Thread: Are you appropriate for Biking?

Biking has transcended the barriers of a hobby and into a lifestyle for most of us here. The line between a person’s biking life and his personal life has blurred beyond definition thanks to forums like this, we now are no longer a bunch of strangers meeting up at weekends, with nothing common to talk about other than bikes. And this has made biking more serious than we care to realize, since our social circle today is literally online, our daily discussions and arguments taking place here almost compulsively centers around Biking. It takes no Freud to understand that you are influenced by the people we associate with, and likewise we all here are influenced by each other on our likes and dislikes. And similarly when I first entered here, I was simply fascinated by the world of biking, exploring new places, pushing the limits of our capabilities, it was so packed with adrenaline that I was left looking at some peoples exploits here with my jaw hitting the floor.
Naturally as I was only a teenager then, that I started dreaming about having my first bike as soon as I turned 18, soon this day dreaming turned into an obsession, an addiction driving my parents crazy. Finally they gave in and offered to buy me a bike, but even then their problems were far from over, I would settle for nothing less than a premium segment bike, even though it was going to be my very first bike. At first I thought I had all the technical know-how to handle a machine on my own. I immediately started out on road trip’s clocking nearly 2000kms a month, when I barely learnt how to ride a bike. As the months passed by I would invariably be stand in front of my father head hung quite often, him telling me I had always bitten off more than I could chew with the bike. And I always found this justifiable with my enthusiasm for adventure, also I in my mind was becoming more and more cocky with my ever gaining confidence whilst riding my bike. I would assume everything and everybody else to be inferior to me. But as fate would have it as months passed with every little thing I seem to discover, happened to be just the tip of the whole polar ice cap. And at the price of becoming a mature biker, I found that everything that I have been doing till now in the name of biking was very irresponsible, and a criminal waste of my parents money.
But don’t for one second think I’m insinuating this forum or its purpose, its just that I simply plunged in head first into it without being ready to accept the consequences, and if you were to put yourselves in your parents shoes you would be very hard pressed to find anything wrong when they say things that they do, and it is of my opinion that a responsible biker is someone who recognizes this as well. If I were to be honest to myself today, I would say that I’ve started out early and I had bitten off more than I could chew when I bought a bike. And no one else is to blame but me, I was too eager on doing all the things I had read when I was a teenager that I was too blind to see the consequences that were to follow, from petrol to service I had to depend on my parents for financial support, and as if that were not enough I had to give them the worry about my safety too.

The expenses involved in biking are something so inherent with it that, you can’t call yourself a true biker unless you are able to handle the expenses efficiently. Anybody can keep a bike pristine by pouring a ton of money into it, but it takes someone who truly understands his bike to maintain it efficiently yet keep it from controlling his life. This didn’t dawn to me in a day, it took it’s time slowly and painfully, when think back at the times I was frustrated with the bike for not delivering even though I had been constantly spending time and money on it, I now realize it was because of my haphazard ways in using it that made no sense of all the money and time put into it. Even now I know I’ll make mistakes, but at least I’ve come this far as to realize that I had been making mistakes. I’m writing this because I feel I should still be a part of the biking family, and writing this physically will make it a written record for me come and read whenever I feel I’m doing something wrong with things I hold close to my heart.

Hard Torque Approved

It is a good effort! Although I was expecting more from your essay than just revolving it financial planning as the only thing affected if you do not take care of your motorcycle. I am sure you will agree there can be a lot of extrapolations to this and it will be interesting to see what other members can think of. Maybe it is also a reflection of your personality if you just 'fix' things by pouring in money when something gets 'broken', something which goes against the adage "Prevention is better than cure".

Though expenses were not the only things i ran aground with my bike, it would somehow still boil down to how i spent a certain amount of loose cash (meaning it was intended to be spent on me rather than by me) on my bike. For instance the free-flow filter i invested on my bike proved to be a good thousand rupees down the drain, which in turn made me spend on other things that went wrong because of the filter in the first place. But my point here is not about the financial planning but planning in general, i went ahead and spent that money without even knowing how exactly a free-flow works. Why was that? Because i was immature and naive enough to believe that anything that had a brand name in it made my bike faster. And since all i had to do was to dip into the family kitty, it never pinched me to think twice before spending frivolously.

