Topic Moved and Approved.

Well, Tattos are more famous in the south India ... Mostly with Royal Enfields Groups.

I don't think Bikers need to be tattoed... but this just my subjective opinion. Yeah, it is a culture. More & more people adopt biking as a recreational activity ...

Can't say about Music. It's one's own preference ...

yeah, it's okay. You can comfortably ask any question ...

I'm sure that in your on-going quest to know more about the Indian biking culture, you'll come across some bizarre ways in which Indians express themselves as bikers..

When you look at the Indian biking scene, you'll have to look at an 'indian' biker with great detail.. as this caters to a very wide spectrum.. ranging from people who just go bling-bling to people who try to ape the west in every way possible.

At one extreme you'll find some not so discerning people who let their motorcycle speak their attitude. Right from ornamental lighting to multiple exhausts for a poor 100-cc bike. The creativity in this department among south-asian countries is sky high. You'll see stickers of all shapes and colours, and messages that'll crack you up.

At the other extreme, you might find 'pretend' bikers who buy serious bikes, try out serious gear, have tattoos and urban clothing to match and will listen to heavy metal (for the coolness factor) and pretend to be hardcore bikers in their attempt to fake the western motorcycle culture.

In between these two extremes, you'll find multiple categories of people with varied shades, hues, cultural variations and interests,... everyone from the average indian who commutes to work everyday, for whom the motorcycle is an essential component of day-to-day life, ..to the youth culture.. to the serious motorcyclist who always looking to do something more than what he/she did earlier.. to a less known discerning group of professionals in the field of motorcycles (tuners, racers, restorers & collectors etc) for whom their achievements, success and glory define their way of life.

Happy exploration..

I did a short reply on your intro thread. As I was saying, "biking culture" in India hovers between non-existent and negligible and moving northwards but not exponentially. The process is slow to make you drowsy. But a few of us here make a lot of noise about biking culture. There are some of us who are into serious touring with 13 Bhp engines. There are others who religiously participate in Raid de Himalaya. But their numbers are abysmally low.

Manufacturers obviously want to hear the cash registers ringing most of the time. So they make their fast buck by making multiple variants of the same engine rehashed with newer glitzy looking stickers and better polished plastics promising that you can make it from here to the moon and back with just petrol fumes.

As far as performance biking scene goes, there are only 2 tracks open to the public in a country with 1.3 billion people and nearly twice the size of entire Europe. And both tracks are in the South. That itself will speak volumes of the kind of attitude divide there is in the country.

Tattoos is not common here amongst bikers. Actually, most of the time, there are not too many corporal manifestations of a biker in this country. You cannot recognise a biker from a distance away from his steed. And if you see a guy riding a Zma (short for Karizma), apparently the most trusted touring-performance-dirt all incorporated into one bike, delivering a 17Bhp at the crank, you CANNOT safely assume that that dude is part of the biking culture. But you cannot dismiss him either. To recognize a biker here, you have to talk to him and gauge his attitude... his inclinations... his priorities... there are no exterior tell-tale signs.

And to give you an example of what manufacturers dish out to us... Honda converted their crf223 to what they, and now we, call the Karizma and this is marketed as the premium sports motorcycle in the country.

This is just a tiny introduction to what happens in this country. You will learn a lot as you go along.

No, there are no Screaming eagle tattoos, nor will you see too many customised HDs. Talking about customisation, that is another story that we will soon talk about I am sure.

Thanks Samarth, Hydro & Ken.....

Your info's very helpful. I need your perspectives and please keep them coming. The biker culture here is so evolved and it's easy to tell at a glance what section of biking people fall into by the way they dress.

Similarly we have guys here who act the part, be they sportsbike riders or on custom machines who couldn't ride round the block as it were, they just like to look 'fast', 'mean' or 'cool'. LOL. We have folk who just go ride and we have lifestyle bikers who almost reject society's norms to live their "free" way of life. The fact that we have a 50 to 60 year old culture makes biking all the more interesting. The main thing is, in my mind... that they ride... no matter what it is.

Thanks again for your time and in anticipation of future posts.

