About Andrew James: "Been a biker as long as I can remember... All Thanks and Credit goes to MY DAD who got me started out on two wheels at a very early age. My early rides on a motorcycle were spent riding around south Bombay on the tank of his bullet and in a couple of years moved onto the back seat. In 1978 he moved on to a Yezdi 250 and that is the bike I learnt to ride on from 1983 onwards. Dad went on to sell that Yezdi for a Vijay Super in 1985 as we moved to New Bombay... Like all bikers I also started out on cycles early and was lucky to have dad buy me a BSA 'racer cycle' (bent handles, thin tires etc) when I got to 7th. I was so proud to be one of the fastest on my side of town :-) I was in college and by 1986 I had saved Rs 2000 and managed to buy myself a 1966 Lambretta... spent a couple of hundreds of getting it in fine running condition and was soon popular in college and friend circle. I was very fond of racing and 'Poona' was THE place in the early 90's for dirt events. Our group - used to ride out to Pune to watch the races. (2 lamby's, 1 vijay super, 1 chetak and 1 priya were our group) The Lamby ran exceptionally well and I used to tinker with it myself, I even hand painted the stock blue to a 'two tone' off white/brown combo... cool eh? Moved onto a 76' Bullet in 1990 and loved every moment of it. Did a lot of travel along the coastal belt of Maharashtra. After marriage too I was fortunate that my wife also loves to road travel and soon we were riding long distances on the bullet. Sadly, 2 punctures on my rear wheel on different occasions (on my way to and from work each) made me decide to sell her and go in for a Chetak. I decided because I had the Royal Enfield and when she had a rear flat, the entire rear wheel assembly along with the chain, sprockets and everything else had to be disassembled - which was a real pain and it nearly cost me my job in Thane. I used to ride 30 kms one way to work and returned late at nite so ... :-( In 1996 I picked up my first brand new machine a new Chetak, sold it and moved to a Bajaj Saffire in 2002 (so wify could ride too) By this time I was settled in my job and began to realize my dreams of racing. I took part in my first Gulf Monsoon Scooter Rally in 2003 and placed 3rd in my class behind 2 Activa's on my saffire. 2004 saw me come 2nd again on the saffire but remained behind the faster Activas. Got myself an activa too still came 2nd in 05. By this time I also had a Suzuki Shogun which I used for dirt racing and an RX100 for street use. I even repurchased the Yezdi which dad had sold. My stable was full and Folks in my neighbourhood used to look at me with weird :-D but then knew that I was just crazy about 2 wheels. in 2007, my craziness and passion for two wheels took me to the US where I enrolled at MMI (Motorcycle Mechanics Institute) to learn all about motorcycling mechanics and fuel my passion. I graduated as "Top Tech" from the Hontech Program and was "Red Level" certified by American Honda Motorcycles Ltd - the highest certification that they offer. I rode a Honda 919 in the US for 2 years and it is one awesome all round machine. Rode it on the Firebird International Speedway on track days and it was a fun machine. Good to ride in the twisties too Came back to India in 2009 and have been free lancing. Since I had to sell all my bikes (except my Yezdi, which is with with my bro now), I picked up a 96 chetak again for the scooter rally and came 2nd again in 2010 (darn when will I get better) Worked in Malaysia too for some time and got to ride a lot of fast machines there. The MV Agusta remains the most scariest, fastest, wildest machine I ever rode till date. The Honda Goldwing GL1800 remains my most comfortable ride. Been part of the Mahindra Great Indian Ride - East Zone rider. A month and a half long east India tour on their newly launched Stallio covering 9 states and 6750+ kms from Sikkim to Nagpur. My most recent ride has been a solo ride from Allahabad to Bombay from the 7th to the 9th of June 2011 on my Bajaj Discover 100. A distance of 1604 kms in 33 riding hours, Special mention to my daughter (14) who was my pillion from Bombay to Allahabad loved it and would like to go again. My wife is upset coz she also wants to go too.. guess I'll have to get a sidecar fixed .... For my tours, I need a faster bike now and the P220 will do just fine ;-)"

His Video Intro: ‪Andrew James - Biker of the Year 2011 Top 20 contestants‬‏ - YouTube

Do I think I have contributed to the motorcycling community, however a
small way it may be?
A close friend of mine (who just hung up his shoes after 15 successful years of racing and me) ran a small dirt track racing school in New Bombay. Our aim was promote safe riding. Idea was to get the street racers off the streets and onto race tracks where they would appreciate and be appreciate for their skills. They learnt the finer points of riding/racing and could put it to use on the streets too. A couple of them went on to become National Dirt Track Champions. On the streets behaved like docile riders but deep down they knew that there is no one to touch them if they wanted to but reserved all the show-offs for the track. Due to lack of space, we had to shut shop but still get together some time in Kharghar... maybe some day again :-)

How can I contribute more in the future to the motorcycling community?
In Feb this year, I have completed 25 official years of riding on the roads. I have ridden motorbikes of different makes, different cc's, different types, in different countries, in different terrain along with different types of riders. I consider myself a hard core biker. At 43, I have vast experience that new riders could tap into. Be it riding, be it tech help, be it anything to do with motorcycling, i am sure I will have something to offer. Its up to them to ask. I'm no guru but I can help for sure :-) Ride hard but ride safe remember the tarmac is harder to crack than our bones. Safety First....

My Touring Experience
Total Kms. Clocked: 500000+ (25 riding years and a modest 50 kms a day gives me 456250. I've ridden more, so...)

Best Ride: Best ride was my first ride up the south mountains in Arizona on my CB919. At close to 2700ft, its the highest point in the Phoenix area. I don't remember the number of corners but there are many fast sweeping corners spread out close to 20 miles which was fun and a first for me on the fast 919.

One dream ride that I want to do Tail of the Dragon, North Carolina, USA - 318 curves in 11 miles!!!!! wow !!!

Places I have ridden
Interstate - Arizona-California, Arizona-Nevada, Malaysia, East India, North India, West coast.

Best touring Bike according to me
Internationally - Honda Goldwing. Indian bike - P220 (for now)

Tips to budding tourers
Plan your trip in detail and prepare for any eventuality. Scout Moto - Be Prepared. SAFETY FIRST. Don't play the show off game on the roads over a long trip, you could suffer. Don't push yourself or the bike too hard. Remember, its a long distance you will travel... and the more sane and in control you are of your emotions and bike the better for all. Don't have an argument with either family or friends before your trip - plan.

My Racing Experience
About my racing career
Took part in the Gulf Dirt track National Championships on a Suzuki Shogun. Took part in Drag Races on the same machine. Was on the podium in Gulf Monsoon Scooter rallies for 4 years

Best Racing(track/off Road) Bike
Honda CBR600RR / CRF450F. INDIAN - RTR 180 / RX 135

Tips To Budding Racers
1. Focus on physical fitness. This is prime - langda ghooda kuch kaam ka nahi... 2. Practice, practice, practice... practice makes a man perfect and this is the only thing you can do. 3. Get your bike setup right and when you do, don't touch it unless you outclass yourself and need an upgrade


My Other Experience
Race/ Engineer Support
Tech and logistics assistant for my buddy during his racing career. Team manager of our Racing school team

Modifier(performance/looks)
Designed the modification of my brothers RX135 as a drag machine, designed my Shogun as a dirt bike (RM copy) and many more

Mechanic/ Service Etc.
Trained tech for Honda. I service and maintain my friends and my bikes, scooters