Yes, in India too, you'll see a culture that tend to point to 'sports bike riders' and 'custom bike riders'. But in India, I don't think we go full-out to that extent as with the west.

We have 'sports' bikes but they are underpowered (in the 150cc-220cc) yet compared to the commuter bike segment, they are considered 'sporty' for the Indian market. Yes,..motorsport craze gets people to endorse certain riders, teams etc.

'Custom bikes' are rare/numbered. Custom bikes are Illegal in India (assumption). You cannot have a bike built from scratch in your garage here, and have it registered legally for the road. Most of the customization happens on existing production bikes (like those of Royal Enfield etc) and those are also fairly restrictive. But again, this is culture driven with pretty much the same mindset as that of the west, for this group.

1. Yes, they see themselves as different from the rest of the society.

2. It is expressed by their interest in a bike that's not really considered a commuter bike. That itself is a big differentiator. Then there are slight modifications and customizations to the bikes, that many people do to express themselves better. Look out for non-stock tires, performance filters, stickering jobs etc on the bike. Then there is riding gear. The fact that there is riding gear itself is a differentiator as a large portion of the indian motorcycling public in general is unaware/doesn't follow safety gear.

3. Word of mouth. Online media (forums, groups, social networking sites etc), Magazines. There is no announcement. Those who catch the drift, follow it.

4. Completely organic and left to the individuals creativity and the fusion of what's seen in the society around. Manufacturers have nevery really been able to dictate. However, they've definitely cashed in on the opportunity to promote themselves better and to acknowledge the fact that they understand and endorse the existence of such a culture. [You must check out Indian motorcycle ads to understand this best]

Yes,.. as Indians we do understand and have also seen the power of the buyer and the influence reflecting on the manufacturers and the market in general. However, what's worrying for me personally is the direction in which it is heading. Excessive 'cultural' addiction has made our bikes rich in 'bling' and in some cases slightly poorer in quality. Manufacturers know that to the youth today, a motorcycle is also a sort of fashion statement and disposable entity after a certain duration. Long gone are the days when bikes in India were made to last a lifetime. Now, it appears though that a few years are sufficient and form in a few ways has overaken function.

PS: Olias, do you watch Top Gear UK ??

hey slayer bhai ,

the situation in UK is pretty much normal yaar. There a CBR 1000RR is around $10000 which is moreoless 4 lakhs.

most of the people there have the buying power to buy a bmw 3 series within an year which costs around 30-40,000 pounds .

and even education is pretty expensive there. a term of a uni there isnt less that 12,000 pounds per annum. so student's arent really pooor

about cops reacting
well they are on their watch and are trained to tackle situations .. unlike...

Hi Slayer,

We have a Ducati and MV dealer in Newcastle. Dukes are ACE bikes. The sound the feel, the handling. I rode a 748R for a while in 1998. What a machine. The handling and power were totally spot on. The bigger 916 model that was out at the time (a'la Fogarty and Chili in the WSB) was prone to spinning out a bit I felt but awesome under acceleration.

The dealer offers all facilities from the bikes to a tune up.

As far as the cops are concerned, a lot does depend on the way you dress here. When I was with the dealers I worked with, I'd wear a Dainese Luce race suit on the Yam R1s, Kawa 9Rs or the 748 etc out on customer runs (yes.. that was work...LOL). No hassle. Riders looked smart and were thought to be 'more professional' (totally wrong)!!! There are some seriously bad riders here in the UK who just wear the race gear to 'ape' the factory bouys like Rossi etc. They wouldn't know a counter steer from a shop counter!

When I ride with mates who are, let's say, eccentric in their style of dress and the bikes we have , we've been stopped by the cops simply for looking threatening. That, it would appear, is more to do with their insecurity than our threat level!

I do watch it. There's a new series on now and Clarkson is so funny. Unfortunately he seems to hate bikes with a vengence but, hey... we can't all be enlightened! He's an ace driver and has a great sense of humour... Pity about the bike bit though.

There are a number of bike orientated programmes on TV but tend to be on Sky TV, so that's a subscription some can't afford. There are no mainstream ones on the BBC or ITV that I know of.

hey man, this is a small reply fom my side reagrding the tattoo thing!

