BBC defence leaps in to second gear...

My last blog post looked at the UK media’s reaction to the Top Gear Christmas Special 2011 in the aftermath of the show. Despite it being nearly a month since the show was on TV, it appears it’s still managing to hit the headlines. Since my last post, the Indian High Commission lodged a complaint with the BBC that they had been duped in to allowing the show to be filmed in India.
Up until then, the BBC had remained very quiet on the subject but it appears this was one step too far, leading them to release a statement last week in defence of the crew’s antics.

In it, they said the programme showed India for what it is and that all it did was poke fun at the presenters....NOT at Indians: 'Our film showed the charm, the beauty, the wealth, the poverty and the idiosyncrasies of India, but there's a vast difference between showing a country, warts and all, and insulting it....It's simply not the case that we displayed a hostile or superior attitude to our hosts.' As a long time resident of this beautiful country, with many friends here, I couldn’t agree more.

However, this is something which seems to have been lost on the viewing public. The crew themselves even acknowledged this at the end of the show, saying the cars were better ambassadors than they were. Yet again, it seems people need reminding that the show wasn’t trying to be something it wasn’t. Regardless of this, it was also announced last week that Top Gear was the most watched show on BBC iPlayer not only over Christmas, but the whole of December; with viewing figures pushing 5 million, it’s still an immensely popular show and it seems a shame that the enjoyment of these people is tainted by a few hundred complaints which have been picked up and whipped in to a media storm. Us Brits have always been quick to complain......!

From my perspective, it’s a shame that such a positive (if not stressful!) experience has been misconstrued in this way. It was such a fun show to film and, at the end of the day, the shoot was received extremely well by the Indian locals. The reaction the show has received is a real shame as it feels some people are being very quick to judge what was an unforgettable time for me and my company. There was no hostility or bad feeling so why has this now overshadowed the programme? Even local Indian newspapers, such as The Herald, printed stories about the BBC press statement – would they have done that if they were really offended by the show?

So, for just one moment, let’s forget all the negativity and celebrate what is still a British institution. Visit our Facebook page to see some behind the scenes photos from filming and follow us on Twitter for more news and views.

My reaction to the Top Gear Christmas Special 2011

I haven’t blogged much of late (bit of an understatement, I know!) and thought there no better time to start up again than with my reaction to the Top Gear Christmas Special. It was aired in the UK on 28th December and it seems it got everyone talking! The show pulled in a staggering 5 million viewers, making it a real success in the Christmas ratings war.


As a lot of you know, I was approached by Top Gear to be a ‘fixer’ for the show because of my in depth knowledge of India (more on this to follow in later posts). This meant I helped to pull the show together behind the scenes and it was a great honour to be asked.
However, it would seem opinion was split on the show itself. Once it aired, there was a barrage of negative reviews in the UK media...and the fallout is still continuing. As I had the pleasure of working on the show, I felt it deserved the reaction of someone from behind the scenes. I’m not here to defend Top Gear against all those who didn’t enjoy the show but I felt I had to let people know what it was like to film because, trust me, it was a very different experience than what you saw on screen.

The Top Gear cast is renowned for their sense of humour and love of controversy and this Christmas Special is no exception. My main recollection of the show was one of laughter – not derision. If I could say anything, it was that people had FUN on the shoot and I feel this has been lost slightly on the viewing public.


I love India and have lived and worked here now for many years; a lot of my friends, colleagues and staff are Indian and some were present on the shoot itself so if anyone is best placed to comment on the show’s racism, it would be them. However, I’ve yet to come across anyone who took the show badly; in fact, it was the opposite. People queued to witness the shoot in progress and there was real excitement around it. Know the phrase ‘Mad dogs and Englishman’? The Top Gear trio bemused its Indian audience - but in a good way! - and it’s unfortunate that some of the activities from the show were taken out of this context.


It may not have been to everyone’s tastes and some may have even thought the show derogatory but I do wonder why we can only latch on to the negative. As the guys themselves said, the cars were better ambassadors than they were and the show was not trying to be something it was not. Also, you have to counter this with events in the show such as exhaust pipe cricket and the vehicle race, which drew large crowds all wanting to be involved; parts of the show such as this made me extremely glad to be a part of a great British institution....my staff were even working overtime just to be involved; not the actions of people who were taking offense!


