This one line sums it all up!

Damn, my favorite writer is back Sure will try to educate the educated morons even though i have failed doing the same

Hmm.. Looks like someone needs some :



On a serious note.. Similar things happened when the masses got their hands on bikes with front discs. Crashes galore. People adapt, and they always will.

And there is something called idiot-proofing in any case

I am afraid you may be underestimating the ingenuity of idiots. I've always noticed here that those with faster bikes also seem to think they need to be faster than everything else in sight. And yes, if anything looks like a cleaning cloth holder, it will be used as such. I fear the day that faster bikes become available to the masses of show-offs that prowl the roads of ahmedabad, thinking that wearing shiny sunglasses and driving at the redline with no helmet makes you look cool. (All I see is roadkill to be.)

Great piece, I just hope people may learn something, that is if they find the will to listen.

Akhil, leave front discs. Do u remember the reason BAJAJ said that they gave poor rear discs on the 220? 'Cos people ended up jamming them and locked up the rear.

@Synn: That burnt R15 issue first cropped up at Chennai and we hold that honor!!! Also I think once these things happen people will learn. Probably in the worst possible manner, but still.

Thanks guys, but there's a colossal screw up in the article.

Should read:

Money and common sense have this uncanny nature of being inversely proportionate to each other.


Thanks to Aryan for the quote which prompted it out to me.

Akhil: I'll take you up on that offer


Everyone: Go forth and educate the retards!

It makes sense now

was about to reply that "Not all who ve money ve brains or not all poor are brainless" then refrained from commenting as it might need a verbal dispute

Aye aye sir..!!

Brilliantly written article. I feel embarassed that this is the first one i read from you Synna Anna
Was busy going through all of OF's HT articles. Time to dig up MORE Synn-stuff now

Cheers..!!

P.S : You might wanna correct this typo :

Exactly.

When I bought my Unicorn, the smart heads in our housing society warned me not to use the front disk at all. Thats the mindset. Also while I was learning, some suggested that I ride in 1st gear for one week, then in 2nd in the 2nd week and so on.... Till I get used to all the gears. Duh.

hats off sir...your write ups are the best. they really vent your feelings.
and its unbelievable that there are people who could do stuff like that.
there are quite a lot of guys i know who are members of xbhp but do not have the slightest respect for their bikes. they just wanna show the people around them that they too are a part of this revolutionary community.
these morons do not even believe in wearing helmets!!!
thanks a lot for the torque sir...u really kick start our hearts

@synn: nice writeup...
my take:
1. the happiest thing about the Nano - it might possibly draw the line in biking.
2. in the past 2 years, we saw p180, apache, p200, apache160, p220 and now menace... thats 180-150-200-160-220-180. if only that graph would climb higher and differentiate commuters from powerbike.the dogfight doesnt end and none breaks free; gloriously waiting for imported ninja and ktm are we!
3. completely agree to the theorem - money != brains. also, teenage != wisdom. and these combinations spell disaster in most cases giving bad name to biking as well.
my 2 pncs...
peace!

criticism quoted and completely understandable and heartfelt.

honestly i do not get the sense of this write up, why do we crave for performance or upgrades and all etc we live in india, where utility was concerned more over looks, i feel most people are still maturing in biking age in india, where i still see too many splendors on road.

many are not educated by dealers or companies and many do not feel the need. Most bikes are sold for posing or for style, many ppl who log on to xbhp do not even own a good bike or a bike at all what about them?

When i was getting my FZ delivered there was an uncle buying the bike who was looking for a kick! then the guy explained it to him in kannada. There are many guys on Xbhp who rip there FZ's in run in period, without even understanding effects on top speed, pickup and mileage in long run.

We are a country in which 2 wheeler is more of a utility and style statement, its not singapore US or UK, where bike is for sheer performance or Style. Registering a bike in canada and US is way costlier then a car, i do not see same thing in india.

You may say roads may come! but i still see roads as big hindrance in performance biking and few race tracks for enthusiasts. Come to bangalore, my reason for not buying a car was simple but i have been a pulsar freak so wanted a decent performance in city.

