1 the outdoor journal SUMMER 2014 Born and raised in , American author Stephen Alter primarily writes non-fiction He graduated from featUres Woodstock School in and subsequently Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He is married to Amita,64 hasPipeline. two children, The most Jayant sacred and Shibani, and is the 65 first cousinsurf of spot Bollywood on earth actor is Mikala’s . the outdoor journal garden. Lucky boy. 65 features

motorcycling OHANA & MO'E WINTER 2013 E L LO the original American author Stephen Alter has spent a lifetime riding vintage motorcycles, from a BSA in the desert around Cairo to a Norton in the Himalaya. This is the story of an enduring dirt bike love a!air with the bikes that "rst made their mark during World War II.

story by stephen alter

A tent set up for participants during the 5-day Survival in the Highlands course in Scotland. OHANA & MO'ELE LO 67 features My My romance with motorcycles began soon after my pose these are the reasons I became a travel writer. travel a became I reasons the are these pose Immediately 1977. in sold was Lives, Neglected novel, first on sterling pounds 500 of advance entire the squandered I a new Royal Enfield Bullet. A subsequent obsession with started when WW my II family bikes and I lived in Egypt for years seven in the 1980s, while I was teaching writing at the American University in Cairo. During the Second Cairo was headquarters War, World for the Allied Forces in North Africa and stockpiles of arms and vehicles were stored here. A East, good Middle the in friend life his and of most guru, spent and David AUC at Mize, taught who was an antique automobile enthusiast with a predilection he mentioned and for that One Bugattis. Fords there day, was a mechanic most in congested Shubra, one of Cairo’s motorcy- old of full warehouse a had who neighborhoods, cles. drove We into a maze of streets until we came to a I take a deep breath and give it a smooth, easy nudge of my boot, like stepping into quicksand. There’s nothing more satisfying than the responsive rumble of internal combustion, a nothing of my boot,I take a deep breath and give it a smooth, easy nudge There’s like stepping into quicksand. to life. gets the piston pumping. All of a sudden, the dead weight of more than 200 kilos of steel comes tiny electric spark setting alight the fuel vapours which fixed be Can everyThing hopeless; ever is noThing along trips, road loved grandfather my and father my Both with the vehicles that made these mis- journeys American possible. as India In to came first grandparents my 1916, sionaries and our family has lived here ever Model since. a Long in subcontinent the toured they born, was I before Ben- of borders the to Frontier Northwest the from Ford, A persuasion, theological their inherit to failed I Though gal. I still carry my love forefather’s of engines in my genes. sixteen, hill I roads learned on to the drive precipitous At Willys 1952 father’s my of wheel the behind Mussoorie, of in auctioneer disposal army an from bought he which Jeep, among and crank a with was started it way only The Delhi. was father my from learned I lessons important many the that “nothing is ever hopeless; everything can be fixed.” wherever book good a carry to learned I mother my From sup- I done. be to repairs for wait you while read to go, you ll four fingers on my left hand squeeze the clutch clutch the squeeze hand left my on fingers four ll as the heel of my right boot kicks the gearshift into first. The other hand and foot are poised on It’s a true growler, especially going uphill, yet reaching reaching yet uphill, going especially growler, true a It’s A the brakes, a synchronized choreography of man and ma- and man of choreography synchronized a brakes, the motor- the throttle, the on wrist my of twist a With chine. its makes it as altitude, and gravity defying responds, cycle hill. the of top the to way born To ride in The himalaya The in ride To born Our driveway in feet Mussoorie, 7,000 above sea level in of power pulling the of test good a is Himalaya, Indian the any vehicle, though recently it has become a little easier, driv- Most paved. been have sections steepest the that now ers surrender before attempting this route. But my 1936 16H takes the Norton acute angle of ascent without com- gravity of center its and tractor a of torque the has It plaint. ruts. the on around bouncing from us keep to enough low is Antique car rallies often include a “hill climb” but when you live in the Himalaya, learned this I where becomes is this a mountains, these daily in raised routine. and Born bike old year 75 a maneuver to thing one It’s drive. to how differ- entirely an but highway open an or road city flat a on ent matter to negotiate hairpin bends and inclines gravel ter- is designed for rough 16H The Norton of 60 degrees. back going legacy proud a with bike dirt original the rain, II. War World to the top of the climb, the 500 cc side-valve engine settles thumper. piston single classic a of beat steady slow, the into the Even anymore. this like motorcycles make don’t They as complicated and up revved as are retro-models so-called Norton my comparison, By apps. with overloaded iPad an is like a manual a typewriter, simple piece of machinery are bikes off-road most days These done. job the gets that equipped with stabilized shock absorbers and hydraulic most take which suspension, rear the cushioning dampers of the punishment. On a 16H, Norton the only allowance saddle the under springs stiff two are comfort driver’s a for – an unforgiving “hard tail” with rigid girder front forks. If nothing else, it creates a greater connectivity with the kind. digital the not and road, It’s It’s British bikes bikes British ld crankcases. and bleeding bleeding and dripping gaskets gaskets dripping to leak oil, with with oil, leak to were designed designed were and maintain. and maintain. they if as almost patience to drive drive to patience take a lot of of lot a take O

