Here in India I’ve been amazed at the number and variety of motorcycles. The most common seem to be Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha. The Royal Enfield is also very popular. It’s a more substantial machine but from my own recollections a rougher ride. Still it’s a great little machine.
Honda Hero, a 125 cc bike was the most common motorcycle we saw in Delhi. The traffic is so bizarre with constant horn honking and jumping from lane to lane when not playing chicken with buses that most bikes are in the under 200 cc variety. There simply were no stretches of road where one could get up to 60 or 80 cc. Even on the country road to Agra, in the car, we travelled at most at 90 km an hour.
Most of the limitation is the road maintenance. India is not Germany. If I think of American roads as first world and Canadian roads as second world, India is definitely barely third world. I’d not ride my Harley in Delli but thought in day time I’d do well on my on road off road KTM enduro. At night the roads become a kind of nightmare of lights and horns, the kind of place Nicholas Cage, as hell biker, would fit right into. The Indian drivers seem quite at home here. They’re definitely as crazy as the motorcyclists of Rome.
Here in Keralla the roads are way more peaceful and I’ve actually seen several 1200 cc motorcyles. There are Triumphs and Harleys that seem to manage quite well. Lots of KTM Dukes too.
There seems to be a local manufacturer of scooters, all of which are in the 75 to 250 cc range. Lots of Suzukis but I didn’t recognise the makes of most.
When I stopped at Harley Davidson to buy a tshirt I learned that there are indeed tens of thousands of Harley drivers in India and thousands show up for an annual Sturges type event they have here. The Harley is definitely a luxury motorcycle here. The terrific store is in the neighbourhood of the Porsche and Mercedes car dealerships
In Cambodia I saw a family of 5 riding on a motorcycle but so far here I’ve only seen a family of four. The driver is often wearing a helmut but rarely are the passengers. When I had my Russian Ural Side Car Motorcycle I brought home a futon mattress in the side car. Here I’ve seen a fellow carrying a mattress on the back of his motorcycle. Just like in Cambodia they use the motorcycle to carry everything so there’s stacks of wood, large water bottles, microwaves and tvs. Some are strapped on but usually it’s the job of the guy on the back to hold onto some awkward huge thing while the guy on the front tries to drive in the maniac traffic.
The girls sit side saddle. Not all for modesty. Laura figures it's the sari’s. In Italy the women rode themselves in high heels and opera dresses but here the girls that are driving themselves, a common phenomena, are more practically dressed with sensible shoes. In Cambodia the standard footwear was flip flops and that’s just what everyone wore.
Personally I’m a full set of leathers, helmut and boots biker. In the heat this would be impractical.
(I loved my first bicycle and my Dad running along beside me till I could master two wheels on my own. My brother, Ron bought a Yamaha 125 cc motorcycle and took me for my first motorcycle ride on the back as a teen. I bicycled across Europe on a Raleigh beside the beautiful and adventurous Baiba. Then with intrepid Maureen I rented motorscooters in Hawai and began the love affair with powered two wheels. After crashing a Norton 750 I stopped motorcycling for a decade till older, more mature and sober I fell in love with again with scooters, the Aprillia 50 cc. and the incredible 50 cc Honda Ruckus.
My friend Laura had ridden motorcycles as a teen and helped me get my motorcycle license, riding behind me as I drove my first Buell Blast 600 cc bike which I eventually passed my motorcycle license with. I loved that motorcycle and rode all over British Columbia on it. Sometimes Laura rode on the back and I decided I really did need a bigger bike. I graduated to the Harley Davidson 1200 cc Roadster. It was great for the city and now with Laura on the back we did the most amazing camping trips around the province.
Planning to ride to Sturges, a 5000 KM round trip journey, from the Pacific Coast to South Dakota, I graduated to the motorcycle I have and love, the Harley Davidson 1600 cc Electroglide, Harley greatest American freeway machine. I did the ride of a life time to Sturges South Dakota seeing the Doobie Brothers, Kid Rock and Zee Top along with thousands of other HOGs. I still love and ride that bike but have now another enduro, the KTM 690. It was preceded for off road use with the amazing Honda 230 and the on road off road, Honda 250. I ride the enduro’s year round while putting my big Harley to rest for winter months when the sleet and snow make the Canadians roads too trecherous. )
The lovely girl at the Harley shop told me that they’ve launched the Electric Harley in India and that the Harley Street 750 is very popular.
I love motorcycling. My friend Dave who rides a red Harley Heritage Classic calls motorcycling “wind therapy’. It certainly clears my mind riding in the country on the highway. Here I expect driving motorized two wheel bikes raises the IQ with all the quick life saving decisions the drivers make constantly. When I return from a ride I always feel that God loves me since I’ve survived the fools on the road. The drivers here like in Rome are all generally better drivers than we have in Vancouver where traffick simply doesn’t flow either because of the drugs or the insurance fraud, or the number of elderly drivers with alzheimers or the young drivers overdosing on fentanyl. What’s amazing is the distracted drivers riding their motorcycle with one hand while answering their cell phones. Given the need to clutch and brake this is not an easy task.
There are cows that lie down in the middle of the road.Monkeys run across the street or hang from signs. Dogs walk right through the traffic with uncanny skill. I’ve crossed the roads a couple of times, realizing that if I stop moving I’m squished. Traffic is an amazing world of it’s own here. Given the difficulty I had walking across the road I’ve resisted renting a motorcycle or scooter. This alone is evidence maturity is possible for anyone, even old Harley drivers.
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