If i was back in delhi and was travelling gurgaon to delhi flyway i would have gone for p200, karizma sport or may be waited for ninja. Even my miser ex manager moved to Apache RTR from his punty splendor after flyways.

Indian biking scene is very different go and ask a middle class dude's father what would happen if he wants an R15!. we are a more of family oriented and utility oriented market, does the manual anywhere say even on FZ that scoops redirect air? i am sure many would prefer removing it to fit a crash gaurd.

If you look back in history of cars and bikes (aka fox history channel) the western countries were educated by companies!, people protested against pollution in groups ( we do not see that in india do we?!) ppl still want CNG to save fuel rather than protect enviroment. This is the way things are taught here.

I would say its easy to comment not being in the same scenario of ppl around you, you have to be in the biking scene here to understand.

I actually made one of my frnds bro to go for FZ due its wait ratio to pulsar, its newness and better handling, but he still got a pulsar as it is a so called trusted brand and bajaj dealer PRJ is his school frnd.

Its easy to criticize and difficult to understand.

I still feel we ppl make it easy to criticize we have our dream bikes and all but do you really thing if i gave many ppl on xbhp 12lakh rupees and ask them too choose between Intruder and Civic, i can gaurantee most will go for Civic may be also due to tropical climate and style statement.

Take my comments with a pinch salt Mind it

hey dude...i don understand what your comment is all about...whether u are opposing synn of non-researched write up or u have a problem with below middle class people buying splendors. why does it bother anyone that the registration of a bike in US and all are more than that in India?? think about it dude....cuz u ain makin anything clear....
when talking bout bikers, synn refers to the guys who call themselves bikers.
cya....happy biking

Mindgrinder: First up, lemme clarify that I admire the criticism. Afterall, we need some brickbats to make things exciting, don't we?


It's a rant. It's one person venting against the things that set his fuse off. Take it with a dozen pinches; nay a 500g pack of iodized salt, if you may.


Why do people sell refrigerators in Iceland? Because it's a free country and people have a right to choose what they want as long as it's legal. Same difference. "Too many splendors" is a non-factor because the others have different priorities and thank god, they seem to have a number of choices other than the 100 cc mosquitos!

(Actually, people buy fridges in Iceland for slightly different reasons, but you get the point, right? )

So you DO agree with my POV. If you read again, I have written a part where I've requested the more enlightened among xbhpians to go and educate any and every dumbass you see on the road with a bike too good/ complex for his pea-brain. That's making a change and it's a positive thing. Are you willing to make that change or are you content on complaining about... well, complaining?

Read above.

Here you exhibit your total lack of understanding of how the world motorcycle market works. Singapore is a country with strict speed laws and a traffic light every 50 meters. There's hardly any space to rip to rip a step-thru (which are the largest sellers, btw. NOT the superbikes); let alone bigger bikes. It's mostly a style and statement thing here, save for the owners who take them to Malaysia and hit the track. In any case, nowhere in the world are bigger capacity bikes bought for utility. Smaller bikes on the other hand, cater to the A-to-B audience almost exclusively (Save for exotics like the Aprilia RS 125 which are as expensive as bikes 3 times the size).

As for registration and insurance, rightfully so. Motorcycles DO pose higher risks to a person's life than a car and the government is making sure that those who opt for them do it coz they rally want to. You can talk out of passion as much as you want to, but do you really think that the indian govt. turning a blind eye towards entire families traveling on a 2 wheeler with zero safety measures is a great thing?

You speak of all this with a sense of pride. And that saddens me. Well, despite your reservations, lots of middle classers seem to have gotten their hands on R15s. Now if you will, I repeat again; please educate the ones among them who don't have toe first clue of how to take care of them.

On the contrary, people in India protest way too much about way too many things. I'm sure that if she could, Medha Patkar would have protested against the sun for rising elsewhere before the cradle of civilization that is India.

Are you under the impression that I was born elsewhere and have never been to India? No sir, I was very much a part of the county, learning to ride there and spent quite a few years piloting my humble two wheeler wherever I could. SO yeah, I DO understand the scenario, coz I lived it not too long ago.

Well, you tried and that's the important thing.

Again, nowhere in the world does a bike like the Intruder outsell a car like the Civic. It's quite natural.

Duly minded, sir!