sinhead

My childhood dream since 15.
The first time i saw it, was in my preteens, my older cousin's RD. I can recall the

name Rajdoot on the silver tank. I was ignorant about its heritage or about what

made it special, but i used to be perched on the bike all the time, playing,

pretending to ride, making noises of the engine, hiding 1 alphabet on the tank at a

time & sayin it out loud.

Thats all i remember about my first crush - was purely, external, no clue as to what

lied beneath.

Class 9 .. - memeries were refreshed by a barber, who was from jalandhar. After

Every Hair cut, there was a 10 min session on the 3-PhiPhtee (as he called it).

Passion for it oozed from him. He would update on every new rd he saw, &

locations of parked RDs. I couldnt recall seeing an RD then coz I had forgotten

about it.

Finally he told abt a rusting, dust laden RD of an army officer.. & thats when I saw

it & recognised it.

Soon I heard a Roaring RD, cudnt see it, coz he was zipping fast. That sound

really got me.. & I fell in love. It was just raw power & nothing else.

a Few days Later, another one going slow & after that 2 rds together.. & that was..

heaven.

I was dating my friend's Shogun, & loved evrythin abt it , the sound, the pickup, but,

I was firm, that the RD was gonna be the bride.

Finally I decided to get 1 & collecting info started... from friends, mechanics, Mechs

having old resting RDs parked... Telling me abut Fuel economy of 8-12. (& i'd say,

kisi tarah 25 kar do & i'll take it) & they'd just smile. expressing helplessness.

Being from middle class family, i didnt have the guts to ask my parents about this

High maintainance beast. Still I dreamed.

One day while returning from delhi astride my friend's yezdi, an Rd zoomed

past..... Downshift to 3rd, 80+40 kgs on board, the yezdi tried it's best,,
but We, gave up. it was a blue rd. Then on another day we saw it again & we

followed, without giving up. Finaly caught up at BP market by sheer luck. He was

an uncle, almost bald, tall, army man.. & thats when i heard the rd experience from

an actual owner. Man of few words but every word made sure that I respected the

RD even more.. & when told about our attempts to catch him he just looked at the

yezdi & smiled.

Finaly got a job, met every possible mech but I wasnt convinced.
1 lucky day in noida I saw this guy ridng a punctured silver rd.. siting on the tank.

his chauffer driven optra following. I spoke to him, he had got it from joga motors, (i

had heard the Joga tales so I wanted to stay away from them). He also told abt a

guy named sumit who tunes rds as a hobby & generally has rd freaks lined up for

tuning rebuilding etc. But no contact number. Now how do i find sumit. ??

Much later I just came across xbhp.. read bout rds
A mechanic neaby also a rd enthusiast... I asked him to be on the lookout. Fianlly a

month after i quit my job i saw what i was gonna spend my life with. bad condition,

engine barely managing to run.

I was sure its gonna seize soon. but the exhaust sounded good. All the home work

done by reading xbhp & pre purchase inspecition for RDs were forgotten. An

Rx100 was there too. But I couldnt stop thinking about the RD.. my dream.. turning

into reality.

Went home told my parents i'm getting a bike.. not sure if the 100 cc or the 350 cc.

Their Eyeballs popped out at the mention of 350cc bike. picked cash.. went out

tryin to think sanely, convincing myself for the rx.. it being more practicle.

Brought home the Rd grinning & my parents frowning at the rust bucket I refered to

as Bike.

Already low on 2t the bike siezed in 12 days.
I posetd a thread about my purchase, was mocked at about my ignorance coz i

wasnt sure that a healthy battery was essential for it.
..a Little encouragement from mature members, & Sunny deleting many posts of

mockery & OT & asking people to be helpful.

That's when DR Tanjot a doot from the Lord - yamaha, messaged me his number

& also of Sumits'.... phew.
spoke to him.. later met sumit. but no money to spare now. The Rd lay in coma for

2 yrs. Finaly after my break up it was decided to bring her to life. met sumit again,

towed the bike with my aviator.
Saw sahil pistons inside, & a salad of various components from many bikes.

Mine was strictly going to be a budget rebuild with bare minimum investment just

to get the RD running & be technically sound. Reliabilty was my primary concern,

left cosmetics untouched.
Finally my wrinkled beauty kick started after throwing tantrums & a little fuss. Even

sumit smiled.. is RD ne bahut tang kiya. (thanks 2 the Curse of my ex.. I said.. lol)

I am thankful to DR Tanjot for being helpful & all other members for their

comments & critiques which in turn made me realise, that I cant be ignorant abt my

machine.
Special thanks to Sumit for making my dream come true.
Thanks to xbhp which is a wonderful resource & also for making me a sensible,

mature rider.
And finally to my rd for giving me the thrills inspite of the wrinkles.

sunilg

Quest for RD approved.

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(Been There Done That) x 3.25

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RX88

thats a good experience of owning an RD but as time is passing spares are more of an issue for these bikes,any way be happy with your ride and take care

vid_powerstroke

NIce write up sinhead. I always dreamt of owning a RD. But later gave up due to running costs of the machine. keep her revving . Ride safe

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My BiKe DoEsN't LeAk OiL, iT mArK's ItS TeRriToRy !