And BTW Thank You for the speedy approval

Originally Posted by EL LOCO DIABLO

Though expenses were not the only things i ran aground with my bike, it would somehow still boil down to how i spent a certain amount of loose cash (meaning it was intended to be spent on me rather than by me) on my bike. For instance the free-flow filter i invested on my bike proved to be a good thousand rupees down the drain, which in turn made me spend on other things that went wrong because of the filter in the first place. But my point here is not about the financial planning but planning in general, i went ahead and spent that money without even knowing how exactly a free-flow works. Why was that? Because i was immature and naive enough to believe that anything that had a brand name in it made my bike faster. And since all i had to do was to dip into the family kitty, it never pinched me to think twice before spending frivolously.

And BTW Thank You for the speedy approval

You remind me of what i was 8 years back.I had spent a lot of money on useless stuff out of which almost 95% ended in failure.But today i am able to judge what is best for my bike,be it engine oils or so called performance increasing filters and exhausts.
My philosophy-Stock Zindabad

It has taken me a while to realize that it is not the technical aspects of a bike that thrills me, but the art of motorcycling that takes me places is something that gives me the adrenaline. When I look back, I realized that I never did things as big as I do now, when my parents used to fund my first bike and its fuel. Somehow for me, it looked unfair. I let my true dreams come out the day I started getting paid. All this was never calculated. Good or bad, I consider them my cherished experiences in life. After all, what is an experience without a mistake? Its still a good learning, ain't it?

But then, its also good to be cautious.

Originally Posted by velociraptor13

You remind me of what i was 8 years back.I had spent a lot of money on useless stuff out of which almost 95% ended in failure.But today i am able to judge what is best for my bike,be it engine oils or so called performance increasing filters and exhausts.
My philosophy-Stock Zindabad

Well i'm nearly there when it comes to accepting my bike for what it is, instead of trying to make it something that it can't be

Originally Posted by xinfii

It has taken me a while to realize that it is not the technical aspects of a bike that thrills me, but the art of motorcycling that takes me places is something that gives me the adrenaline. When I look back, I realized that I never did things as big as I do now, when my parents used to fund my first bike and its fuel. Somehow for me, it looked unfair. I let my true dreams come out the day I started getting paid. All this was never calculated. Good or bad, I consider them my cherished experiences in life. After all, what is an experience without a mistake? Its still a good learning, ain't it?

But then, its also good to be cautious.

Things could have turned out either which way, but still the choice made at an certain juncture proves to be the defining moment of the rest of our biking trails, and there is never a 100% in saying what you've chosen to do with your bike is going to be alright with everyone else. And i'm still not able to put this in any other way.

hey ELD...its kinda same story for me.....except for the modifications part....i craved for a bike since i was in class 11th....many of my frnds had their own at that time...i got mine this year....in my PG...got a fazer after having a hard time convincing my parents....then joined xBhp....saw ppl over here...met some in G2G....Man...that changed my view of biking completely....now rashing on roads...stunting in traffic seems waste of energy,talent and money(if some cop gets u)...learnt to respect the machine....i know its just a start...have to learn much more...may be in some time even i would be able to call myself a biker.....for now...just a kid....

Originally Posted by EL LOCO DIABLO

Biking has transcended the barriers of a hobby and into a lifestyle for most of us here. The line between a person�s biking life and his personal life has blurred beyond definition thanks to forums like this, we now are no longer a bunch of strangers meeting up at weekends, with nothing common to talk about other than bikes. And this has made biking more serious than we care to realize, since our social circle today is literally online, our daily discussions and arguments taking place here almost compulsively centers around Biking. It takes no Freud to understand that you are influenced by the people we associate with, and likewise we all here are influenced by each other on our likes and dislikes. And similarly when I first entered here, I was simply fascinated by the world of biking, exploring new places, pushing the limits of our capabilities, it was so packed with adrenaline that I was left looking at some peoples exploits here with my jaw hitting the floor.
Naturally as I was only a teenager then, that I started dreaming about having my first bike as soon as I turned 18, soon this day dreaming turned into an obsession, an addiction driving my parents crazy. Finally they gave in and offered to buy me a bike, but even then their problems were far from over, I would settle for nothing less than a premium segment bike, even though it was going to be my very first bike. At first I thought I had all the technical know-how to handle a machine on my own. I immediately started out on road trip�s clocking nearly 2000kms a month, when I barely learnt how to ride a bike. As the months passed by I would invariably be stand in front of my father head hung quite often, him telling me I had always bitten off more than I could chew with the bike. And I always found this justifiable with my enthusiasm for adventure, also I in my mind was becoming more and more cocky with my ever gaining confidence whilst riding my bike. I would assume everything and everybody else to be inferior to me. But as fate would have it as months passed with every little thing I seem to discover, happened to be just the tip of the whole polar ice cap. And at the price of becoming a mature biker, I found that everything that I have been doing till now in the name of biking was very irresponsible, and a criminal waste of my parents money.
But don�t for one second think I�m insinuating this forum or its purpose, its just that I simply plunged in head first into it without being ready to accept the consequences, and if you were to put yourselves in your parents shoes you would be very hard pressed to find anything wrong when they say things that they do, and it is of my opinion that a responsible biker is someone who recognizes this as well. If I were to be honest to myself today, I would say that I�ve started out early and I had bitten off more than I could chew when I bought a bike. And no one else is to blame but me, I was too eager on doing all the things I had read when I was a teenager that I was too blind to see the consequences that were to follow, from petrol to service I had to depend on my parents for financial support, and as if that were not enough I had to give them the worry about my safety too.

