KwokFist

The celebration began late into the night when the screening of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen got over. We were all pumped up after watching the action flick. With an ear to ear grin after watching a very entertaining movie we entered the basement parking-lot of our local Multiplex; Shawn, Vivek, Siddarth and yours truly started our bikes and revved them up. As we followed Shawn’s thundering Yezdi Road King whose cacophony reverberated through the pillars in the basement, we left the place, getting all the possible attention from an emptying parking-lot. Riding together for a few minutes, we soon departed towards our respective homes.


It was a sleepless night, like the one before any long trip or a major group ride. Yours’ truly sacrificed his morning organizing and getting “Storm” ready for the day’s event, managing to get a bite to eat before leaving home to meet up with his co-riders and collectively ride to the meeting point…


A fairly long write-up follows and I hope you will enjoy reading through it:

You may also scroll down to the following posts to view the pictures first.


Jawa is a motorcycle manufacturer based in the Czech Republic, formerly Czechoslovakia. They set up collaboration in India in 1961. Jawa motorcycles have seen the days of glory when its popularity was sky high and also the lean phase. Die-hard Jawa owners and enthusiasts are spread all over the world, who love these bikes for their qualities like endurance, reliabilities, retro-styling, sportiness and value for money.

The 2nd Sunday in July, every year, throughout the world is celebrated as Jawa day and in India to commemorate the first Jawa motorcycle produced in the Ideal Jawa Pvt. Ltd Company, Mysore.

Sunday, 12th July 2009 Mangloreans witnessed these roaring thunders, when the Jawa & Yezdi fans and enthusiasts alike grouped together to showcase their motorcycles, that have withstood the test of time and age on the occasion the 7th International Jawa Day in Mangalore on July 12th. These bikes form a very important part of the classic and vintage bikes of India.


Mangalore has witnessed quite a few major rides over the past 3-4 years especially during The Great Indian Road Trip which was a major attraction covered by the local media and various other group rides from the XBHP members. But it paled in comparison to what was accomplished on the Jawa & Yezdi Day.

It goes without saying that everyone who contributed their time for this event has made it so special but there are a few who have played a key role throughout.

Shawn Fernandez and Arun Shiri from Yezdi Club, who are also avid enthusiasts and collectors of these evergreen bikes, took the initiative to organize the ride on the 12th of July for all owners, enthusiasts and fans of Jawa and Yezdi bikes and showcase them on the Jawa Day. When Shawn spoke to me about this, earlier this month, yours’ truly was more than excited to participate in coordinating this event.

Shawn (sfx), Zahin (james) and yours truly, apart from being friends, have been riding together for over 3 years. We have organized various get-togethers and ridden together on several weekends, on long group rides, on inter-city group rides and also on earlier Yezdi & Jawa Days. Come sun, rain or whatever we have also done several trips of our own individually.

Shawn, for as long as I’ve known him has always been keen on having an event specific to the Jawa & Yezdi bikes in Mangalore. We have even managed to get a few guys together for a weekend ride to the beach on similar occasions earlier but have often longed to get-together as many bikers as we could and have one massive ride.

Yes, this time things were going to be different and that much more exciting.

I’d like to add that Shawn has gone all out, painstakingly finding Jawa and Yezdi riders throughout city. Meeting them in the course of his day to day affairs and inviting them for the event, making sure they turn up and that means a great deal to me as he played a key role in the entire Jawa Day Ride.

Shawn and Arun Shiri, took initiative and planned it out and coordinated with as many Jawa and Yezdi owners they knew in and around the city. The entire ride received support from Mangalore XBHP as yours truly organized, as many XBHPians as he could. 12+ members from Mangalore XBHP finally joined us on the day. My good friend Zahin represented Bike Nomads which is also popularly known as BN.


Shawn and Arun Shiri had drafted a Press Release on Saturday for the Sunday newspapers which led to a few enthusiastic riders who joined us during the day. We also had a few members of the public join us en-route and ride amongst us with the headlights on as our own and stick with us till the end of the ride.

It is customary for our Mangalore XBHP group to ride with the head lights on during group rides so that we can identify our own amongst the rest of the crowd, this applied to the entire group as we moved on with the day. Other attributes such as need for protective safety gear (at the least i.e., Helmets) Driving License and bike papers, working head lights, horn and rear view mirrors on as many bikes as possible were made mandatory.

