lionel

Just bought a brand new Ninja 650 here in India.

Plan long distance tours on this one.

Enjoy the pictures.

Attached Thumbnails

     

ShinobiJeh

Nice bike bhai. I never saw a 650 while in India, but my mangater says she saw a red one at the market like mine. She says everyone was crowding around and looking at it. I have a red 07 650R but I live in the US.

I'm pakka desi na, actually, mein par desi hu, mere mangater Agra se.

VA_Glocker

Congrats.! BTW, what does it cost over there in India?

lionel

Kawasaki has tied up with one of India's most prolific bike manufacturers Bajaj Auto for sales and service.

The 650 retails for $10,000 here while the 250's go for $5,000 approximately. They are imported as completely knocked down kits from Thailand and assembled here at Bajaj's Chakan facility in Pune.

The higher costs are owing to import duties.

Have been in the running in mode on the Ninja now. Done only around 350kms and there's a lot more to be done.

tropicalbikey

I ride the naked ER6N in Indonesia. I visit India maybe twice a year, and have always wanted to do tour in the Himalayas. I have asked an editor of motorcyle magazine in India about how to get around ownership issues for non-residents. You have any tips? Would love to buy one and keep it here or even resell after a few months.

lionel

Option 1
If you want to get your bike here and then ride for a few months a CARNET license procedure would be easy. This would enable you to ride the bike here for a specified period with an international license. The only hindrance I see is the cost of transporting your bike here. But I guess you can figure that out at your end.

Option 2
If you want to buy here; firstly the ninja's have a long waiting period and not available readily. Mine took almost 6 months to arrive from Thailand. And for you to sell it when leaving is going to be another hassle with all the bureaucracy around.

Option 3
Hire a Royal Enfield touring bike. A lot of foreigners hire these bikes here, do their trips and give it back.

Here are some links you might want to read through for more details on touring in India.
WIAA Carnet
Royal Enfield
India Travel Forum | IndiaMike.com

tropicalbikey

Thanks for the info and the links. Yes I am quite aware of the Royal Enfield option. But I spent years running old English singles and helping a buddy with a couple of twins, am so over the old English bike.

Good to know about the long waiting period though. It was like that in Indonesia for the ER6N then suddenly the floodgates burst. I thought of the carnet thing but it's a bit of trick getting the bike to India..

I thought I remembered there was someway to buy a bike in a resident or citizens name then resell. Oh well.

Back to the drawing board.

hitmanninja

I am planning to move to India.. for two years or so... riding a 2005 zx6r 636... actually recently written off as of today all other options of owning something decent have been sidelined due to custom cost, duty etc. So how much would a 636 cost me India can I get them? How long would I have to wait? Anybody please

lionel

Hey hitmanninja,
Your options to own a legal superbike in India are very few. So here they are

1) Honda CBR1000/CB1000 Honda

2) Yamaha YZF R1/FZ1 India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd.

3) Kawasaki Ninja 650/250 Bajaj Auto - Bikes in India | Bike Prices | New Bikes | Buy Bikes Online | Two Wheeler Manufacturer India | Latest Motorcycles India | Sports Bikes

4) Suzuki GSXR1000/Hayabusa/Bandit 1250 Suzuki Motor Two Wheelers, Motorcycle Manufacturing Company India

5) Harley Davidson Harley-Davidson India

Please note that the bikes here cost at least 30% to 50% more than international prices owing to import duties which may run to upto 150% of the original cost of the bike.

Only the Kawasaki's and Harley's enjoy lesser duties since they are bought down as knocked down kits and assembled in factories in India. Rest of the manufacturers import them directly.

Plus, riding a superbike in India is not an easy task owing to lax traffic rules and mindsets of other riders/drivers. A superbike cannot and I stress cannot be used as a daily riding machine. You're better off with a lower capacity machine which won't attract attention on the streets and is easy to maintain.

I personally use the Ninja only for long distance touring and the occasional ride in the city.

I hope this info helps.

hitmanninja

Thanks... 650r is not an option for me the others seem expensive as you state but nonetheless the information has been real helpful. I might contemplate seriously not to ride while in India.

Cheers h