They are no college going youth or unemployed persons, but are responsible citizens of the country who have their own business or work in prestigious institutions. All of them have a common passion — biking. September 2012 saw the emergence of United Motor Heads in Mysore, a unique biking group which has members from the business community, doctors, students and people from different streams of life.

Members of United Motor Heads come together to go on biking trips towards Kodagu and nearby destinations every Sunday on their Harleys, Yamaha R1, Suzuki Hayabusa, sports bikes and cruisers to de-stress themselves after a weeklong hectic schedule.

The United Motor Heads has around 30-35 members. Panduranga Shenoy, who owned Planet X (now closed) and Karthik Nayak, members of the group, took up a biking expedition ‘Bharat Dekho’ on their Harleys with the intention of promoting tourism through road across India. They travelled 10,000 kms covering 30 cities, 16 States and 3 Union Territories in 35 days. While Panduranga Shenoy used his Harley Davidson Fat Boy, Karthik travelled on his Harley Davidson Super Low. United Motor Heads also hosted a surprise party for Panduranga Shenoy and Karthik Nayak on them completing their mission.

Panduranga Shenoy said that the decision to go on a biking expedition was spontaneous and nothing was planned. “About 40 days back when we were discussing about a plan to go on a long distance expedition, then I and Karthik decided to go on a long distance expedition and cover 10,000 kms in 35 days,” said Panduranga Shenoy.

Both Karthik and Panduranga Shenoy did not plan their trip but just travelled across the country. They learnt about different culture and traditions, different food varieties and also got to know different people. “Similar expedition could have been done in a car or through other modes of transport. But, doing it on a bike is a different experience. Other biking groups across the country also received us well on our entering their territories. They guided us through the roads, informed us about the condition of the roads and alternative routes we could take to reach our destination. Some of them actually accompanied us for some distance to see us off,” said Shenoy.

The day Panduranga Shenoy and Karthik started their journey, they created a Facebook page under the name of United Motor Heads which got a whopping 12,000 likes from people throughout the country.

US-based Iron Butt Association conducts Iron Butt Rally every year where the bikers have to cover 11,000 miles in 11 days that is around 1,600 km/per day. Though Panduranga Shenoy and Karthik have not take up such an expedition but their efforts to cover 10,000 kms in 35 days has been appreciated.

Both Panduranga Shenoy and Karthik started their journey on Feb 25, 2013 from Mysore and travelled across Madurai, Kanyakumari, Tanjavur, Puducherry, Chennai, Vijayawada, Vishakapatnam, Puri, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Gaya, Varanasi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Agra, New Delhi, Amritsar, Simla, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Indore, Nasik, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and then ended their journey in Mysore on April 1, 2013.

United Motor Heads apart from doing biking expeditions, are also into charity works. Panduranga Shenoy said compared to other biking groups throughout the country, they have not been able to do much. But they will definitely take up more charity works in future, he added.

Panduranga Shenoy also mentioned that the group wanted to correct the misconception in people's minds about wealthy families not having social responsibility. He said there is a general notion that people having super bikes and sport bikes are from rich families and have no social responsibility. But in our group everyone is a responsible person and owes something or the other to the society.

The United Motor Heads also promotes biking among women. Currently, there are two women Kanchana Ganga and Supritha Urs, who participate in short distance biking expedition along with the members. Panduranga Shenoy said: "Along with promoting biking among women, we also want to induct responsible members who would help in spreading the message of safe riding and in terms of charity."

The next biking expedition of Panduranga Shenoy and Karthik is on April 11 to Nasik to participate at the Western Harley Owners' Group (HOG) ride. Both will cover around 1,150 kms in a single day to reach Nasik on the same day.

Further, Shenoy and Dr. Sachin will participate at the 73rd Sturgis Motorcycle Rally-2013 to be held in USA in the month of August. They also plan to travel across 5,000 miles in USA.

Sturgis is a city in Meade country in South Dakota, United States. The population of the city was around 6,627 during 2010 census. But, it is believed that Harley lovers from across the globe assemble at the city once in a year during which around 5 lakh Harley Davidson bikes are seen in the city.

United Motor Heads members Mohd. Aamir, Abhijit Hedge, Abhishek Hegde, Daljith Ram, Raghu Ram, Chethan, Dr. Sachin, Dr. Ajay Hegde, Dr. Santhrupth, Nandish, Jayakumar, Kanchana Ganga and Supritha Urs were present. Advocate Harish Hegde also released the United Motor Heads T-shirts at an event held at Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club yesterday evening.

Courtesy : Star Of Mysore