How to Buy a Used Enfield

Legal Stuff

If you have a visa longer than 6 months means you can register as a foreigner living in India, and thus you can own a bike under your name. Usually this only applies to USA citizens.

Not having the motorcycle in your name is not an issue. Even in the state of Goa where the police love to check papers to collect bribes, dont make it an issue if the bike is not in your name.

When buying the bike
- Check the tax paid on the motorcycle Registration Certificate (RC), ensure the tax paid period is long enough for you. The RC is the most important document to have. If you dont have a RC, besides hassles with the police, you will absolutely not be able to transport the motorcycle on the trains.
- Check the frame number and the engine number on the bike actually match those stated on the RC document. If these are incorrect it will be almost impossible to re-register the motorcycle again in a locals name. Thus resale value of the bike drops dramatically due to incomplete paper work. Also be aware that if you buy a bike registered in the state of Deli and want to sell it in the state of Goa; you will get far less money for the bike simply due to registration problems. It costs locals alot of hassle and money to re-register a foreign state motorcycle into their name and state. (the wonderful red tape of India..) This hassle is avoided ofcourse if a tourist will buy the motorcycle from you.
- If your buying a bike from a local make sure you have a signed transfer form, other wise it is almost impossible to sell the bike to a another local again.
- Insurance, which can be bought under your name, is compulsory in India and is sometimes checked in conjunction with your license. A full comprehensive insurance starts around 1000rs for 12 months.
- Technically you need a Pollution Control Certificate (PCC). They are rarely checked unless the friendly police man is searching for a problem in order to hit you for a bribe. A PCC is 60Rs for 6 months. (2009 prices) The PCC is a bit of a joke, the last time I got one the agency didnt even bother to measure the exhaust fumes...

Insurance Policy Woes
An insurance agent will need to see your motorbike in order to get a frame rub. Its possible he can give you an on the spot cover note that will be valid for 3 months. For some, this may be long enough.

We were promised to get the actual insurance policy within 2-3 days. Of course in India, this doesnt happen. We tried to call our insurance agent many times who magically disappeared. After alot of hassle and trying all kinds of numbers we finally spoke with his boss who helped us get the policy. We ended up waiting for a week in a hot and noisy city (arent they all in India) ONLY to get this policy.

The second time I renewed my policy it took 3 weeks after payment to get a copy of the insurance policy.

My point is- allow time to get this organised

Tip- make sure you get the insurance agents phone number, his office number and then the head office number. For sure 2 of these phone numbers wont work!

Personally I have no faith in the insurance policy. I simply have one as I prefer to pay an insurance company money (with the small chance it might be useful) than to pay bribes to the police. Remember that if you dont have a valid international motorcycle license your policy will be invalid. (read the fine print :)

Motorcycle License..?
Many people ride in India without a valid International Motorcycle Drivers License. In essence its not really a problem, unless your riding in Goa. In 1 year I have been stopped 4 times by police, 3 times being in the state of Goa. Usually the police are looking for a 'retirement contribution donation' rather than actually upholding the law. Depending on how many legal things you dont have will tend to raise his wanted contribution. But its all negotiable to a point.

Until now, I have only ever had to pay 10Rs at the Goa state border because I didnt have the Pollution Control Certificate. I let my girlfriend do the talking, female interaction really works a charm in India :-)

Helmets
Helmets is only compulsory for the rider in the bigger cities and on some national highways. Basically it is only enforced in the big cities, such as Bangalore, Kolkata, Deli etc and on the national highways in the state of Goa.

At time of writing, (December 2008), only in the city of Chandigarh is it compulsory for the passenger to wear a helmet. But if you have a 3 year old child and she is sitting on the petrol tank, then she is exempted from wearing a helmet...!

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