5 Things That You Might Have Missed At India Bike Week 2019

India Bike Week has been a must-attend event for bikers since its inception in 2013. It has been the annual gathering of motorcyclists around the country with no restrictions on cubic capacity or number of cylinders. 

 Yes, it was also a place where you would find the noisiest motorcyclists who were hell-bent on making the visitors’ ears bleed. Thankfully, the 2019 edition of the festival was a lot less noisy than previous iterations. Finally, you could enjoy the festivities. And in case you missed out on this edition, here’s a small recap of the 2019 event:

1. KTM Stole The Show

From unveiling the highly-anticipated 390 Adventure and the Husky 250s to enthralling the crowds with stunt and FMX shows, KTM made sure it painted IBW 2019 orange. Not only did its stall have the aforementioned motorcycles but also its celebrated race as well as rally bikes. Not to forget, the India-bound 790 Adventure also made its maiden appearance on our shores at the festival and so did the Beast -- the 1290 Super Duke R. We only wish the latter was the latest-gen 1290 shown at EICMA 2019. 

2. Harley Gave Everyone A Taste Of Going Sideways

Back at the India Bike Week 2017, Harley-Davidson had just taken the wraps off its first purpose-built flat track racer based on the Street 750. The motorcycle was built by Rajputana Customs that had heavily modified the Street with better suspension components. Harley added four more flat track-ready Street Rods to the mix. At this year’s event, Harley allowed visitors to have a go at them in a time-trial competition. The response was overwhelming, to say the least, as Harley had to cut down entries from over 500 to just 150. The fastest three were awarded with cash prizes.

3. Race Up The Hills

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This year’s IBW offered a lot more competitive participation for the attendees. Aside from the Harley flat track event and the off-road training academy hosted by the folks at Big Rock MotoPark, the event also had a hill climb event. Admittedly, it was just a small hill and not a proper enduro race to the clouds. Nevertheless, you could have fun on a proper Kawasaki MX machine. What’s more is that the top three got riding gear from High Note Performance. Talk about a steal!

4. Customs Galore

India Bike Week had always offered customisers a platform to showcase their latest creations. While some opted for classy custom bikes, there were others which were outrageous. These bikes were created by some of the top names in the business like Adil Dumasia, Arjun Raina and Aditya Deshmukh.

5. Helmet Awareness At The Venue

After five editions, the event organisers finally imposed a strict ‘No Helmet No Entry’ policy for bikers riding into the festival. This was a welcome move considering that the festival saw its record attendance this year. Thus, every single one of the superbikers or adventurers or even scooterists was wearing at least a half-face helmet at the event. 

So, if you missed out on attending the 2019 event, make sure you mark your calendar for 4-5 December, 2020 as the festival returns for the seventh time.