I am going to India for a mates wedding in Januarary 2009 and have 7 days spare to tour around from New Dehli -was thinking of hiring a bike -at the moment Tony Bullet Centre seems the best deal -anyone had any dealings with them positive/negative?
Was thinking of doing a tour - Dehli-Agra-Amritsar-Dharmsala -Shimla -Dehli is this realistic/achievable in 7 days at this time of year -don't know what conditions will be like in the hills?
Any suggestions of other places worth visiting and/or places to stay on that route?
My mate (who doesn't ride bikes -but who is Indian )- is trying to put me off riding a bike -is Indian traffic that bad? I have ridden bikes for 30 years including a couple of years has a courier in London -and managed to survive so far, is India really that bad?

Indian traffic is bad. The roads are generally in bad condition, full of huge, deep holes , and very congested, especially the area you´re planning to go. Drivers are erratic in a way you probably wont see in Europe. Cattle and other animals must also be obvserved carefully. I just read that there are over 200 people killed on its roads, per day.

So there are more enjoyable ways to travel in India. But if you want to do it by bike, have experience about riding bikes, and you´re willing to accept the risks involved, then surely it is do-able.

I´ve been riding there twice, once on an Enfield-trip in Kerala & Tamil Nadu, and then last winter (as part of a bigger trip) from the Pakistani border in the north to the south, some 5700 kms on the road that time. Its a tough place to find any truly enjoyable roads, especially if you compare to many other contries.

The jams, the noise, the pollution, they all come with the package. It is the 2nd most populous coutry on this planer, and it shows. So hard to find your "own" space to ride in (and to me, this was very annoying) - think it was the last time I´ll go riding there. But still doesnt mean I would regret doing those trips, not at all. India is a wonderful country, and definitely worth going.

- Well Honestly, living in Delhi, I have learned that the traffic is not as bad as compared to other cities. Its safe to ride motorcycle here to begin with which is one big +
- No road rage. (atleast not for a foreigner visiting our country)
- Helpful Locals.


OTOH,

- Some places in Delhi, even i feel the traffic sucks.
- If you stick to major roads and plan and time your route well then traffic is not bad at all.

In my experience and modest oppinion you need to consider the following:

First, forget traffic rules, sense of justice and expect no common sense from any one or anything. It is organised chaos but hundreds of millions live it and survive it fine.

The bigger your vehicle, the higher priority you have; the smaller, the lower. That means on a bike you are only above pedestrians, cycles and small animals and lower than bull carts, vikrams, tuc-tucs, big animals, cars, lorries, buses, and cows.

Be alert: they attend to few or no rules; vehicles swerve because other vehicles, potholes, animals pedestriand or for the shake of it; on junctions and roundabouts the only priorities to consider are those mentioned above. They drive on the side of the road that tickles their fancy. On straights, expect vehicles, pedestrians and animals crossing in front of you.

Go slow be patient and careful.

Get a vehicle with a very loud horn. That pushes you up the ladder a step or two.
Take earplugs. In india many have developed the ability to hit the horn twice or more times during the same second. Everyone blows their horn to everyone else, I think.

Take a mask to dodge the vehicle fumes and dust from the road. Goggles are a good idea.

Nobody gets angry. Everyone is very helpful. On narrow passes two drivers can cause a traffic jam, three gridlock; if that happens they just get off their cars and discusse it in length; bit by bit undo the gridlock which, you can bet it'll happen there as soon as 3 or more drivers arrive at the same time. Still, no one gets angry o distressed. Gives you plenty of time to make friends.

On the road, If a bus wants to pass a lorry on a narrow road at a speed, the only thing that will stop it will be another lorry or bus coming in the opposite direction. For the rest of vehicles, they will expect them to get off the road or take the consecuences.

Sounds bad, but it isn't. Crazy, maybe.

It is great.
There is no other experince like it in the world, no video game, no fairground ride, no mind game is as exilarating, exotic and surreal as the roads there. I think you meet the real India on the road. Few cant resist falling in love with India. Despite the roads and bureocracy!

Do it!, just forget the rules you know and embrace their ways. It's some of the best fun you can have with your riding troussers on.

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Smile

i would always recommend lalli singh but do as you like for a week.
for that itinerary you will be on the road every day with little time to enjoy the areas you will be in.
you might consider a train to agra for the taj majal and back to delhi the same night...or an overnight slow train arriving in the early morning and ready to go. then, take your trip up north of delhi to amritsar and the mountains.
it will still be tight, but doable.

I would agree with mitchell but if you planning to go by trains, i should let you know that these days the train schedules are severely impacted due to dense fogs. Trains have been delayed or cancelled.

So keep that in mind.

Some movies of traveling in India on the motorbike on Going East - Home

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Movies from our motortravels around the world: www.LifeIsJoy.nl

Dude, I am sure its a great movie and you enjoyed making it but you should stop posting the same link in all the threads. Wont be long till mods think you are spamming. Lets get back to the thread now

I was going to reply and give an idea of what it's like, but dodgydago has said almost everything there is to say.

Turning right at a T-junction has to be the most hilarious manoeuvre of all! The important thing to stress is the lack of road rage and the cooperation.

I first rode in India five years ago on a twist-n-go scooter having not riden a motorbike in the previous 28 years. No crash hat, no protective gear, but I was obviously very careful and came to no harm. In fact it started me biking again after all these years!

Tim

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Do you also support Lalli Singh as a reliable Enfield source? We'll be staying in India 4 weeks next year and this time we want to rent a bike from Delhi. Also found "Tony Bullet" and "New Delhi Motorcycle House". Any comments (from anyone) on them?

Thanks, Wim

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Riding any Road

Indian driving IS that bad, and worse. Even if you dont get totalled, you´ll be stressed so much you wont enjoy it. Rajastan riding is OK but big cities? Never.

If you ride there let us know how you got on, even if you´re playing a harp.

Lallit Singh is one of the more established Enfield dealers around Karol Bagh, but there are plenty to choose from. My advice would be don't part with any money until you have inspected the bike personally, if they ask for a booking deposit, decline, there are literally hundreds of bikes on offer in this area, and once you have parted with your cash you're stuck with what they give you. Better just turn up and see whats available !
UB.

Drove in the last ten years about 20.000 km 2 up on an enfield from north to south and east to west en crossed many big cities (f.i. Delhi, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Bangalore) and still alive. Advice in big cities: ask a riksja rider to guide you to your hotel. easy.
We crossed India in a landrover too, but that was more dangerous. On a bike it is easy to go in the ditch.
Happy travels