Also think of the times during the show which showcased the real India and reminded me why I now live in this wonderful country. Richard Hammond, for example, called it ‘The kind of [landscape] which stays with you forever’ and I have to agree.


It’s a hot topic and one we all have an opinion on. As someone who got to know the cast and crew, this once in a lifetime experience was unforgettable for all the right reasons and I am proud of the involvement I had in its production.

Trans Himalayan Safari

If you asked any adventurist or any explorer what where the highlights of their travels around the world they would probably give you a list of four or five places that they had been too. These would include places like the North Pole, The Amazon and one of them would have to be The Himalayas. The biggest mountain range in the world and some of most exciting landscapes that it is possible to see on this planet. How many people actually take some time out of their busy schedule and do something that they will remember for the rest of their lives? The answer of course is not many as they think about how little time they have to go on holiday a year and how are you supposed to see any of it in a couple of weeks?

One way to see this exceptional place is on a motorbike tour. The Trans Himalayan Safari is one of the most exciting motorbike trips in the world covering over 1,500 km over some of the highest motor able roads in the world reaching heights of 18,300 ft. Riding over every single type of terrain that it is possible to ride on from tarmac to high altitude desert. It is also incredible to see how many different people live in these places, Hindu temples and Buddhist Gompas can be found all along this tour and every valley seems to have a completely different feel, locals wearing different types of clothing, the huts or houses that also change completely from one valley to another. The world that you come from is literally completely forgotten, all that stress left behind giving you time to relax and get lost in this different world.

The ultimate way to do this tour is with one of the expert tour companies that organize these tours. They supply you with everything that is needed to travel over these high altitude passes and make sure that you acclimatize properly to avoid getting altitude sickness. They also supply support vehicles, mechanics, camping equipment, 500cc Royal Enfield motorbike and also a qualified first aider in the unlikely event that something should go wrong.

The motorbikes that are used on these tours are 500cc Royal Enfield Bullets. Although they are technically classic bikes they are really built for the job due to the lack of oxygen and spare parts. They are also easy to fix if they wrong so that nobody has to wait or get stuck on top of a high altitude pass.

Motorbike tours in India and in the Himalayas are really exciting and fun as long as it is done with a professional company like Extreme Bike Tours. They make sure that all the bikes are up to scratch and that you are well equipped for every possibility that can happen. They also supply all the cooks and other staff to make sure that everybody has a comfortable journey. Remember that this tour takes people over the roof of the world and you need to know what you are doing.

For more information please go to www.extremebiketours.co.uk

Motorbike Tours India, Himalayan motorbike tours and South India motorbike tours

Many people have asked Extreme Bike Tours why they would use 500cc Royal Enfield Bullets on their Indian motorbike tours. Well we always say to those people, ‘Do actually know anything about them?’ and do you realize how iconic they are?’ Below is a small snippet of the History of the Royal Enfield Company and the reason why we use these amazing motorbikes on our tours around India.

Royal Enfield did not just manufacture motorcycles; indeed the English engineering company portrayed a strong lineage of necessity beyond boundaries of ordinary realms. Yes! Driven by sheer necessity and manufactured with the state-of-the-art engineering capabilities, Enfield was initially associated with military requirements. In its earlier days, the company built lawnmowers, bicycles and even rifle parts for some Arms Factory. The company’s motto of “Made like a Gun and goes like a Bullet” reflects Enfield’s strong involvement with the military needs.

Spanning over three centuries the company is in the path of making its impact felt in even now in this new millennium. Lets sift through the Enfield’s landmark achievements since it raced against cars and fought the wars.

