Enfields against the world.
 

Well I love Enfields,:thumbup1: and considering swapping my BMW:innocent: for an Enfield for the rest of my RTW:scooter:. I think the mechanical reasons are a weak argument:thumbdown: and as for riding a small Jap bike, I'd sooner ride a push bike !:mchappy: I rode an Enfield all thru Nepal over very rough terrain and it was absolutely fantastic. I was so taken by the bike I bought one in India and is currently on a ship heading to Australia.:clap: As for the pros & cons of Enfields It depends on what experience you are after as they are chalk & cheese, and to be honest someone who is attracted to a classic bike like an Enfield would never opt for a little Jap bike, as someone who likes the small cc's will hardly be comfortable throwing there leg over an Enfield.:innocent: But these personal views to me seemed to be put accross in the guise of mechanical malfunctions, preemptive to the actual start of an adventure !!!
But don't you just love the HUBB :thumbup1:
Cheers
Paul

People renting bikes in Delhi are small time operators and they are all there to fleece the tourists.

EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM. The more of a noob you look like, the more they will fleece you.

Indians in general are not familiar with the concept of Business Ethics and this goes double and triple for the tourist industries.

Ultimately, you should've done at least some searching on motorcycles and India. There's tons of information on it so it's hard to feel bad for you. I still feel bad for you though... :frown:

The new Enfields that costs $4000-5000 are good, but the old junk is, well, old junk. If you're broke and don't mind getting stuck every so often, it's fine. I've seen plenty of people stranded on their Enfields and for a couple of them it was the end of their trip.

For the money, I recommend people get Pulsar 220. Best price/performance.

Hey guys I'm new to this forum and I know my first post is on this dead thread but it's the whole reason I joined.

I'm planning a trip to India soon and really wanted to fit in a motorcycle tour. Stone head bikes is the only one I've found that offers a short tourbut I'm still looking.

Thing is I've found Worldlymarets story on her blog but it's the total opposite opinion. All the negative things have been switched to positive. She says she totally recommends renting from stone head, she got a refund, the bike was a 2011 model.

https://wordlymaret.wordpress.com/20...d-bikes-delhi/

Here's just the last part of the blog.
"Thanks to lord, we received full refund for 48 days. Even best, after requesting over the e-mails “Harry” was apparently not in Delhi, thus sending two of his executives to pick up the bikes on their own expenses.
I would like to say a big thanks to all the members of StoneheadBikes.com to refund our money and for excellent customer service.

Our advice, try them; you’ll not regret it."

So whats up? Was there an update to the sorry not posted here?

There seems to be some sneakiness going on, We never heard back from the OP, however her "REAL" blog is here:

https://worldlymaret.wordpress.com/2...ries/#more-813

A misplaced "L" can make all the difference.

That's pretty funny.

Hi all,

In 2015 I rented a Honda Hero from Stonehead, I'm planning a trip back to India this year, and will be renting another bike from them.

When I googled their website, a link to this thread is the top result... a bit unfair I reckon, so I thought I'd sign up and post a quick review and some other thoughts.

First, the OP was renting an Enfield... They are ancient technology, even the new ones, and you need to expect a few oil leaks and snapped cables etc. Just top it up with oil carry on! These sort of things seem to be part of the fun of owning an Enfield - or something - I don't really understand the attraction. Get a CBR250r for distance or a KTM Duke for fun.

And of course you have to pay for the repairs if the bike is in your possession: My Impulse needed a complete top end rebuild (replacement piston, sleeve, rings, head gasket) after I ran it out of oil (oh the irony), and it cost me 2000 rupees (about $30) for parts and two hours labour. I got ripped off too - that's apparently about double the price a local would have paid.

So the Stonehead bikes review... I was staying in Delhi, they have a nice website, so I phoned them up, said I wanted a bike that day - anything but an Enfield. The Hero Impulse was a good price, they spent a few hours fixing new filters (apparently a standard service) and doing general maintaince, whilst I sorted the paperwork. Once ready we went through a checklist making sure everything on the bike was good - tyres, suspension seals, horn, prior damage etc.