SUMMER 2014

the outdoor journal 66 THE OR IGINAL DIR T BIKE

69 features zen on Two wheels Two on zen the America, in living was I because years, ten next the For land of insurance strict emission and controls prohibitive thing the Brits are famous for is designing a different sized different a designing is for famous are Brits the thing assort- an need you so bike, the of part every for bolt or nut finally I When apart. it take to wrenches 24 least at of ment children, our and Ameeta wife my with 1995, in Egypt left MIT at position teaching a up take to Shibani, and Jayant in Boston, the last thing I sold was my BSA. It an wasn’t coun- the of out it take to paperwork the but decision easy Tutankhamen’s export to trying as complicated as was try bought who man young the to goodbye Waving treasures. it, I felt a sharp pang of regret, listening to the receding a kept I memento, a As time. last the for engine its of beat today. desk my on sits still which chain, the from link Old British bikes take a lot of patience to drive and got it working, in a manner of speaking, though he didn’t bother with the niceties of tuning or servicing. After that it took two years of tinkering and cajoling mechanics to fix the ill-effects of old age and neglect. It always started, even if I had to kick it a dozen times. Four of us, includ- ing David Mize, used to go for drives on our BSAs in the desert around reliving Cairo, the glories of the Af- North of mistake the made who friend, Another campaign. rican than cushioning less even has seat rear the - pillion riding the reason only the that uncharitably remarked - front the Al of battle the in Germans the defeat to able were British Alamein was because they get couldn’t their motorcycles retreat. to enough fast started maintain. almost It’s as if they were designed to leak oil, other The crankcases. bleeding and gaskets dripping with are similar, they are not clones of each other, with unique not clones of each other, they are similar, are in up growing was I When features. distinctive and styling who daredevils, circus of favorite a was M20 BSA the India, called cage steel spherical a inside around them ride would fas- with watching remember I boy, a As death. of globe the cination, as the driver picked up speed going around and down. upside turning gravity, defied he until around deTour in The deserT The in deTour A murky green colour, my BSA in Cairo smoke spewed every black time it started, but I fell in love Shubra in mechanic The it. rode with I time first the from bike that Every motorcyclist must find the right bike to match his or her temperament and style, Every motorcyclist must find the right bike to match in driving a motorcycle that has pleasure but for me there’s a certain anachronistic date.. its expiry exceeded An elderly Egyptian holding a spanner in one hand and and hand one in spanner a holding Egyptian elderly An grease grease on his galabeya, the loose garment he wore, was changing the rear tyre on a beat-up Suzuki. He spoke no English and my Arabic was barely sufficient to order cof- even- but colloquial Egyptian in converse could David fee. tually they settled on speaking in because French both of their accents equally were bad, which made the language mutually intelligible. After a lot of vehicular we palaver, were admitted to the inner sanctum of the workshop, as which The bikes, tomb. as dark a and pharaoh’s cluttered had been stored there since the end had of been the war, to- stacked were They warehouse. army an from salvaged one the found I until over, climb to had I closely, so gether en- half-liter cylinder single a with M20, BSA a – wanted I While the bikes two now. I have the Norton like just gine, brick wall with a small door in the center. the in door small a with wall brick