Well Olias ,

yes from what i see in other biking forums internationally, there are distinct grouping in the west , supersports , cruisers , and adventure riders etc etc.

ill inform of you of one organised culture that we are trying to boost, which is sensible safe biking with promotion of skills, information & other discussions. that is on Xbhp.

the thing is biking here is very disorganised. neither we have any motorcycle that is actually customised to the neeed. most of the bikes you'll see are sold on the basis of these factors

- Kmpl figures (not efficiency actually) , a bike is first here evaluated by this magical number. higher it is better it can sell
- Reliability and cheap spares - yes so that it further is less on the pocket
- Stickering and Cosmetics , a bike necessarily sells on its looks as well.

from what Ken Sir has written, the karizma is a "high perfomance bike" here with the 17hp engine output. you cal tell how much choice we actually have here.

I am prefferably a tourer than a drag racer or a stunter. but basically i cant find a bike that is tailor made for just touring. i just had to pick one up from the offerings here and select the best that would be the nearest to a good touring bike.

here's what i mean

the following four bikes are essentially same bikes , repackaged in different looks, that's it. those are the choices we get here



THe hero honda CBZ-xtreme




The Hero Honda Achiever


The Honda Unicorn



all the bikes above are derived essentially from the Honda unicorn's 13hp 150cc single cyl engine. though the CBZ-xtreme and Hunk are 14.4 hp its just a cam adjustment to make the ignition timings slightly changed for that added hp figures.

out of the four above i chose the cbz-xtreme cause it suited me.


also another criteria i must add. motorcycling is essentially the common man's commute vehicle here rather than a lifestyle statement. and they are the majority of the sales.

there arent any special models introduced for us "lifestyle bikers" since we are hardly even 1% of the total masses.

ill post some more points and you could post more about what exactly you want to find !

Cheers
Sudeep

Great post there Xenologik. You actually took the pains of posting the pictures and giving the "performance" differences. I totally agree on this point. This is what biking is all about here.

and the Indian economy also plays a major role.
every other person owns a bike here. these, called 'commuters' are the ones that are sold the most. people use them because they are handy and cheaper. and most wouldnt even known what cc or bhp is.

biking here is more of a daily, cheap, commuting option than a passion. except for some communities/people like xBhp ofcourse.

Thank you Ken sir !

as i said here are more details as far as i can help
Biking in India

: Common Observations

- Bikes are for the poor and cars for the rich. i do not know how many would disagree to this but here's the general "feedback" i get from my batchmates in college when we talk about bikes.

- A bike is a bike and a car is a car. that's fine. but what they find hard to swallow is that an R1 costs more than the base model of Tata's 4x4 Safari DICOR.

a bike cant cost more than a car !

im sure many of the SBK riders on this forum in India must have experienced sneers and being labelled mad for buying a bike that costs more than the so called premium cars like "toyota corolla, honda civic , city etc etc"


Observations : Research and Development

Olias unlike in your country where you folks expect technical upgrades in the next variant of your bike (such as ABS, better suspension, aerodynamics, braking, throttle response)

what we get here is. Newer looks

I am NOT PARTICULARLY picking on HONDA for the sake of the post, this is the general truth for almost all the bikes we get here
Honda Unicorn first model with spoke wheels

This is the first model of the Unicorn when it was introduced in India. even this spoke wheel variant has seen 2-3 upgrades in form of colour schemes and stickering.

Honda Unicorn with mag wheels


so as to follow the current market trends for liking bikes with alloy wheels, the unicorn was finally brought out with the mag wheels. and with a chromed front mask.

