Chennai: at the Factory

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Royal Enfield Factory Visit.

After leaving Cochin and the Lemmon Tree resort there was a stop off in Trivandrum at the Fortune Hotel. Just a little way up the road was a Royal Enfield showroom. This needed a visit and on the morning before we left for a day trip I walked around to see them. Sadly to say there was a language barrier and after a short conversation I left a few fliers, took some photos and went on my way. I did get to see the local beaches and a trip up the coast to Verkala where I did see a few European faces riding Enfields.

 Mamallapuram beach.

Heading towards the east coast we stayed for a few days at the Sea Breeze Resort Hotel  in Mamallampuram where one afternoon a few guys who were sitting on the table next to us were talking about boots and jeans. I was eaves dropping, I wanted to know more! The more they talked the more the story unfolded. There a question from one about riding techniques and of “life savers” and using mirrors. It has to be a motorcycling experience! There were nerve racking traffic encounters coming from Chennai that did not want to be repeated. A question was asked about what the rules are. The response was a little different from mine but I was hooked and avidly listening while sipping at a beer. The response was interesting, there are no rules!  Keep your eyes on the road ahead and let those behind avoid you; don’t bother with mirrors or “life savers”. Go at a steady pace and ride predictably. No sudden manoeuvres. Big has right of way and use your horn! Good advice I thought but there was no real answer to what you do at junctions. The conversation moved on and a request to avoid towns where possible. I didn’t introduce myself but if you guys do read this then you will have survived India on an Enfield.

 
 Ram presenting.

Chennai is an amazing place with a beach that would do justice to any speed record as long as you avoided all the discarded Durex. It gives a new meaning to rubber side down! Taxi organised and heading on Saturday 10^th January for the factory visit. Unfortunately traffic and our taxi driver conspired against us. I phoned the reception to say we were late, it was OK provide we were not too late. We had been requested to be at the factory at 09:00 prompt. It was closer to 09:30 by the time we had signed in. The receptionist assured me it was still alright. We were taken to the boardroom entering it was full! Everyone was sitting around talking, waiting for the tour to start. Sitting next to me were a couple of guys from the Netherlands and as it happens they were in Verkala at the same time I was. Coincidence or what? It was not long before our tour guide, Ram, came in and we all introduced ourselves and where we came from.

 Some of the visitors and the Royal Enfield history.

Good start but I was now the historian and called about to confirm information and add to it. Ram was good at coaxing information from people and the whole group was quite cordial. I even managed a pigeon English with signing conversation with a guy from Sweden. It was a very international group with people from France and America too. The guy from America started out his working life in Acton and knew Greenford well. Our tour progressed with going around the machine shop then the engine assembly room with an engine coming off the production line every 4.5 minutes.

 

Production line.

This was followed by the paint shop, line painting and assembly line. There were so many people doing jobs there was only just enough room for us visitors to squeeze by within our path between yellow lines. Parts being delivered to the assembly point used this as well. I didn’t hear a great deal of what was said by Ram but to me it was obvious about what was being done. The noise and smells of a factory producing something is so different from what you would do in your workshop when you work on a bike.

 Hand painting the lines.

 At the end of the line the bikes are checked and tested, first on a rolling road, then around the car park. What a job riding the same route hundreds of times a day! You are doing it in 25C sunshine though! I could think of worse jobs. All too quickly the tour comes to an end and with few questions to answer Ram has time to spend with me. I have my laptop with me and I show him some pictures of the bikes in the Museum. He doesn’t have a memory stick available so I promise to pass on all the pictures through Google. I hand over a picture of the Enfield and a copy of Greg Staves diary of his fund rising Arctic to Antarctic adventure. We discussed what was selling in the UK and the image Royal Enfield has.

 Roling road before a whizz around the car park.

They are changing their image building on their name and setting up shops like most other large manufacturers with big shops that you can buy into the motorcycling experience as you want. Ram was busy and I was aware that Gita was waiting for me we bade our farewells and promised to keep in touch. I enjoyed the experience and appreciated the culture of the people who make India’s biggest bike and the old motorcycling name in the world.

After Goa

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Kerala Next.

We made attempts to leave Goa but all was thwarted by the fog in Delhi. We were at the airport in plenty of time and had to go to Cochin via Mumbai as there were no direct flights or available train seats on the day we wanted to travel. We waited for hours for the plane to escape the fog wondering if we would have to spend the night in Mumbai because we had missed the connection. It was an unnecessary worry as the connecting flight was delayed even longer so instead of having our evening meal in the booked hotel we had a KFC at Mumbai instead. We finally arrived at our hotel just after midnight and everything was all right in the end. The next day was not as good as we found you could only get anywhere by taxi. The hotel was on a main road that was being improved so it was a building site!

The view from the hotel bar on the roof was much better!

