I'm Siddharaj from Mumbai.25.By profession i'm an actuarial consultant ( it may sound fancy , but trust me , it isn't ) .

The original biker in the family is dad . He owned a Yezdi and Rajdoot for a decade. Poor chap crashed the Yezdi and almost lost his leg . The he took a fine decision to move to Bajaj Chetak which was then taken over by my elder brother. My brother learnt the scooter an a very early age and dad gifted him a Bajaj Caliber (new launched then) after he cleared 10th with flying colors . In those days , if you get more than 75% in SSC then you were treated as a 'scholar' ( today nobody talks less than 90%). As bro graduated to caliber now it my turn to try the Chetak.

I remember the day very clearly. Dad was shouting instructions from behind when I sat on the chetak. The only thing I knew was where the accelerator was and what it does. Dad shouted "Clutch ne khench ane fusth maan naakh" ( pull the clutch and put in the first gear) . As a devoted son, I did. God knows what struck me , I just revved the accelerator and left the clutch instantly. Crash.Bang.Boom.
Open my eyes only to see that I had broken my neighbors gate , the wheel cover & the front panel were screwed. Dad was fuming. It was then decided , i'll never drive the chetak and for that matter any other vehicle. And the decision lasted for 13 years.

Times changed. We moved to bombay. I was commuting in trains and Bro was still driving the caliber and thinking to upgrade. I changed jobs and the new office was in BKC. Hell of pain to commute to BKC via local trains. Fed up autos I decided to learn to ride on the caliber. I realized how much I had lost by not learning to ride. The caliber was easy to learn. In a few weeks I had my licence and I started commuting on it.Meanwhile , bro was test riding the CBR , 200NS and fthe R15 V2 . He settled for the V2 ( CBR was above budget). And boy , when I saw the V2 Black in flesh I was speechless. And after hearing the firing , I thanked god that i wasn't deaf.

(Un)fortunately , he got a job offer from HK. Leaving the V2 and going to HK was a tough call. Unable to resist the offer he then moved to HK. And the black babe was now in my hands.

When i first got my ass on her I knew I was on a different planet altogether. She demands utmost attention and respect. Took her out on a Sunday and the roads were relatively empty. She sucks you in after and after the 3rd gear. Didn't even realize when I crossed 60. The engine didn't even make any noise and I was so used to the khadkhad engine of the caliber. Difficult to describe the first riding experience. Moving from 4 gears to 6 gears was a sea change. Had to count gears while riding.

Joined XBHP last month. Read lot a V2 reviews and motorcycle ownership experiences. And still learning from there. It was the info posted here I came to know the importance of riding gear, elbow and knee pads etc. I got hooked to the 'The Tourer' thread. It was become a routine to browse Mumbai G2G and the Tourer thread once i reach office.

Planning to get some gear and join the xbhp mumbai folks for a ride. Have made a list of stores but yet to surf. Major part of the riding gear thread is left so have to finish that as well. Have to go through DIY thread and others. Plus , its great see that guys owning N650 and likes are in this forum.

Thanks XBHP for taking me as a member.

Much to learn. Much more to ride.