Machines meant for class, not mass

Riding the US-manufactured 2-wheeler gives pleasure

American cruisers are head-turning bikes on roads

Satish Upadhya is an Indian by birth but he is a true lover of “Indian motorcycles”. And he rides an US-manufactured Indian motorcycle. Always. When he rides through the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and elsewhere on Indian, people wait for him to pass by and often ask him for selfies. For, Satish has a dashing personality and the bike that he rides too is dashing-- the aesthetically stunning American cruisers. “It's a head-turning bike. People look at you with a sense of pride and give you a thumbs up sign,” says the 51-year-old Satish, who was the first to own an Indian motorcycle in the MMR.

“It's like riding a two-wheeler and getting the pleasure of a four-wheeler,” he says. For him, biking is a “passion”. “Sitting on an Indian and riding gives a sense of pride. There is nothing else that can match it,” says Satish, who is the Director of  Thane-based Douse Fire Systems Pvt Ltd. “It's all about passion, thrill and reliability,” said Satish, who along with his daughter Apoorva is promoting the biking culture in Mumbai.

They are a part of something which is now known as Indian culture. Apoorva rides the Triumph T-100.  “All Indian owners are like family members and we know each other as we ride together on weekends,” he said.

“I learnt biking from my dad,” said Apoorva, who wants to popularise biking culture among women. “It is wrong to equate bikes with boys and men. In fact, worldover there are several good women bikers,” she said. In India too there are several celebrities who ride motorcycles. “It is an art that you pick up and continue to improve,” she said.

In Mumbai and suburbs there is no formal group, but there is a WhatsApp group named Indian Mumbai Riders Group (IMRG). It is just a “functional group” of the Indian lovers.

Indian Motorcycle, a wholly-owned division of Polaris Industries Inc, is America’s first motorcycle company. Founded in 1901, Indian motorcycles has won the hearts of bikers around the world and earned distinction as one of America’s most legendary and iconic brands through unrivalled racing dominance, engineering prowess and countless innovations and industry firsts. 

 There are about 200 Indian bikes in the country, says Manan Patel, Sales & Service Head, Indian Motorcycle, Mumbai, Autohangar (India) Pvt Ltd. “As far as Maharashtra is concerned, there are 40-odd Indian bikes. The numbers may be small, but the culture is building up. In the times to come, there would be many more Indians on roads,” Patel said.

 All models are available in India and price ranges between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 39 lakh. The weight of the bike varies from 240 kg to 450 kg and in terms of power, the range is between 1,000 CC and 1,811 CC. “You can image the thrill,” he said. The Indian Motorcycle has maximum presence in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi.

Satish has travelled across Maharashtra on Indian bikes. “I have covered major parts of Maharashtra besides Goa, Gujarat and Ladakh. Now I am planning to do Mumbai-Rajasthan, Mumbai- Bhutan, Mumbai- Kanniyakumari  trips," he said.

A trip involves a lot. “We have to work out the logistics in advance. With the bikers a few SUVs and vans follow, with spares and so on,” he said. Recalling his biking experience of 28 years, he said that his first scooter was a Lambretta before he graduated to bikes. His collection include 21  two-wheelers--Royal Enfield (350cc), Military Matches,  Matchless, BSA-350cc, BSA 250cc, Jawa, Yezdi, Yezdi Road King, Vespa 150cc, Rajdoot Bobby, Bajaj Super, Vijay Super, Bajaj Cub, Triump-T-100, Indian Chief Vintage and Vespa Piaggio.

Talking about the Indian bikes, he said Indian Motorcycles is the oldest brand in the world which is still in existence. “Since 1901, it is a premium brand. In 1904 the company introduced the deep red colour that became Indian's trademark," he said.

The models available in India are Indian Scout-60 (Rs 12 lakh ex-showroom), Indian Scout (Rs 14 lakh), Indian Classic (Rs 23 lakh), Dark Horse (Rs 22 lakh), Indian Vintage (Rs 34 lakh), Indian Springfield (Rs 37 lakh) and  Indian Road Master (Rs 39 lakh).

Satish said that it is a “royal machine” meant for class not mass. “The main thing about riding Indians is that it is a dream come true. It has the best power,” he said.

On the biking culture and groups, he said that it is growing in urban centres and among middle class and upper middle class. “At one point of time, there was only one option--Royal Enfield. But now there are Harley Davidsons, Triumphs, Nortons and so on.”

 As far as the Indians is concerned, it does not have a manufacturing facility in Mumbai.
There are dealers and you have to  import and the duty is as high as 130%. Again people who know about it and have the power to go for it, would definitely get one of these machines,” he said.  As more foreign companies are setting up plants in India and even Indian manufacturers are coming up with cruise bikes, the bike culture is going to mature in the times to come. “In future, there would be a lot of technical discussions about bikes in these groups,” he said.

He said that the IMRG is quite active and there are events every weekend. “In case, we are clocking 200 km, there has to be a halt every 100 km, a chai-break," he said. Overnight camps too are thrilling and recently the two-day meeting of Indian motorcycle owners was held in Daman. There are a few ladies in the group as well. 

“There are a lot of activities and games, songs, dances, tug-of-war and so on," he said. The latest biking trends are also discussed. The bikers go around cities during their trips.