[Tushar]

Goa - simply utter the name of this state and most of us have a smile on our face. The ultimate leisure destination of India has something for everyone throughout the year, whether it's the beaches, villages or markets. However, one of Goa's signatures for the past few years happens for just two days out of 365 (366 this year ).

India Bike Week returned for its 4th edition this year and started just as the winter ended. With temperatures soaring, you'd think that people would crave for the comfort of a car with the air-con on full blast. The sun's rage though, couldn't compete with the allure of the country's biggest biker fest and 2016 too, saw the arrival of bikers from different wings of the country to celebrate a passion that's becoming a religion. Here's a little taste of what went down at IBW 2016.

Support from the community and brands has taken IBW to its 4th edition:


This time, the venue wasn't the Vagator Hill Top. IBW was hosted at the Arpora Sporting Ground instead:




The IBW box office. Suffice it to say, the crowd got a lot larger as the day progressed:




The great migration i.e. the point where riders would make their grand entrance into the venue:


Traditional Marathi beats warm up the crowd before the riders arrive:


Harley-Owners Group i.e. H.O.G members get in position to make their entry:


And the parade begins!


Girl power Gliding in:


Rider on the left got a new set of fog lamps since last year


The spirit spans age groups:


Camera in hand, yet ready to pose for my lens!


Cowboy on his 'Bob:


Three things I share with this man - the RTO, the love for riding and the belly


Marc McAllister (VP and MD of Harley-Davidson Asia-Pacific) rides in on the Street Glide I got to ride in Bhutan (link to report). Good to see the old girl again:


Skull on a Street:


Someone's in the mood to play a little dashing bikes:


Apart from the bikes, you sure get to see some interesting helmets:




Indian motorcycles ride in:




Didn't know Batman was loaning his bike:




Bringing the 'India' to India Bike Week:


Rider and pillion in full gear. Way to lead by example!


Vimal Sumbly (MD - Triumph Motorcycles India) leads the British biker convoy:


The Tiger range is shaping up to be one of the most popular adventure tourers in the country:


Italian counterparts - Ducati Multistrada and the Benelli TNT 600 GT:

[Tushar]

Mod-bike parade

The monowheel, where you're almost literally a part of the bike!


Whacky and innovative modified bikes made their way down. Great to see that these bikes aren't just about form and can function as well:






If you can take your eyes off the skull, take some time to look at the sheer number of spokes in that wheel!


Maral Yazarloo leads the female biker convoy. She has the highest mileage on the road in India of any female Harley-Davidson rider (>50,000 km). Riding a Beemer on this occasion:










Catwoman on a Kawasaki:


Polaris Slingshot:


Dressed for the cameras, whether they're on the ground...


...or in the air!


Parked eye-candy

BMW R1200 GS; arguably the king of its segment:




It's not just about the destination, the journey to IBW adds to the festival's vibe too:


KTMs catch a breather:


Ninja 650s sniffing each other


Ducati duo:


Mingling Mojos:




Just when you thought things couldn't get any hotter - the Ninja H2!




Every contour on the body embodies the performance pedigree:






Neat camo paintjob on a Street Glide:

[Tushar]

Unique Attractions

Harley-Davidson's 'Legend on Tour' mobile dealership. Designed by DC (related thread):


Apart from Goa, the bus will make its way to Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Coimbatore too:


Harley-Davidson's biker monument:


Dougie Lampkin


12 time Moto Trial champion Dougie Lampkin had the entire venue chasing him as he made his way through different obstacles:








Dirty 20 Enduro Challenge


The Dirty 20 Enduro Challenge is an off-road/obstacle course where riders can compete to test their handling abilities. Here's a walkthrough of the track:




























Sarthak Chavan


9-year old Sarthak Chavan, a young motocross veteran was at the event. Here, he is showing the grown-ups how it's done!












A video of Sarthak in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZe_hQZs-7I

[Tushar]

The competition had participants lining up to give it a shot:


A variety of bikes were put to the test on the course. Got me missing my own:






Big Trip


The Big Trip hall had speakers sharing intimate details of their two-wheel trips. Here we have the "Sole traveler diaries" with Alankar Misra:


Everyday people with extraordinary achievements to their name, inspiring many others to follow suit. Speaking of extraordinary, guess who also had the podium at the big trip...


...India's Dakar hero CS Santosh!


The dead silence while Santosh spoke of his Dakar journey was only broken by the roaring applause for him every few minutes:


Speaking of eminent sporting personalities, here's our ''made in India'' Valentino Rossi! His name is Harish 'Rossi', obviously a big fan:


This year too gave riders the opportunity to see just how much muscle their bikes offered. Scores of riders lined up to have their bikes dyno tested:


Bikini bike wash:


A little something to prove you made the pilgrimage:

[Tushar]

Stunt Zone

Pro stunt riders do the tango with their rides:






Here I thought I was a skilled rider because I dodge potholes with so much grace


The kind of smoking everyone can get behind:






Apart from the stunts, the coordination between the riders is a sight to behold:










Because the pillion seat is too mainstream:


Oh don't mind me, just taking my bike for a walk:




Walking the plank:






Showmanship is as important as skill:

[Tushar]

Biker Build-Off

Crystal Angel - by R&G Customs:


Easily the most shiny competitor at the build-off:


R&G has a penchant for flashy designs. Gemini Angel was their entry last year:










Lokhand - by Dochaki Designs:




This one's for the raw bike design lovers:


Lack of finesse in weld-work looks ugly:






Tony 535 - by inline 3 customs:


USD forks:




I like how the air filter cover compliments the design:






Immortale - by Legacy Customs:






The design is all about bulk:


Note how far wide the swing-arm has to go:




Don't know if she drinks petrol or protein shakes




Bar-end mirrors and indicators. Immortale went on to win the competition:

[Tushar]

Open class modifications

STD 350 looks like a dragster:




Matte blue paintwork is tasteful:








Gemini Angel reborn:










An extensively tricked out Iron 883:


Monoshock front suspension!






