WE HAVE BIKES!!!!



Yes, we are now the proud (?) owners of a couple of Bajaj Pulsar 150s...I know, smaller than what we were looking for, but they just didn't have very many 180s available. We also decided against the Enfields for reliability and fuel consumption reasons (though we would have loved to be riding Enfields :)

Yesterday was very tiring....everyone wants you to ride and then buy (you have to beg for a test ride in the UK, but these guys here just let you take the bike....well I did leave A in hock at the shop :). We wanted to look first and then invest more time in the ones that had potential. I must have spun the wheels and checked the bearings and lights on a dozen bikes, but not all that many made the grade. You could just wipe your hand on the underside of the main case on most of the Enfields and come away with fingers full of oil.The one bike that didn't do that - a Machismo that I really liked (A LOT! I was dreaming about it last night!) - was in need of so much attention that we just didn't want to risk it - some corrosion around the valve hole on the rear wheel, no battery - so we didn't know what lights were working, the rear indicators were missing, the front brake didn't work at all...the switch gear was a mess (broken bits, etc.).

Another thing that I think swung us away from the Enfields was chatting to these 2 chicks outside Inder Motors (this is Lalli Singh's shop, and he has a great reputation with Enfields on the web and in the guidebooks) this morning. They had just finished 3 weeks on the backs of their husbands bikes, and they had had a great time. We asked them about the bikes and did they have any problems kickstarting them and the first thing they said was that they kept cutting out....hmmm, not a good feeling at all. One of the places on the web also said that they need new a new chain/sprocket about every 5000 miles...that is 3 (?) times on our trip? No thanks :) Petrol consumption is also quite a bit more than the Pulsars and when petrols is $4 a gallon (admittedly only 55p a liter :) and we are doing this on the cheap....a ride on the little 150 thumper and the decision was easy :) Seeing what we are here to see is more important than being seen on a cool looking bike :)

Anyway, the bikes!!!! A's bike is a blue 2002 Pulsar 150.One owner, only 1100 kms since new!!! It's not even run-in yet. It is in great shape and it is amazingly easy to ride...even when the gears are a bit wacky (neutral at the top, down 1-2-3-4-5). It's naked (just the way she left, and loves, Black Beauty :) so she feels right at home :) Mine is a black 2006 Pulsar 150 DTSi (which means it has 2 spark plugs instead of one). It also had one owner, and it's done 9000kms ... and definitely feels like it has had more use than the blue one, but it's still good. Mine has a little bikini fairing. They both ride about the same, thumpy little singles :), and they both have good brakes - single discs in front, drums in the rear. The gearbox is a bit sloppy, but it works. Oh, A's is kickstart only and mine is electric and kickstart (one plug is hooked up to the electric and the other plug works on the kickstart...cool, eh? :). We tried to get the 2007 180DTSi model, they had one used one in the market, but it was a bit pricey (for what it was), and it had been sold by the time we got there this morning. Oh...these 150s should do about 45kpl, so with the 15 liter tank that's a 675km/400mile range - excellent!!!!

I will say we are crap bargainers!!! But those guys were not giving any quarter and we were running out of time. Not that we got ripped off - A's bike was GBP360!!!! Try getting a 125 in London (or the UK) in that condition for that kind of cash....it won't happen :) Mine was a bit more, it being a bit younger, but still a good deal at just over GBP500 :) We got some spares and an oil change for A's bike (the oil hadn't been changed since 2003) - one clutch cable: ~50 rupees (60p?), one sparkplug: ~50 rupees, one oil change (with premium Castrol oil :) : 200 rupees (not even 3 quid!!!!)

All in all it was a great experience. We are very happy with the bikes - it was a 25km ride back to the hotel, through city and ring road (what passes for an A road :) traffic AND I was starved (I only had a bowl of porridge for breakfast, and anyone that knows what I am like when I am hungry... :):):) we both arrived with huge grins, very triumphant (that was a nifty piece of navigation and I am very proud of myself :)...and then we went right to the restaurant for veggie rice, chow mein and momos, now my stomach is happy, too :)

We will catch you all later, thanks for reading :)