My wife and I are planning on flying out to India this autumn and hiring Royal Enfields to tour on for 2 or 3 weeks.
There seem to be plenty of places where we can hire bikes from but we do have some questions as we have never been outside Europe before.
Is it better to organize the bike hire over the internet before we leave or would it be better to wait until we get there and shop around?
I take it we have to apply for Visa's. How long do these normally take to come through. Can these be applied for in person or do we have to send our passports away and lose them for a while?
Do we need to have arranged accomodation in India before we apply for Visa's or will they accept we are touring and will stay at hotels en-route.
What innoculations should we have and how long are these valid for?
Has anyone done this kind of fly/ride before and if so we would be very pleased to read your experiences.

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If you think you are too small to make a difference you have never spent the night with a mosquito.

Hi,
Your visa should just take one day. I got mine the other day at the consulate in Edinburgh. Dropped it off in the morning, picked it up after 4pm same afternoon. Valid for 6 months.
You need to give a contact address in India. However, just look up the name of a hotel in your guidebook in one of the places you intend to visit and give that as the address. Either that or just make one up, they don't seem to check.
Re: Injections. Your GP will reccomend the right ones. I'd go and see him at least a month before your trip. You may need Anti-Malarial tablets too.
Enfields: Enfields rock, but are unreliable. I don't know wether they are supplied with rentals but it might be worth taking a small toolkit with you. An adjustable spanner (enfields are a weird mixture of metric/imperial/whitworth!) with a wide reach (those back left side wheel nuts are huge!), a couple of screwdrivers, leatherman, some 20 amp fuses (old style glass tube type)and wire, tape etc. patch kit and levers etc. will all help.
If you're interested I could think more and go into more detail about this. Although you'll probably be able to find an enfield mechanic on every corner!
Have fun!
Matt
PS- Enfields have a bit of a tendency to shake themselves to bits, always a good idea to check vital bolts each morning. Tappets loosen regularly on some too, but I've never had a problem with this on mine.

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www.scotlandnepal.blogspot.com

[This message has been edited by Matt Cartney (edited 06 February 2006).]

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http://adventure-writing.blogspot.com

http://scotlandnepal.blogspot.com/

*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

Many thanks for your comments Matt. It looks as though the visa application may not be as long a process as we feared.
I have owned a couple of UK Enfields in the past so I'm not expecting anything much more modern than those. I think my wife might find one a bit different to the Harley she's used to though.
Good point about taking our own tools though. I guess that'll give the security staff at the airport something to puzzle over.
Just had a browse of you web site. I'm very envious of the trip you are doing and hopefully we will do something similiar within the next few years. Just about got our youngest started at uni and we'll soon be free to plan our longer trips. Good luck with your journey. I'll keep an eye on your site with interest to follow your progress.
Paul

__________________
If you think you are too small to make a difference you have never spent the night with a mosquito.

Hi Harleyrider,
So you know the score with Bullets then! Sounds like we may be in India around the same time, send me an email when you know where & when you're gonna be, if you fancy meeting up for a and curry! (Yeah, I know, it's like saying 'We're gonna be in Europe at the same time' but you never know, our paths may cross!)
Matt

__________________
http://adventure-writing.blogspot.com

http://scotlandnepal.blogspot.com/

*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

Hello Matt,
Great to Find another fan of Enfields on the otherside of the world !
I too ride one on smallish rides in and around town:-)
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Matt Cartney:
[B]Hi,
Enfields: Enfields rock, but are unreliable. I don't know wether they are supplied with rentals but it might be worth taking a small toolkit with you.

Regarding Buying the Enfield , there are enfield showrooms in almost every major city in India, infact they are there even in some smaller towns these days. There are many agents who can sell an enfield with a guaranteed buy back offer! ==> So no hassles when you plan to leave back.

If you both are in India> in Bombay / Pune PLease contact me in advance , You can stay at my place (IF you find it OK:-) . I can introduce / help you out with local stuff here, Enfield clubs / mechanics etc.
Bon Voyage!
Red Bull

------------------
Ride far, ride safe , ride often,,,...
http://theroyalenfieldbullet.blogspot.com/
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hari_iyer_s/my_photos

__________________
Red Bull
Ride safe, ride far, ride often,,,...
http://theroyalenfieldbullet.blogspot.com/
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hari_iyer_s/my_photos

seeing as you are in derby, why not have a day out in birmingham....Why ...well there is an indian consulate there....drop your passport off early do some shopping or sight seeing in town then pick up your visa at 3pm dead easy but get there early to avoid too much queing. Good luck with your enfields!%^&*....

Hi Redbull,
If I get to your neck of the woods I'll look you up. (I'll be on a Yamaha though, hope this is OK! )
Matt

__________________
http://adventure-writing.blogspot.com

http://scotlandnepal.blogspot.com/

*Disclaimer* - I am not saying my bike is better than your bike. I am not saying my way is better than your way. I am not mocking your religion/politics/other belief system. When reading my post imagine me sitting behind a frothing pint of ale, smiling and offering you a bag of peanuts. This is the sentiment in which my post is made. Please accept it as such!

