On a typical Sunday evening, among the lovers, friends and loners relaxing at the seaface on Carter Road, near Bandra Bandstand in Mumbai, you will find a fiery group of people animatedly discussing their common passion-Royal Enfield Bullets. Meet the Inddie Thumpers of Mumbai. "Inddie for Indian and Thumpers, as in the single-stroke British bike," says Mayur Banwasi, a software engineer, the moderator of the club. His black standard 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet is of 1984 vintage.
Raring to Go: The Inddie Thumpers ride together on a trip
These men and women simply love riding their bikes and the only requirement to be a member is to own the classic 'Thumper'. (They were originally made in the UK, but have been made in India since the 1950s.) Their motto: Ride together, rule together.
In December 2001 software engineer Daman Siddhu and banker Rasik Narula, who bumped into each other at a Bullet workshop, decided to ride down to Bhimashankar (about 250 km from Mumbai), Lonavla and Pune along with Ravindra Soni, another Bullet enthusiast. There originated the idea of starting a club. On returning to Mumbai, Daman started a Web site inviting those with similar interests to join their group. They printed pamphlets and even accosted Bullet owners at traffic signals. The idea quickly picked up momentum and the numbers grew. Today, the Inddie Thumpers total a proud 220, including Chotu and Antony, the two mechanics who accompany the group on their trips and attend their regular meetings.
The Bullet models include regular 350 cc Bullets, Machismos, A 350s, Electras, regular 500s, a 500 City Bike and a 535 Lightning. The oldest bike is a 1942 UK-made model, which has all the original Smith's speedo and brass logos-a work of art for the Inddie Thumpers, whose aim is to get together and share their experiences on the Bullet. "It is a brotherhood, we share the same passion, same story," says Zubair Agloria, an IT consultant, owner of a green 1967 model that he calls 'Venom'.
Their meetings usually wind up by 8.30 p.m. with chai at Barista-that is when they are in Mumbai. Otherwise, many weekends are spent riding to Mahabaleshwar, Lonavla, Khandala or on longer trips to Daman and Goa. For those with busy schedules, outstation rides on Saturday night and returning on Sunday morning are not uncommon. "Only last night we rode to Lonavla for dinner," says Rasik, who owns two Bullets. Five members left at 11 p.m. and were back by 5 a.m. the next morning. The same night, another group rode 80 km to Virar for dinner.
"Check out our Web site (groups.yahoo.com/group/inddiethumpers) for write- ups of our trips," says Dinesh D'Mello, the owner of a 1994 standard 350 Enfield. "It gets better every time." There are regular updates, besides an online bullet manual that highlights a crash survival system, things to do in case of a road accident, Bullet specifications and manual downloads, touring tips, travel checklist and a comprehensive road map of India. The procedure to join is simple. All you need to do is enroll through the e-group and, of course, you have to be from Mumbai.
There are two other clubs for Bullets. One is a Bullet Online club that has only online meetings and discussions, and the other-called the 60 kmph-is open to Bullet owners all over the country. In fact, Inddie Thumper Histasp Khambhata, an associate consultant at the software company Mastek, rode down to Kerala last month with the 60 kmph group. "There were 11 bikers in all, from Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvanan-thapuram, Mumbai and Delhi," says Khambhata. He bought his green Standard 350 in December 1994, and over the years, has done cosmetic and performance enhancement changes to the bike.
There are female Inddie Thumpers, too. Shweta Gulati, a software engineer, learnt to ride on her friend Daman's Bullet. "People still stare," says Shweta. "In fact, the other day when I overtook a guy, he actually rode up to me to see if I was a girl. He just could not believe his eyes." A salwar kameez-clad girl makes a statement when she rides down a road on a thumping Bullet-even in a busy metro like Mumbai. And when you see her riding past with a group of 30 men bikers, it really is a sight to behold.
There are two other girls who ride like Shweta, and the wives and children of many members ride pillion during trips. The youngest to join a trip, Calvin, is one and a half years old, while the oldest is 45 years old. "We took Calvin for his first trip when he was 13 months old," says Rose D'mello, Dinesh's wife. "I strapped him up comfortably in a knapsack and when he awoke from his sleep, he used to wave out to the other members."
The group is now just over a year old and had its anniversary bash in December, celebrating with dinner and a cake. The members also took a short ride to Belapur, 35 km from Mumbai, and finished off with a race on Palm Beach Road.
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