viveksoni

Hi Guys,

Have been browsing this website now for about a month now, and I must say, the enthusiasm of fellow members is infectious indeed.

Like most of you, during college and for a long time afterwards, I used to harbour dreams of owning a SBK. In those days, I owned and rode an RD350 (1991, LT)but as is the case with most of us, yearned for something more powerful. In 1996, while on my maiden visit to Europe, I had a chance to ride the VMAX, after which it became and still is, my dream bike.

I guess I have been lucky as 7 years later, in Sept 2003, I bought myself a VMAX. Sometime back, I wrote an email to the Editor of BS Motoring on my journey from being a wannabe SBK owner to an actual SBK owner. The Motoring Editor liked my mail and published it in the Dec'2003 issue. In fact, they have asked me to write an article for them the next time I ride Mr Max out of town. I am enclosing the text of my mail below, I hope you guys enjoy reading it. Cheers and ride safe:

"Dear Ed,

I have been an avid reader of your magazine since the past 4 years or so, however, this is my first letter to you. I was flipping through my crate of old BSM issues and chanced upon an article written by you way back in April 2000 "To ride or not to ride - A Motorcycle to work". Back in those days, my ride was a 1991 RD350B, which I used religiously to get me to my place of work in Connought Place New Delhi. Be it the scorching Delhi summer sun or the freezing winters, I always found great joy when on my faithful steed, which had been with me for 7 faultless years. It got me through the Delhi traffic in record time and was great fun to ride, even with a laptop slung over my back. Back then, I couldn't agree more with you that motorcycles were the way to commute, cars then seemed stuffy and boring (not to mention unaffordable!!). Launching from a traffic light doing wheelspins was the perfect way to start an 8 o clock morning.

Life has progressed in the normal predictive manner since then. I sold my faithful work horse in end 2000 to a friend to raise money for a second hand Esteem. got married in 2001 and generally got engrossed in building a career and obtaining the practical niceties of life. Just as you stated in your article. Secretly, I still yearned for a pair of hot rodding wheels, but never had the spare cash. I put my head down to work and silently worked towards the day I would be able to afford my dream ride.

Pittstop to September 2003. Luckily, everything worked out. I replaced the Esteem with a Palio 1.6 GTX, which you will agree, is the most exciting quartret of wheels to drive, this side of Rs 6.5 lacs. And the icing on the cake, I finally have my dream machine, a 1998 Yamaha VMax, full power 145 bhp US edition (not the restricted 100 bhp Japanese ones you get in Pune). Everytime I fire up my Max, I am reminded of Shubharata's June 2002 article on "Taking it to the Max". Its been now three months since I have had my dream machine, and I have been using it to go to office more often than the Palio. Getting on to a bikes saddle regularly after a gap of 3 years, I agree with you that somewhere along the way to building a career and a family life, we tend to forget some of the basic things in life that give us simple, unadulterated pleasure. I was lucky not to forget it, and today, when I ride my VMAX to office, with a laptop slung on my back, I am reminded of the sweet memories of going to office on my RD350, and am encouraged of the exciting future ahead on my VMAX.

Richard Bach wrote" If you have been given the power to dream, you also have been given the power to make it true. You just have to work towards it". I couldn't agree more with him. Four years back, owning and riding a VMAX was just a dream, ...its reality now. My message to my fellow motorcycle enthusiasts - Don't give up on your dreams, hang in there and work towards them. Who knows when Lady Luck will smile on you!!

PS: This is an open invitation to the BSM Team. Anytime, you guys are up this side of the country, give me a shout, and we shall go burn up the tarmac on the Max.

Best regards

Vivek Soni

SKSy_Biker

Hi vivek!!
Good way to break the silence!!! With a good writeup
Anywayz congratulation on realising ur dream of owning a SBK...

I too have the dream not decided on the Bike yet ..
But will buy one when I save enough
But one things for sure....

"A MAN WITH A DREAM WILL NEVER BE DENIED"

ciao..

rash_rp

Great write up Vivek. Congratulations to u for getting the VMAX. Where do u stay ? Pune or Delhi ?

I hope that the dreams of all bikers here will conclude in the same way ur dream did.

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sabby

hey vivek,
nice writeup.
welcome to the group.
and congrtas for getting ur dream bike.

viveksoni

Thanks Rohit. I am based out of Delhi

Sunny

hey vivek remember me? we met at surinder's?

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sandeepno1

Hey man, great going...

Pics of the beauty would be appreciated... and how much did it cost u?

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amar

post some pics buddy, want to see that beauty.


"Learn the rules so that you can break them properly"

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Sunny

[quote]Originally posted by amar

post some pics buddy, want to see that beauty.

goto the visuals section of this site, the same vmax is featured there, though vivek wasnt its owner at that time...

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ace619

nice post man.....really cool......i wish my deram bike becomes a reality too jus like urs!!!!!! congrats for ur bike??

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