|
Warning! Why not to rent bikes from Stonehead Bikes - Delhi!
We are a couple that's been travelling together for a year, we are both bikers at home and we were missing riding and decided that we wanted to travel North India by motorcycle. The obvious choice of machine was the Royal Enfield! We found Stonehead Bikes in Delhi by searching online. They wanted 15,000 INR per bike per month. We figured we could easily lose this amount by buying and selling motorcycles, which would also be a lot of extra hassle and paperwork, so we decided to go ahead with the rental. Our contactperson at Stonehead Bikes was "Harry", or Khomendra Singh according to his personal e-mailaddress. They responded to all of our queries via e-mail very quickly, they were friendly and spoke good English so we felt confident in dealing with them. The only thing that we felt slightly uneasy about was the policy of the company that any breakdowns had to be paid for out of our own pocket. Obviously we could understand that any damage we had caused ourselves or normal wear that had occured whilst we were using the bikes (brake pads etc.) should be our responsibility, but what about pre-existing problems? What if something was about to wear out before we recieved the bikes? We asked Stonehead Bikes many questions about the bikes via e-mail including how old they were. We were assured that the oldest bike in the fleet would be a 2007 model. We knew that any bike this new would also have the left-foot gear system and would be a more modern machine and hence less prone to breakdowns.
We were obviously not impressed when we had checked out of our hotel, made the 50 minute rickshaw ride across Delhi and showed up with all of our luggage to Stoneheead Bikes to find that one of the bikes was a 2004 model with gears on the right-hand side. Alarm bells ringing slightly louder now. We should have refused the bikes and asked for our deposits back, but wanting to get on with our trip as planned we took the bikes. Like a fool, I let the Stonehead guy bullshit me into it, "oh my friend, it only takes half an hour to get used to this system...". Having ridden bikes with a left-hand side (LHS) gear system for 17 years it was really horrible to try and get used to them on the RHS. The gear system was also upside down (one up, two, three and four down). Take it from me, two weeks later I was still changing up gears instead of changing down and vice versa and trying to find the rear brake only to end up changing gears also. It was a nightmare. When we arrived in Agra from Delhi there were already some issues with the bikes. The 2004 model was leaking oil profusely from two places, the speedometer was not working, and the horn was not working properly (horns are very necessary in India!). Obviously these were pre-existing problems so we requested that Stonehead Bikes (SHB) pay for the repairs. Strangely enough, SHB were less responsive than they had been when we were prospective customers. The first email we sent was ignored entirely. Sound alarm bells. After a second, less friendly e-mail we got a reply. They tried to tell us that we had caused the oil leaks because we had ridden the bikes non-stop over a long distance! (we rode 200km in three days). The horn issue, just tighten a screw they said (this didn't work by the way, because the wiring had been bodged together and needed replacing). They clearly couldn't think of a way to worm out of the speedo issue so they conceeded to cover the costs, but made a big hassle over it. Two weeks into our two months, disaster happened. I was knocked off my bike by a oncoming jeep which was overtaking a truck. A trip to the hospital later and I came out with a broken arm and lots of cuts and bruises. Our motorbike trip was over. We got the bike to a mechanic and paid for all of the repairs. We contacted SHB and explained the situation. We had paid up front 60,000 INR ($1200,-) for 60 days of rental. We had only had the bikes for 12 days so we reasoned that if we returned the bikes 48 days early then we might qualify for a small refund. We had hardly covered any miles and hence no further servicing of the bikes would be required by SHB. We stressed that we were only looking for a token amount, we understood that they would not be able to re-rent both bikes for the remaining 48 days at such short notice. We finally managed to get a 'maybe' from them so rushed the bikes back to Delhi on the train (on our expense of course) in the hope of a gesture of goodwill. No such luck, we received not a Rupee. Even worse, after not responding to e-mails "Harry" was apparently not in Delhi, thus sending two of his underlings to pick up the bikes. They didn't speak English, so there was no way to have any dialogue as we handed in the bikes. "Harry" didn't show his face again. We tried communicating many times, only after complaining of "terrible customerservice" did we provoke an agressive response. We wish we'd have kept the bikes until the end of the rental contract, we could easily have sublet them to re-coup some of our costs had we have known we were getting nothing back... Our advice, avoid this company like the plague, a terrible experience. |
Sorry to hear that you got hurt; hopefully you´re back on track now. Anyways, I think what we can take away from this is that
- you don´t rent a bike from an unknown source by e-mail with a deposit paid before you have seen and checked out the bike in person, not in India and not in Daytona Beach; - you don´t believe that even a 2007 Enfield in an Indian rental fleet would have been "less prone to breakdowns" after five years in rental service; - you don´t believe that any Enfield will not leak oil in a month of overland travel (which I´d think is one of the "oh shucks" scenarios, not the end of the world). Chris |
Sorry you had such a poor experience. I toured south India on an Enfield about 12 years ago, and I have to say the whole "India by Enfield" experience is overrated. I can definitely see going back to India for another tour, but I would rent a small Japanese model, never another Enfield.