Of course, there have been many motorcycle rallies in numbers far greater than our own in this port city of Mangalore. In my experience, they have been chaotic, undisciplined, law breaking and conforming to the purposes of right wing extremists, student unions for rights, lefts and the centre. Not to mention various politico rallies. But these held no significance and importance, whatsoever, to the motorcycle enthusiasts in the city. This difference is what made the event so special. We had 35+ riders, which was far greater and held more significance and importance than any of the above. And for those who hold two wheelers, close to their heart, it will wishfully, create a larger impact on the minds of Mangalorean bikers than anything ever before.

As you understand now, for some of us, this ride is a dream coming true. Efforts of the past few years bearing fruit, materializing in the form of a group ride which was enjoyed by all the riders and spectators alike, witnessed by several Mangaloreans relaxing on their treasured weekends, as our rides literally stopped the motion of the city.

We represent several clubs but have none of our own. And therefore it has always been a challenge to organize locally and get significant numbers for any major ride. Naysayers have declared this impossible as loud as possible. And most of the time people would back out at the last minute leaving some of us to ride on as ever.

We are not a political party which can organize a hundred individuals and get them to sing a chant at the snap of a finger. We’re just regular guys with a day job, studies and exams, with personal commitments, responsibilities and homemakers alike who have personally taken out time and resources to bring together a group of like-minded people for an event, where they would want to be there for their own beliefs, and participate out of their own will.

This is why motorcycling, in my opinion, makes life that much more interesting, than mundane things like going to the mall on every weekend.

This time around we had several motorcycle enthusiasts amongst us who were supportive of the cause and its purpose and pooled in to be a part of this ride and made it successful and memorable.

Some Highlights of the Day!

• Approximately 40+ motorcycles participated on the day. 33+/- riders of our own plus many who joined-in during the ride.

• 18 Jawa & Yezdi Bikes! The oldest bike was the 1969 Jawa, to the newer 1996 Yezdi Road King.

• Several members of the Roaring Riders Jawa-Yezdi Club joined us on the ride amongst various Jawa & Yezdi enthusiasts on their mint condition Jawas and Yezdis.

• 12+ XBHP.com members join us with a variety of bikes.

• Bike Nomads represented their club.

• Two roaring Yamaha RD 350 which were in mint condition.

• Several Royal Enfield bikes such as the Bullets and Thunderbird Twin Spark.

• The vintage bikes comprising of the Jawas, Yezdis, Bullets and RDs were leading the pack and rest of the bikes followed them as decided earlier.

• We flowed with the traffic maintaining order and discipline, which we did not need to enforce strictly but was willingly obtained from every one present.

• Helmets were made compulsory and everyone stuck to this on request, though some of us reminded a few members occasionally, everyone obliged, and law of the land was not broken.

• No accidents took place despite heavy traffic due to rush hour on the weekends, and none of the riders were injured during the ride under any circumstances.

• There was a small drizzle initially, but the rain gods were on our side during the entire ride, for a change!

• This day brought together several people, from youngsters to those who have ripened with age.

• We received Press Coverage and the journalists seemed enthusiastic about the event!

• Very supportive wives of enthusiastic husbands included Mrs. Deepthi Sequiera Fernandez wife of Mr. Shawn Fernandez also Mrs. Mohini Shiri wife of Mr. Arun Shiri and wife of Mr. Prashanth were present.

• All the riders had their Driving License and relevant Documents of their bikes.

• Permission was requested in writing, from the Superintendent of Mangalore Police. Informing him of our motorcycle rally through the heart of the city prior to the ride. He was more than eager to grant us permission on the day.

• No traffic signal was broken.

• Although we maintained in our request that we would ride within the boundaries of the law and require no special treatment. The cops were more than willing to stop the traffic and let us pass as instructed by the Superintendent of Police! This came as a breather as there were regular checks going on at many areas with interceptors waiting to catch unsuspecting vehicles breaking the law. Cheers to the Cops!

• There was no trouble and we caused none, as we made our presence felt throughout the city.

• As a safety measure we carried First Aid Kit and a Professional Tool Kit for the riders and the steeds, respectively.

• In the presence of a back-up vehicle there was a Bolero tailing us for the span of the ride, courtesy Simon, one of our Yezdi Riders.

