South India: The Epicentre Of India’s Riding Club Movement

South India’s winding hill roads, coastal stretches, forest trails and heritage routes have helped nurture a riding culture where motorcycles are as much about shared experiences and friendships as they are about the journey. Anupam Thareja, Co-founder, Classic Legends, believes the community around motorcycling deserves an identity of its own: “People name their motorcycles. We have named our community. We call them Nomads because the riding culture and the camaraderie holding it together deserve to have an identity of its own. Companies can launch different models, price-points, features. But what we really are delivering is classic motorcycling, a lifestyle choice today and it begins after the purchase. It builds with the people you meet, the rides you go on, and the memories you make. The rolling forests on the Deccan hills, and its seven-pin ascents, beach rides, and the scenic temple routes flanked by paddy fields in south India make leisure motorcycling all the more special. It is no wonder riding communities have thrived here through the decades.”

Shardul Verma, Head of Marketing of Classic Legends further elaborates in an exclusive interview with Deccan Chronicle.

Why has South India emerged as the heart of India's riding club culture?

South India's riding culture was built by its geography, weather and motorcycling heritage. The region is home to some of India's most scenic and diverse riding routes, from winding hill roads and coastal highways to forest trails and heritage towns that naturally encourage riders to travel together. It stops being simply riding from one place to another.

Kerala offers a good example. Riders speak about routes such as Munnar, Marayoor, Kanthalloor, Suryanelli, and even neighbouring Kolli Hills that surprise them with changing weather, steep climbs and winding roads demanding discipline and building rider confidence. As Abraham K John, from the Smoking Barrels Jawa Yezdi riding club, Kerala, points out, “Rain is rarely a reason to cancel a ride. It is part of learning to ride well.”

Annual gatherings such as the Peninsular Odyssey, which brings together Jawa, Yezdi and BSA riders from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, further reinforce how deeply community is embedded in motorcycling across the region.

There is also a longer history of motorcycle ownership and restoration in the south. Many of today's riders grew up around Jawas and Yezdis owned by their parents or grandparents, creating a culture where motorcycles are inherited, restored, and ridden across generations.

Has motorcycling today become more about community and experiences than the motorcycle itself?

The motorcycle is what brings people together, but it's rarely the reason they stay. The friendships they build, the roads they discover, and the memories they create together are what give the motorcycle its meaning. Modern motorcycling is increasingly defined by the experiences riders create together by discovering new destinations, learning from experienced riders, supporting community initiatives or simply sharing stories over a tea stop.

One of the most encouraging shifts is that riding clubs have become genuinely inter-generational. It is not uncommon to find riders on restored two-stroke Jawas and Yezdis travelling alongside those on modern Jawa and Yezdi motorcycles. Conversations move between restoration tips, riding techniques, and route recommendations, creating an environment where heritage is experienced first-hand.

What role do riding clubs play in shaping safer and more responsible motorcycling culture?

Riding clubs have become some of the strongest ambassadors for responsible motorcycling because good habits are learnt collectively. Formation riding, checking on the rider behind you, maintaining communication, and adapting pace to the least experienced rider become second nature when they are practised regularly.

The best riding clubs don't just organise rides but pass on their riding knowledge. Experienced riders from clubs such as Smoking Barrels, one among many Jawa Yezdi riding clubs from south India, often mentor newer members through these conditions, helping them understand that confidence comes from judgement and consistency, and not aggression. It’s common to see riders who bought a Yezdi with their first salary mentoring someone riding a modern-dayYezdi Adventure. One generation teaches riding discipline, the other introduces new technology.

How are younger riders redefining what it means to be part of a motorcycle community?

Younger riders see motorcycling as something they experience together. They are looking for authentic and meaningful connections and experiences while exploring places they might never have discovered on their own.

Digital platforms help riders find clubs and organise rides, but the relationships are built on the road. While many of these riding clubs have existed for decades, initiatives such as ‘Nomads’by Classic Legends have made it easier for new riders to discover an established community and join their first ride. The friendships, however, are still built where they always have been, ie. on the road.

They're also far more comfortable blending riding with photography, travel, café culture and storytelling. For them, a riding club isn't a closed fraternity but an open community that evolves with every ride.

Can brand-led riding communities help preserve India's motorcycling heritage while attracting a new generation of enthusiasts?

Brand-led communities can play an important role in connecting heritage with contemporary riding culture, provided they remain rider-led in spirit.

For us, community has never been an afterthought. Riders often name their motorcycles because they build an emotional relationship with them. We wanted to give that same sense of identity to the community itself, which is why we brought our riding collective together under the name ‘Nomads’. 

Long before these marques returned to the market, riders had already kept them alive through restoration, club rides and shared mechanical knowledge. Our role isn't to create that culture but to make it easier to discover and join, and stronger by bringing riding communities together, while respecting what riders had already built over decades.

Athul Jayan, a rider who has a 1994 Yezdi and a modern Yezdi Adventure, south India’s terrain asks a lot from a bike and acknowledges the role his riding pack has played in his appreciating his motorcycles over the years: “The legacy two-stroke models, like my first Yezdi, have earned the reputation for rider comfort and holding their own against new-age bikes on demanding trails that I go on with my pack (a Jawa Yezdi riding club). I can tell you that my new Yezdi Adventure’s safety such as its braking, suspension, and ride-assists allow me to enjoy the same routes with them with a newfound confidence.”

Seeing restored two-stroke Jawas and Yezdis riding alongside modern motorcycles is perhaps the strongest reminder that these brands are part of a living motorcycling culture rather than simply its history.

What does the rise of organised riding clubs tell us about changing leisure and travel habits in India?

It shows how riders have grown to prefer slower, more immersive travel. Increasingly, riders are choosing roads that reward exploration rather than speed, seeking out mountain routes, coastal roads, and smaller towns that encourage them to spend more time experiencing a place.

The popularity of recurring riding club events, as well as regular regional rides organised by them, shows that riders increasingly value shared experiences over one-off trips. Riding clubs provide the confidence, companionship and local knowledge that encourage more people to travel by motorcycle.

Perhaps most importantly, they remind us that buying the motorcycle is only the beginning. The rides people take, the places they discover and the communities they become part of are what ultimately define the ownership experience. The motorcycle starts the conversation; the community is what keeps it going.