• 1898: Produced first motorized vehicle equipped with a 2.75hp De Dion-Bouton engine. Today, this motorized vehicle is known by the name Quad.
• 1901: launched a bicycle that’s fitted with a 150cc engine on the front wheel.
• 1902: improved vehicle with a 239cc Enfield engine mounted over the front wheel of the bicycle.
• 1907: produced an all-day automobile with company name as All days & onions. However, the vehicle manufactured was there in production until 1925, popularly referred as All Day Automobiles with the word onion dropped.
• 1910: launched V-twins type, a Motosacoche 344 cc engine.
• 1915: during the World War I, Enfield needed to manufacture motorcycles that would be equipped to carry machine guns with stretcher-bearing capacity, on request of the British Armed Forces. It was during this time that the first small 2-stroke engine seen the light of the day.
• 1917: Royal Enfield supplied machines to Russians as well. The phase saw a team of women police force riding the 600cc Royal Enfield bikes.
• 1924-1930: the phase of WWI and the aftermath did not affect the growth of sales of Royal Enfield. The company upgraded its engine and added features such as girder front forks, saddle tanks and center spring to give the bulls of Royal Enfield a more contemporary look. Further upgrading led to the launch of 488cc machine with a four-speed gearbox in the year 1927 and soon by 30s, Royal Enfield had thirteen featured models and the birth of famous Bullet cylinder took place during this phase.
• 1939-1945: As the world again fought the bloodied wars, Royal Enfield rose to the occasion and supplied the countries with machines and motorcycles for military purposes. The model 125cc Flying Flea became quite popular, and was referred as Airborne, because of its capacity of being dropped by a parachute. War instruments were also manufactured by Royal Enfield during this period.
• 1950s: Enfield India began manufacturing machines with parts being brought from Britain.
• 1962: Enfield India began producing complete motorcycles indigenously while it retained all essential traditions from Enfield.
• 1965-Until Now: Shifting of production from Redditch England to Chennai plant in India.

The name Royal Enfield lived on with its full life, as Indian bought the denomination rights. However, in the year 1986, Raja Narayan, a civil servant from Britain created an Export arm for Royal Enfield India, and as of now, it’s the most famous model Bullet that is being marketed in Britain.

Thus, Royal Enfield claims to be the “world’s oldest motorcycle” still striving to stride well in the global as well as Indian market nevertheless been enticing Enfield enthusiasts but more importantly has become a benchmark standard for other bike manufacturers and still dedicating to the biking in the truest sense!

For more information about motorbike tours in India please go to www.extremebiketours.co.uk.

Motorbike Tours India, Himalayan motorbike tours and South India motorbike tours

The owners of Extreme Bike Tours have spent many years living in India and also have local staff to manage the motorbike tours. The knowledge that has been gained from over 30 years of riding Royal Enfield in India is obvious when on an Extreme motorbike Tour. The two owners often talk about some of the hilarious journeys they have been on searching for new areas to take people on tour. The routes that are now used on the motorbike tours are picked because they are safe and as clients only normally fly in for 16 days it is very important that nobody gets stuck between lets say two high altitude passes in the Himalayas.  Extreme Bike Tours has to pick tours that give clients the thrill of riding a 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet in India without anybody getting lost or injured. They do offer bespoke tours that go into more deserted parts of India and these are tremendous fun and safe but there is always a chance that a delay may happen due to a river getting to full power to cross due to ice melt.

The South India motorbike tours are much easier but due to the fact that the group has to ride through a couple of large cities there is every chance that somebody may get lost. Due to this Extreme Bike Tours only takes six, 500cc Royal Enfield’s, on any tour. This allows the tour to flow rather than stopping and starting all the time due to people getting lost or bikes needing to be retuned. Many other tour companies have ten or more bikes any a tour and this can course delays and no rhythm to the tour.

The staff and equipment that Extreme Bike Tours uses is the best in the business and also the friendliest. The tour guide and mechanic are the same on all tours, the two of them also happen to own the company, and the rest of the crew, depending on which part of India the tours are in are local to the area and are the same crew that have been doing the tours since Extreme Bike Tours started. This keeps continuity with the company and means that all the crew know how the business works and what is expected by the clients coming on tour.

The number one point on the tours is good fun and serious adventure. Everybody who comes on these tours is expected to have a good time and experience Incredible India for themselves. India is such a diverse country and the best way to experience it is on a motorbike. On a motorbike tour you still get full interaction with the locals and surroundings but also get the chance to travel massive distances without missing anything out.

For the adventure of a lifetime and something that you will remember and talk about for many years we highly recommend coming on a motorbike tour in India and for more information about these please have a look at www.extremebiketours.co.uk. 

