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The Story of 2.5 years

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  • [Photo Feature]: The Story of 2.5 years

    The reason to come up with this writeup is very important to me .. coz .. in this 2.5+ years i have changed a lot .. and reason for this change is something really noteworthy.

    In This 2.5+ years .. i have changed from ordinary to special ..a negligent to responsible person ..and i learned many things with respect to life .. how to respect it and how to live it .. i have learnt the art of patience and more importantly it changed me from a irresponsible Commuter to an Responsible Biker.

    Let's Go back some 4 years and u will realize my life was like any other ordinary ppl ..and that time i was working in a company called Lucent Technologies .. and the office was resided on Bannergatta road and which is almost 23km from my home where i stayed ..and my daily transport was ..our own BMTC bus .. every day i need to change 2 buses to reach office and back ..and it use to take more than one hour to travel ..and i got used to it.

    Things changed when i brought my First Bike ..Bajaj Platina [100CC] and all of my friends [Engineering friends] started to get there first bikes from there earning and all most of them were going for big bikes like pulsers and apachis .. and i am the only guy who got this 100CC commuter bike .. as like typical milage mindset and even my friends made lot of fun of this bike ..but i still brought it and i was very happy ...

    Before this bike ..in our family we didn;t had any bike except Bajaj M80 which belong to my father and i have hardly rode it .. may be all together i ridden it not more than 15 times .. and i have just not good rider that time ... and now i have this brand new bike booked and i don;t even know how to ride bike with Leg gear .. i have never ridden bike with Leg gear .. but nothing bothered me .... as i was very happy that i am getting a bike and that too with my own salary .. i made a down payment of 14K/- and rest on 0% installment which comes some 1600/- per month..

    The day came when i need to take delivery of my bike from showroom .. and after getting a call i visited the showroom ..and i saw my bike .. and i am very happy to see her ..and after the sales person explained me all its features .. i was decided to take for temple .. and as it was Monday morning .. there was nearby temple i visited and a quick Puja ceremony happened within 5 min ..

    Now i got bike and without thinking anything i decided to take her to office and that time i never knew how to ride a gear bike [Leg gear].. and trust me .. traveling those 22km to office took me almost 2 hours and bike repeatedly used to switch off at every junction and traffic as i was not used to operate clutch properly .. and during this entire journey more than 25 times bike turned off .. that time ..my mind was thinking going in BMTC bus is much easier ..and whether i made mistake of buying bike ..and some times i used to think ..soo many ppl are riding bike and i can too ride it properly ..and for the next 3 months i rode it very slowly .. i never crossed 30kmph speed and always i was on the far side of the road .. and things improved quickly and i became comfortable with it ..


    Next One and half years it became my best friend ..and i started to take it to long rides from couple of km to 100+kms .. and each and every bit i loved it .. and at the same time ..i also became a commuter .. who honks horns irresponsibly ..riding on footpaths ..and cutting lanes on my wish ..and riding without the lid also .. my believe was ..honking continuous horn will make ppl to give the way .. and many times it worked .. and now i was soo attached to my bike ..i always took it with me ..every where i go ..and even for morning gym too which is hardly 200mts from my place.

    One day while searching on the Net ..suddenly i come across something which instantly catched my mind and eyes .. and which going to change me forever .. It was Yamaha's New bike YZF-R15 .. and instantly i fell in love with it .. it was Jan 2008 and every day i use to keep track of its news .. i never been soo waited in my life and curious .. some time the test bikes used to come showroom in the late evening for parking .. i used to go there and used to see it in flesh .. and in march that is 4 months before the launch of this bike .. i booked it with 5000/- and finally Yamaha launched it in B'lore on July 1st and they invited us [who booked bikes] to launch ceremony which included a fine lunch in a 5 star hotel followed by presentation and launch of it in Garuda mall [a famous shopping complex] .. that same day i waited till late night 3AM to get my bike delivery .. and entire showroom was crowded like anything.