Hi Red Bull
Thank you for your posting. You may well hear from us again as it looks like Bombay is the obvious destination for flights from the UK and the west coast is where we are hoping to go. We are looking to hire bikes rather than buy though. I think for a trip of less than 3 weeks it would be simpler and more cost effective than buying and reselling.
Paul

__________________
If you think you are too small to make a difference you have never spent the night with a mosquito.

Where are you starting your trip? I bought my Enfield in Katmandu from a traveller and at the end of my trip I had a shop owned by Mukesh in Karol Bagh (spelling???) totally over haul it and arrange for the shipping back to the USA.

He's a fairly straight shooter and he rents, buys and sells. If you're going for less than a month you might just want to rent. When I was in Delhi rent was running about $50 a month, my guess it's gone up a bit.

Enfield has a tool kit you can buy which has everything you need for less than $5.
Worth buying! Great momento to take home too.

I would ad a chain to the list, they're about $8. I lost two... Matt is right on about tightening down regularly!

I would also recommend having a gas filter with a lock added to the bike, shouldn't cost more than a few dollars. The gas filter--benefits obvious-- and the lock will prevent cheeky opportunists from pinching your gas.

Also recommended one of those dial combination locks to lock the fork. You can buy locks no problem in India but not so much the combination ones, it's nice to eliminate one key!

Riding in India (I've done it twice, one year each) is definitely the high light of my life! You will have a blast. Enfields are like a cross between a horse, a mountain bike and a tank. You will be blown away by what you can get away with and where you can bring it.

And, don't worry about break downs or repairs. When I started, I knew nothing about the bike. I would break down in some rural area, not a house or hamlet in sight. Out of no where a man or two would appear who were either mechanics or knew where the mechanic lived.

The longest I was ever set back was 2 hours. And, usually those break downs ended up being a wonderful opportunity to meet people and have a mini adventure.

I would also recommend bringing your own helmet. I didn't the first trip. I only wore one on the highways. In India you want eyes in the back of your head. I found that muffling out the sound and even the minor limitation of my vision riding with a helmet, driving locally was the cause of near misses.

When you ride in India, you want all your senses to be hightened and on. It is a whole body experience. Whenever I arrived at my destination I felt like I had cheated death once again. It's crazy but it's so much fun!

I must warn you, after you've ridden in India riding back at home will be quite dull! Actually, really dull. I missed riding for entire days on dirt roads that most people wouldn't want to mountain bike on... Sigh...

Where are you going???

Feel free to email me if you want more info!

Catherine

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Yoga Hoolagan On an Enfield

HI Matt,
Would be great to be your host!!
This post is turning out interesting!!
Last Month Linda Bick, a 60 year old lady on a Suzuki 650, rode through town , she was with us for a week or two. Was fun!!
And Don't bother about the bike as long as you ride You are welcome!
But please note that the accomodation would be just a mattress in our flat and you would have to share with us.(Hope you don't mind this:-)
I can of course get you some good food and the regular info about bike stuff around here!

Where are you Now?
if you need more info mail me at haribombay(at)gmail.com


[This message has been edited by Red Bull (edited 10 February 2006).]

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Red Bull
Ride safe, ride far, ride often,,,...
http://theroyalenfieldbullet.blogspot.com/
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hari_iyer_s/my_photos

Hello Harley Rider,
Wish you a Warm Welcome 2 India. I'll see what best I can do. I don't know of any Enfield rental companies in Mumbai as yet though. Have you got any quotes / references from the shops. Probably I'll ask my friends / contacts in Bombay(Mumbai) to find out more about the same.

I work in Pune (180 Kms from Bombay), I am in Bombay during the weekends. I will try to find out more on the bike rental in Mumbai.
Have you contacted the Mumbai Bike clubs?
http://www.inddiethumpers.com/
http://www.60kph.com

send me a mail if you need more info, I'll see what best I can do. When do you plan to be here?
regards,
Red Bull
-----------------
Ride far, ride safe , ride often,,,...
http://theroyalenfieldbullet.blogspot.com/
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hari_iyer_s/my_photos

[This message has been edited by Red Bull (edited 10 February 2006).]

__________________
Red Bull
Ride safe, ride far, ride often,,,...
http://theroyalenfieldbullet.blogspot.com/
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/hari_iyer_s/my_photos

Thank you all for your replies.
Hobnob. A day out in Birmingham this summer is on the cards.
Cat. Your enthusiastic comments have served only to increase our enthusiasm. I think the plan at the moment is to start from Bombay and ride down towards Goa. We were originally hoping to tour Kerala, but I don't want to commit ourselves to doing too much. The idea is to enjoy a holiday using the bike as transport and experience India and its people, not tire ourselves out with an over ambitious schedule.
Red Bull. You will hear from us again. We are looking at booking flights arriving mid October and returning early November.
Matt. I really wish we were setting off on an adventure similiar to yours. Here's wishing you all the very best if you get chance to read this before you leave.
Paul and Vanessa

__________________
If you think you are too small to make a difference you have never spent the night with a mosquito.