30,000 kms, 23 years old, Honda boy.
The 8-year old in a completely buttoned white shirt with the perfect school-goer's face, a schoolbag on his back, was looking at me, i.e., my gear and my bike in awe. I looked back and he could not see me smile across the visor. I revved up the bike to 10k rpm and it went out loud. Everyone else at the signal thought I was hot-blooded and the kid smiled. When it turned green, I let go the clutch and rode by his car over 6k rpms. He was still looking with his dilated pupils until our ways parted a kilometer ahead. I kept on with the sound, feeling the engine harmoniously beat, until I realized that performance sounds well. I see myself in such kids and I am pretty happy with what I have grown up into. I am vattsy, and I have a big story to say.
Of the first memories of how I learnt to ride, I see a maroon 'Hero Jet' cycle, my father holding the pillion seat as the 5-year old me cycled around the rectangular road again and again until I ended up bruising, or rather started it. I used to live in a suburb village of Hyderabad, and the next 7 years saw me winning every race I faced, getting a new bruise on my feeble skin and numerous repairs to that Hero masterpiece. I used to cycle to my school daily. There were 5 prizes I won, in our little middle-class showcase but I remember why I got only one of them, the one I got for slow-cycling. We moved into the city and my styling also moved to an 'Atlas Inferno'. Inferno was a short-lived life to me, and was soon stolen. The next 2 years, I walked to my schooling.
I was also that Indian kid stereotype who would stand in the leg room of the iconic Blue "Bajaj Chetak Electronic" as my dad rode us everywhere, growing to sit between the rider dad and pillion mom. When I was 10, I learned to balance Hamaara Bajaj off the stand and by 12, I managed my dad into teaching me how to ride it. Not that I didn't know, I had learnt it way back from the legendary RTC bus drivers. It was only a formality. Dad shifted to "Hero Honda Splendor Plus" soon and I learnt it too in a whiff. I was 12 when I also stole the keys and raced it around our neighborhood at 60kmph with no riding gear until dad caught me and scolded. By 16, I managed to be taking our Splendor+ to the grocery and begged for a cycle again.
My parents instead bought me a Black "Honda Activa" and it started. I went around the bustling streets of Hyderabad until it clocked 3000 km when I met with my first accident. My nose bruised and bled, and I learnt to use a helmet. Also, I learnt that a 10 feet wide street should not feature Activa moving at speeds more than 40kmph. I moved to Bhopal for higher studies and learnt that safety is important. I opted to study mechanical engineering from one of the best colleges in India thinking it's about automobiles. It was a huge mistake to not have opted for automobile engineering. An year later, I turned 18 and my Activa came with me. My studies were off-track and I continued to ride everywhere. With like-minded friends, good roads, lots of unknown places around, the desire to ride, and the joy I got, I clocked 30,000 km in the next 3 years before I left for Dubai. My friends used to have a couple of FZs and we rode all the time together. My Activa was perfectly maintained, thanks to their lessons, and 10 years down the lane, today, still runs like magic. Yes, the Honda fine-tuned magic.
I saw many serious accidents in my college because our collegemates always rode with student ego, the hot-headed speed-thrilled-and-killed youngsters. Every accident and death we saw only taught us more lessons, about the art of safe riding and more importantly, the safety gear. I have failed to be a good engineer and learnt to be a good teacher, thus teaching physics to high-school kids since I turned 20. I had a dream for my 22nd birthday, to buy a CBR250R. I never liked the Yamaha counter-parts for their rough grunt. I procrastinated the purchase until I ended buying a Black and white "Honda CBR150R" 4 months later. I chose 150 over 250 for I was afraid of the sheer power I had to handle jumping from an Activa. Also, on TDs I found the 150 to be easier for city traffic. (around 60% of my commute)
It has been 4 more months of no-biking in New Delhi where I collected all the gear I wanted. Now, I and my Hondas have a long way to go. I finally returned to the same suburb of Hyderabad, busier than before, with a calm head, thanking the universe for letting me live despite all my careless break-the-rules drives when I was young, and carefree long drives that never saw punctures on 30-40km empty stretches. I use the bike more carefully now, switching between the commuter and performance modes (Names I gave to riding <5k rpm and >7k respectively) with great care. I am very passionate about machines and mechanics, I understand rather than know them, and if you want to learn what I know, come sit in my class. Oh wait, ask me here.
If you're reading this, thank you for reading. I've been on xbhp for 2 years, 10 months as a member, until now, I show up here myself as an amateur biker. I've earned serious respect for every xbhpian for what you, or rather WE stand for. I have planned small travelogues which will be be appended here if Mods approve. Oh oh oh, Sir Divya and Sir The Monk, big fan. Thank you all.
Godspeed.
