Life is a HIGHWAY for these BIKERS - The Inddie Thumpers at their Regular Carter Road hangout
Times of India, Jan 10, 2002

INDDIETHUMPERS a Mumbai based Bullet Motorcycle Club was formed in December 2001 by a trio who are passionate about biking and Enfield Bullets in particular.

Daman and Rasik founded the non-profit and named it InddieThumpers, where Inddie stands for Indian and Thumpers for single cylinder machines. According to Rasik, “Ever since Daman put up the website the group has grown from three guys in December to 30 this month.” Adds Daman. “The sole purpose of the group is recreation. It brings together all the people who enjoy these powerful machines, which have stood the test of time for over 50 years. Each person in the club is very passionate about his machine and treats them like their women! And what’s more they keep them in top condition.”

Says Rasik, “This is one of the reasons why each one has a name for their machine which is unique to the bike and the Biker, the names vary like Angel Dust, Juggernaut, Widow-Maker, Phantom, Hawk etc, etc. “ Various model of Enfield from 1972 to 2002 are part of the team. The members of the group are between the age group of 20 and 35. While some of them are students most of the guys are working. They also vary from being married to eligible. In spite of all the diversity they share the common bond of Enfields between them. The club meets up on weekends on Sunday at Carter Road, Bandra at 5.30 pm. The high point of the club is the monthly two-day trip organized on weekends. The places are within the range of 200-300 kms since the trip is only for a couple of days. Apart from weekend trips the group also plans to organize technical sessions for the riders to educate them about the working of their iron steeds. They also plan to organize a slow biking competition amongst the group. The groups official web site is at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/inddiethumpers. To be a part of the group one needs to share a passion for Enfields, and of course, possess one.

There’s also another group of young bikers who meet at Carter road on Saturday evening at 7.30. Started a year ago by Zubin who owns a garage, Nikhil a college student, Chirayu a graphic artist , and Sohail. The youth who cruise with them are 18 to 35 years old. They all share a common love; Love of Motorcycles and open spaces. In one year they have grown from four to nearly 25 bikers.

It’s a different ball game after you exchange the straight of the highway to the serpentine curves leading up to Mahabaleshwar. Every steeply inclined blind curve hides a potential Michael Schumacher behind the wheels of a truck. So goodbye to leisurely cruising or admiring the scenery. It’s making sure that the Dunlops are kept off the gravel on the kerb and getting the correct line and speed into the corners. Hit a corner too fast and you have two options. The first will have your brake liners smoking. The second will put you wide off your turn. So either you are target for oncoming traffic, or you start wishing that your Enfield had parachutes.

Says Zubin, “The best part is that we get to share information. What is available where and at what price. That gives us an edge over guys who want to rip us.” Irfan, the son of the legendary Amman Mogul a motorcycle champion racer of the 60s and 70s and some friends meet here. Around 8 pm they move to the petrol pump opposite Hinduja Hospital. Here they meet up with others from Bandra East. Trombay, Belapur and other far away places. From here they ride together to Nariman Point, Colaba, Marine drive, Walkeshwar, and Malabar Hill. On the way back they stop at Worli Seaface.

“There’s always a crowd staring at our foreign machines,” says Zubin. “We end our nightly romp at Carter Road and fortunately we do not face a crown problem here. After this we all go our separate ways, ” he adds.