The expenses involved in biking are something so inherent with it that, you can�t call yourself a true biker unless you are able to handle the expenses efficiently. Anybody can keep a bike pristine by pouring a ton of money into it, but it takes someone who truly understands his bike to maintain it efficiently yet keep it from controlling his life. This didn�t dawn to me in a day, it took it�s time slowly and painfully, when think back at the times I was frustrated with the bike for not delivering even though I had been constantly spending time and money on it, I now realize it was because of my haphazard ways in using it that made no sense of all the money and time put into it. Even now I know I�ll make mistakes, but at least I�ve come this far as to realize that I had been making mistakes. I�m writing this because I feel I should still be a part of the biking family, and writing this physically will make it a written record for me come and read whenever I feel I�m doing something wrong with things I hold close to my heart.

Originally Posted by EL LOCO DIABLO

Though expenses were not the only things i ran aground with my bike, it would somehow still boil down to how i spent a certain amount of loose cash (meaning it was intended to be spent on me rather than by me) on my bike. For instance the free-flow filter i invested on my bike proved to be a good thousand rupees down the drain, which in turn made me spend on other things that went wrong because of the filter in the first place. But my point here is not about the financial planning but planning in general, i went ahead and spent that money without even knowing how exactly a free-flow works. Why was that? Because i was immature and naive enough to believe that anything that had a brand name in it made my bike faster. And since all i had to do was to dip into the family kitty, it never pinched me to think twice before spending frivolously.

And BTW Thank You for the speedy approval

aaah yes...this was the same thing i went through few years back...kept the filetr,experimented with electricals...i did a lot of crap.but the quote that you mentioned is right...that whatever we explored till date is just a tip of iceberg ...however,only time can satisfy the adventurous blood in my body..maybe not now but definitely in future,(if i have a safe future that is )i will go to every place,every scenery,every peak and every road that has to be explored...now since am living on my parent's money i will just roam about here and there...but when am on my own,its international baby yeah....

Originally Posted by adarsh1398

hey ELD...its kinda same story for me.....except for the modifications part....i craved for a bike since i was in class 11th....many of my frnds had their own at that time...i got mine this year....in my PG...got a fazer after having a hard time convincing my parents....then joined xBhp....saw ppl over here...met some in G2G....Man...that changed my view of biking completely....now rashing on roads...stunting in traffic seems waste of energy,talent and money(if some cop gets u)...learnt to respect the machine....i know its just a start...have to learn much more...may be in some time even i would be able to call myself a biker.....for now...just a kid....

Originally Posted by satan69in

aaah yes...this was the same thing i went through few years back...kept the filetr,experimented with electricals...i did a lot of crap.but the quote that you mentioned is right...that whatever we explored till date is just a tip of iceberg ...however,only time can satisfy the adventurous blood in my body..maybe not now but definitely in future,(if i have a safe future that is )i will go to every place,every scenery,every peak and every road that has to be explored...now since am living on my parent's money i will just roam about here and there...but when am on my own,its international baby yeah....

Thanks guys, it was just my point of view, i still think that there will be people like us and they need to realize this on their own before it is too late.

I can relate myself with the yearning bit...expenses is a bundle that comes free of cost with any vehicle you purchase,be it for petrol,servicing etc or for modifying...I still study,but i do small part time jobs in the weekend which'll take care of all my bike expenses including fuel.I don't even ask my dad for pocket money...yet,when I asked for a new bike a few months back to my dad(which i eventually got with my dad not even hesitating)it felt a little awkward. Well,spending your own hard earned money is one thing,spending others money somehow doesn't feel right...atleast to me