    From the day 1 of this new bike my life is filled with joy ..as i was one among the few ppl who got there bikes in first lot .. i was felt special .. the entire ride to my office was which i never forget in my life .. in each and every traffic signal and stop ..surrounding ppl used to ask about the bike and its cost ..its milage ..etc..etc.. and even BMTC bus drivers use to ask about bikes .. and i used to ans them with full joy .. and i started to feel like king.. the same thing went on for months ..every day i used to ans people quarries.

    A couple of weeks later i was with a group of ppl who has R15 bikes .. and this is where my real biking interest started.. we used to ride in groups and every time yamaha organized any event they used to call us to participate and treated us like kings ..






    Then most important turning point happened .. i come to know about two biking groups which are going to change me in to a more responsible rider .. those are XBhp and BangaloreBikers .. .
    I have learned my first lessons of group riding here and over the time .. they turned me in to a responsible biker ..

    I started to strictly follow traffic rules .. now i can't cut lanes .. i can't ride on foot paths .. and i started to respect my bike like car .. without trying to squeeze my bike between the vesicles .. it thought me patience .. all this made me more responsible and also i figured it out .. if one persons starts to follow rules promptly at least few of other riders will follow you if not all ...

    I started touring now ..with my bike ..and with biking community .. it helped me gain more friends and joy of riding .. i felt there is lot to see and experience in our life than just to sit in home on weekends or sleep like baby whole weekends ..






    I have met couple of crashes with it also ..few are my mistake and some are unavoidable..but it never deter me .. all i can say is .. "Car without a Scratch and Bike without a Crash is a myth "
    My habit of Biking and out door activities like Trekking and touring ..given me a complete new identity .. and changed my life from mere a person to something different and something more responsible ..
    I know my story will be almost same as yours but its special to me as .. i have changed in a Positive manner ... its not like i am completely 100% now .. i still some times rides in a way which is against my philosophy .. and i am gradually over come it .. and when i see ppl with powerful bikes [R15,P220,ZMA] riding like maniacs .. i feel sorry for them and curse there parents who just brought there kids bikes but not responsibility associated with it.

    Some words will always holds the punch of truth ..Either in a Movie or in a Novel .. or in a Real life ...Great Power comes with a Great Responsibility
    Nothing is Impossible ...

    FaceBook || My Blog - Adventure Land || Group Riding Rules

  • #2
    Emotional story approved.

    very well written Nagoo.
    (Been There Done That) x 3.25

    Comment


    • #3
      ^^ Thank you for approving

      One has to remember the past in order to succeed in future :d
      Nothing is Impossible ...

      FaceBook || My Blog - Adventure Land || Group Riding Rules

      Comment


      • #4
        Beautiful, very beautifully written @Nagoo. Its quite true that most, why most, all of us here are turned to responsible motorcyclists by xBhp. Its quite true that xBhp has taught much more than riding,safety, patience, all the more taught what is maturity within us. Like you, even I've few stories to share which is not much different than yours. I'm sure all of us DO have similar things to share. Good write-up, looks like written straight from heart
        Skill is what keeps you on a Motorcycle
        Awareness + Skill is what keeps you out of harm's way
        ATGATT + Awareness + Skill means you might Live To Ride another day

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        • #5
          Nice memories bro
          we all r fulfilled wit de passion trips & our rides

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          • #6
            Nice read, Nagoo. Only if more people start realizing their follies and ride responsibly, the situation in B'lore can improve drastically. And yes, like you said, almost all of us have similar stories to tell.
            Your biking tells a lot about the person you are!

            Comment


            • #7
              Everybody had gone through the same I believe....I had learnt it from my uncle....he had covered all state capitals twice (2nd ride he had skipped 4 States)till date and he owns a RD 350 & a Electra 5s, he has covered once on his RD & recently did on his Electra. Learnt the riding discipline from him, but couldnt learn the way he maintains his bike. both his bikes would be keep it inside the garage and his car would be parked outside. you should see his RD 350, spic & span even now.