There was a bonus in that within walking distance was a Bajaj showroom and just a few more yards was a Honda showroom. Both said that there was a Triumph dealer just around the corner. I left there in search of Triumph showroom with no success and as it was getting dark I went back to the hotel. I would try again in the morning before we left for Allepy by train. As you can imagine I did my PR bit and left a flier at the Bajaj shop. I didn’t have one for the Honda shop but no one seemed to understand me anyway. In the morning I flagged down a passing Tuc-tuc and went in search of Triumph. I found a KTM/Kawasaki showroom and from them found out there where Triumph was. The building was across the main road and in sight. There was no easy access from where I was standing. There was an elevated dual carriageway in the way and there was a bit of a detour to get around it. I left a few fliers and then went across the road by Tuc-tuc to the Triumph showroom. It was not long before I was explaining who I was to the team there and I appreciated their patience. 

 The manager at the showroom is Shyamakrishna Ghosh. I left a flier there and downloaded the pictures I had on my laptop of Bruce Anstey’s 2003 TT winning Super Sports bike and some photos of the Museum. Today I had it with me as we had checked out of the hotel and were carrying some of our luggage. I enjoyed every minute of my time with them discussing my test rides and their impressions of the bikes they sell. Would you believe there are only 2 Street Triples in India! This particular shop was the third one set up in India and they seem to sell bikes all over the country. I asked about a factory visit from Shyam and he said he would support me in trying to see the people at the factory. I didn’t need to see what they did only to talk to them, so I’ll see how this turns out. My visit to Cochin was quite short but I still had the most fun going down to the beach and around the town in the Tuc-tuc going down some back streets that cars could never go and seeing another side of India.

Beyond Assam

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Goa is Warmer.

On the beach for Christmas and enjoying the sunshine I discover that Yorkshire has also had snowfalls. I wonder how warm it is at the Museum. I’m still on the case and at the resort I am staying at I meet up with a guy from Leicester who is a member of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club.

 He said he was just crazy about anything on two wheels. I have frequently just stopped and looked at the vast array of lightweight machinery parked around everywhere. Enfields’ are about too and their burbling exhaust is very distinctive within the hubbub of traffic. Most bikes have Sari guards and the Enfield one is very artistic.

 

 It is here in Goa that I see the aftermath of a bike accident with a scooter on its side and a gathering of bikers assisting. I had watching the traffic as we progressed by taxi from the airport. There were no cars involved in this incident so I gather that it was a close manoeuvre that went wrong and one bike clipped another resulting in a spill. This comes as no surprise as the antics of undertaking and overtaking make me cringe. I have seen people going at a steady pace with a little room on their left and riding sensibly only to be undertaken by someone at speed almost knocking them out of the way and almost into the path of someone overtaking. The result was swift actions by everyone near to avoid collisions. The riders and drivers give little room for error. They have transferred their bicycling techniques of go anywhere to motorcycles and then to cars. The result is mayhem and complete disregard to any rules that apply. It is not for the feint hearted. Normally India drives on the left as we do in the UK. This is not always the case as on some dual carriageways a continuous central reservation stops access to the other side of the road. To get around this traffic just goes the wrong way up the road to get to where they need to be. Sometimes directly towards you or the timid ones in the nearside gutter. It is all a bit disconcerting.

 

 Some people stick to the rules and go to the left of roundabouts others just treat it as an obstacle and go the shortest route. It all amounts to seeing a space and moving toward it. No great speed is involved even with overtaking, creeping by with an indecisive manoeuvre frequently forcing the overtook vehicle to slow to allow room of misjudged distances especially when there is something coming towards you. This results in much blowing of horns and flashing of lights. It seems that drivers and riders don’t plan their moves only seeing a space and trying to go for it even against a flow of oncoming traffic. I have talked people about how they ride and drive and all seem to have no real idea about gears and revs and acceleration. Quite happy to creep along in too high a gear labouring the engine and getting nowhere. It also appears all they want to do is get ahead of the person who is in front on any space available and not always the road! One lane becomes two and three becomes five as motorcycles, cars and tuc-tucs jostle for position. I would recommend tuc-tucs for any short taxiing around. They get through places cars can never go being almost as narrow as a bike. There will be more observations of riding in India as time goes on. In the mean time I’ll just keep topping up my sun tan.

Delhi onwards.

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Assam

Delhi traffic was something  to be experienced and the type of riding was the same when we arrived in Guwahati. Guwahati is the capital of Assam it used to be Shillong until the British moved out. Assam is the tea growing area of India. It has the right climate to grow the best tea in the world. It is black and strong and better than any of the stuff you will get in the UK unless it is genuine Assam tea. My wife comes from Assam and we are there for a family visit so we had to meet everyone in Guwahati and anyone else in travelling distance requiring a visit to a tea plantation just a few kilometres from the Bhutan border.  I had never known how tea was produced. I just thought you picked some old leaves and dried them or could smoke them. This could not be further from the truth as here is a strictly controlled process of drying and preparation that attains the quality of tea that we have today. This tea plantations carries on the traditions that were in place when the British were managing them and that includes the “Club”. The hospitality from the family and everyone was amazing and we are invited to go back. It is a place to have quiet sanctuary and “dance with the elephants” as they go by the tea gardens or sometimes through them when they migrate.