SUMMER 2014

the outdoor journal 68 THE OR IGINAL DIR T BIKE 71 features Y I head up our driveway with a slow, pulsing no roar, ing the engine so the kick start won’t lash back and pop my pop and back lash won’t start kick the so engine the ing knee out of joint. Then I take a deep breath and give it a smooth, easy nudge of my boot, like stepping into quick- sand. All of a sudden, the dead weight of more than 200 life. to comes steel of kilos more than half throttle. Then I circle the chukkar road at the top of the hill, breathing in the resinous fragrance of deodar needles on the breeze. the To north the air. snow October crisp the in gleam high the of peaks suspension rigid its and corners the into leans Norton My bike. Japanese new any as securely as road rough the holds of Art the and Zen Prisig’s M. Robert seventies, the in Back this but following cult a created Maintenance Motorcycle Norton a Riding trails. travelled less on way the leads bike 16H, one feels both the weight of history as well as what Milan Kundera once called, “the unbearable being.” of lightness TarTing a mid-life Crisis mid-life a TarTing k s k half-liter engine, just like the Norton I have now. half-liter engine, just like the Norton I have now. kiC all Norton the drove once he claimed Choudhury Though the way to Gangotri, the source of the Ganges, I even haven’t and bike touring a isn’t It drives. long any on it taken back sore a with me leaves roads hill on spin hour’s an half excur- our toast to beer a had I’ve Until bones. rattled and sion, my arms and legs tremble with residual vibrations. starts. it and button a press just you today, bikes most With I Meanwhile, tug on the choke, tickle ad- the carburetor, decompress- before lever, advance/retard manual the just A memento, a link from the chain, from my old german BSAA memento, a link from the chain, M20, with a single cylinder ingenuity got him safely back to his barracks, just before flames. in up went wood the merican A Chief, the the Chief, always coveted coveted always I ndian I arleys never really really never arleys In the strict caste system of the officers British Army, in his hands. Retirement be damned, I was going to ride more was there that mind Never sunset. the into bike this were they if as looked bolts and nuts the and paint than rust of tangle gnarly a for except seat, no had It place. in welded she But rims. its on stood it tyres, two of Instead springs. was more beautiful than any piece of machinery ever I’d seen. It took almost a year for Chaudhury to restore my a places, different in parts missing down tracked I Norton. and Mumbai in Bazaar Chor from carburetor and magneto a new set of valves and a piston from the gullies of Karol running. was she Finally, Delhi. West in Bagh or Matchless a maybe or Ariels, and Triumphs issued were over- with engines cc 350 effete had which of most Enfield, ran and pickup quicker had they meant which valves, head front the escape to bike better a Certainly, smoothly. more lines under fire. By contrast, sergeants and enlisted that men bikes class working true Nortons, and BSAs given were these of thousands of Hundreds war. the of brunt the took early and thirties late the in manufactured were machines conflict, global other any than more II, War World forties. employed motorcycles as a strategic vehicle and many of the classic motorcycles, such as the legendary American German the or Davidsons, Harley and Chiefs Indian bikes, on and the BSA,battlefields of their value Europe proved Asia. My Norton is a model” “colonial from 1936, just be- filter air extra-large an with equipped began, war the fore under shield iron heavy a and tank petrol the on mounted navigating for necessary were which of both case, crank the rough through or desert Libyan the across roads unpaved celebrate stories war Heroic front. Burma the near jungles on cylinder-head the when Once, bikes. indomitable these dis- British the overheating, of because exploded Norton a patch rider took a block of teak and bolted it on top. His bike, which went out of of out went which bike, 1953. in production ultimate native native ultimate H imagination, my captured though an policies, policies, I stayed away from motorcycles. Harleys never really captured my imagination, though I always coveted which bike, American native ultimate the Chief, Indian an went out of production in When 1953. we left Boston and fare- said I after 2004, in India to back came and MIT the well to academia and to returned writing one full of time, the first people I visited was a mechanic named Chaud- He had hury. a workshop in Dehradun, thirty kilometers and ’70s the in Back hill. the of foot the at Mussoorie from time From running. bike first my kept had Chaudhury ’80s, to time, old motorcycles found their way into his work- shop. Chaudhury had a reputation for knowing how to I whenever Earlier during that time, vintage bikes. repair longingly would I serviced, Enfieled first my have to went eye the 1950s slope single 600 cc Panther that sat in one corner of his garage. It was a rare British motorcycle de- signed primarily for use with a The from sidecar. owner, (about 15,000 Rs. for asking was and papers no had Bijnor, $250), which was more than I could afford in those days. But by the time I came back to India that bike was long cashed prematurely in my fund, Having retirement gone. I had some money to burn. Chaudhury shook his head sadly and said he had nothing but a couple of old Bullets of but hesitated… he then, engine… an without Yezdi a and course, what about that? He pointed to a heap of rusted couple a and tyres bald guards, leg and mufflers old parts, of scooters which had been deconstructed beyond repair. Under all of this, lay the skeleton of a bike. As I began to grow- was excitement my it, around from junk the remove but Cairo, in BSA my like vintage, II WW clearly was It ing. when I was finally able to dig it out, the Norton emblem jump. heart my made diaries moTorCyCle Only a few days before, watched I’d the film Motorcycle Diaries, in which Che Guevara takes a road trip around South America with a friend in 1952, before he became a civil- 1939 a was rode they that bike The icon. Communist ian model of the Norton 16H, which they named “La Po- them of scenes see still could I One. Mighty the or derosa,” pushing it the through mud, soundtrack as the orchestral swelled to the drumbeat of its engine. Before the Norton Chaud- in debris the from excavated completely been had advance generous a tucked already had I workshop, hury’s

SUMMER 2014

the outdoor journal 70