A Kiwi safety lesson for India's motorcyclists

CRAIG SIMCOX/ The Dominion Post

ROAD WARRIOR: Motorcycle safety advocate Sundeep Gajjar is posting online updates about his 7000-kilometre trip around New Zealand. Compared with Indian roads, he says, ours are narrower but the animals are more likely to stay in their paddocks.

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Riding one of the world's most powerful motorbikes, Sundeep Gajjar might have to watch its speedometer – but at least he doesn't have to worry about cows wandering down the middle of the road.

The 29-year-old from Delhi is midway through a 7000-kilometre ride around New Zealand, which he is completing partly to raise awareness about motorbike touring among the growing number of riders in India.

Mr Gajjar is part of a group of Indian motorcyclists who are trying to promote safety, particularly among the country's younger riders.

"Young people in India are richer than ever," he says. "They are buying these powerful motorbikes, and we need to get the message across to them to ride safely."

With India's population of a billion people, it was difficult to get such messages across, but Mr Gajjar is involved in safety campaigning for an online motorcycle group, xBhp – which stands for "x amount of braking horsepower".

With foreign roads offering different scenery and challenges – in New Zealand, he says, they are narrower and animals mainly stay behind fences – India's young riders are keen to travel abroad. "We're showing them you can use riding to do something positive, to see the world, and be safe."

He has been writing online updates and posting photographs of his trip, in an effort to show people at home that New Zealand is the "most beautiful country in the world".

He is riding a Suzuki B King 1300cc motorbike, which has a 180-horsepower engine.

The online motorbike club he is involved with has 25,000 registered members, but Mr Gajjar believes that many more are reading about his trip, as people do not need to register to read the posts.

The graphic designer has previously completed trips around India, Australia and Ireland to promote safe motorbike touring.

- © Fairfax NZ News