Honda Unicorn Limited GP edition

This GP edition is JUST and JUST a repaint and stickering scheme and they sold it as a LIMITED edition



Observations : Modifications and After Market addons

and thus arrives my favourite part of the post

well you people in UK have aftermarket parts manufactured by good and age old factories like (Ohlins, Greddy, Brembo) etc etc , you want better brakes ? you got it ! you want extreme suspensions ? you got it. You want custom made exhausts and engine head modifications ? you got it.

and we have :-
Open tin cans with cheap metal gause for exhaust systems:-\

Oversized tyres for the macho looks !

white headlight bulbs so as to look killer on the streets (this i do not mean HID kits, simple plain white bulbs which are poor in lighting)

cheap chinese duplicate spare parts (instead of perfomance gain , we lose it) flooding the market.

modifications :

well most of us can't really buy an R1 , really. so here's the next best thing to have next to an Original R1 is.............

a Bajaj Pulsar


Modified to look like an R1

PulsaR1



even though the image is small, its clearly seen that the "deltabox frame" is PLASTIC, the bike is OUT of PROPORTION. the overly huge front mudguard simply makes the tyre look as if its a bicycle tyre....
Observations : Performance Options

You may have engine options, ABS, ceramic disc options, super soft compound tyre as options. we get

- Electric start ADD-ON
- Disc Brakes instead of Drum Brakes upfront
-Alloy Wheels

although THIS situation has improved a tad bit since at least Fuel Injected systems are coming in on bikes such as Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi, TVS Apache RTR Fi, Yamaha R15

which also have Disc brakes in the rear wheel .


Observations : Needs and Ignorance

unfortunately Olias , what you see on this forum isnt at all the entire picture, not even 10x10 pixels of a 1024x768 image. We here at least know our bikes well, and to deal with the problems that do arise while using a motorcycle.

People here do not expect anything technical / performance wise from the manufacturers


this is the best i can explain,
ill split the Indian people in some categories as PER their needs

Working Masses

these people are primarily the main section of the Indian bike market. they essentially are looking for a good commuting bike with very decent kmpl figures and easy riding in city conditions.

this means
- the bike has to be geared properly for city use. no tall gearing and should have plenty of low end torque.
- It has to be fuel efficient bike.
- the costs of maintainance should be low
- the bike should last quite some years (not as a vintage rare bike which collectors maintain, but as a working daily use bike)

College Youth and other youngsters

well these bunch of people look for a bike with somewhat sportier characteristics. would prefer good 0-60 kmph figures, sporty styling (sharp edges, good colours), the bikes are usually trashed and bashed and crashed
but they are on a tight budget so they mostly cant go for a very thirsty bike. prefer the line between efficiency and power.

Enthusiasts
the rare bunch of people who buy the bikes they see the most useful to their needs and do customization on it. these people are rare, mark it. they do not do shitty mods and cosmetic craps on their bikes. they are more into track racing and well trash their bikes in no time. they may also be the part of the group below.

Bikers
and again a rare group here.
this group consists of people who are on forums like xbhp. we just don't consider our bikes are some motorised two wheeled machine to move / trash around, but we try to improve ourselves by helping each other out; to improve skills, technical knowledge etc etc. we try to understand the rules and the safety aspect of biking as well. im not being boastful, but that is the sole motive of me being here on this forum :- to be a better biker for tomorrow.

Poseurs (a group common with UK i think )
hehe. well they are sort of common :P mostly youth
they indulge in mindless and dangerous riding, without caring a hoooot for the other on the road. they call themselves GREAT bikers and will try to perform a stunt where the opposite sex is grouped , or will try to challenge you for a signal to signal drag in heavy traffic.

the rare poseurs
they also may be aware of superbikes (basically DHOOM bikes ) but they cant buy one. but they want those uffoh looks so they go modding their indian bikes with aftermarket fiberglass bodyshells and cheap alloys to make it look like a superbike. and most of them go horribly wrong (please refer the modified pulsaR1 ) in doing what they were trying to do. poor souls.



Ignorance.

before you think that the masses are ignorant to still go for such "bikes" please read on.

now the indian mentality is "if it aint broke, why fix it ? " and thus continues here in this land decade old engines with NEW REFRESHED stickers+ colours. efficiency hasn't really shot up. people are happy if the bike has a clear type headlamp reflector and has a LCD odo. they are also happy if the bike gives 60kmpl +. and they want a GOOD resale value of the bike when they finally sell it.

we primarily still look for cheap bikes. seriously. even I am not in a financial condition to buy an R6 even. I want a bike within my budget of say $2000-3000. and this is a HIGH budget for a bike according to indian standards.

although the difference here is.