The initial crowd at the meeting point was incredible! Traffic slowed down considerably, many stopped to admire these vintage bikes before speeding away. Some even parked wherever possible and came over. Some posers tried stunting to get our attention. Many ripped their bikes just as they passed by trying to grab our attention. Many posed for pictures on the bikes parked, the public asked a multitude of questions and awed at the sheer number of bikes in a tiny parking spot where we had all parked, which were all shot by a dozen cameras.

We had several members of the Press join us at the meeting point. They interviewed the organizers and it was fun speaking to the members of the Press and explain to them the significance and purpose of the day, the types of bikes that are present on the occasion, the passion for motorcycles amongst the participating riders, the right attitude towards safety while riding motorcycles which the aficionados projected on the day, the support from motorcycle clubs, the brotherhood it involves.

There were so many cameras recording, taking pictures and videos that made us feel, as if we were given celebrity status at least for one day.
We also had a cop at stand by to inform the cops ahead, of our departure when we were ready.

Our initial route for the day was:
Start from Kadri (City Gate building) towards Abhinandan hotel for a short pit-stop for tea n snacks then proceed towards Balmatta Circle, head towards Jyothi Circle and proceed to P.V.S. From there go towards Lal Bagh and proceed towards Kottara Chowki via Lady Hill and reach our destination at Tannirbavi Beach.

The attention at the crowded beach was massive; hordes of people came by to take a look at the bikes asking infinite questions, surprised, appreciative of our event. We had some urchins come by shouting ‘dhoom bikes’ referring to the Bollywood movie “Dhoom”. It was probably first time they didn’t try to sell us anything (atleast me!) and kept staring at the bikes for some time before leaving.

We had a good break after which everyone started their steeds. We stopped a little ahead down the beach road and stopped for a line-up of the steeds and pictures after which resumed our ride to our final destination: Kadri Park.

The return route:
Tannirbavi beach to Kottara Chowki and proceed to Lal Bagh and past Bharat Mall, head to Kadri Park which was the final destination for the day and we all dispersed towards our respective homes.

When we passed by the shopping malls, the traffic slowed us to a stop. It seemed as the mall emptied to the streets. Those entering the shopping malls paused and turned around. Those inside came out to see what the ruckus is all about. It almost felt as if people came flooding out one by one to watch the bikes. Flocking like sheep, there were people on both our sides as we centered on the busy road.

It was a spectacle that could only be experienced. When we slotted our steeds in gear and resumed our ride, throttling on and accelerating; Jawas, Yezdis and the Bullets roared and thundered. The RDs screamed as rest of the steeds followed as we cruised down the road. It was almost like the creation of an orchestra of victory. The sounds of these thumpers flowed and seemed to have a form of upward motion. Rising like the symphony of triumph, they seemed to embody everyone in their surrounding, it was the sunburst of sound breaking out of hiding and spreading out, echoing a mile away, making every other noise in the vicinity inaudible.




The riders on the day as accounted for:

1.Shawn Colin Fernandez – Bike/Model – Yezdi Road King (1993)
2.Simon – Bike/Model – Yezdi Classic (1985)
3.Ashish Sharma – Bike/Model – Royal Enfield Thunderbird Twin Spark (2009)
4.Siddarth S – Bike/Model – Honda Dio
5.Siddanth – Bike/Model – Bajaj CT 100
6.Preetham – Bike/Model – Yezdi Road King (1995)
7.Rahul Rao – Bike/Model – Honda Aviator (2009)
8.Vivek D’Souza – Bike/Model – Hero Honda Hunk (2009)
9.Abhishek Murudeshwar – Bike/Model – Hero Honda Karizma R (2009)
10. Ashvin Shet – Bike/Model – Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTS-Fi (2008)
11.Prathvi Raj – Bike/Model – Yezdi (1983)
12.Dr. Brijesh – Bike/Model – Yamaha RX-135 5 Speed (2002)
13.Rajat – Bike/Model – Yamaha RX-100 (1992)
14.Calrock – Bike/Model – Yezdi Classic (1986)
15.Meghan – Bike/Model – Yamaha YZF-R15 (2009)
16.Melroy – Bike/Model – Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTS-i
17. Zahin James Aranha – Bike/Model – Yamaha RD 350 HT (1983)
18.Naresh – Bike/Model – Jawa (1973)
19.Arjun – Bike/Model – Yamaha RD 350 (1986)
20.Sunny Jackson Lobo – Bike/Model – Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTS-i
21.Henry D’Souza – Bike/Model – Ideal Jawa (1969)
22.Jagdeep – Bike/Model – Ideal Jawa (1973)
23.Lovejoy – Bike/Model – Yezdi Road King (1994)
24.Varun – Bike/Model – Yezdi Road King (1996)
25.Keshav – Bike/Model – Yezdi Classic (1983)
26.Neil – Bike/Model – Bullet (1982)
27.Prashanth – Bike/Model – Yezdi Road King (1989)
28.Shreyas – Bike/Model – Bullet 350 (2009)
29. Peter – Bike/Model – Yezdi Road King (1987)
30.Adith Lobo – Bike/Model – Yezdi 250 Classic (1980)
31. Arun Shiri – Bike/Model – Ideal Jawa (1972)
32.Birosh Sebastian – Bike/Model – Yezdi Classic (1986)
33. ? – Bike/Model – Hero Honda Splendor