|
Quote:
Been there myself, done that and got the scars to prove it. Regarding the issue of hiring bikes, I would like to see this type of feedback in a thread where it does not become lost with time; for instance, there is a forum for "tours" in here which might be near enough appropriate and this information could be found there in the future. There is a rather similar cautionary tale with a lesser outcome within the Morocco forum; on futher thought, perhaps there is a better place within the HUBB where such cautionary advice can be found?? |
whant to rent or bay a enfield or pulser
wharning dont rent in delhi go to pusckar 6 auers from new delhi thear yuo have alot off bikes and foringers selening thear bikes around 500 us NEAVER RENT A BIKE IN DELHI :eek3:
|
What I really wonder about is when people yell: Warning! Don´t ....
A bad experience is one thing, and we´ve all been there. But as well as you don´t hang a bed sheet with a similar warning about your local butcher´s or baker´s products outside of your roadside window at home, since you´re not willing to get into a nasty discussion with that business owner or his lawyer, don´t yell for boycotts on the web either. From my point of view, it´s just unfair and we´ve seen the variety of responses in the Marocco issue recently. Just my 2c Cheers Chris |
Quote:
Obviously all such reports should be taken in context, and it would be good to get more reports about good customer experiences, not just bad ones... |
Renting
I am in Nepal renting an Enfield, & it has been brilliant:thumbup1: and Bikemandu could not have been better (so far) I will be in India (Delhi) & will go to this place:ban: & give them what for on your behalf:thumbdown: & let them know if you shit on one biker you shit on all of us & what goes around comes around, I know you want get your money back, but I will make them feel very, very uneasy about so they think twice before pulling that stunt again.doh
Cheers Paul |
I think we have all had business dealings, not necessarily in motorcycling, that did not go well. Some businesses will let things 'slide' if they are not given constructive criticism.
I think it's fine for folks to post negative comments, as long as they give a clear explanation of what went wrong, and what steps they and the business took (or didn't take) to resolve the problem. I thought WorldlyMaret did this. |
Hey all - I am very interested in this topic as a friend and I are planning to be in Delhi in September to rent bikes and head to Leh / /Ladakh for 3 weeks. Following that my wife and I will be in Nepal for a few weeks and I would love to rent a bike in Kathmandu and head as close to Everest as I can.