I am aware of technology that can make a cheap small displacement bike better. the best example i can give is the yamaha R15. IT is different from the other premium indian bikes. its a 150cc mill (vixion in indonesia) which isnt too far away in performance from the pulsars or the apaches here. but it has that refinement that set it apart.

i am not speaking of quality control here, that is a different issue.

i booked the R15 because i felt that it was a class apart bike, and it did feel as if it had some engineering work done on it rather than a resticker and repaint job. this bike doesnt vibe , has better much engineering aspects. and is performance oriented, and has an F.I system to give a very decent 40+ kmpl for the power it has.

however
most of the masses are not aware of technology , nor they demand it. upgrading a bike will require R&D , which is eventually a LOSS for the Indian bike companies. why do you think most of the bike companies are still in PROFIT despite the recession ? its because they never HAD R&D costs to cover up !. they are simply selling old old bikes with just adhering to the NEW EMISSION norms. that's it.

Good research work there again Xeno! Couldn't have penned it better or agreed more with you.

ill post some more points and you could post more about what exactly you want to find !

Cheers
Sudeep[/quote]

Thanks Sudeep. Great info and thanks for taking the time to do such a large post. Appreciated.

To Xenologik!!! Wow... A great insight dude. Nice one.

Basically, what exactly is it that I want to find?

As much as possible. I'm trying not to approach my study with pre-conceived ideas of what Indian biking culture is or isn't as the case might be. The fact that I don't know much about it is a BIG bonus. That means that I'm open to all information and ideas.
These are things that I THINK might happen (below) and if I were to come to India in 10 years time I might be right and I might be wrong.

I'm a student now but for twenty years I was in the bike trade in the UK and I saw how a market developed/evolved/changed (in the UK) over that period. Differing political, social, economic and cultural factors shifted over that time frame which affected the way bikers lived their life and they (mainstream bikers) became 'accepted' by wider society by the promotion of rider training, very restrictive learner laws and by concerted police action against 'outlaw clubs' which incidentally as you know, still exist and are, often, criminally active in the west.

India is, as far as I can see a happening place economically, socially and culturally. You guys have a growing economy while in the west ours is entering recession and why not, the West has had it their own way for tooooooo long!!

The manufacturers are shifting attention to potential growth markets of which India is one. That's evident by the stats from companies like Yamaha who anticipate at least a 10% increase in market share. Harley-Davidson, for example, are now for the first time entering the Indian market because the domestic markets in the U.S and U.K. are in decline or are static. Admittedly, HD only anticipate unit sales in India in the first 2 - 3 years of around 2,000 bikes. In 5 or 10 years, who knows? Alongside this comes a social culture which Harley manipulate and promote aggressively through HOG, the Harley Owners Group. This has been seen to have taken a tentative foothold in South Korea.

The biker culture here (UK) has many, many facets and that is what I want to discover about India. Motorcycling as a lifestyle pursuit is embryonic with you and I'd like to see how you guys want it to grow, what the manufacturers are doing to promote or market their product and to possibly project how it will develop as a social activity AND as a sub-culture of society. Socially, culturally and historically our two societies have vast chasms of differences and yet bikers (as in lifestyle bikers) are (in the English speaking world), globally similar in their various forms of expression.

The English language in India was promoted through colonial oppression (I'm a qualified historian too). In India, English is widely spoken and I wonder what leads if any, Indians may take from the established biker scene in the west, irrespective of power outputs of bikes or kilometres to the gallon, or will you guys ignore the way the lifestyle has developed here altogether. How will you express your social difference through bikes and will you be informed by what's going on and what did go on here.

If the developing scene there is centred around the lifestyle of biker G2Gs and riding simply for the pleasure of it, manufacturers will eventually take notice of demographic shifts and build/supply accordingly. Bikers in India have already developed their own ways ( modded small bikes into R1 lookalikes etc) of expressing who and what they are through their choice of ride.

When Harley enter the market in India, I think, you'll see the manufacturers bringing out Harley 'clones'. From that, a splinter group of bikers will form around customising these rides no matter if they are 125cc/250 or 1450cc. You then have a culture within a sub-culture. From that other forms of expression associated with that form of biker life emanate, i.e., dress, language and behaviour.

