| About biking in South Asia:
South Asia offers a number of most scenic and interesting routes for motorbiking. From the Himalaya range to the Thar desert, extreme challenges and landscapes make a bikers heart throb. However, there is a huge difference between biking in Asia and biking in Europe or America. Riders have to adjust to traffic, road conditions, behavior of pedestrians etc. The following information gives you advices to support your first steps as a rider in Asia, can not replace practice, preparation and awareness. The roads Indias and Nepals roads can be in very rough conditions. Around the main cities there are mostly acceptable highways or at least plain roads, while the surface of streets in remote areas can vary from almost plain to almost not existing. For medium-experienced riders, a few days of practice are advisable and even experienced bikers should take their time to get used to the circumstances and take it easy at the beginning. Roads can be blocked because of landslides or heavy rainfall in the monsoon season and in Nepal because of political strikes and demonstrations. If this happens during a package tour, our team will decide changes in the itinerary or timing with you and lead to the appropriate steps. If you are in such a situation while renting a bike, we will try to inform you in advance and request you to contact us for advice. The bikes The most popular bike of India is without any doubt Royal Enfield. These traditional Indian bikes show the best reliability on Asian roads and perform best below 70 km/h, which is an appropriate speed for India’s and Nepal’s cities. Spare parts are easily available in India and almost every mechanic has experience with Royal Enfield. The situation in Nepal is more difficult: Motorcycles in general are expensive and spare parts rare. To rent an Enfield in Nepal can cost more than double than in India. However, the Hardev Motors mechanics are experts for these bikes and always provide appropriate spare parts and tools for both; organized tours with mechanic and individual tours with a hired bike. Royal Enfield bikes with 350cc or 500cc are most common and suitable for Asian roads. The traffic Indias and Nepals traffic is always on the left side! But this is not the only difference to most of the western countries. What might seem at the first sight completely chaotic and unorganized has certain rules that should be followed while riding. One important gadget in Asia is the horn. You should horn before every sharp curve or any place where you can’t easily see opposing traffic to make others aware of your presence on the road. Moreover you should blow horn before passing any other vehicle. The driver before you might show with a gesture if you can safely pass or should better stay behind. In general the rule “might is right” is very important in Asian traffic, means you should let the bigger or heavier vehicle better go first. But still, traffic can be very chaotic and difficult to drive, especially in main cities such as Delhi or Kathmandu. It is important to keep your eyes open all the time and expect others to do the unexpected. The environment Hardev Motors organizes tours in some of the wildest areas on earth. This means the weather and environment can be accordingly. Landslides, moving glaciers, heavy snowfall and others happen very frequently in the Himalaya and can lead to roadblocks or accidents. In 2009 there was a cloudburst in Ladakh that lead to a flood that destroyed the area gravely and took many human lives. The Thar desert is dangerous because of extreme heat during the daytime, the shortage of water and –in case you loose your way- because it includes the Indian-Pakistani frontier. Seriously dangerous incidents are rare but possible, so it is better to be prepared with enough food, drinking water, appropriate equipment and medicine. In a organized tour, Hardev Motors provides everything that is necessary. If you rent a bike from us and go on your own to Ladakh or Spiti Valley, it is your responsibility to carry a proper endowment. However, our team will counsel you and tell you what to carry along with you. Biking in Asia is an amazing experience that you will never forget in your lifetime. Still it is compulsory to be prepared for bad experience and possible failures. Our team will counsel you in any case how you should prepare yourself and carries everything important at organized package tours. We wish you wonderful holidays free from disturbances and request you to contact us immediately if any problem occurs. |
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