India, land of Scooters and Motorcycles

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.

Vancouver Motorcycle Show 2019 Tradex Abbotsford

The weather was so fine I could have motorcycled to Tradex Abbotsford, an hour’s drive out of Vancouver.  The Vancouver Motorcycle Show is a great event for all riders and wannabe riders.
Laura said, “I remember when we rode on the Harley here  years ago I was frozen when we arrived.” Many years there’s been snow and ice on the road making the trip on the bike out of the question. I’ve had my Harley Electroglide, which I rode across country and back  to Sturgis ,in storage at Trev Deely for the winter this year.  However  I”ve been enjoying the KTM 690 enduro which is lighter and handles better on the slippery roads in winter rains.
The Ford F350 truck,  feeling neglected since hunting season, was thankful for the drive. Gilbert could come along that way too.  It turned out to be the busiest show in years with trucks and cars backed up to the highway.
“Do you think the Seattle Motorcycle stunt riders were the draw this year?” Laura asked as we slowly moved along in the steadily moving line. There’s lots of parking at Tradex but the volume just has to get through the gates
“That probably has something to do it.  But I think the diabolical cost of gas taxation and vehicles has far more young people and women choosing motorcycles and scooters. Remember when we were in Italy and you commented on all the young women on scooters .” I said.
“The girls like the crotch rockets, too “ i said.
“They sound like bumble bees,” Laura said. “I’ve always like the rumble of the Harley.”
Motorcycling in America had once been for the fat old guys like me,  the stereotypical ‘bagger’  rider.  We’re still the Harley Davidson customers given the size of the bikes, the luxury cruisers and the prize tags associated with these high end machines. The HD Sportster Class has always been the attraction for the intro or  young rider. I liked when Bueill was designing the racers and the companies were linked .But now the girls are loving the 500 ccc and 800 cc Harley Davidson’s so suited to the city and surroundings.
"600 cc is all the bike you need even for the BC mountains," a lifelong motorcyclist friend told me years ago.  My brother Ron had ridden across Canada on a 150 cc back when the Japanese motorcycle invasion occurred at the same time as the British music invasion hit the west.  Yamaha and Honda bikes were all the rage with everyone wanting the big 250 cc’s.  I ‘ve loved the 250 cc’ motorcycles I’ve had and still think they’re the best off road size allowing you to take to the deer trails and go where no road goes.  The 600 and above makes a whole lot of sense when you want to take a passenger or some luggage.  I loved my Buell Blast 600 cc.  Suzuki’s 650 is the most popular in this range.  Kawasaki makes some nice bikes too.
My favourite bike was the Harley Davidson Roadster, one of Sporster class, 1200 cc , just like the WWII Harley and Triumph 1200 cc war bikes. I bought mine at Barnes.  That bike took Laura and me motorcycle camping all over BC and to round ups.  We road to Kamloops on the high way, did a hundred miles on logging roads to hot springs and ended up one time driving up to Alkali lakes for meetings, rodeo dances and sweat lodges. I loved camping near Powell river in the pup tent we took to put up beside the Harley,  calling Dad in Winnipeg on my cellphone with Laura beside me to have a chat while the rain was beating down on the tent outside.  Gilbert road on the back of my Electroglide to Sturges North where we camped in the pup tent and  loved hearing Burton Cummings in Merritt.
There’s a lot of truth to the saying that a man remembers his life by the vehicles he has . Women I know judge time by their children.   I bought my present  cruiser, 1600 cc Harley Davidson Electroglide to drive across the US and back thousands of km to attend the annual Sturges Motorocycle Ralley in North Dakota.
This years’ show was all about motorcycles.  Every shape and size.  Last year there’d  been a lot more quads.  The Slingshot three wheel car like a bat mobile though was all the rage.  I must admit I loved the Harley Fat Boy. What a beautiful bike.  The other one I truly loved was the new KTM 790 Adventure. I’ve got the 690 and love it but that extra hundred cc would be great on the highway. It’s heavier though so there’s a trade off. Last year the BMW and Triumph bikes stood out but this year the Ducatis were all the rage.  Aprilia bikes are becoming more popular too which isn’t surprising since they’re favourites in Europe.
I loved seeing the guys from the Christian Motorcycle Association and Gospel Riders. Both Laura and I loved meeting guys who had travelled around the world on their motorcycles.  Laura had read Jeremy Kroeker’s first motorcycle travel book and loved meeting him at the show.We got his latest book , Through Dust and Darkness, the stories of  his travels in the middle east.  I dream of riding my KTM down through South America liked my Turkish friends who rode their BMW’s to the southern tip and back.  They’re now having children in Germany but following their journey gave me a lot of joy that year. Right now I’m following Grace Macdonald’s Sidney to Paris journey on her KTM 690.  It’s an exciting fun read.  Vicarious enjoyment. Biker porn.
This year there was a lot of accessories as usual.
“It looks really good on you,” Laura said when I tried on a new leather vest.  When a beautiful girl says an article of clothing looks good on a fat old guy its a guaranteed sale.  I liked the neck closed protecting one from the wind compared to the standard v neck leather vests. The guy beside me getting one, said. “These are Vancouver Vests and those neck vests are  California weather .”  We laughed.
Laura and I had our standard hot dog and coffee at the show. We walked around and looking at the bikes and great people watching.    Then we were back with Gilbert.
On the way home we visited Victor  who showed us his continued work on changing his Sportster into a Trike to accomodate his hip injury. It’s an amazing skookum job.
Then it was back home for pizza night and TV.  Laura and I, a couple of wild bikers with Gilbert the biker dog, watched outlaw chases from the comfort of the couch. .