These are the ones who were accounted for initially at the meeting point. There are a few more who joined later on and If you don’t see your name on the list please let me know.


Finally I would like to thank all those who made it on the big day and made it successful! Thank you very much!

On a personal note I would like to specially thank my close friends who are like my extended family; Mr. Shawn Fernandez and Mrs. Deepthi Sequiera Fernandez (our beautiful photographer who always helps us out on our rides when we need her the most with so many of the day’s needs and especially taking some good photos)

My friend and Co-Rider Zahin Aranha represented Bike Nomads riding on the best RD in town (It’s a 1983 Yamaha RD 350 HT and it stole the show at times, lifting her nose up at the wring of the wrist, one of the best, most well maintained RDs which Zahin has the credit to rebuilding it himself)

My very good friends and co-riders from XBHP who have supported whole heartedly almost every one of the rides that I’ve managed to organize in the recent months and they are as follows (Not in any specific order as presented below).

Sunny Jackson Lobo on his Bajaj Pulsar 180, Abhishek Murudeshwar on his Hero Honda Karizma R and his younger brother Akshay (Thank you so much for carrying the back up with the tri-pod, taking pictures and helping out with the accounting work), Siddarth on his Honda Dio, Vivek D’Souza on his Hero Honda Hunk, Melroy on his Bajaj Pulsar 200, Ashish Sharma (for getting everyone’s attention when we most needed it with the loudest and the meanest sounding Thunderbird Twin Spark in town and probably loudest in the entire group, sounding almost like a battleship firing in the midst of a raging war) Siddanth for joining us on his Bajaj CT 100, Rajat on his Yamaha RX 100 (thank you so much for bringing your Cam and taking some really cool pictures with it!), Ashvin Shet and Nishith (Thank you so much for joining us, I’m glad you could make it despite your personal commitments on the day) and last but not the least Rahul Rao on his Honda Aviator.

Thank You Very Much EVERYONE! You guys are truly awesome!!!


Articles published by the Press:

Daijiworld.com - Jawa–Yezdi Enthusiasts Vroom Through City Streets

Mangalorean.com - Jawas & Yezdis Make Merry

The Times of India - Jawa-Yezdi Lovers go Full Throttle

Mangalore Mithr.com - Yezdi Motorcycle day celebrated!

The Hindu - Vintage Motorcycles add thunder to a Rainy Day

Canara Waves.com - International Jawa/Yezdi Bikes celebrations in Mangalore


These apart - Karavali paper also came out with an article published in Kannada.

Deccan Herald also covered the event!


On behalf of all the riders I would like to thank the local Press and Media people who were present on the day to cover the event!


This ride will remain as the most memorable city ride ever so far in my life! It means many things to me and I’m glad it went great and we all had a great time.

Made many new friends today and had an awesome ride back home on my Yamaha YZF-R15 in the worst of the monsoon rains, late at night, with a liter of water in my shoes and soaking wet to my bones, but then the pleasure of riding in the rains is quite unmatched which made it a perfect closing chapter of the perfect day for me! So it’s all good folks!!

Thank you for reading!

Ride Hard & Ride Safe!
~Peace~
KwokFist (Meghan)