Hi everyone,

I am Karthikeyan L.Manga from Chennai. I am quite thrilled to be a part of the fellowship of our very own Indian bikism!!

To start with, I am doing my Electrical & Electronic Engineering @ SRM, Chennai. In the beginning, I was quite hesitant to learn to drive a bike. That was because I got too cosy riding my Mom's Activa. At that time, Scootering was a haven to me, zipping through the traffic with very much ease, I thought 'why go through the complications of a bike !!'. It was then out of the compulsion of my bro, I was made to learn to ride a bike on his new Pulsar 150 DTSi UG3. Boy!! that was one helluva experience !! At first getting through the first gear seemed to be the hardest thing to do. As the process of changing the cogs of the bike at the right RPM band got germinated into my subconscious mind, biking wasn't so tough after all !!. After days of riding a bike, you suddenly feel scootering a real bore in contrast to the thrill of feeling the bike!. You tend to become a part of the bike's machinery!. I am sure most of us would have gone through a similar phase.

Coming to the bikes I own, I own 3 machines: Pulsar 150 UG3, TVS Suzuki Shogun & A Shaolin. I learnt biking on a Pulsar. I spent a year enjoying the smooth ride on it. It was then my bro bought a used Shogun that had no appeal at all. At first, my ignorance blinded me of its potential. I was so ignorant that I didn't even show the slightest interest in it. I didn't even want to touch it in the first place. It was my bro who put plenty of time & effort on the Shogun, which at that time I thought was vanity!. All these took place before my college days began.

My initiation with the Gun happened when we had to shift our residence to a place in the city outskirts. My bro took the Pulsar & he compelled me to ride the Gun to the new house. It made me really mad. Soon we were out in the highway en route to my new residence. My bro ,ever so efficiently managed to soar past me. I got bugged down by this. I immediately wanted to catch up with my bro. I didnt care what this so called 'Shogun' can do. All I did was, I just pulled the throttle. And that was the beginning of a special bond between myself & the Shogun! I downshifted to third & pull the throttle. The sudden change of the 'Samurai kinda sound' into a roar got me out of ma wits !!! The bike soared, giving me a taste of the acceleration coupled with the racing roar of the Gun !! In no time I was tailing the Pulsar at 90. On the final transmission, the Gun raced the Pulsar with contempt, & I couln't help smiling at ma bro when I went past him!! Still remember those vivid images !! It was so special !!! From then on, I gave full respect to the BOSS !! I started showing special care to the gun. The Gun made me feel the bike rather than just riding it. Every time I ride ma Gun, I try to suppress all the subconscious thoughts & focus that present moment on the bike, managing to feel the bike from the very rumble of it to the throaty roar of the exhaust!!

For the past six months, I & bro managed to restore the Gun & are happy with it. In the process the Gun's gearbox took a 5-speed avatar. We really became fans of the Suzuki clan. This made us buy a used Suzuki Shaolin as it seemed that the Shaolin was bestowed with enormous potential in it. The feats of the Shaolin giving a tough competition to the RD 350 in drag events created a heroic image of it in us. Presently the Shaolin is sleeping in my garage. As I developed a special inclination to Two stroke bikes, I began scrounging information about the machines in the net. And thats how I have landed here at Xbhp!!

Gotta say, TVS had some crazy idea of introducing the Gun & Shaolin in a motorcycle market & in a time dominated by fuel conscious commuters. I really appreciate TVS in doing so & ma bro for giving me a taste of it!!.

Here at Xbhp, I hope to mingle with the several bike enthusiasts who had fallen in love with the GUN & the Shaolin). Long Live Shogun !!! Long live Shaolin !!!


Cheers,
Karthik