To give you an idea of where I'm coming from, I see this....

Sports bike riders want to associate themselves with racers... Rossi, Stoner, etc. They also just love the thrill of speed and the skill required to ride fast bikes. Many will ride safely, some will ride recklessly and those will be the ones who (eventually) will bring restrictive legislation down from the government to threaten your lifestyle. Be warned... We had outrageous legislation passed by the government in the 1980s and it nearly killed off the industry altogether. Rider training and lobbying by groups such as MAG (the Motorcycle Action Group) halted much more which would have devastated us here.
Sports bike riders want to emulate these heroes by dressing in team colours and by wearing (not only for safety reasons) kit that says "I'm with this group" as it were. Riders in India either don't have that option because kit like Dainese or Alpine stars, Ohlins shocks, etc, etc, aren't available easily or that they are way too expensive like the R1's, Blades and GSXRs that we have here. As the market grows, the bikes and the kit will become more affordable AND become more widely apparent in society.

Custom bike riders want to associate themselves with the meaner side of biking i.e. the outlaw clubs. They too have other reasons, in opposition to sports bike riders and may simply prefer the more sedate crusing style these bikes give. As Harley and the other manufacturers penetrate the market (very slowly because of cost) a culture will form around this form of expression. As this grows, clubs will (or may have already done so) form around this kind of lifestyle expression again, irrespective of cc size or the power of the bike. In India, however, you don't have a disaffected youth as we had here after World War 2 and social conditions which gave rise to rebelious behaviour expressed through joining a biker club or the Teddy Boys in the 50s or the Punks in the 70s/80s etc, etc. These have been Western manifestations of youth dissatisfaction. You may have dissaffected youth, but why and how do they express that, if at all. Are lifestyle bikers seen as anti-social there?

There have been however, instances of anti-social behaviour by bikers in (I think) Connaught Square in Dehli recently. I'd REALLY like to know what prompted that and is that still a feature. Are Indian youths expressing dissatisfaction with the established social order through this or are they just having a good time at the expense of the rest of society? The fact that the media reported this extensively led me to think that a similar evolution in the biker sub-culture MIGHT take place in India as it did here.
That could be now, in three years or in five as different ways of self-expression gain outlets through biking and form themselves around clubs. I think Sunny mentioned that (hierarchical clubs) in a blog.

I, in years past, (old quiet, respectful dude now )as part of a scene which included some anti social antics, fights, disturbances all centred around living the biker life as it was then in the UK. Foolish I know, but we live and learn. Now I just want to ride and work on my bike.

Essentially....

Do lifestyle riders, whether on sportsbikes or customs (if any) see themselves as different in India to the rest of society as we do here?... And how is that expressed? How is it informed? Is it organic or will the manufacturers dictate the direction it takes.
You guys can decide that as buyers and as the Indian economy grows you can steer it whichever way you want, simply by being a vibrant, growing healthy and determined sub-culture.




As I say I AM really at the start of finding out what's going down there in India, so any help with any facet of biking would be helpful and really appreciated.

its a pleasure !
very rare, i mean VERY rare to see someone doing a thesis on biking culture

although my knowledge isn't that much, im just 19


Cultural & Historical Part

well, the biking scene isnt like what you had there as rebel culture. we do not have outlawed biking groups who travel in big bunches of cruisers.

primarily because we never were dissatisfied to that extent, or rather to say , we couldnt BE dissatisfied because we had nothing really to be dissatisfied about. India was slowly and painfully building up after the freedom she got in 1947.

the youth in UK had good , lavish lifestyles, which suddenly might have got cut out ? (you have to explain this part) and thus came the rebel factor ?

we on the other hand didn't have a cycle to begin a bicycling outlaw group .
people had just started migrating to the cities, looking for jobs since farming was a very very backward scene then. people had just started to being closer to Literate. we were slowly building up. step by step. the Public sector oriented govt stalled development for decades. India did not support privatization till the early 90's

the bikes which were there:-

bikes then came when the masses could afford it. seriously, two wheelers came as a faster and more convenient means of transport !. people could run a 50cc moped and a 100cc bike. petrol was leaded back then and the masses could afford to fill it too.

exceptions to the rule:
remember there were some rich buggers who acutually had bikes in 1960's in india, like the BSA Goldstar. few. rare.

even in the post early 90's
well I was born in the period when the Indian Biking scenario was .. close to being non existent .

