Riding the Himalayan Sleet in Jaipur

The voice at the other end of the line said "Hi Vir. I am calling on behalf of Royal Enfield can you please keep these following dates free. We would like you to join us in Jaipur to ride some motorcycles. We shall be in touch with more details" CLICK.  Cut to we are in Jaipur at the hotel with a cold beer in our hand sitting down for a presentation. The room is filled with some familiar faces. Lots of moto peeps who are popular on Twitter, Facetube, Instagram and other Social Media channels. So team Royal Enfield splits us up into groups of 4 and then starts telling us what the plan is.

We will be riding the new Fuel Injected Royal Enfield Himalayan and each team will have one Royal Enfield Himalayan Sleet with the new Explorer Kit. (The explorer kit has the new panniers, a new wider double walled braced handlebar and engine guards). The Sleet refers to the new paint scheme the bike will come in adding to the two colours it was originally launched in Granite and Snow. (Remember we rode them at the launch).

Anywho the idea was to spend a day riding these new motorcycles around Jaipur but Team Royal Enfield had a spin to this. They broke us up into teams of 4 and gave us all 10 GPS coordinates (there were 5 spots which held points when we had to collect. It was actually 7 which they didnt tell us and left it as a secret) and told us we needed to get to as many as we could in the day and be back in the hotel by 5P.M. Every minute later and we would loose points. I luckily was teamed up with some map ninjas. They plotted and planned the route down to the detail while I drank beer with the other teams trying to infiltrate their plans and throw them off course.

The next morning we were the first ones out of the gate and started knocking the points down steadily. By lunch time we had 5 points and 4 locations left (we had no time for lunch we were to busy kicking ass). There was one coordinate that was giving us trouble. We knew how to get there but it was through a national forest and to enter we needed tickets for all 4 bikes and riders but also we needed to pay for every camera we were carrying. Just me I had 5 cameras not counting the phone. In the team we had over 20 and a drone so we were in financial trouble. We left that one till the end because we had to find another route to it. A longish highway ride and a flat tyre later we found the spot and grabbed the last point and made it back to the hotel. Needless to say guess who was the big winner that day YEP. What a day it was. The best part was when I caught up with Harsh (who was in a different team and went and spent the day at Sambar Lake) and compared our days ride and they were like totally different experiences. What a way to ride a new motorcycle and have a ton of fun doing it.

But it seemed that team Royal Enfield had more in store for us. Vijay Singh Rajputana boss man and visionary at Rajputana Customs has built him self a flat track that he has named John Singh Speedway after his grandfather who was an avid motorcyclist and dirt track enthusiast. So team Royal Enfield  got Vijay to spend the day giving us some tips on flat tracking and boy what a day it was. We spent the whole day riding around the track kicking up dirt and having a great time doing it. I was so taken by the Flat Track that I am actually itching to get back out again. What a incredibly fun day what an incredibly fun two days hosted by Enfield for their new Himalayn Sleet.

 

The 500 special edition Sleets went out on sale yesterday on the Royal Enfield website and were sold out within the day. Now if you want a Sleet you can buy one but without the adventure pack that will now be sold separate at an extra cost.

Harshs Kit

Jacket - Icon DKR Raiden

Pants - Rev'it Defender Pro GTX

Gloves - Icon Raiden Arakis

Boots - Sidi Adventure 

Helmet - Icon Varient Carbon

Virs Kit

Jacket - Icon DKR Raiden

Pants - Joe Rocket Ballistic 7.0  (they are 10 years old and kicking ass)

Gloves - Ikon Raiden Arakis

Boots - Sidi Adventure 2 Gore-Tex

Helmet - AGV AX-8 EVO

A Meghalaya Maunder | Go Getter

If you follow us on social media you would have noticed in the first week of December we picked up a Land Rover Discovery Sport in Calcutta and started driving East. The idea was to get to Nagaland but after two days of hard driving and evening of revelry with Parakram and his friends at a wedding in Guwahati we ended up changing our plans and headed out towards Meghalaya. With no idea of what we were going to encounter we did what we do best. We picked a spot on the map and we headed out towards it.

If you have had the opportunity to fly Go Air this month and took a peak at the inflight magazine you would have come across an account of our adventures while we were in the beautiful state of Meghalaya. If not here is a link to the same on the Go Air website (January 2018 issue Page 75)

So the question we got from many of you was does that mean there will be more cager trips in the future? Yes maybe...

Does it mean we will ride less!

Hell No 

The Urban Weekend Warrior | Go Getter

In 2013 when Royal Enfield launched the Continental GT Harsh was one of the lucky few to attend the awesome launch event in the UK which you can read about here. I on the other hand was on one of our maiden Pangi rides during the time.

So when it came to the launch in India which was to be held in Goa there were no way I was going to miss it. I secured a place on the ride and we flew to Goa to ride the new cafe racer from Royal Enfield. The weekend was a brilliant showcase of the motorcycle we rode many hours and met many of the people who designed worked and brought this motorcycle to life. So much fun the motorcycle was that Dad booked the first one in Chandigarh while I was still at the launch. (I still have it. Just needs a new battery and some spit and polish to get up and running)

Today the GT has been discontinued from the line up in India. Maybe its just to pave the way for the new 650 platform. (there is a GT varient that is coming as well). But here is remembering the New old Continental GT. I wrote about it in the January 2014 edition of Go Getter (Page 102) 

The Royal Enfield Garage Cafe, Baga, Goa

For years now, riding a Royal Enfield motorcycle has brought with it a certain cultural identity. Far more than simply a mode of transportation, the Royal Enfield motorcycle has provided a way of life, a counter-culture and a source of identity for a growing group of people. This is what Royal Enfield calls, rather grandiosely, ‘Pure Motorcycling’ where man and Machine are in sync while in pursuit of their passions, curiosities and interests.

Soon, by 2019, Royal Enfield will be putting a million iron dreamcatchers on the roads every year and the Enfield Garage Cafe on Baga River in Goa is a magnificent unfurling of the the brand’s flag that signals their growing clout, their ambition and the pure motorcycling mantra.

Behind the evocative facade that incorporates the brand through breathtaking artwork done in the local azulejo tiles, the Garage Cafe houses motorcycle sales and service, hip apparel that is biased towards everyday motorcycling life, a large exhibition space and a restaurant that serves food from the quirky to the divine. Fittingly, the beer on tap is called Susegaad, which is procured from a local micro-brewery down the road. A fully kitted dream garage is also available where one can work on their motorcycle and expert supervision is on hand. In a few weeks time, you will also be able to rent a Royal Enfield motorcycle of your choice.

The plan is to open more of these Garage Cafes in other cities in India and abroad. More power to them!

The  keeper of the flame at the Enfield Goa Garage Cafe, Jamshed Madon, dressed appropriately in a Helmet Stories tee