prexpressions

I am coming to India soon (hopefully by mid Oct-2008) to explore, learn and enjoy. Was originally intending to bring my trusty VFR750 but after laying it up in Dubai for 5 months it looks to have blown the ignition module (the full facts are at Honda VFR Club - Won't idle after 5 month layup and sounds awful )

So new idea is to fly to India and hire/buy a bike for my tour. I am considering being in India for 4-12 weeks (maybe longer )

Criteria:

1. Reliable/cheap to fix
2. At least as fast as any other non-bike vehicle on the road
3. Capacity to carry one 62kg person, plus 30kg of luggage (and maybe one 55kg passenger at a squeeze for a few days)
4. Budget: my idea is it will be cheaper to buy and sell then hire for 4+ weeks so am happy to buy new and sell later recovering hopefully at least 75% of the new cost. Say up to a cost of no- more than 50,000 INR over the 3 months (is that viable?)
5. Style: anything that is suited to the India roads
6. Comfortable
7. Any other criteria?


Advice: I would also like to know if there are any issues with a UK national buying and selling a bike in India, getting insurance and any other papers etc

Looking forward to your recommendations

paul

Sunny

Topic Approved

Criteria:

Most motorcycles in India are reliable and cheap, really. if you see the age old tech thy have got then its actually just a cylinder between two wheels. However, the king amongst them that would suffice as a tourer has to be either a Unicorn or a Karizma. The spare parts a little expensive, but then there is hardly ever which goes wrong with the bike.

If you discount the call centre cabs running amock on the Indian metropolitan roads and the schumachers driving the buses down south then the Karizma will easily take you home and let you overtake most vehicles with ease and without a lot of downshifting.


I am 70kg and I often have 15-20kgs loaded on my Karizma with a rear of 110 Duro, changed from a stock 100. The bike still touches 120+kmph on the speedo with relative élan. The torque (18.4 Nm) is also sufficient if nothing to dance about.

Your pillion will also thank you for the comfort lend by the long seat and decent suspension.

A new Karizma will cost you 78,000 on road. After three months and 15,000kms it will sell between 45-50k.

Have tried and test th Karizma for almost 100,000 kms now over two bikes.

Again, a long wheelbase, comfortable handlebars, digital display with time saves headache of figuring out the time now and then. The relatively generous wind protection can also be a plus.

7. Any other criteria?

Most probably you will not be able to purchase a new bike if you do not have
residency proof in India.

More readings:

* The Ideal Touring Bike

*Which Is The Best Bike For Touring ?

prexpressions

Thanks Sunny. I can find a pic and review of the Karizma ( 2004 Hero Honda Karizma specifications and pictures ) it seems fairly neat but quite slow at 0-100 kmh in 14 secs are you sure that is fast enough to be safe as one of the other threads mentions:

So I was wondering if there was a bigger bike. But also maybe the smaller common bike helps me merge with the crowd and enjoy less 'hassle'


can this be overcome in your 'lenient' country?

MG

Karizma effortlessly cruises at 100-110km/hr all day long.It's a tried and tested product.The negatives are non-tubeless tyres(Puncture is always a possibility) and also it's average road grip on off-road/wet conditionds.The rear stock tyres are of spec 100/90.You can easily overcome the problem by replacing it with 120/80 tubeless.The performance drop will be marginal/negligible.


I believe that you would like to have something more powerful but unless you are bringing your own vehicle it will be very difficult for you to get one in India.The bikes that are officially available are around 17-20bhp mark.Also these bikes being common can easily mingle with the crowd.Any big bike creates unnecessary attraction on highways.
In big bikes you have the choice to go for R1 or MT-01(Costs 12lakh).
Other than this premium fuel(Read above 91 octane) are not available outside major towns.

Unless you have some relative residing here you will have a hard time purchasing a new bike.Most of the foreign national who comes here go for rented bullets.

P.S:Other than Karizma you can also look for Pulsar 200.Is cheaper by Rs7000.Tried and tested,reliable and the spares are very cheap and easily available.Tyres are tubeless(F-90/90,R-120/80).

Read more here

Sunny

@paul: Th 27 horses might be referencing th Hyosung COmet GT250. Its a good bike but expensive, you can get it fixed except in metros, hard to available spares.

The Karizma (or ZMA) will get you anywhere you want in India effortlessly. On crowded highways you will get ahead of all the vehicles. There will be some irritant drivers which will only make your life worse if you have bigger mor powerful bike. Th ZMA will keep you at sane speeds which cannot be termed as slow on Indian roads except some places like the Golden Quadilateral which can become am inexorable stretch of tarmac on a 17bhp machine, BUT this machine will get you safe and sound and you can maneuver it quite effortlessly.

need4torque

@paul
Hello! Warm welcome to India. As sunny and mg have pointed there is a dearth of powerful bikes in our country.
The Karizma is the best and most reliable option.
Or if you can live with it, get a Bullet 500Lb, adequate power, loads of chrome and torque, ultra stable! and heavy and costly i might add!
Royal Enfield - India - Motorcycles - Bullet Machismo 500
And yeah, its kinda like ol' school Brit bikes!

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Vicky2211

if it has to be a indian bike i would prefer the Karizma or a Bullet ...
Both are good to ride... it gives you comfort & the pleasure of riding on indian roads & a eye turner too...

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prexpressions

I agree, thanks to everyones help, that it is between those two bikes. If it was a purely rational logic decision then the Karizma wins but ridiing an old English bike appeals - even though I took one for a ride in the UK thought 'wow is this slow' but it thumped along quite happily.

I am a good mechanic so not too worried about fixing a bullet - assuming I have the tools - though i have read some awful comments about their quality control. I also know there is more of a network of companies setup to sell/hire bullets to foreigners.

I do love Honda's and have a lot of respect for them.

It would be ace to meet fellow xbhp guys as I tour around but if I get a Bullet will you still want to ride with me?!

Sunny

@paul: We do not discriminate in any way. specially based on which bike one rides or owns. I can understand the charm of a Bullet and we all will definitely love to ride with you.

2write

I would also take a pick between Karizma and cast iron Bullet.

But really an all India tour and all the conditions laid down - one can also do it on a Splendor and recover all costs plus mileage Also it would make the News as it would be considered an extraordinary thing - even though I believe its not extraordinary - Splendor can do it and friends have seen people go to top of hills with pillion on 100cc bikes.

I am not joking - if you consider the lack of corporate sponsorship - and all the needs mentioned in the first post - then Splendor fits the bill unless you want to be doing a constant 100 KMPH.

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