Renting Enfields in INDIA in June... ADVICE PLEASE!!

[fredleeming]

Hi everyone would really appreciate some advice on this bike trip me and some friends are trying to plan.

My idea is to fly to Delhi, bus up north to chandigarh to find somewhere to rent a 350 cc enfield (any rental places anyone??) before taking this rough route:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ms...50654,9.876709

can anyone tell me if i'm going to the wrong/right places on this and whether that will be possible to do in just one month? I've heard June is the best time for this area.

any advice welcome please!

thanks

Fred

[gemmasun]

hi Fred

Your route looks fine - but sometimes the roads are very bad so what you think might be an easy days ride could take a long day.

For renting a bike - not sure about Chandigarh but can recommend Lalli Singh in Delhi. He can pick you up from the airport, put you up in a cheap hotel, hire you some good bikes - enfield 350/500's- and lead you out of Delhi very early in the morning.

We have hired bikes from him twice and have been really happy with the bikes and service both times. google him - his website is there and you can organise in advance.

Have a great trip.

Gemma

Originally Posted by fredleeming

Hi everyone would really appreciate some advice on this bike trip me and some friends are trying to plan.

My idea is to fly to Delhi, bus up north to chandigarh to find somewhere to rent a 350 cc enfield (any rental places anyone??) before taking this rough route:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ms...50654,9.876709

can anyone tell me if i'm going to the wrong/right places on this and whether that will be possible to do in just one month? I've heard June is the best time for this area.

any advice welcome please!

thanks

Fred

[Nigel Marx]

Another very happy Lalli Singh customer, and have heard of many other. You can't say that about all the Enfield renters. It's not too much of a mission to ride from Delhi to Chandigarh so would only add a day to the trip I think. We left Delhi at 5am and it was wonderful to see the citty wake up as we traveled through it.

Cheers

Nigel in NZ

[PaulD]

I am doing the same trip in July & a friend of mine did it last year & the following is part of an email he sent me......I intend to use them as well And they are in Chandigarh !!!!

We went independently with no tour leader and had no major problems finding food, accommodation, etc. Rajiv gave us some contacts and we had the lonely planet guide or we just cased out the area and found the best looking place. We hired a GPS from Rajiv with local maps which also helped us out especially when you are coming into a city and need directions to the hotel. We also hired a tent and sleeping bags for emergency use if we got stuck on the road as it gets very cold in the mountains at night but we didn't need them. I estimate it cost me about $3500 for the airfares, bike hire , food , accommodation, petrol, etc with 3 of us going and sharing accommodation costs. This is about one third the cost of some well known tour companies although you can find cheaper ones in India. We met some riders whos bikes were older and hired from Manali. Their bikes had "died" and they had to complete their trip by bus. I would go with Royal India Bikes as they only use late model bikes and turn them over frequently ( ours had done about 10,000kms)

[PaulD]

If you want more specific information I can give you there route, accom etc.

Cheers
Paul

[Knight of the Holy Graal]

I spent only 5 days in India last november after renting a Royal Enfield 350 cc. in Delhi and rode Delhi-Agra-Delhi.

I hired it at Bullet Bike Center | Rent Bullet In Delhi | Rent Bike In Delhi and I had a great experience with Mr. Rajesh Trehan, the owner.
Reliable bike and very good person!

[avi]

you can rent a Bullet on the road from Chandigar to Manali and in Manali too.

[brodixv8]

G'day. I've done the exact route you are looking at and it is fantastic, scenery unbelievable.
The train trip from chandigarh is worth doing also, and i'm sure L S have a branch up there as well to get your bike from. Our bikes ( Enfields ) were collected at the Chandigarh railway station. Weather should be ok until August. Make sure you have warm clothing if you go up to the Khardung La summit from Leh. It's pretty cold ! Best. Geoff.

[brodixv8]

Sorry, train trip Delhi to Chandigarh i should have said.........

[wimjanssen]

Originally Posted by Nigel Marx

Another very happy Lalli Singh customer, and have heard of many other. You can't say that about all the Enfield renters. It's not too much of a mission to ride from Delhi to Chandigarh so would only add a day to the trip I think. We left Delhi at 5am and it was wonderful to see the citty wake up as we traveled through it.

Cheers

Nigel in NZ

Just returned form an India trip. We rented bikes at Lalli Singh's shop and I must say we're very satisfied. Had a problem with one of the bikes and they changed the bike overnight at 400km from Delhi. Serious crew and serious service. Recommended.

[paulhamblett]

Hi all, we are currently in dehli and have organised to rent an enfield from lalli singh also. We wondered if any of you have route suggestions, we want to go to leh but are unsure which route to take - srinigar-leh-manali or the opposite way round, due to potential altitude sickness if travelling manali to leh due to the less gradual incline. We are also unsure if there are any current restrictions on travel to srinigar?

Also are there any permits required to travel on these highways? We understand there are for further travel in the ladakh ranges though could not see if any are the required for the main routes.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Paul

[Uselessbaba]

If you intend to travel from Manali side and your bike does not have a HP reg (look at the plate), then you will need a permit from the sub divisional magistrate in Manali town before you can cross the Rohtang pass. The permit is free, but a requirement for all out of state vehicles before they will allow you onto the Rohtang !
UB.

[paulhamblett]

Thanks UB, just got the permit, looking forward to getting started tommorow!