[karanddd]

I have been living in Nepal since April and I cannot help but notice the much greater variety of motorcycles to which people here have access. The caveat is that taxation is high, so motorcycles end up being very expensive. But by and large people do not buy cars here (as taxation on them is even higher), so the bike is a person's primary mode of transport and people feel that spending extra cash on them is worthwhile.

Outside of the major cities, roads are poor, and in the north more often than not they are just dirt trails. So naturally dirt bikes are popular. And there are a lot of options. Off the top of my head, there's the Honda range: the XR 150, 190, and CRF 250, Crossfire (which I think is an Australian company), Hartford, Motorhead (which is the cheapest option, and is a Chinese company that uses Honda engines and makes kind of knockoff Honda dirtbikes) etc. There's also the Suzuki DRZ, I've seen even a couple of Kawasaki road legal dirt bikes. And all this in addition to everything that's available in India. Even the Xpulse is quite popular as it's well suited to conditions here.

I know a lot of people in India who'd kill to have any of the Honda dirtbikes, they're so light (~120-130 kg) and offer adequate power for most conditions, and the other options, like Crossfire and Hartford, seem fairly reliable, lightweight and powerful. I rented an Xpulse to go to the high altitude district of Mustang and saw many Hartfords and several other dirtbikes in the region. I can't think of any 120 kg motorcycle you can buy in India straight from the showroom.

I've attached some pictures of the bikes here. Just want to start a discussion about why Indians are so deprived of dirt capable motorcycles as compared to our neighbours. The same is partly true of cars too, as in Nepal, Subaru 4x4s, the Toyota RAV4 truck, various Ford 4x4 trucks and SUVs, all are sold, whereas in India there's literally only two options in that segment: the Fortuner and the Endeavour.

Even more striking is the fact that anything that's sold in India can be (and is) imported by import companies in Nepal, which people can buy at higher (due to tax) prices here. But the reverse is not true in India.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by karanddd

anything that's sold in India can be (and is) imported by import companies in Nepal, which people can buy at higher (due to tax) prices here. But the reverse is not true in India.

For a country that has no other option than importing, they have plenty of options to choose. But in our case, with Make in India and other policies in place manufacturers stick to specific mass market models than providing all available options.

Also dirt bike category is slowly picking up in our market. Let's wait and watch

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by karanddd

Even more striking is the fact that anything that's sold in India can be (and is) imported by import companies in Nepal, which people can buy at higher (due to tax) prices here. But the reverse is not true in India.

Two simple reasons:

1) Demand / Supply - Hilly/mountainous terrain + demand from international travelers gives rise to demand for more cars and bikes that are suited for it.

2) Market Dynamics - If you don't have local manufacturing and taxation is same for all categories of bikes/cars, people will import what is needed/desired. There will be no bias towards a category that they may not need. Look at Sri Lanka or New Zealand as an example for cars. They get better cars and at better price as there is no local manufacturing and they are allowed to import anything that the consumer wants. Even in case of Pakistan, import policies are very relaxed and here is huge demand for proper 4x4 cars. Hence you will see video of many people owning all types of 4x4 cars with many customizations and using them during rallies.

[silverado]

Hardcore dirt bikes will not sell in India since our road network is much better than Nepal.

Xpulse has done well since its a semi-urban dirt bike and its looks make it stand out as well.Same is the case with 4WD vehicles, most roads in India are accessible by 2Wd mode.

[HYPERTOURER]

How easy or difficult would it be to get a good dirtbike from Nepal to India? Even with their prices it would still be cheaper to buy there and get it here somehow.

[xrules]

Originally Posted by silverado

Hardcore dirt bikes will not sell in India since our road network is much better than Nepal.

Xpulse has done well since its a semi-urban dirt bike and its looks make it stand out as well.Same is the case with 4WD vehicles, most roads in India are accessible by 2Wd mode.

Completely agree. Hilly terrain and lack of proper road infrastructure coupled with import anything for same taxes will let you get what you need. And what they do need is proper 4x4 and dirt bikes.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by HYPERTOURER

How easy or difficult would it be to get a good dirtbike from Nepal to India? Even with their prices it would still be cheaper to buy there and get it here somehow.

Completely pointless and un-fruitful exercise to be honest. You won't be able to register those here and so these will be private off-the-actual road use only.

That purpose can be easily served by buying what is available here already. We have Kawasaki already selling suck bikes and I know people who have bought/imported Honda off-road bikes too. A local Garage nearby my house has a Honda CRF250F that the owner carries in a modified Gypsy to ferry on private dirt track locations.

Doing this on your own carries some risks which are not worth the money.

[MOUNTAINMAN]

Originally Posted by silverado

Hardcore dirt bikes will not sell in India since our road network is much better than Nepal.

Xpulse has done well since its a semi-urban dirt bike and its looks make it stand out as well.Same is the case with 4WD vehicles, most roads in India are accessible by 2Wd mode.

I disagree about the difference in road conditions. Dirt bikes are not meant for highway riding so Good highways doesn't matter. There are enough highways in India in bad conditions and we can read about it online, which should be enough to create a demand if bad road was the only reason for demand for dirt bikes.
Most of these bikes are bought by city and town dwellers in Nepal where the road conditions are good enough. People living in remote places of Nepal where road conditions are poor cannot afford to buy such bikes. So basically its more to do with preference for doing some trails on the weekends and be a daily ride on weekdays.

Dirt bike is a niche market, and for the enthusiast who like adventure/trail riding, so the demand will be less for such product. Although India and Nepal has high taxation for imported vehicles the difference lies with India's capabilities in manufacturing motorcycles. The big manufacturers will not make such niche products as it will not be viable for their bottom line given the amount of support and work required for an additional product offer. Whereas Nepal has no bike manufacturers and it all depends on importers which are much smaller businesses and can import in small quantities. Plus people in Nepal are more enthusiastic about adventure biking and this trend was pushed by the influx of western tourists visiting Nepal who pay in dollars for good dirt bikes on rent. Rides to Manang and Mustang are very popular with the western tourists from long.

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by HYPERTOURER

How easy or difficult would it be to get a good dirtbike from Nepal to India? Even with their prices it would still be cheaper to buy there and get it here somehow.

Our Motor Import regulations are pretty stringent to avoid influx of motor vehicles. ARAI certification, New vehicle only by manufacturer, Old vehicle only by person transferring his residence and so on.

[HYPERTOURER]

Originally Posted by sunilch

Completely pointless and un-fruitful exercise to be honest. You won't be able to register those here and so these will be private off-the-actual road use only.

That purpose can be easily served by buying what is available here already. We have Kawasaki already selling suck bikes and I know people who have bought/imported Honda off-road bikes too. A local Garage nearby my house has a Honda CRF250F that the owner carries in a modified Gypsy to ferry on private dirt track locations.

Doing this on your own carries some risks which are not worth the money.

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

Our Motor Import regulations are pretty stringent to avoid influx of motor vehicles. ARAI certification, New vehicle only by manufacturer, Old vehicle only by person transferring his residence and so on.

I am talking about dirt bikes which need not be registered here. Private trails are fun to ride on just that whatever bikes available here are expensive.

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by HYPERTOURER

I am talking about dirt bikes which need not be registered here.

I doubt if import by individuals is permitted. Go through the attachment. Maybe I am reading it wrong.

[HYPERTOURER]

If one need not get the thing registered then it might as well be got in as parts and assembled here and bashed around.