- Before the liberation of the market happened in 1993 (someone verify the correct year) only very few bikes were there, and the market was dominated by scooters made by bajaj.

- 2-strokers like Rx-100's and Rx-135's were the only proper "fast" enough bikes.
RD350 was a rare bike even then . also 4 strokers like Cd100 (essentially honda cub)

I still remember how father told me the process of getting a BAJAJ scooter that time.
either wait in line for 6-8 months at least. or pay some 2-3k black money for jumping the line. yes bribing..
not many people could buy a two wheeler at that time and the bicycle was the main means of commuting

first of all, the bike manufacturers were snobby because the indian market was totally protected from outrageous import laws (which are still as outrageous), the market never had any competition, so the public had to eat what they threw at us. no matter how shitty it would be.

although as the masses had more buying power eventually in the last decade which grew even more in this decade, the bike manufacturers themselves decided to profit more, so they brought out more models, assuming it'd sell. they did sell. 150cc's came, with better power outputs and sportier styling

that is because we finally are earning more day by day, still some way to go but we're getting there in terms of buying power !


Current Scenario for Superbikes

eventually now many of us do have the buying power to get superbikes. but the main focus is still the sub 250cc category because mass sales would help a company survive much better.

the R15 or the Fz-16 both are more important to yamaha India than the R1 , for real. because these bikes have sold.. sold well.

even if you add the market value of all the R1's sold in India officially itd be much less than the total sales R15 in a quarter.
Also
superbikes are such a big dream here, even for me.

acc to the import laws, here's what an R1 costs in India.

for eg, you must know how much an R1 costs there.
the pricing in INR is approx 12,000,00

divide it by 80 (assumption for pound rupee conversion)
15,000 pounds

so yes it is expensive for us, even every spare part that has to be ordered will be expensive. since superbikes arent even 0.001% of the total market sales, they arent even considered being manufactured here. so the import cost will make us pay more than you ever will.


Financial Factor

and this point has been raised somewhere on this forum about the import laws.

I, and many on this forum are stuck between the lines of poor and rich.

the poor will never look at this forum or the superbikes.
the rich will never think about the expense anyway and get the bike.

on the otherhand, i don't have a salary / income to buy an R1 outright but it can be mine if i work my ass off for few years. so its a seemingly possible dream for us. but the hurdles are many. poor service, unavailability of spares, vandalism etc etc are causes of worry for us since even a fairing damage will make me lose out on a month's income.

see the Indian market hasn't yet come to the point as of your markets, we still have a long way to go before setting the standards as good as you people have there.


a small , fast , efficient and packed with new technology makes a much better biking sense here. at a smaller, more usable scale

why ?

- the company can profit from it easily, since itd sell in masses

- easier on the pocket of many, the budget factor does matter a lot. even a $400 difference makes a huge impact on the sales of a bike.

-good for Indian conditions. you cannot just use a superbike to a good extent here. nope.

- Oil prices do hurt. they do account a good figure in my monthly expenses. i need a bike which is a balance between efficiency and power.


Potential Drawbacks

okay first things first.

in the UK i've heard my online friends talk about the licensing system. its brutal and the issuing of a license is a big task for people there.

unfortunately , ill say 90% of the people in India violate all sorts of road safety regulations

- no proper safety measures

- you can get a license for a car without even knowing how to drive. no kidding ! I can get your license made here if even if you are in UK !

- People are totally careless, zero road consideration for the other users. each will try to go first and foremost and this usually results in chaotic traffic.

- Frankly i don't think the masses are even ready for a proper supersports bike. they simply do not have the skills to handle a SBK. most will be crashed and bashed and a SBK can kill you much easily than the subtle 100cc motors.