A few more modified machines. Unsurprisingly, most of them are Royal Enfields:












A personal favourite:




This Royal Enfield pulls off its new look effortlessly:


Moto Exotica's tricked out KTM Duke:




Moto Exotica likes to make its components in-house and has even made the carbon fibre bits themselves!

[Tushar]

Moto Art Collective


We all believe that motorcycles can be works of art. Well, here's some actual motorcycle artwork:


Super-cool lamps made out of powertrain components by Hammered:


If this is modern art, I don't understand it, but I like it:




A little something for your wall at home:

[Tushar]

Vintage Rides

1934 Indian Pony Scout:






750cc and tassels gallore!




1955 BSA Goldstar B32:




Epitome of immaculate maintenance:


350cc heart:




1957 Triumph Tiger 100:








1932 Francis Barnett:








1946 Husqvarna Model 24:






1927 AJS-H7:








British motorcycles dominate the vintage bike showcases:




Appears to be a 1947 Indian Chief:

[Tushar]

Brands

DSK-Benelli


Benelli brought their entire range, including the bikes they unveiled at the auto expo (link). Here's the Tornado 300:


BX 250 and the TNT Naked T-135:


TRK 502:


The usual suspects. Here's the TNT 600 GT:


TNT 600 i:


TNT 300:


TNT R:


TNT 899:


TNT 25:


UM Motorcycles

After launching 3 new products at the auto expo (link), UM motorcycles made its IBW debut. Here's the Renegade Sport S:


Renegade Commando:


Ducati


Ducati launched the 959 Panigale at the event:






The 959 Panigale is powered by a 955cc, L-twin engine, which produces 155 BHP and 107.4 Nm of torque:












Not a big fan of the new exhausts. The 899 Panigale's underbody exhaust looked better:


I am however, a big fan of the Scrambler range:






Ducati Hyperstrada:


Diavel Carbon:


Multistrada:

[Tushar]

Triumph


Triumph too had their auto expo range at the venue (link), including the newly launched Bonneville T120, Street Twin and Thruxton R:


Street Twin:


Thruxton R:


Bonneville T120:


Daytona 675:


Street Triple:


Tiger Explorer XC:


Tiger XR:


Rocket III:


Thunderbird LT:


Thunderbird Storm:


Harley-Davidson


This was a rolling road just to give people the feel of a Harley-Davidson:


The newly launched 1200 Custom:












Heritage Softail Classic:


Road King:


Indian Motorcycle


Scout:


Chieftain:


Chief Vintage:


Dark Horse:


Chief Classic:


Roadmaster:

[Tushar]

Mahindra Two-Wheelers


Sharath Shenoy's Karthyayini:


She's done over 14,000 km in 2 months across the North-East:


The concepts presented at the auto expo (link) were brought in. Here's the Mojo Scrambler:


Matt red Mojo:


Mojo Adventure:




DC

DC took the opportunity to showcase the Avanti:


Volkswagen

Even Volkswagen had a stall with the new-gen Beetle...


...and Polo GTI:

[Tushar]

Rider's Mall

Bugota bikes


Bugota presented motorcycles in the most basic sense. These concepts are literally bicycles with auxiliary internal combustion engines:


Accelerator lever integrated like in a motorcycle:


This bike (named "Bruteforce") has a 1.5L fuel tank and could be priced around Rs 26,000. All of the bikes get a 24.7cc, 2-stroke engine. No licence required and these bikes could hit the market in the next 3 months:


Bugota El Classico. Expected to be priced around Rs. 62,000:


The idea behind these bicycles is to mix exercise and transport:


You can use the engine to ride to work and switch to your gym clothes and pedal back home. With the kind of slow traffic I go through, such a concept does make a lot of sense:


Fuel tank integrated into the frame. Think of it as a different version of the EBR 1190RX:




Bugota 35. This one could be priced around 35k:








Royal Riders Gear


The Sol AF-1 carbon fibre helmet. Costs around 15-16k:


Moto Usher

Moto Usher showcased bikes kitted up with accessories and gear such as panniers, headlight grilles, tank guards, skid plates etc:








Grand Pitstop

The bike glide. Meant to make parking your bike easier with the use of a platform mounted on 4-6 wheels:


A few snaps of it being used:




Tyre inflator and puncture repair kits:


Akrapovic

With a bombardment of superbikes at the event, Akrapovic took the opportunity to present its performance pipes:


BMW HP4:


4-cylinder pipes:


Here's a Ninja 1000:


Noizy Boy Customs

Handlebars and accessories mainly for cruisers:

[Tushar]

BMC Filters

Fireblade and Gixxer at the BMC stall:




Big Bad Bikes

Big Bad Bikes showcased their range of premium gear for adventure tourers, including panniers, top cases, auxiliary lights and tailbags:




Beaux Adventures

Beaux Adventures offers guided 10-11 day tour packages where you explore the landscape while riding Triumph Tigers. Average price of a guided tour = around Rs. 1.4 lakh. Destinations include the Spiti Valley, Ladakh, the western ghats and more. You can check out their website for more:


LGB Rolan chains and sprockets


This is the BMW G 310 R's sprocket:


LGB Rolan also supplies chains and sprockets for the yet to be launched Royal Enfield Himalayan:


The number of typos on the banner would invite an infraction here!


Performances

To end, here are a few snaps of the live performers at the event:




The performer list included Midival Punditz, Thalavattam, Soulmate and DJ Blackjack among others:

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorcycle Section.

Thanks for taking us to the IBW, Tushar!