SO!! Feedback, feedback, feedback guys - don't say 'I had a terrible experience when I rented in Delhi' - Tell us who with!! - Don't say 'i had an awesome experience in Nepal' - Tell us who with!! PaulD, I am particularly interested to hear from you re: your Nepal rental WorldlyMaret - It seems you are particularly pissed about your experience with SHB as you have posted in more than one thread here and I cant' say I blame you - up until about 5 minutes ago they were my #1 choice but now I'm not so sure... Curious though, what did you rent? Did you pay a booking/reservation fee in advance? Why didn't you walk away and rent something else from someone else? - Not criticizing just trying to understand.. Cheers all bier |
Bikemandu
Nepal rental was brillant I would highly recommend Bikemandu, very
professional & helpful, gave us a suggested itinerary on where to go and suggested good places to stay. Paid for taxi to collect bike & paid for our taxi back to our hotel after dropping bike off.:thumbup1: Cheers Paul |
Been there done it twice
Hi all
Sorry to hear of people having not so good experiences with renting enfields in Delhi We had a great experience renting bikes in Delhi, with Inder Motors - and the lovely Lalli Singh. We researched the company before we went, read some good reviews both of the bikes and of the company. Did this once in 2007 and again in 2009. We didn't pay anything until we had inspected the bikes and taken them for a test ride. They gave us plenty of spares for the journey and were really flexible when we changed our plans - we got carried away up in the mountains and didn't give ourselves enough time for the ride back to Delhi. So we flew and arranged with Lalli for the bikes to be shipped via road truck. The trust went both ways as Lalli gave us our deposits back without even inspecting the bikes... they were still enroute!! All I would say is that you need common sense, if it feels dangerous and dodgy then don't do it... you wouldn't get on a bike in your home country unless you were sure it was safe to do so. So why would you in a country like India where the roads are crazy at the best of times! Anyway we think India by enfield is fantastic, especially the himalayas and I would wholeheartedly recommend Inder motors in Karol Bagh. Enjoy Gemma |
rental in Delhi
Hello all, I and a good mechanic mate of mine toured India and Nepal for two moths last nov/dec by Honda Hero Hunks. We bought them in Karol Bagh after spending many hours checking out the hoards of shops there that are all eager to take your cash...!!! We clicked with a guy on a matching pair of bikes, talked the talk over chai and biscuits, settled on a fair price after agreeing on a buy back price if all went well. He sorted out all paperwork and the issues with the bikes prior to us handing over money. We stayed in a great hotel over the road and the whole experience went smooth as silk..!!
There are so many scumbag dealers in Karol Bagh you have to be careful in choosing the right place. My personnel opinion about travelling in India is buy Hero Honda for less stress, breakdowns and ultimate reliability. Having stated all this, it is at the end of the day personnel choice..!!! If anyone wants any contact details of the shop I used then just post up, I dont have them to hand right now. Enjoy India, Mez. :thumbup1: |
To be frank and honest, I really can't see the attraction of doing a long distance ride on an Enfield.
Maybe to potter around the city, maybe very local, bot any thing longer than say 50km, then you should consider a small Japanese. Sure the Enfield is a "cultish" bike, and people do like to tell one another that "they traveled India on an Enfield" But apart from that, I would steer well clear, and ride Japanese. A 125cc Japanese will of course be ultimately more pleasurable, and reliable. Not to mention how much safer and economical Japanese bike would be. We recently finished some thing like 2,400km all around Vietnam, we each had Honda 110cc, and they were great. More than enough power with our rucksack luggage tied to the rear rack. And let me say, the little Honda's were as tough as nails, the holes we hit, the "off roading" we did, when there was just 6 inches of mud, where the road had vanished, adn the little Honda's just kept on going, day after day, after day, no oil leaks or nothing. vette |
Quote:
I have to disagree, a little. In 2004 I rode a 500cc Bullet round the Himalayas for 3000km. No problems except a kinked throttle cable and a puncture, both not particularly Enfield specific. This included a lot of off-pavement riding along with mud and snow. I found it very pleasurable. This 500cc bike from Delhi was a good bike, I'll admit. 2003 was less fun. The 350cc Bullet rented in Manali was a dog and allowed me to meet lots more fun and helpful Indians than I had hoped to. :( Sure, I'll assume a Jap (Made in India...) 125 might be less thirsty, but "safer"? The "danger" on Indian roads is about 50% your own riding ability and 50% the definite lack of ability of other road users. So, again, not bike specific. Chris |
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
|
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:22. |