@Olias:

You have talked about youth dissatisfaction in one of your earlier posts. You being a qualified historian would definitely be aware of certain basic cultural differences between Judaeo-Christian cultural evolution in the West and Oriental culture, more specifically Indian. In the West you have evolved into the Cartesian thinking giving rise to the French Revolution, the rise of the Nation state etc... finally culminating in the widespread movement in the 60s against established social norms, practices, schooling systems, including clothing, which meant rising hemlines of skirts amongst young women, men showing radical differences and the Youth rising up to make a statement to make themselves heard, noticed, appreciated. (And adding a small footnote, I personally feel that Vietnam did play a role, albeit small.) This gave rise to the fabulous period of a new genre of music as we all know, and biking as a cultural phenomenon evolved as well. Who can forget Easy Rider. But all this stems from Cartesian thinking based on linear time of cause and consequence in a material and tangible world.

Whereas, Oriental cultures, the way people function stems from a very different notion of time which seems non-linear and apparently more circular in nature. And this comes from a belief in the idea of metempsychosis especially in the Indian context. This is not something which is very common in Western cultural belief systems. But in the Indian context, the belief in metempsychosis is so ingrained, a thought process so innate, that we totally tend to ignore its existence and thus its importance in influencing our daily habits. But nonetheless our quotidian is strongly influenced by this thought, albeit by its invisible nature, hence subtle in presence, but the outcome being ineluctably influenced. And the result being a population which is extremely fatalistic since millenia. With such an acquiescence to an intangible element, the criteria of "dissatisfaction" does not often manifest as a behavioral tendency.

An infinitesimal small percentage of people may have been disillusioned by the existing norms and may manifest dissatisfaction which will promptly be curbed or eliminated by external orders subtly but surely to maintain status quo.

That is the cultural aspect. Which I feel is the dominant aspect in our investigation here and strongly influences our acts. Hence, coming back to your study of motorcycle evolution, biking as a lifestyle in India... we use a motorcycle merely as a means of locomotion, to go from point A to point B and probably back. Much as we may clammer that there are better cars than motorcycles in this country, which is doubtlessly true, but it is also true that we use the best cars just to go from point A to Point B as well. You will not see too many rebel car groups either, who organise drag races, or a lot of people taking their cages to some great tuners of vehicles and soup up their cages with double reinforced suspension, higher camlifts. There is not much of a "car culture" to speak about either despite the presence of a far greater choice in cars. I am not drawing parallels here but just using an example to illustrate what I said above.

Disclaimer: Modern day "thinkers" may get outraged by what I said here.

regarding tattoes- Only few fakes in big metros does that!(no offense!).
The major "Bike" for Tamil nadu,karnataka,andhra states are called TVS50 (50cc two stroke) which most of the common men there thinks as a R1! .

^ this is that R1 ,I was saying earlier.

I agree Kencool, good post. I wonder though if that perspective will change as western influences possibly dilute Indian culture. The operative words are wonder & possibly there.
Historically, you guys have been going a lot longer than we have so I doubt whether dilution will be a real factor. I think Indians adopt and then adapt influences to suit their culture. Indian history is an area that I, sadly, didn't study. I'm more of a medievalist and early modern/modern (Anglo-Saxon/Viking, Age of Discovery, Conquest of Mexico/South America, post-reformation Europe, latterly American Civil War & Northern Ireland/Troubles) student.
Great insight... thanks.

Excellent... Nice tattoo and original.
I had a backpiece started on Saturday (last weekend). I'll post a pic when it's finished. It's my engine in a sort of bio-mechanical coming out of my back thing. Difficult to describe. I have a couple more sittings to do to get it finished which should be in the next month or so.

This is turning more philosophic than expected...but then when we discuss mind over matter..what else but philosophy can spout out.

Ken has dug through the strata and reached deep underneath. And the message comes loud and clear - any dilution of the intrinsic values can only be time-dependent. They will remain at most a 'phase'. The metempsychosis doesn't just lead to a life of good deeds but leads to unquestioned acceptance of multiple responsibilities. Each individual born and brought-up in this pan-Oriental set-up accepts the strings attached to life (family, relationships, friends etc ) and the materiel, esp. if it happens to be something pertaining specifically to his own needs, is rarely priority No. 1.

The 'cultural aspect', as Ken puts it, can never take a back seat here. It dominates.

And this is almost primal in its influence. The materiel is utilitarian, always. Any 'good' man remembers that throughout his living years - an unsaid adage that flows with Oriental blood. How can the mere 'love' for a motorcycle fight it?