 Back in Guwahati more family visits and a chance to talk with Pritam about how good Enfields are and what I ride and what the museum is like. We have a good bikers chat while the rest of the family talk about me! The next day we fly off to Dibrugarh in the heart of Assam. More family to see and I get to have a ride around on a Honda CBR , In India it is only 125cc.

 I have a chance to ride around the block with my cousin Rischi on the back directing me. I use the horn in the best Indian traditions and making the most of my advanced riding skills. I now felt I could handle some Indian city traffic. Sadly Delhi Belly and a bad cold prevented me doing much more while I was there.

 I did get a chance to talk to another cousin Chinmoi when he came to visit with a friend and there was lots more bikers talk. Before I left Dibrugarh I was invited back to be a celebrity at one of the Bihu (traditional dances) gala events. Back in Delhi the big chill had hit. Instead of being a comfortable 25C it was a chilling 8C. In the UK at the time it was a warm 14C.  I was so cold, even with heating that I had vest, shirt, pullover, fleeced waterproof, scarf and beanie on. I couldn’t put gloves on as I needed to hold a cup and that is difficult if you have gloves on. I did have a remedy to the cold and that was to put vast quantities if whisky in steaming hot tea. I also heard we had just missed snow at Shimla. I could have gone skiing! I had got out of Delhi to Goa as fog set in and enjoyed the warmth of being so far south. In my travels I have read the IAM autumn magazine, the LE club “On the Level” MAG’s Road and a book about a Mr Clancy who rode around the world in 1912 on a Henderson! Some feat that was! I have also gained a sun tan!

India first Report

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News from Delhi.

You may wonder why you have not seen postings for a while, but I have been planning a tour of India and this is my first opportunity to report back on what has been happening. Arriving in Delhi was an experience. The traffic is about seven times that of London, never stops and fills every inch of tarmac and where possible pavements too! I have seen bikes and cars trying to beat the traffic, most of the time unsuccessfully. I have spent many miles as a passenger in a taxi observing the antics of riders and drivers they have a different set of rules to those we use in the UK. The “safety bubble” and “keep your distance” do not apply. There is a level of closeness that would feel uncomfortable to most riders in the UK. I have more to comment on as the tour progresses. Playing chicken is normal with almost forcing other road users off the road and sometimes hitting them. No one seems to bother to stop unless the person doesn’t get up again. Even cows get in on the act.

The first adventure was a train trip to Shimla. Taking the train from Delhi to Kalka and an overnight stop before continuing on the narrow gauge railway up to the town rising more than 1800m. The railway was built by the British and completed in 1903. It was and still is a feat of engineering and an experience to be had. On the way I picked up a complementary paper that was reporting on the activities of the local police motorcycle display team showing off what they could do.

They are obviously short of Enfield motorcycles and I captured this image of them rushing to an incident after these other two guys had been showing off.

 

 It was cold in Shimla and I stayed at the Clarke’s Hotel. It is an amazing place with all the waiters in traditional costume; including hats that were so well done they looked like a very well dressed army ready for a ceremonial occasion. One day at Shimla then the return trip on the toy train and then back to Delhi that evening. I got back to my accommodation only to be told that my flight to Guwahati the next afternoon had been cancelled and the alternative  was now at 7:30am with no direct flight it was diverted through Calcutta making a 3hour flight into 5 hours having to disembark at Calcutta to get on another plane. This meant that I had to be up at 4:00 am to be ready for 5:00 am to take the taxi to the airport to catch the plane with time to spare. On arriving in Guwahati and taking a taxi to visit family I saw the first accident. A car was doing a creeping overtake of a tuc-tuc, as the drivers do even against oncoming traffic, he failed to see a car coming towards him swerved into the tuc-tuc bouncing it sideways and putting several dents in his car. The tuc-tuc looked no worse for wear and carried on slowly regaining some composure as the car sped off and did a swift left turn to escape from his misdemeanour. I have taken many rides in tuc-tucs, as they are called in Thailand, auto rickshaws in India and most other places call them more unpleasant names. In Thailand tuc-tuc comes from the sound that the diesel engine makes as the go along. Piagio make them as do Bajaj and Mahindra.

  They are extremely robust with a chassis that will not break. Ideal for taxiing and most other commercial uses. There are lightweight bikes and scooters everywhere and on every journey I could see different makes and models with the usual presence from Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki with only a few Kawasaki, but new to me were the Indian Hero Honda, Bajaj, Mahindra and TVS.