Welcome to Hard Torque
What is Hard Torque?
Hard Torque is a special editorial section on xBhp featuring select xBhp members.
The Hard Torquers
The Hard Torques
- Interview with Jean Pierre Goa by Ken Cool added on 16th December 2008
Remember the Bat-bike coming out shattering through a sheet of glass and zooming past in The Dark Knight? This movie directed by Christopher Nolan used stuntman Jean-Pierre Goy for these amazing sequences on the Bat-bike. Jean-Pierre who…?
- Sense and Sensibility by Old Fox added on 16th December 2008
I don’t consider my motorcycling to carry exceptional damaging potential to my life. Riskier than hammering away on my keyboard perhaps, but inherently dangerous, no. After all, the motorcycle is an inanimate object, a great bunch of engineering ideas cast/forged/machined in metal, until I choose to bring it to life, and then I am in charge.
- What Could Have Been? by Ken Cool added on 10th November 2008
Circa 1900s, in the “not-so-developed” western world, industrialization making its mark felt, motorcycling enthusiasts were already around making their musically noisy presence felt through performance machines by men led by passion that only a motorcyclist can understand. Initially there was a Swiss manufacturer in the 1900s, Dufaux, with a 250CC engine making a good 1.5Bhp and zooming down the track at breakneck speed of 35km/h. In 1916, Triumph brought out a monster of a 550CC making a huge 6Bhp hurtling down the road at a whirlwind speed of 70km/h.
- I somehow ‘knew’ it! by Old Fox added on 28th October 2008
- What Next? by Ken Cool added on 19th October 2008
- Race on Sunday, dream on every day. by First Synn added on 12th October 2008
- Seeing is Riding by Old Fox added on 4th October 2008
- Interview with Amitoj, Asst. Professor, Industrial Design, IIT by Sunny added on 26th September 2008
Ever felt the thrill of somehow already knowing who is behind the door before opening it when the doorbell rings? Ever picked up the phone to call someone and the same person calls you up at that very moment? That’s, as is said, intuition at work. The ‘intuitive me’ has always existed within each one of us. But the predominance and preponderance of logic as the panacea to all analytical and situational problems has perforce made culture look at intuition with doubt. Intuition is not ‘logical’, and being ‘non-repeatable’ at will, not ‘scientific’ either. But sadly, the supremacy of logic closes the door to a vast arena of untapped mental abilities that could make life simpler and amazingly conflict-free not just for the everyday motorcyclist but for mankind in general.
Progress is a never ending continuum. Though this adage is painfully misinterpreted in the Indian motorcycling scenario. For decades biking enthusiasts of this country has been dished out choices in sticker options in shiny matt glossy rehashes of the same old country-brewn, home-made engines with suitable-for-India downtube frames burping out a handsome 8.7 Bhp across the table. These half-baked home-grown rehashes of mopeds have made this motorized two-wheeler industry the biggest in the world.
A Good friend of mine came over here from India the other day. During the course of the usual alcohol consuming session, an interesting tidbit popped up. Apparently, land on the outskirts of his city (back in India) costs a hundred thousand Rupees to the Acre. Yes, no typo. A Friggin’ Acre! Apparently, the land is so barren that any form of agriculture is clearly out of question. A shame, isn’t it?
Motorcycling is primarily about motion. And to predictably control motion, we need vision the most. What follows below is an attempt to explain how we ‘see’ while we ride and also ways to improve our ‘seeing’. Apart from my own two decade long riding ‘innings’, I have had the good fortune of having an Aviation Medicine specialist for a good friend. A lot of what I have put out here came from our long talks, with me looking for parallels between flying and motorcycling and he bemusedly helping me along. Read the full article>
In this first interview by xBhp on Hard Torque, we speak to Amitoj Singh, 30, Assistant Professor, Industrial Design, Indian Institute of Technology. His specialization is in Motorbike Styling Design and he is doing a research on Motorbike Design and Emotions. Read the full article>
- Biker by choice? by Sksy_Biker added on 25th September 2008
I wish you warm welcome to the Hard Torque section. Now if you were reading this article on xBhp it would be fair of me to assume you have at least a tiny bit of interest in biking. The title of this article is fairly clear-cut, so ask yourself… Are you a biker?
Read the full article>
- Winds of change by Synn added on 18th September 2008
Apologies if anyone thought this was about the Scorpions’ song. It’s not. Rather, this one’s about the Indian motorcycle market. Yes, we’re finally up there with the rest of the civilized world. OK, not yet at UK/ USA/ Germany levels, but certainly a cut above Cambodia/ Philippines etc. which were our “Equals” just a li’l while ago.
Read the full article>
- Making the right choice! by Ken Cool added on 18th September 2008
Once upon a time, circa 1947, there came about a country called India. Some American cars and some cycles then. Not much motorized two-wheelers to talk about. And no racing either. This was a colonized amalgam of cultures where the colonizers came to make money. And when money making was no more viable, they left. We all know that. I will not go through the whole evolution since then. I will stick to recent changes in motorized vehicles, more specifically to two-wheelers.
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- The Rider by Old Fox added on 18th September 2008
A long time back, I used to wonder what riding a bike would feel like. Now I know. It feels just as natural as walking. Put on your boots, gloves and the crash helmet. Twist the key in the ignition switch, kick-start the bike and feel the engine come alive under you. Pull in the clutch, shift into first gear, twist that throttle a tiny bit and release the clutch. Gain speed and keep shifting gears until you get in top. The speedometer tells you how fast you are going and the tachometer tells you how fast the engine is turning. Just as natural as walking, right? Read the full article>
