Chapter 4: “Looking for Delhi Biker?”

My '95 Enfield's handle bars going the Israeli way. En route to Pushkar. 

A Delhi Biker is usually found roaming around his second home, that is, Karol Bagh. 

What Nehru Place is for video game junkies and hackers, Karol Bagh is for bikers. 

Anything you want fabricated, replicated, restored or resurrected, there is always someone who knows someone who can 'help'.

You can’t possibly go on an epic bike trip and not visit its glorious gali’s (streets) to stock up on more metal and chrome you logically need.

One of my regular hangouts back in the day used to be Khajanchi.

It was a treasure house of assorted bike accessories.

That is, before it turned into a religion and split into denominations.

The irony is that these shop owners must have kitted out hundreds of bikers to head out on trips, but have seldom left Delhi.

In 2002-03 outside Khajanchi you would find Israeli’s who spent hours harassing Jeetu to get them a higher handle bar, turn their seat into a sofa, and make their pipes louder for the lowest possible rates.

One look at their oversized Enfields and you knew the bike was scrap metal on wheels. 

But they were probably too stoned when their charas-smoking compatriots sold it to them. Besides, the same would happen to the next guy. 

Which explained the t-shirt they all wore ‘Same-Same-No-Different’

But sometimes that’s a good thing when things don’t change much. 

Next time when you do visit Karol Bagh check out two bearded twins (miniature Gandalf’s) at the entrance of Khajanchi selling shikanji (lemonade)

I have a theory (a myth I’d like to propagate) that they are the reason why that lane is so popular. On any given day, Karol Bagh is hot, sticky and loud.  People come to drink the shikanji and it brainwashes them to change their seat cover or buy another chrome accessory to dazzle Delhi with.

Why do you think people look so happy there? 

You thought it was the ‘quality’ stickers they paste on all those buffed and chromed parts? I think it’s the shikanji.

  

Go to Karol Bagh! They will modify it for you!

I don’t know who Karol is, but ‘bagh’ in Hindi could mean a tiger as well as a garden. So for me, its Asia’s largest motorcycle garden full of man-eating tigers. 

If you have done your homework, you will get what you want. 

If not, you will pay ‘school-fees’ for few years like I did and eventually learn the difference between ‘genuine’ and ‘local’ parts and people.

Chai delivered in plastic bags, bike stripped on the footpath,
 toilet break behind the wall. A typical set up by Ustads 
to keep you distracted.