Welcome to Hard Torque
What is Hard Torque?
Hard Torque is a special editorial section on xBhp featuring select xBhp members.
The Hard Torques
- Choices by Old FOx added on 1st September 2009
Its win-loose time these days. Almost all the time. And the stakes are always high, getting higher in fact, in the mind at least. The prime-mover being the urge for ‘exclusivity ’….being ‘different’. Either I am exclusive enough to be noted and admired by the majority (and all apart from the holy ‘me’ constitutes the majority) or I am just a pitiable social appendage…
- Custodians Of Life by Old FOx added on 1st September 2009
Clichéd and abused, the phrase ‘life is precious’ is yet so relevant and true. Pledge within not to show disrespect to the force that keeps that spirit within you. Ride safe not to set an example or to avoid pain or to cheat death. Ride safe because that’s what you’re supposed to do, no second thoughts and no questions asked. Ride safe to assure life of your respect and devotion towards the gift. Ride safe for those who brought you to life and taught you to live. Ride safe as you are the divinity-appointed custodian of your own living self…
- Interview: Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson India by Ken Cool added on 1st September 2009
I walked into the warmly lit conference room of the Taj Palace Hotel where I was introduced to Mr. Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, India. As we shook hands and exchanged cards, I noticed a discreet pin on the lapel of his power suit which clearly said Harley-Davidson Motorcycles…
- Definition of a Biker by El Loco Diablo added on 16th August 2009
Nobody is defined as a Biker; the Biker is just a part of you which defines your whole persona as a Individual. And I know that this is hard to digest for many of us, believe me I found it stupid when my father first told me this when I sneaked out to a G2G for the first time and got caught…
- Mid-Life Crisis@21? by El Loco Diablo added on 15th August 2009
Its 6:30 in the morning, the time when the morning mist is just about to clear and the sun is sleepily peeking out from the clouds, the air is cool and there is an ethereal golden glow lent by the sun’s ray’s shining through the clouds. My bike is standing there as if greeting me with a morning pleasantry…
- Clouded Visions by Old Fox added on 5th August 2009
Its ‘monsoon’ time up north here and rarely does a day pass when one doesn’t take at least a fleeting look at the usually cloudy skies. The ‘one’ here is the quintessential motorcyclist.
- Oh! Mountain how big are you by Old Foxadded on 19th May 2009
Rising high and touching the blue skyHigher than even an eagle can flySo stout and strong are you.Oh! Mountain, how big are you
- In Conversation With a World Tourer: PETER SEVER by Ken Cool added on 29th May 2009
“I started from London on the 14th of July 2008 and have been riding since”. When I heard those words I nearly fell off my chair. It has been nearly a year that this gentleman and his charming wife have been sitting on a motorcycle and riding across states, nations and continents.
- The Big and the Small of Motorcycling by Old Fox added on 19th February 2009
Motorcycling is as much about hundreds of miles as it is about thousandths of an inch. In fact, all who ride hundreds of miles do so because inside the motorcycle, certain vital ‘distances’ stay within a few thousandths of an inch. Change them even a few percentage points within their scale and context and you get a bike that won‘t take you anywhere.
- Inverse proportionality by FirstSynn added on 19th February 2009
I’ll be honest with you. It’s been a while since I have paid attention to the Indian motorcycle market. A busy career and other assorted matters didn’t help things one bit. The last time I was keeping tabs, The R15 and the FZ were making waves in the market and rumors were abound that the Hayabusa and the likes were landing shortly on Indian shores in search of prey. Sufficed to say, I had high hopes for our market and was happy that we finally were making our way to 21st century motorcycling.
- 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>
