2013 India Bike Week
Bikers come in various flavours. There are those like me, who think the biker tag has too many negative connotations. We are motorcyclists. More serious, more addicted to the art and science of the motorcycle, and therefore, holier than thou. Then there are the bikers. These people have all the kit, from the bike to the lid via the performance exhaust, ECU tuner box et al. And their nearly full-on race bike has a chicken strip the size of Thailand and the odometer will probably never cross into the five digit territory. There are the people with miles and miles under their belt. And the people who have the belt. India Bike Week, I like to call it, India's biggest motorcycle party, had something for everyone.
As the leisure segment in India grows, riders (see how deftly I used a non-classifying term there?) feel the need to come together at some level. To spend time together, to bench race, to have a beer or two. To kick tyres. So far, the only event of this kind with any kind of scale was Royal Enfield's Rider Mania.
IBW came from the brains of Harley-Davidson and Seventy (an events firm that's worked behind the scenes to help HD with most of their big Indian events). The two day 'week' in Goa then, was the happy culmination of months and months of planning.
Martin da Costa, who heads Seventy event media group explains the "two days is a week" issue. "It is actually a week, if you think about it. We have well over a thousand motorcycles here and most came long distances to be here. They have been riding to come to Goa over the last two or three days. And they will ride another two or three days before they get home. That is a week, right?"
Harley-Davidson, celebrating a 110 years this year, also organised their First National HOG Rally to coincide with the IBW. A grand total of just over 600 Harleys rumbled into the Goa festival ground. That is staggering. HD has sold just over 2000 motorcycles in India since they arrived two-odd years ago. And over a quarter of the bikes they sold turned up!
This, obviously, meant Harley logos, Owner's Group tees and club insignia was everywhere at the event. Also present were enthusiasts on Superbikes, smaller machines. RD350s, Enfields and more.
You might wonder what the bikers did there. And to me, this was both the best part and the weak link in the event. Riding down with friends, hanging out with them over the weekend with the motorcycle parked, the music and beer flowing, conversation at full chat... That's the stuff the cliched biker brotherhood is made of. Then there was motorcycle gear and bits on sale, a flea market was on, there were talks and film/documentary screenings and a number of motorcyclists were recognised on the main stage. The backdrop to this was bass-heavy music that ran right through the weekend in a combination of DJs, rock bands, dub step bands and more.
The weak link? There was not much at all really if you weren't watching the stunt shows, the Coyote Girls doing the Gangnam Style or the damp squib that passed for a bikini bike wash. As in activity wise, there was very little to do.
The lone biker would have gotten a bit tired of just hanging around doing basically bugger all. On the other hand, this was Goa. Which means you could always fire the bike up, and head to a selection of beaches, gobble down some of the finest, freshest seafood or just hang back and chill at any of the numerous lounges that seem to dot the Goan touristscape now.
What did I do? I took loads of pictures, hung around with a few of my closest friends, some of whom were into bikes and fit in, some of whom are also from the fourth estate and had the dispassionate outside eye looking in to our two-wheeled world. I met a bunch of OVERDRIVE readers which is always a great pleasure and there were the funny, quirky members of the team too. Since there was no riding to be done apart from the two Harleys that I rode into the show (thoughtfully, the return trip was in the back of an Innova), I guzzled a couple of beers, had some delicious burgers and almost, in a weak moment, ordered a plate of Maggi, just because.
Big laughs and big hugs seemed to be the flavour of the weekend for me, with a side of exotic motorcycles, loads of music and just over a month's worth of pulled legs, pranks and general light mischief.
Which, I think, is great value for money as parties go, right?
