India 20 June to 28 August
 

Will be in India between these dates. Rent Enfield Bullet.
Itinerary v. flexible: Probably something along the lines of
The far north: 3/4 weeks: end June to mid July
Goa/Kerala/the south: 5/6 weeks: mid July to end August.
Or something like that...

Anybody around there and then?
Cheers
ChrisB

I'll be heading from Mumbai to Delhi, then north to cross over to Pakistan. I'm in Kochi presently, should be in Mumbai mid June.
Sean

Hi Sean
My flight goes in and out of Mumbai. Will aim to take a train Mumbai-Delhi on 20June (or v soon after), rent bike in Delhi (prob from Lalli Singh) and head north as describe in my original post.

Let's stay in touch via email. Presume as you're heading for Pakistan you're on a 'non-Indian' bike.
Cheers
Chris

hey guys - if you are in Chennai - gimme a buzz on 98840 32669 in case you are stuck or just wanna meet. I am on a month long trip spanning the comntinent - riding up from Kanyakumari to Kashmir starting sometime mid july - so may not be reachable during that time!

but try anyway

ride safe!

guys ... I am a local delhi guy.... if u need any help in delhi pls mail me. Lalli also knows me well.
It would be nice to link up with you guys when u get to delhi !

Thanks
Indeep

an update on my movements:
arrived last night in hot bombay. checked out bike rentals/purchasing here and have decided to try my luck in delhi.

will arrive on 23 june in delhi (by train)

once i have a bullet sorted: the theoretical route is:
shimla, daramsala, manali, leh, kargil, srinigar,delhi for maybe 4 weeks. was up in leh last summer: was a great ride with great people... missed a few points like pangong tso, the nubra and zanskar valleys etc. will try these this time.

then via rajastan to goa and kerala and environs. (late july and august??)

having written this, you can guarantee that the route will be completely different http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif

watch this space. send me an email (address in profile above) if you're around.
cheers
chris

latest theoretical movements of thebrightstuff:
mon 26th june: leave delhi on 500cc enfield (big black tank, steel boxes on back, rider with crazed look...)
tues 27th june in evening: arrive manali
thur 29th june: depart manali for leh
sat 1st july: arrive leh

all this is quite theoretical. the bike might break down (likely), i might convert to kao daiism (or that dicky religion that the 'performer' formerly known as madonna is now part of) (less likely), or i grow my hair long, wear blue shades and an orange gown, talk loudly in hebrew (like most in manali) (even less likely)...

so, if the former doesn't happen, i will be on schedule.

later
cb

I'm in Pune at the moment, heading to Mumbai tomorrow for a couple of days before chucking the bike on a train to Delhi. I was going to wait for visa's there, but might head north then come back for them later.
Sean

arrived in leh today (sat 3rd july). bike running fine. should be up here a little while. anyone around?
cheers
ChrisB

Just got to Delhi today, heading that way tomorrow probably. How's the road? Do I need to muck around with Bing carbies at that altitude? I'm carrying smaller main jets, but I think dropping the needles is a better option, don't know how to do this though. Any advise appreciated.
Cheers,
Sean

sean
once you get to manali, put the smaller jets in. you might have to adjust the idle too. all v easy.

most bikers ride manali leh in 3 days
1. manali to darcha (or the village just before it)
2. darcha to pang
3. pang to leh

the 2nd half of day 1 and day 2 are the hardest. not that it is really hard. all is paved, or formally paved. a bit rocky and sandy here and there.