              He had done both the rides only with basic gears (Normal sports shoe, Some good old full faced helmet, normal leather glove, a denim trouser, a windsheeter) 2nd ride which he did 2yrs back, it was on his 60th birthday, he completed on his Electra in 33 days (Skipped 4 States), am still wondering how did he cover it.

              He is my inspiration.....now leading a retired life and settled in Ooty
              Never Give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about.

              Cheers
              Ramesh Madhavan

              Comment


              • #8
                heartfelt and true i guess. nice one then.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Great post Nagoo! Felt good reading it
                  RIP Marco Simoncelli! You will not be forgotten!

                  3HPTwitterFlickrYelagiri Tour Log

                  Kartik Ware

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                  • #10
                    great write up. wrote your heart out
                    CRAP Blog

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                    • #11
                      Nice write-up. Good to know your story is similar to mine (except that I picked my R15 almost a year later).

                      Its always wonderful to pour your heart out, & I'm sure you're happier now.

                      Hope to catch up with you sometime. I see that you were a part of the tri-state meet. Why don't you come for a g2g?

                      My views on the YZF-R15 V2.0: http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/news/198...tml#post699240

                      The pleasure is when your rear wheel slides, and you bring it back; and when the front wheel lifts, you take your time bringing it back.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        straight from the heart :-)

                        This story is a bit similar to mine.

                        My fascination with bikes started when i went to a relative's home as a child and saw a motorcycle racer taking a turn at full tilt. That caught my imagination and probably wired my mind in some way.

                        My first stint with a motorized two-wheeler was my dad's Bajaj M-50 (the predecessor of the M-80). I still remember trying to do a cold start and the 20 minutes of kicking and frustrating time that i had with it. But after it started, riding it and cornering it was a joy. Ofcourse i also learnt from the other riders that honking was the norm and that's the only way to get your way.

                        Scene cut... i move abroad to work and then return back to my homeland for good.

                        Now after seeing the powerful and loud motorcycles abroad, i felt that the indian motorcycles were more like bicycles with a motor (little did i know that they were restricted because of the restrictive gas and noise emission norms here in India). Since i had started to earn on my own, i decided to pursue my passion and decided to buy the Bajaj P220. But when i reached the showroom and laid my eyes on the P200, i fell for it. Also the long delivery time of the P220 pushed me further.

                        My initial rides were scary since i was used to driving abroad with buffer spaces around me and riders/drivers with etiquettes. Also i wasn't comfortable with the pedal-gear-shift. To add to it, the P200 handling isn't very good and it had a large turning radius. Result: several crashes (one was at 5 kmph ). But then eventually i learn how to ride it and get used to the handling. But still road-rage keeps creeping up due to the mindless and blind drivers in India and the infrastructure. Bike-India becomes my regular collection of magazines.

                        Scene cut...i stumble upon the xbhp forum. I register and find several mature and knowledgeable folks here. Here i learn about counter-steering, terms like highside/lowside, parallel twins, V-twins, tips on how to drive with scientific explaination and articles like hard-torque on the xbhp magazine. Result: now i am a more mature and controlled rider. Now i don't lose my temper and give way to rash riders. All in the quest to become a better rider and to keep riding my motorcycle forever and ever.

                        Kudos to all for keeping this forum alive and kicking...

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          hey nagoo - Same story of yours but the bike here was a splendor and than upgraded to R15, had crashed badly and after a month break i am gonna ride my R15 again from today slow and steadily as my left wrist was fractured all i can say is each and every crash or life saving moment keeps on teaching you something buddy.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            nicely done dude ,your story is true to every biker,and that thing about motorists in bangalore is very true, some people just aren't responsible and when they realise that it'll be too late

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by sunil.s.acharya View Post
                              nicely done dude ,your story is true to every biker,and that thing about motorists in bangalore is very true, some people just aren't responsible and when they realise that it'll be too late
                              Welcome to Xbhp Sunil...
                              My thoughts are subjected to personal experiences/internet articles. Please read my comment carefully before replying. :)

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