strider

It all started with an ad about a new bike in 1998(when I was in 8th grade) from Yamaha in a auto magazine my uncle got from USA, with a picture of the bike called the YZF-R1 in a Red-white-black color scheme and that’s when I decided that I am gonna buy one.

After lot of fighting, my uncle agreed on me cutting out that bike picture from the magazine, so my next task was to find more about the bike like power, top speed, price and yes of course mileage.
Yamaha had caught my attention then from the wheelie RXs to the loud RDs...
I just couldn’t get the thought of buying The One out from my head..

So started my mission(then) to save money in a piggy bank(my chocolate allowances, bus travel fare, cycle repair money, painting competition cash money etc) through high school... I often wondered why is there a wall-poster of Sachin Tendulkar available but not of the R1..

During my pre-university years, I used to copy notes, assignments or write records for classmates (more or less everything which couldn’t be photocopied and submitted used to end-up with me) and I used to get paid like Rs 5 per page..
I could finally find a wall-poster of the R1 then and hence picked it up..

My 2003 R1 Poster

Engineering opened new avenues to earn and save money, being a bigger campus and lot of diverse students opened new and big ways to earn money for the bike like hosting parties, working for music concerts, new product promos, call-centres and as a pizza delivery boy. But my most cherished one was pizza delivery at Dominos; At 19, I was paid to ride a motorcycle; all it required was a valid DL (Driving License) and 3 hours of time per day.
Additional incentive was the betting among the delivery boys about who makes the fastest delivery to a particular address - some of my most insane riding days, no rules only speed. (Regret pissing off and endangering so many pedestrians and motorists)...

Somewhere in my 2nd year of engineering, dad got me a 2005 Pulsar 180 and was given a fuel allowance of 800 bucks a month,I saw an opportunity there, so I used to take the bike from my place park it at my friend's place on the adjacent road and used to travel by bus..800 was big money for me then...

By the end of my graduation, I had graduated from the a 2003 R1 poster to a 1:12 Scale model of the 2006 R1..
In fact so happy was I to hold the scale model that I went and bought 2 more models of different colors of the R1 the next day, making it to 3 of Red, Black and Blue color each..

The R1 Triads

Whats left was to pick the life-size replica...

By the end of engineering, before my first job as a programmer I had saved at least 1/4th the money worth the R1..

During my software stint after engineering, the saving mode hit the power band. At the end of about 2.4 years of slogging, ensured that the remaining amount to buy the motorcycle was in my bank account..

During my tenure as a software engineer, I realized that had I bought the R1 then I didn’t have the time to ride it and off course my fitness levels were at the least during that period due to the sedentary lifestyle..Hence I decided that this madness will end the day I pick up the bike..

So after a pursuit of about 11 years, on Jan 3rd 2010, the dream transcended to a reality, from a paper-cutting, to a wall poster, to a scale model and finally onto the real bike, The R1 was realized and it was worth every penny I had saved, worth every moment I had yearned for it
That moment when I saw my name written as the owner in the RC book still and shall always be with me and cant be put in words; better than the taste of Godiva, better than the rush at 200kmph heck better than that first kiss.
The after-effect being a bank balance of Rs 400

My R1

It will be a year with my 2008 R1 in about a fortnight and I want to give her a very special gift, which would be remembered by the biking fraternity in xBhp and in India.

PS: I no longer have that paper-cutting from which this dream started, but I can never forget that piece of paper which was everything to me then, from which that dream took off, that urge started, that pursuit or madness as many thought then started to materialize into a 2008 YZF-R1, 11 years and 48 days and the love story continues…

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IBA Number: 47054

MG

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My photography page: Gourab Das Photography

aargee

Nice story conveying a dream turning to reality; this is bound to motivate middle class ppl who aspire to own a SBK.

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The Zmaniac

Wonderful.

People like you (& their stories) keep my hopes of buying SBK alive.
Thanks for the inspiration dude.

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The Zmaniac - 2 wheeled enthusiast

Sunny

@strider: Thanks for sharing your story bro. The value of the dream realized is even more when you remember the roots and can trace everything back when you started.

This can serve as a good example of people who think superbike owners are born with a silver spoon in the mouth (some are!) and will also prove to be a motivation for others to start achieving there superbiking dream right now!

Btw, I wonder what gift will you give to your bike and to us!

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gsferrari

I always maintain that your first big-bike HAS to be the one you lust for...
Practicality can wait for round #2

Your post brings out the yearning, waiting and financial duress involved in the purchase of a big-bike for anyone firmly in the middle-class. I went through the same when I bought mine.

Super post...

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Praful

Man!!

Inspiring stuff there dude. Great to see you've worked hard and saved hard and realized your dream. Not many do it so soon on their own.

Kudos to you!

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RanjithMN

Now that's a real dream story!
Congrats and best of luck!

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Aparajith

Hey Strider, inspiring stuff... Seriously inspiring!

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aargee

Sorry, I couldn't resist rating ***** to this

__________________
Patience pays...The Vulture's virtue is patience and the bird always get it's food - Wise man saying

This is not a bakery. I don't sugar coat anything. If you ask for my opinion...then that's what you'll get. Don't be mad when it's not what you want to hear