2 punjabi blokes on one 80cc scooter made it nearly as fast as me. i'm on an enfield, which isn't exactly the best engineering either. whether your bmw will make it, is of course another story. then again i'm biased, negatively http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/wink.gif

should be up here at least a week. probably heading to nubra valley and pangong lake over the next 7 days.

it's best to leave a message here on the hubb and on my hotmail email. HU has a much better server than microsoft and is much faster (i.e i can read the message, rather than not, as on hotmail).

the connections here are veryyyyyyy slowwwww.

cheers
Chris

Sean,
What kinda beemer ya riding in India?
Cheers
Nigel

Riding an R65 86 model. Just got to Leh tonight (mon 12th? i've lost track of days) road was rough but passable, a couple of creek crossings in 1 foot of water were a bit tricky but the beemer did it in style. Dropped a silencer somewhere near Mandi, couldn't find it, so i've fitted Enfield pipes. If you're still around Chris, i guess i'll be following you by a couple of days. Going to Nubra Valley then on to Srinagar.
Sean

Chris,
Just got back to Leh today (Sat 17th) heading to Kargil tomorrow, then Srinigar the next day. Let me know if you're there.
Sean

sean
arrived in srinigar today (sunday 18th). superb scenery and great ride. but i hate kasmiris. so am leaving tomorrow (19th) in the direction of daramsala/mcleod ganj. should be there by 21st. will stay there a few days, if you want to meet for beer and momos.
cheers
chris

sean
arrived just now (tues 20th) in mcleod ganj, nr. daramsala. the srinigar-jammu road was frightening. will chill here for a while. i need it.

am staying at the hotel that is part of nick's italian restaurant (forget the exact name). it's on the street with the green, yellow, red and whever other colour hotels. my room is off the rerstaurant balcony.
cheers
chris

latest movements:
am back in manali. chilling. will ride back to delhi on wed 28th and plan to arrive 29th. will prob stay in paharganj at the major's den. also scheduled to do a talk to some bikers in www.xbhp.com, prob on fri 30th.

will travel by bus to daramsala/mcleod ganj on 31 july and then spend 10 days doing a meditation retreat. imagine the bright bullsh*te keeping his gob shut for 10 days! quel horreur.

later
chris

[This message has been edited by chris (edited 26 July 2004).]

I tried. I can't imagine it. I'm staying at the hotel Rak, got my Iran visa overnight and going to see the Uzbeks tomorrow. Should be around for a few days though, probably bump into you somewhere.
Cheers,
Sean

attempted the meditation thing. wasn't for me. gave up in less than 24 hours. will be in delhi on 5th august and as soon as possible aim to take a train(s) south. next stop goa.

depends on climate/humidity etc as to whether i rent a bike or not or just lie in a hammock. drop me a line here and on the email (click icon above) if you're around there and then.

later
ChrisB

Hi Chris,

Sounds like you had a great time on the Bullet up to Leh. Are you back home now? I was just wondering if you would mind posting some more details about your research into hiring/buying Enfields in Mumbai?

I will be in south India from Dec 2005 - March 2006 with my girlfriend (flying to Mumbai). I guess I would be prepared to pay a little extra be able to sort out a bike in Mumbai, rather than having to deal with the travellers market in Goa, which will be swarming at that time of year.

If anyone is able to point me in the direction of a reliable rental or 2nd hand dealer I'd be eternally grateful http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/smile.gif

Cheers,
Graham.

P.S. I think we met in a pub in Waterloo a few years back with Chris & Erin, Merv & Ruth, & a few other characters - I do hope you are keeping well!


[This message has been edited by SpiritualRider (edited 05 November 2005).]

Hi Graham
Indeed, I was in Waterloo at the pub meeting Chris and Erin et al. a while ago. India was great. Ref bikes, here's a thread I started in the southern Asia forum.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000171.html

My advice would be to take a train to Delhi, go to the Karol Bagh district and source the bike there. Then put it on a train south.

I used and can recommend Soni Boni Motors. The world raves about Lalli Singh. Of the others in Delhi I can also say good stuff about Nanna Motors. Other bike places in Delhi might be a bit dodgy. Check them out and the vibes they give off.

Also do a search on this site.

Furthermore read my story at:
http://www.thebrightstuff.com/indiamenu.htm

cheers
Chris

------------------
TheBrightStuffDotCom

Hi chris,
How was your India travels?
I am planning to do a similar trip to your with an enfield...
I wanted to know what tips you have about buying and selling the bike from your experience. Also I wanted to know about motorbike licencing in India. I have an English CBT and I wanted to know if that would be ok.
Thanks