Bollywood star’s Amit Sadh: Triumph, my bike for life

Amit Sadh

Amit Sadh, one of Bollywood’s hottest properties right now, doesn’t mince his words when it comes to his love of Triumph.

“I love their bikes so much that I will never ride anything other than Triumph, so if producers ask me to get on another bike I’d have to decline. That might sound like a bold statement for an actor to make, but Triumph’s philosophy matches mine to the letter and you have to have principles,” he says.

His passion for motorcycling was nurtured from an early age. The son of an Indian army officer, he grew up around Royal Enfields, riding them from the age of 15 – on roads he insists to this day were private.

Two years later, he became one of the first and youngest Indian riders to travel through the Himalayas, taking a Triumph Tiger on and off-road through the rocks, mud and gravel tracks linking Manali to Srinagar, 18,500 feet above sea level.

“I’ve done that ride six times in the 17 years since and every time I see something different or am enriched by a new experience because it’s always changing. It’s a magical route and one that teaches you a lot about yourself as a person,” says Amit.Amit Sadh

Amit made his name playing Kshitij, a lawyer in hit soap opera Durgesh Nandinii and is now an established movie star. He is currently in England filming the movie Gold. It’s based on the true story of the Indian hockey team’s first Olympic medal win as a free nation in 1948 at the London Olympics, where they defied the odds to rout the British 4-0. The film is due to open in cinemas next year on India’s Independence Day, 15 August.

In between takes, he’s making the most of exploring the UK countryside on a loaned Triumph Tiger XCx: “I’ve been on some fantastic roads around Sheffield, the Lake District and Scotland, but I’ve fallen in love with York. I could definitely live there… if it was a bit warmer.”

Home is now Mumbai (where he rides a Bonneville and Street Triple), yet he is true to his life’s motto of ‘never settle’ and now spends much of his time filming in the UK, LA and New York: “I can’t stay still for long. I have to keep doing stuff and doing it on a Triumph.”

If you’re going to ride off-road the Explorer’s traction control, different rider modes and ABS make it the only bike to learn it on

Climbing Mount Everest is his next challenge and he jokes: “There will come a time when I’ll do more but for now riding, climbing and filming is fine.” He’s been in sight of the mountain already this year, as one of a party of Indian riders who joined a Tiger Trails training group run by Triumph India in the Himalayan foothills and hails the Tiger Explorer family as game-changers for anyone with half a mind for adventure.

“I learned so much and the most important thing was that I had a lot to learn about riding off-road,” he laughs. “But if you’re going to ride off-road, then the Explorer’s traction control, different rider modes and ABS make it the only bike to learn it on. It means you can be one with the bike and that is huge when it comes to letting go and leaving everything behind.”

Himalayas

He also does that by trekking and rafting but concedes that motorcycling is the only true way to ‘get lost in the moment’. Amit finishes: “That’s the thing about Triumph. With other bikes it’s just about what the rider looks like and the image he wants to achieve sitting on the bike. With a Triumph, the bike is better dirty and the rest follows on from that.”

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