The first time I saw it, it was magic.
Two eyes staring at me. Peaceful yet aggressive. An air of sophistication. Full of power yet appearing so gentle. The name Honda. The legend. The heart warming quality and refinement. Wide. Low. Aggressive. Just enough curves and edges.

And then the engine started.
The smoothest note of an inline four musical organ. Not loud not quiet. Just enough. The acceleration. Not threatening enough to give you a heart attack. Yet so fast! The sound while decelerating, so refined. Crossing 100 kmph is just like jogging for this bike. The reality dawning upon you. Just how great is the engineering and quality of this motorcycle!!!

How can one not like a bike which gives this experience.

The Honda FireBlade.
Period.


Edit: A pic from my side.That's me.

Alpinestar makes all the protectice gears for riding EXCEPT helmet. So it HAS to be a sticker

more pictures please.....

Dude!!

Heres conveying to you many congratulations on your latest acquisition! She looks yummy!!

Never heard that Astar makes helmet and moreover the helmet looks like Daijya.So it ought to be a sticker

^^ The helmet is indeed dajiya - It's a sticker only.

A-stars makes helmets but only for marketing purpose

Its confirmed now...Its Dajiya with stickers

Any comments about Dajiya as a brand? Good/Bad/Ugly?

Had been to Planet DSG store (Pune) to buy gear. No new stuff there. Couldnt get the helmet either

Just bought a AStar jacket. He is expecting new stock soon so I am planning to buy gloves and shoes in a couple of days. Else, I am off to Mumbai to buy stuff...

There is a swanky Intruder standing in that showroom. Shaft driven, rear tyre is 240 Amazing bike I have never seen that Orange colour before man!!!

Hmm daijya is a copy of marushin helmets you can get marushin from DSG but they cost a bomb.you can get SHOEI,AGV in that price bracket

head to mumbai/pune, its a hell lot better over there, i myself would be going in april/may

My first ride experience


Finally the day came when I was going to ride my Honda fireblade for the first time. Prior to this, the most powerful bike I had even ridden was BMW F650 Funduro. It's a 50 bhp bike, easy and tall sitting. Riding it was thrill and I was amazed with her power! Fireblade produces about 170 HP @ 11250 RPM of power and is capable of going form 0-100kmph in less than 4 seconds. It weighs 200+ kgs and has aggressive sitting style. My friend was briefing me with some riding instructions to which I was intently listening. He is a very good rider and I trust his abilities; of course I had done my homework as well! He was riding while I watched over his shoulders. He demonstrated how easily this bike can be ridden at just 50kmph in the top gear. I was very impressed. Then the riders were switched

I started the bike asking him a few questions. I always had a doubt about handling it because of its weight, sitting style, clip-ons and power. I have ridden the bulky RE Bullet and the sporty R15 many times in the past and had no problems with them. But this ride was going to be different. I turned the key on. The console came to life with orange backlit. The RPM indicator did a round and came back to zero; as if it is greeting the rider with a salute, I thought There was a sound made by the HID kit. Then I hit the starter and the machine just woke up with a roar. Yoshimura RS-5 was making a sweet roar at the fag end of the bike. I downshifted from neutral to a big thuddd, which made me pause for a second when a pat came from behind saying that "don't worry its normal" I prepared myself for releasing the clutch. The bike sailed very smoothly without a demand for more power or higher revs. It was like riding on R15. I did exactly what my friend had done few minutes ago. The bike was riding very easily at the speeds of 50kmph in higher gears, in fact 6th gear, without any problem. I was amazed the way it was handling. I had a pillion and the road was average but she was sailing so smoothly, almost all by herself. Instructions were coming like a running commentary from over my shoulders. He then asked me to open it up. The pro biker sitting behind me squeezed-in his knees for better grip just milliseconds before I could open up the throttle. But I was still scanning the road ahead. After going some distance I decided to open it up bit..."literally a bit" just to check out this awesome machine. I was still in the 6th gear. I must have rotated my wrist barely by a few degrees, albeit very gradually and cautiously, and the glorious-beast came to life. It was as if someone had shot a round from a gun. All inline-4 got to the task and in absolutely split-seconds I was cruising at Mach speeds The tail was making awesome sound which was not harsh on my ears. I felt a blast of wind on my chest which automatically made me lean a bit forward. The most important thing I noticed was that, the bike was so stable that I only had to focus on the road traffic. No vibrations, no shaking nothing...just rock steady! I remember there was one instance when I downshifted cautiously to negotiate with bad road patch and I felt a little slip of the rear tire. But the bike got back on track all by itself. I think one has to concentrate on the front tire and things will be taken care of. Lesson learned is that, downshifting needs some power delivery to the rear so you got to do vroom vroom while downshifting

I slowed down and then sped again...This went on for 30 minutes when we decided that I will ride alone and my friend will follow me in a car. Well, this time I was more confident and started riding carefully and cautiously. The acceleration with smallest twist in the throttle and deceleration when you leave the throttle makes you appreciate the technology even more. The bike gains controls as soon as you ease the throttle. I was scanning 500 meters and blasting. The Yoshimura made such a thunder that made me feel apologetic for the fellow bikers whom I used to pass in fraction of second. It surely must have scared the hell out of them. Needless to say that I was the center of attraction...or was it the bike Every small stop I took, invited a lot of people to turn their attention towards the machine. I was enjoying the ride by carefully overtaking other vehicles and was feeling more and more confident, when the glorious-beast just reminded me that she is not something that one can take for granted..atleast so soon. I must be riding at a meager 60 seeing a turn ahead. I slowed down by gently pulling the front brake and tried to downshift. My instincts and previous experience on low capacity bikes made be take a turn by trying to use my body weight to turn the glorious-beast. But in vain. Luckily I had lot of room and I was well within the dividing line and somehow managed to take the turn at may be 45kmph. I remembered the instruction that my friend gave me just before riding and I just smiled saying 'concentrate dammit!!!'

I must admit that a liter bike can scare a new rider with its power, unlike the 600's. Riding superbike requires concentration of highest degree. Next couple of months I plan to just get used to this bike. Top priority is to learn cornering.

The overall experience was nothing short of "Bonding with Mountain Banshee" and I hope to connect with my mountain banshee more and more with every passing day.

whoa, awesome !
believe me, this kind of feeling will come to you again and again just as you plan to go out for a spin, look for the keys on that holder or drawer, get your riding gear on, wear your shoes, all the while thinking about the beast that awaits you in the garage.....
And then when you finally lay your eyes on her, a smile will come to your face, and you will relive the moment again !
Cherish your bike... and ride safe !

Cant agree more Fireblah. Yesterday night I went to the parking lot at 10.30pm just to ensure that the bike is covered properly. I lifted the cover and she was looking at me and asking for a spin...almost flirting And how on this earth could I have denied Ended up doing a 30-40 minute ride

the joy and exhilaration you experience the first time you ride only increases as time goes by and you get more confident

congrats

congrats on your first ride experience
I can feel that ride sitting here. your superb narration precisely conveyed every bit of that ride.
Its truly an exhilarating experience for the biker to have a litre class bike with behaviour of much smaller bike and top it up with awesome power on tap - thats a deadly combo.
I am sure you dont feel like ending that ride and go park it in her den.
Enjoy many more glorious miles and here's a to happy n eternal bonding
Cheers !!!!!!!