- the licensing system sucks big time since you can ride a 100cc geared bike and a 997 cc R1 with the same driving license. there's no license categorizing such as a learner's bike and then the big ones

- NO proper motorcycling school in India. we all have to learn from someone who's already experienced or DIY (do it yourself)

-technical drawback is that after sales service is POOR. the staff isnt taught well and there seems to be cost cutting measure applied everywhere. My brand new bike got screwed in first 2000 kms itself since the fella at the ASC (authorized service center) just topped up the engine oil instead of changing it completely. AND i was cheated because i was billed for an entirely new can of engine oil !

Summary

well a thing called sense has to be there. unfortunately there's a tendency to POSE here. the R1 lookalikes don't even look proper. I wish i could explain in words but you have to see the tendency of making things LOOK better. You may even find "ferrari" stickered on a bike here !

you'll find all sorts of crap mods done toa bike which would make you go puke in the washbasin. There was this 150cc Hero Honda CBZ fitted with a Suzuki GSX1300R (hayabusa) bodyshell. but it had no electric starter motor and the fella used to take the kicker out of the fairing and then start the bike the headlight unit used to project the LOW beam 2 storeys high up in the air ! the rear disc brake in that bike was a FAKE one, just a disc welded to the wheel !

please tell me this should be the way biking should proceed ? LOOKS do matter yes. but they are not the TOPMOST priority and i wouldnt really screw my humble bike to make it look like a 1000cc monster.

I really wouldn't call it evolution of bikers. i wouldnt even like to include these people in the domain of bikers !

yes this is an interesting point. but see it in this way :-

we certainly do not NEED extremely powerful bikes which cant be used to their full potential, i really really would love a smaller version of a harley of around 600-1000cc at most. would be much more usable and better. having a bike with just looks is as good as going under the knife to make you look handsome/beautiful.

customization is vague here. just with some handtools and access to paint and sticker shops is enough to mod a bike here. which makes it look like as if some 5yr old kid was given the tools and asked to do the job.

im sorry to say that biking here in a proper way is and will be a rare thing to see in India. expect a few people like us to wear proper riding gear while riding and also riding responsibly at the same time.


sorry , believe it or not, i still had to convince my mother so as to allow me to have a bike in the first place. I cant be an outlaw ! i wont get a bike then

bikers here are mostly the youth now because we're the ones who are getting the choice to OWN a bike at least. My father never had a chance to ride a bike till his 30's when he was doing his Phd. I on the otherhand got my bike at just 18yrs age when i was legally allowed to ride a bike.

and again, what you see on this forum isn't the whole thing we have hardly any influence to make the market turn our way. if you see the commuter 100-150cc category still gets the maximum attention from the manufacturers.


superbikes have a long long way to go till they establish themselves in India


ALTHOUGH !

well it MIGHT happen, you could be right, since as we get richer and better off financially, there would be more no of SPOILED BRATS who have loads of money to burn off. I have seen rich kids in my college bang their bikes to a dust and then get a new one the very next few days !.

ill write more.. trying to think all the aspects myself
this is a very good topic that makes me sit up and ask myself "do i see a biking future in the country as a lifestyle ? "

^^^Gr8 write-ups there Olias and gr8 replies there Xeno, thanx for sharing ur experiences and stuffs.

Damn I'm a big fan of this guy already!

Olias, welcome to the forum mate!

Oh one query, in a country where a show like Top Gear is worshipped by its car fond citizens ( most of them atleast ), do you have shows for bikes too? Where do you get your fixes of Ducati's and MVs?

And another one, you must've seen how tough it is for us to bring down a litre or a sub litre paying loads and loads of customs, penalties what not. So when a person buys a superbike, supersport, he is generally percieved by the public to be very well off, making enough money spend what is an average Indian's 4 or 5 year salary on one awesome bike. That isn't the case there is it? Anybody with a decent paying job can get a ride? What's the story with students? Can they afford bikes?

Lastly ( forgive me for what started as one query ) , how would coppers react to a rider in classic leathers and an ancient Norton or Triumph tearing away in the streets of London?