Right, this might be my last resort...

Can anybody tell me if it is possible at the moment to buy an Enfield in India, register it in my name, get a carnet and ride it back to the Netherlands?

I'm Dutch and travelling (at the moment in Malaysia) and would like to go to India at the middle of March and ride a bike back home. I've been told that Visa for India, Pakistan and Iran are no problem for Dutch citizens (--is this true?--). But everything I've tried so far considering the registration and carnet has failed. Please inform me of any way to do this. I'm sort of running out of time to make arrangements so I'll have to make a fial go/no-go decision soon.

Thanks for your help!

Frank

Yes and yes

With difficulty!

War allowing! I'm in Delhi, trying to arrange exactly this trip with another English guy called Bernard. You may have seen our original discussion on the subject:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000270.html

I wouldn't be too confident about the visas, since they seem to change rapidly. We couldn't obtain Iran or Pakistan here in Delhi. I got Iran through an agency in London, Bernard through an agency in Tehran. We had to go to Kathmandu to get a Pakistan visa, but of course the Dutch may be viewed more kindly.

We are still pursuing the Nepal idea discussed in the post above (with slight modifications) and should know soon whether or not it's all going to come together. I'll email you off-list in a couple of days when I know more.

An alternative option is to be Norwegian! Oeyvind (who has also been posting here) was issued with a carnet for his Indian-bought, Indian-registered bike by the Norwegian Automobile Association at Christmas. Unfortunately they have not responded to our enquiries as to whether they will issue to non-Norwegians.

Good luck with your plans!

James

Hi James,

Thanks for your reply! I've certainly read your discussion with Bernard and I've asked the Dutch Automobile Association if they could arrange a carnet if I chose the "Nepal option".

But, you write that it is still possible to buy and register a bike in India and (with difficulty) to get a carnet? The question that pops to mind is of course: "How?". The Dutch association can't get me a carnet because as we know it seems illegal to register a bike in India for a foreigner, unless you have proof of residency (which I have not...).

I'll look into the visa situation for the Dutch...

How long will you remain in Delhi and when are you planning on starting the trip?

Thanks for your help (on- or off-list)!

Frank

Since there seem to be various people asking about this whole process at the moment, thought I'd keep you up to date on news.

Latest comes from Frank (hope you don't mind me mentioning this!) - he has had word from the Dutch ANWB confirming that the Norwegians can issue a carnet for him. This is for an Indian-bought, Indian-registered bike, so this is great news - until now we haven't known whether the Norwegian automobile association will issue to non-Norwegians.

Of course, confirmation of it being possible is a different matter from holding the carnet in your hand, but it's looking more promising than it has done for a while.

James

Prompted by a question in this month's e-zine, I'm posting an update to this thread, just for completeness.

Frank found, after much waiting and wringing of hands, that the Norwegians wouldn't issue him with a carnet. Or, more specifically, that the Dutch ANWB (who were investigating the Norwegians on his behalf) stopped communicating with him. Therefore I do no know of any automobile association that will issue a carnet for an Indian-bought, Indian-registered bike.

However, if you're willing to take the risk of being turned back, you could try the journey back to Europe without a carnet, as I am currently doing. So far made it as far as Turkey, which means I'm into territory where a carnet isn't required. More details on the financial and administrative pain this involved in the blog at
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/whyte/

As for registering a bike in your own name in India, this is not necessary if you're not going to take it out of India. If you do need it in your name, I can only give definite information about one dealer who can do this: Madaan Motors in Karol Bagh, Delhi. Of course, it's not officially permitted, but the resulting registration documents weren't questioned on exit from India. I was very surprised just now (having spent close to two months in their workshop!) that they have a flashy website:
http://www.madaanmotors.com/
Note that some people reckon that Arun Madaan is a crook, whereas others say he's a good man. I'd tend towards the latter view, and charitably maintain that my current serious bike problems aren't his fault! There may well be many other dealers in Delhi and elsewhere who can perform a similar service with respect to registration.

There is a thriving trade in second-hand Enfields, both between travellers and back to dealers. Some dealers operate a buy-back scheme, whereby they will undertake to buy the machine back at a specified price in the future - can work out much cheaper than renting, but naturally you have to beware of being screwed. One man who would never screw you (but makes you pay for the privilege) is Lalli Singh of Inder Motors, Karol Bagh.

Hope that's helpful for anyone thinking of taking this classic bike on a classic route, which has sadly become so much more difficult recently.