Buying a Himalayan in India as a foreigner
 

Hey guys,
I would need some advise from you.
I'm currently in Chennai and trying to buy an Royal Enfield Himalayan. It turns out its way more complicated then it should be haha.
So what is the best way of buying a new Himalayan in India?
Also, is it possible to buy the export model here? As the models from Europe are a bit different than the ones they sell in India. the factory is here in Chennai too if that is any help.
It would be nice to get it on the proper was to obtain a carnet.
Also, if its possible to get an export model I would drive it back to Germany. but that would be too good to be true hehe.
Thanks for any suggestions.

Greetings
Andrew

People have bought RE Bullets to do India for years, haven't they?
So don't see the problem unless it's a tied-in buy-back deal.
Ask en-gb.facebook.com/lallisinghenfield in Delhi

I very much doubt you can buy direct from the factory, any more than you can do so elsewhere in the world.

To export the bike I think you need an Indian friend and maybe some smoke and mirrors.
I know intrepid Himalayan rider, Noraly S (itchyboots.com) did so and travelled all over Asia and has since got it plated back home in NL

Noraly did not get Basanti (The Royal Enfield Himalayan) she somehow bought in India plated in her homecountry. First of all I think she had an indian friend who helped her with the ownership (but I might not remember those details incorrectly here)
Secondly she did not get Basanti plated in her home country - The Netherlands as Basanti was made for the indian market and thus didnt have the same specifications as the export models. And thus it would not be recognised or comply with dutch/EU legislation.

You are right.

Turns out her original bike has been in someone else's (Indian?) name all along.
It worked all over Asian borders but won't in the Americas where she is now.
Plus, as you'd expect, it could not be imported into EU for all the usual conformity reasons.
Luckily, RE in NL swapped her old one for a new one.

This has been a long running dream, to buy a Royal Enfield Bullet in India and ride it overland to Europe. However it has NEVER been legal / possible in the past and is unlikely to change, if anything even harder now due to tightening regulations in the west.

See:

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/get-ready/paperwork

thanks for alle the reply's =)
I got an Indian friend who will help me to get the bike in his name. the next thing what we gonna do is a Letter of Authority. That would allow me to obtain a Carnet and drive the bike into other countries on his behalf.
But im not 100% sure if it will work that way, fingers crossed.

right now its more about the cost to obtain a Carnet. I couldn't find any clear information of how much it will cost and of how much the security guarantee will be.
I will try to get more information from FICCI here in Chennai.

I'll hope the best =)

Well...
Legal, probably not.
Possible..yes. It has been done

In the past Europeans have purchased export model Enfields in Nepal, arranged the CdP from their home country and then ridden via India, Pakistan etc back to Europe.

There will be issues legally importing/ registering such a vehicle in a European citizen's home country (emissions/import taxes etc.)

Yeah to get it from Nepal is an option.. BUT in saying that, RE is really expensive in Nepal. I got already a quote it would be around 900.000 Nepal rupee what is about 561.000 Indian rupee.
A new Himalayan will cost 220.000 Rupee here in India =)
Ive texted RE here in India regarding an export model, but still waiting for an answer.

Hi there,
Well did you do it..? I'm wanting to buy a Bullet too, sort a CPD just like you, and ride back to UK from India via PAK, AFG & IRAN... I'd love to know if you made it.

Thanks,

Paul

Try this thread, both pages, and if you're not scared off by the 3+ months it took him you can maybe track him down on Instagram.

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...dia-feb-103874

It is a little disappointing that member Gnarlymate did not get back to us with at least some idea of how he achieved registering a bike in his name or whatever solution he achieved, I did look at his instagram but as I don't have an account was only allowed to see a little of which there was nothing about India.

Under the right circumstances, a foreigner can own a bike in his name in India.

This foreigner did it, here's the donkey I owned.

https://i.postimg.cc/Sj5RHk1g/IMG-20221224-103611.jpg

However, truth be told, most people probably wouldn't go through the whole ordeal.
Here's how I got the bike in my name;

1. Business visa
2. Rental agreement in my name
3. Adhaar card(Indian ID)
4. Some luck, dealing with an honest Hero dealer in Rishikesh

Basically, you need to be a resident, with some paper trail of your residency in India. Getting it in your name on a tourist visa isn't likely to work.
However, with the right connections, and some bribes, everything is possible in India.

If you wanna give it a shot, you'll have to go there and hope for the best. Have at least an e-business visa(easy to get online) and figure out a way(maybe with your guesthouse) to have a rental contract. That should be a much better start than having just a tourist visa.

I know a guy who managed to register a Himalayan to his name (New Zealand passport).
The thing is, it depends a lot on which state you're doing it. Some are easier and in some states it's just impossible. He did it in Himachal Pradesh with a 12-month rental contract as proof of residency (bogus).

But as others already said, the Europeans RE models are (ever so slightly) different from the Indian ones, so it's impossible to register an Indian RE in Europe (on purpose, I bet, to avoid trafficking). Same for KTMs built in India.

Laurent