India -purchasing an Enfield riding gear in Delhi

Jul 2, 2010
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Howdy,
for anyone rocking up in India without any riding gear-or motorcycle, this info may be helpful.

We started in Delhi in July 2010 with the idea to get ourselves a couple of Royal Enfields (what else!).
We decided to buy the bikes, mainly due to cost factors as we will be touring for over 2 months.
Anyone looking to get themselves on 2 wheels when in Delhi must visit Karol Bagh, an absolute carnival for cars and bikes.
As well as the motos, you can get anything here -cables, parts, wheels laced & trued, electroplating, custom seats and anything else you can think of -all within 3 blocks of each other. If you really want to pimp your new purchase up, this is the place to do it, and so, so cheap. Accommodation is available here but cheaper in Pahar Gang.
After scouting a few motorcycle shops to get prices and the general feel of the proprietors, we settled on the highly recommended Lalli Singh of Inder Motors in Karol Bagh. Lalli is a great guy, trustworthy and a gentleman.
We purchased 2 Enfields at 55,000 rupees each (it's around 40 rupees to an Aussie dollar) plus a heap of spares, tools, panniers and racks for a few thousand extra.
Lalli has given us the option to sell the bikes back to him upon return for 35,000 rupees each, the racks and panniers at a 20% discount and fully refund any unused parts -not bad when we will be gone for 2-3 months.
Before anyone leaves the shop -whether renting or buying you take the bikes for a test ride and spend a few hours with the mechanics to run over the fundementals and ensure you know what you're doing.
As we purchased the bikes, we left with all the necessary paperwork -reciept of sale, pollution certificate, insurance (3rd party only), rego details. Of course, you don't get the bike in your name but with all the paperwork it's as close as you get! these bikes have traded many owners with the original person who registered it still on the rego details- -that's the way it works in India.
Our bikes were 2004 & 2007 models with right foot brake and disc on the front -I think that's pretty important considering the traffic here. Lalli sends the bikes out in great condition & with a full service done. His bikes have all been fully rebuilt and he knows them inside out -that's why he prefers to buy them back. I should note that we were pretty lucky to purchase them as usually the business is in renting the bikes.
Most of the other bike shops we visited were pretty interested in our money, that was about it, it's the feeling we got anyway. Some of them were cheaper but they were real rat bikes and you wouldn't get your money back in fixing them if you resold them to the shop.
As a general rule, you won't get a later right foot brake model for under 50,000Rs.
If you want to go for an old model and upgrade a few things here's a few prices -new paint on all the tin 3-4000Rs. Disc front end 5-7000Rs. Flash hand grips, levers all that sort of stuff is for pocket change, sorry, have lost the other prices for mag wheels, big tanks, handlebars, etc. Seats, custom made I think were 1-2000Rs.
These are only starting prices, so if you're interested in customising and bartering i'm sure you'll get the prices down.

To purchase our riding gear we went just around the corner of the bike shop to Chopra Automobiles but there are plenty of options. The prices here are fixed (at least for foreigners!) and the shop is pretty chaotic so if you don't mind hopping on one leg while to trying to get the other one into some pants and getting pushed about by the other customers acting like they're there to cash in a winning lottery ticket to the counter, it's not a bad place.
We purchased a full face helmet (apparentley DOT approved?) for 3500Rs and a motocross one for 1850RS - I wish I had got a full face as it is already getting cold and were only 1 day into the mountains!
Gloves range from 100Rs to 600Rs.
We settled on those Fox knee and Elbow guards for 650Rs each. There were fake Alpine Star jackets that looked good but offered no protection at all, I think they were well over 1500Rs.
Just ask at Lalli's shop for where to pick up wet weather gear -it's at some market that I forgot the name of, we got tops and bottoms for 400Rs a set.

Inder Motors website is www.lallisingh.com

Hope this is of some help to ant aspiring riders thinking about an India trip, will keep you posted on our trip and road reports.

Cheers, Neal.
 

Gary D

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Apr 17, 2010
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We got our Enfields fro Lalli Sings also, how were the tiled workshop floors? Big adjustment as we had the opposite brake/gear combination, very dangerous while getting used to it, don't think we ever did. Very enjoyable and most dangerous place to ride but once you rid yourself of the Aus road rules and ride like a maniac in order to survive it all comes together. Loved every minute of it and hope to get back there next year hopefully not on an Enfield.
Enjoy it as it is life changeing.

Gary