hallo,

does anyone know if buying a decent light honda in india is easy or not so. just want something under 100cc and honda to ride for three to four months, any advice very welcome. leaving in april, I hope.

JG

Not sure you can legally "buy" a bike, as a foreigner - local address (place owned/rented by you for some time) is necessary to register the bike. However, that should not stop anyone from buying a bike on your behalf and "lending" the same to you for whatever period.

All bikes, as sold from the showroom will be registered, and have proper insurance, which will cover ANY rider with a valid driving licence.

If you have no problem with the heat , April/May is fine - if you don't like 40+ in the shade, think again. Doing things differently is your personal choice, but the tiddler you want to buy WILL be really unsuitable for touring - slow, poor luggage capacity and not the most comfy of suspensions. 150 cc, at least, would be better. But then, having done that before I guess you are going into it with your eyes wide open.

I bought a 150cc last year in Pune and toured the south (TVS Fiero F2). It was a most reliable and economical bike, if not the most comfortable. Buying process is not much of a problem, just enquire in the state where you are buying it what paperwork is needed, and get yourself some local address, maybe throught the hotel you are staying at. You can't buy new though. I would recommend also to buy at least a 150cc bike. Hondas are also good, the fastest in the class is the Bajaj Pulsar 180cc. Roads are getting better in India and it is safer to keep up with traffic than being overtaken.

Honda has a 125cc as well as a 150cc offering in India.
In delhi, if u wish to buy/rent the same, shoot a mail to bunnypunia@gmail.com for the same.

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Aight,
Sure you could pick up a 100/115/125/150/180cc japanese bike in india. All the major brands are here honda/suzuki/kawi/yamaha. But a much better option would be the enfield bullet. Now i know most of you are going.. "yah like that's a unique experience" sure quite a few people have done it. But more importantly done it and enjoyed it. So if your planning on touring and not commuting then the Enfield would be the best bet.
Cheers.

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\"Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow\"

Yes, one could buy a bullet too.

But the two SS1000 attempts that have been successfully carried out in India were done on a Karizma (Hero Honda) and a Pulsar 180 (Bajaj). In addition, one was attempted recently on a 150cc Honda unicorn (failed by less than 1 hour).

The latter two could have easily chosen to do it on bullets. The guy who did it on the 180cc machine is a motoring journo, and had access to any Indian bike. The guy who attempted it on an Unicorn was actually owns a bullet (which has been extensively used for touring), but chose to do this more demanding trip on something which he felt gave him a better chance.

1600+ km in 24 hrs is no "commute".

The bike chosen has to be comfortable and trouble free. And quick (effective cruising speed for all three is better than a bullet), with far better suspensions (as compared to the new gas shock equipped bullets). So, why would people who are into extreme riding choose other bikes, in spite of having access to bullets?

Granted, this isn't your average tour. But even a 100 cc bike can do a 600 km commute in a day. Sure, a bullet will be more comfortable. But not as comfortable as the above three, and certainly not as trouble free.

The days when the bullet was the only option for tourers in India are long gone. If the "package" the bullet offers you is what you want, then go for it - but if you plan to ride fast and far in a trouble free manner as opposed to "commute" from city A to city B 500 km away, suggest you look elsewhere.

Now how about equalling the record set on another 500cc single back in 1961,

2400+ miles in 24 hours

see here
1961recordline
and here
Velocette - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That was in france.
On a velocette, not an enfield.
Race prepared.
With multiple riders.
On a track designed for speed.

Very good comparison!

Against a near stock 200 odd cc bike on public roads (with only one rider) in India.

Maybe you could show us how it can be done, in India, on your velocette, by yourself, and yes, we'll be thrilled even if you average only 130kph (as opposed to 175kph)

The Jap bikes are still around. What a shame.

Maybe people prefer to spend their biking holidays seeing new places, not doing bike maintainance.

It is easy to buy a bike in India. Just find one used and offer some cash. No paperwork, nothing. The police do not hassle to tourists riding around on Enfields. OTH, it is easier to sell the bike again if you have paperwork. Not many Indians citizens will buy it w/o perfect papers, only tourists and dealers that will lowball you hard.

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India Himal, 3mo,2x; Kazak/Krygyz/Tajik, 3 mo; Kashi-Lhasa, China 219! 6 wk; Nepal, 4 days/trekked 55; Santiago-Ushuia-Cusco, 7 mo; Peru, 3 mo; Chile-Medellin 3 mo; Medillin-Arica, 3 mo

The way I read your post was the moonlight shone out of teh jap bikes exhaust pipes and old singles stood no chance at surviving something arduous. GHowever, just to reply to a few of your points.

Yes, and perhaps a relaxed ride on slow revving single might be more pleasant than riding a chainsaw

Having said that, I enjoyed riding my tiger cub back in teh sixtiees, but in reality its comfort zone was 45-50, but at that it would go all day.

I bought an enfield in India in October 2006 and travelled extensively in south india. It is fairly straight forward once you have a local address. If anyone needs help, pls let me know. I should be back in India by the first week of April and am planning to go to Ladakh/Leh in July.

Rao Aisola
646-206-5755 US
09848759964 India

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Back in the US - aisolaz3@hotmail.com