bike in the Karizma ZMA with a 225 cc)...Have been using one or the other RE bike for the last ten odd years and the one thing I know for sure is there is a mech in every village (no matter how remote) in India who knows about RE bikes, (most obvious reason, the bike has been around for few generations with not many changes to boast about)...

The latest breed of RE bikes the UCE Engine (350/500 cc) and the slightly older AVL 350/500..are pretty reliable and do not have the nagging issues of oil leakage and electrical probs which happened to be a feature for the earlier Cast Iron Bikes....

1. Hiring RE in India needs a lot of experience (read communication skill to find out what is it actually going to be)
2. The bike shops doesn't have the new REs. If some machines are there, it is already gone in the morning @ high rent
3. The Leh trip organizers try to get their bike-parts changed in warranty by keeping the odometer wire out So it's life is really unknown
4. I am going to buy one used RE for my trip to these roads tomorrow morning
5. This is my first post here :)

[Motobueno]

Originally Posted by tracyprier

This has been a great RR :)

Personal experience is that you DO need to be mindful of who you sign up with.

If anyone is thinking of a similar trip and will be starting off from Delhi then Lalli Singh who owns Inder Motors in Karol Bagh has always had a first rate reputation for service and well-maintanined bikes.

Enfields are reliable enough.. if looked after properly and they DO need regular "fettling" to keep them that way.

cheers
Tracy

We can't say enough good things about Lalli.A wonderful man. My wife and I were referred by a good friend that purchased a completely rebuilt, 30 year old RE that was shipped to the states. It came with enough spares to go around the world!
We flew into Delhi and looked him up. We each wanted our own bikes and didn't want to ride RE's as to the weight.
He was so gracious! He set us up with a shop down the street and helped him with the paper work,as he had never rented bikes. We rented two Pulsars,I a 220 and my wife a 180. We brought our own soft bags and riding gear.The bikes were more than adequate for the trip(never got passed)
We spent a month riding in the foot hills(6 to 9 thousand feet)
I don't think that you will ever have a problem having a bike fixed! Last year I found stats that in July alone there were over ! million bikes sold in India!!!
Even if we were to break down it the middle of nowhere we knew that someone would come along and if necessary we could put the bike in the back of a truck to get it to the next town.
I have never experienced such a loving and warm culture as India. We were so well taken care of by all that we encountered.
Here is just one example-In the hills one day,My wife was leading.She cut a right corner a little too tight and had a low speed (You just can't go that fast)HEADON with a small truck.They were all paying attention and hit the brakes.She hit the truck but was just about stopped(didn't even fall over)Put a small dent in the truck's bumper.It was obviously our fault and we felt terrible .We offered to pay for the damage to the bumper and, THIS is what India was all about for us.
The man driving the truck responded to our offer and said."We couldn't possibly take any money from you-Your guests in our country". TRY that in the U.S.! We noticed that the truck was a political campaign vechical and made a 500r($10) donation and all was good!
Pryor to our trip my good friend gave us the best advice"Expect anything"To witch I added,And don't have any expectations. The more we could be in that place , The more India opened her heart to us.
NAMASTE
,

[say.gcett]

Originally Posted by Motobueno

We can't say enough good things about Lalli.A wonderful man. My wife and I were referred by a good friend that purchased a completely rebuilt, 30 year old RE that was shipped to the states. It came with enough spares to go around the world!
We flew into Delhi and looked him up. We each wanted our own bikes and didn't want to ride RE's as to the weight.
He was so gracious! He set us up with a shop down the street and helped him with the paper work,as he had never rented bikes. We rented two Pulsars,I a 220 and my wife a 180. We brought our own soft bags and riding gear.The bikes were more than adequate for the trip(never got passed)
We spent a month riding in the foot hills(6 to 9 thousand feet)
I don't think that you will ever have a problem having a bike fixed! Last year I found stats that in July alone there were over ! million bikes sold in India!!!
Even if we were to break down it the middle of nowhere we knew that someone would come along and if necessary we could put the bike in the back of a truck to get it to the next town.
I have never experienced such a loving and warm culture as India. We were so well taken care of by all that we encountered.
Here is just one example-In the hills one day,My wife was leading.She cut a right corner a little too tight and had a low speed (You just can't go that fast)HEADON with a small truck.They were all paying attention and hit the brakes.She hit the truck but was just about stopped(didn't even fall over)Put a small dent in the truck's bumper.It was obviously our fault and we felt terrible .We offered to pay for the damage to the bumper and, THIS is what India was all about for us.
The man driving the truck responded to our offer and said."We couldn't possibly take any money from you-Your guests in our country". TRY that in the U.S.! We noticed that the truck was a political campaign vechical and made a 500r($10) donation and all was good!
Pryor to our trip my good friend gave us the best advice"Expect anything"To witch I added,And don't have any expectations. The more we could be in that place , The more India opened her heart to us.
NAMASTE
,

Wow !!

[pirate63]

yeah just read it again ,awesome