A friend and I plan to fly into Mumbai and rent bikes for a few weeks to tour around. Searching the internet, I find numerous shops offering Enfields, but they just don't seem to be ideal bikes for roads with potholes and the occasional offroad jaunt. I'd feel more comfortable on a ~200cc dirt bike. Does anyone know of anyone offering such bikes for rent in Mumbai? Or am I underestimating the Enfield?

You are underestimating the Royal Enfields a lot.

I have been riding Enfields through Bhutan, around 2000 km in Nepal and in the Sikkim province of India. Theres nothing better! And if the bike breaks down there will be someone who knows how to fix it on every corner.

There are also some other Indian produced more modern bikes like different models of Bajaj Pulsars, Honda Heroes etc that can do the job.

I dont think you will find a whole lot of Japanese bikes in India although I havent been all around in India. I do think I saw a Honda Crf250L somewhere, cant remember where.

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Tell me a little more about how they handle in potholes and dirt!
I used to own a Pulsar when I lived in Rwanda and it really held up poorly in mud. I would slide all over, mud would get jammed up in the fenders, and eventually the wheels would seize up. Knobbies weren't really available where I was. So while I will be in India in a dry season, I am still inclined to aim for something better at handling whatever the road throws at me.
The notion of someone being able to repair an Enfield everywhere is very appealing though. What models should I be considering for a well-rounded bike which can handle a mix of small roads, dirt track, potholes and good old tarmac?

Enfields handles mud and potholes fair enough and much better than people think. Not like an endurobike of course but you are not going to ride in mud or on potholed roads all day anyway.

I can truly say that the Royal Enfields I have been riding is the most comfortable bikes i ever have used. Normally one feel sore or even pain in the butt and in the back after a whole day in the saddle. I never experienced so on an Enfield.

The model I rode was a 500 Bullet Maccisimo or something like that. Year produced around 2008-2010. Carburatored, not FI. (heard they had problems with FI on the newer models they fitted with that). Gear lever on the left side as a normal motorbike and a double seat.

I dont know so much about other models other than that there is a 350 cc as well and that some of the newer models is fitted with FI instead of carburator which didnt work out that well.

Hopefully there will be a person from India in here to tell more about models etc.

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

I rode an Enfield 350cc around the far north and off-road it was incomparable to what in riding now (Honda XR250 dualsport). The suspension is not designed for it and they are fairly heavy (but stable) bikes -I would not like to try them in sand or mud beyond the actual patch. I like Enfields but I'm not sure they're off-road bikes in any sense of the word (but people have done RTW on them!)

They usually come in 500 or 350 variations, the standard known as Bullets. Over the years they've released various models, ie with electric starters, EFI, etc but really none of them would make much difference off-road though I'm no expect! They have a chopper style "Thunderbird" which I think is a twin but I hated this when I tried it and much preferred the stock 500, which was wonderful to cruise around on.

I always think how a 250 dual sport would be perfect for riding around India. Unfortunately you'll probably have a very hard time finding a one! All that said Enfields are loads of fun to ride, are pretty tough, comfortable and look great. Cruising along the Kerelan coast on one is a pretty cool experience - Snakeboy is right that paved roads with potholes will be more your riding conditions than off-road so I wouldn't worry too much.

Still, if I went back to India I'd probably be looking for a newish Honda Hero, Pulsar 180 or maybe even just a stock Yamaha 125 myself. The Enfields I rode always struggled with start-stop in traffic and always conked out (poor driving/maintenance perhaps!) but maybe the new ones come with an electric start? Oh and by the way make sure you have a good look around Karnatika - not just Hampi - probably my favourite state, loads of amazing gems all over that place.

Thanks for your thoughts, ridetheworld. I'm feeling more confident that we'll do fine on Enfields. I'm determined to ride NW into Gujarat for a photojournalistic endeavor I have planned, but time permitting, we will ride east from Mumbai as well. We'll be looking at route options tomorrow!

Hi AdamCohn am from Gujarat. Rode my 1994 350 ccc all the way to London last year. You have a home here to stay over. Gujarat is beautiful and if I get ur dates well in time can ride some places too. 500 cc classic is the best. 350 cc are also very good for India. Welcome abode.

When are u planning to come this side ?

get a Duke ktm 390, or a honda 220 check out 60kph.com or xbhp.com I can sense you apprehensive about crappy enfeilds, go with your gut bro may see you around that way if your there before March
Ive only ridden a couple of enfeilds in India and id go a Honda or Duke over a enfeild anyday, my opinion

Ktm duke 390 or 200 is the best. Finding one in India would be grt. Let me know if you can hire one here. I am also trying to locate bikes for hire here. All the best. ShaneBaby come to Gujarat. In fact I shall buy one soon. Await for the launch of the 600.

Nice! My buddy and I will begin in Mumbai. I land on Feb 8, he will arrive a day or so later. My goal is to ride to the Alang area, to photograph shipbreaking along the beach there. After that, we're going to improvise. If possible, we would like to get out to Varnasi, even.
Speaking of that, my idea is that in order to visit both Alang and Varnasi in the time we have, we will need to speed up our journey at times. To do that, I envision getting train tickets and shipping the bikes along with us on the train. Can anyone confirm whether that is possible in India? My friend did it in China easily enough, but every country is different.

AdamCohn its possible. You can ride from Alang to Varanasi in 3 to 4 days too. Can help u with the bookings and logistics. Am 400 kms from Mumbai in Gujarat. How many days are you in India ?

There are no pot holes en route the roads are just fine. A Royal Enfield 350 or 500 thunderbird would be best. Let me know the chappy you want to hire the bike in Mumbai. Am going nx week and can look him up n check on the bikes if possible. Sending you a PM too

My email is vsadvt at gmail.

Its 12th AdamCohn are you in India ?