Motorbike Tours India, Himalayan motorbike tours and South India motorbike tours

Motorbike tours are an incredible way to discover a country. And not just a countries landmarks but also there is a great deal of interaction that takes place between a small group of people on motorbikes and the locals who can’t help but enquire what you are doing and what you are riding. India is a great country to discover by motorbike, the locals here smile and wave as you cruise past, schools can literally stop as the children hear the distinctive engine of a Royal Enfield coming into the town or village. Kids run out onto the streets and whole their hands out in “high five’ action and quite often there is a welcoming committee as you enter any rural areas. India is incredible friendly and can be a life-changing place to visit for many. If you are traveling by car, taxi or bus then you never get the same experience that you do when you are on a motorbike, a great deal of you senses are shut down in a four wheeled transport, the smells as you ride past a lady cooking an amazing curry in her house, the sounds as you race past a group of kids playing in the open air or the feeling of the air on you face, its just not the same by any other means of travel.

India has many great destinations to travel to but the highlights of any motorbike tour are in the South and North of the country.

South India motorbike tours are spread around Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa. The tours travel around the Hill Stations of the South, coffee and tea plantations dot these Hill Stations and the views are incredible as you look down over the Indian plains below. The climate in these places is ideal for motorbike touring and the roads in south India are very good with good tarmac and long winding roads that give everybody a chance ride their Royal Enfield to its full potential. And the tours do not stop there, next riders head up the west coast of the Arabian sea and head through Karnataka to Goa where the famous beaches, food and night life are. Riders on a motorbike tour now get the chance relax and get some tanning in while beach hopping to all the best known beaches of Goa as well as some of the hidden gems that only locals know about. This is a great motorbike tour to do in the winter as sunshine is guaranteed.

The North India motorbike tours are based around the Himalayas and involve everything from riding over some of the world’s highest motor able passes up to 18,000 ft. Motorbike tours here also allow people to experience riding around some of the most picturesque scenery in the world and experience true adventure of riding a 500cc Royal Enfield over the Himalayas is something that every rider should do once in there life as there no mountains in the world higher than the Himalayas.

To experience these tour please visit www.extremebiketours.co.uk

Motorbike Tours India, Himalayan motorbike tours and South India motorbike tours

   Many people around the world feel stuck in a rut, overwhelmed by their lives and there work, the pressures of life can really get you down. Sometimes it is best to go somewhere which is so diverse, out the normal comfort zone that we live in day to day and experience something that is so radically different that it can put a new direction on your life. We read books sometimes about the author’s great travels in different parts of then world and even watch television programs with people like Michael Palin traveling to distant corners of the earth, but when do we ever give ourselves the opportunity to do the same?

India is one of the most incredible countries on this planet, so diverse and different from what most of us are used to in our own countries. You could spend a lifetime trying to understand how it works and where the best places to go are and still never touch the surface. Due to the lack of holiday time many of us have a year in order to experience any of this amazing country it may be best to go on holiday with a tour company. But do you really want to be on a package holiday with a group of people who may not be like-minded? And also how are you going to get a true understanding of a place in a big group in a bus or just sitting on a beach?

Extreme Bike Tours offers the chance to spend a couple of weeks traveling around different parts if India on a 500cc classic Royal Enfield motorbike. These tours cover certain areas of the country depending on the time of year and also depending on how adventurous you wish to be. The motorbike tours cover South India and North India.

The South India motorbike tour covers the highlights of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are full of some of the most beautiful Hill Stations in India. The Hill Stations are where a great deal of the coffee and tea plantations are and the scenery that can be seen from them over the Indian plains is quite spectacular. There is also a real chance to experience some of the Indian culture, watching the locals sit under a tree and talk, playing cards or just relaxing, something that we a lot of us do not seem to have time to do ourselves. Quite a few Hindu temples are also visited on this tour also and they are a sight to see with the hustle and bustle of the crowds.

The Himalayas is where Extreme Bike Tours spends the other half of the year and this is where some of the most adventurist motorbike tours happen. The Manali – Leh tour travels over the roof of the world up to altitudes of over 18,000 ft all on your classic Royal Enfield motorbike. The scenery is breath taking and it really is one of the world’s ultimate motorbike tours. The tours continue around the adventure kingdom of Ladakh and over several of the world’s highest motor able roads.

The other tours in the Himalayas cover the tribal regions of Himachal Pradesh and during this tour many ancient Buddhist monasteries are visited as well as some of the most beautiful valleys of the Himalayas, all packed up into a two week break that could change you perspective on life for ever.

www.extremebiketours.co.uk