The bike was fine, the clutch was a little worn (still good for a Himalayan thrashing) and the speedo LED stayed on with the key out. No problem I thought, it had a kickstarter if necessary, and in the event it wasn't a problem.

For the time I had it, the bike was solid and took everything I threw at it. Everything was cool, apart from a few hairy night-time moments and the running out of oil. I don't blame Stonehead for this, as the ultimate cause was a long high-speed run down the motorway combined with me not checking the oil level beforehand, despite being warned by stonehead to do so.

Whilst broken down, they were contactable by phone, and I also remember them giving me another phone number of another English speaking staff member in case the office was closed. They were able to give me a bit of advice and assistance in getting the bike fixed

I eventually brought the bike back, and expected a bit of hassle over my deposit for damaging the engine. They didn't even mention it (the other garage got it running fine) and I walked away happy. They even pointed out that the other garage had pinched a hard-to-find part off my bike, but they were also good enough not to blame me for this.

Overall I thought Stonehead were a professional outfit, and I'll be using them again this year unless my itinerary changes drastically.**

For the sake of balance, I do recall some minor blagging over the always-on-LED (hey, your watch glows in the dark too, it's illuminescent, right!), but ultimately it was inconsequential, and dare I say it, a normal part of most Indian business transactions!*


*Not a criticism... Consider it a celebration of the Indian way.

I've done this twice in the recent years and had good experience w. renting a bike in Delhi.
Maybe my expectations or mindset was different.

Please don't make things too complicated. No matter who you contact by e-mail, they will all sell you bikes in best conditions.
There are hundreds of dealers in Karol Bagh. Don't waste your time with e-mails.
Go there, find a vehicle, bargain on the conditions and start your adventure.
This will not take more than a day.

And yes, you should be prepared for break-downs, each and every day.
That's part of the fun!

Wauschi

I'm about to head out on my third tour of india by enfield. First two on enfields were great. No issues with the enfield. Great way to travel and "pottering" along is the perfect speed for india. you dont want to be going fast.

another vote for Lalli Singh in Delhi. he runs a good outfit.

I assume you'll also be arriving to India by propellor driven aeroplane, and swapping your iPhone for a phone book :-)

... And go fast on the fast bits, and slow the on slow bits. Simple!

Riding India
 

In 2010 I noted one night after perusing HU that I could rent a Bullet in India for $10 a day; mentioned it to my wife, to which she replied that I should go do that.By noon the next day I was booked and 2 weeks later in Dehli. The plan was to ride some of India, no idea where. First day met some young men from Synigar in northern Kashmir and flew there with the intention of riding his bike, a 350 Bullet,back to Dehli. Stayed with his parents on one of those old luxurious lake boats from days of old and it snowed and snowed alot. In fact 10 soldiers died in the mountains that night so travel karma was on my side again because had I arrived a few days earlier, I would have been on the road south and this story would have been considerably different. Didn't come to India to freeze so flew south to Banglore and started renting, first a Honda 125 then on to Kerela and got a 350 Enfield Bullet and rode east up into the mountains and tea growing area. Took a little getting used to the right hand shift but the riding was incredible. From there flew to Goa and what an experience. 6:00AM on Bagga beach, met a young fellow enjoying a morning cig on a 500 Bullet. Asked if he knew of a place to stay and a bike. Yes was his reply; hop on. A local bartender rented me his best 350 for a week and I had a guided tour everyday through the wonderful maze of backroads in three states. We rode 2-300 kms every day. This man , a Finn, had done nothing but drink beer and ride motorcycle in SE Asia for 20 yrs. This is why I like travelling with no plan especially when I'm solo. Just thought I'd share a little of my India experience. Wish this pandemic would disappear. John Burden Canada