Was recently in Germany. Hamburg to be precise. And as you’d be aware, like in India, it is winter time there as well. However, the temperatures there during the hottest part of the day hover around 0 degrees! To add, the road surface is slippery, and as a result, bikers are truly few and far between. I saw just one, riding the BMW R1200GS (probably because it had ABS!), during my three day stay in the city.
It’s the same story across most of Europe. Summer, dear reader, is the only time when bikers there can actually enjoy their bike’s full potential, if ever.
Imagine, if we had less than half a year to enjoy biking, I for one would be one unhappy soul. Moreover, we can exploit the potential of our bikes far easily (and regularly if I may add).
So then why do we crib about the goras having it better than us? Just because they have more powerful (and better looking and better laden with technology and better handling and …) machines than we do! Sure, it’s a sore point. But looking at the bigger picture, I think we are better off. And not because we can now buy the R1s and the MT-01s of the world (that’s for the select money bags amongst us in any case), but because we can enjoy ourselves and our set of wheels probably to a level our firang friends can only dream about.
I love the motorcycling here - it’s challenging, what with all the daft motorists around braking, overtaking, lane changing and spewing pan juice (not to mention the trucks laying in the oil for royal treatment) at the most unexpected moments (and places). It’s also entertaining and involving – the roads in Maharastra, in Rajasthan, in Kerela these are superbly surfaced with twisties abound. And for those who enjoy excursions off road, there’s Bihar, and UP too.
We also aren’t burdened with devastatingly high insurance costs, or ridiculously low travel range (barring the Kinetic Blaze, no doubt), or 250kmph rockets – cause the latter will most definitely kill the majority. The stories coming in from Greater Noida are an indication, wouldn’t you say? Rhetorically speaking, of course.
Okay, I am not completely kicked about the sort of bikes we have here at the moment, sure these look good but score poorly under the ‘capacity-horsepower-performance relation’ head. A 125cc bike making 8-10bhp, or a 150cc that has only recently crossed the 15bhp mark aren’t the makings of an enthusiast driven scene. Things get even more dismal up the capacity ladder – a 200 making 18bhp but struggling to beat a 223 with an even more shameful 17bhp on tap is seriously sad.
Now the good news! Come Auto Expo and we will see the capacity-horsepower-performance head realign itself. And expect Yamaha and TVS to lead the charge.
It will also not be a one model brilliance this, but a continual effort leaving us bikers with even lesser reasons to crib!
It’s the same story across most of Europe. Summer, dear reader, is the only time when bikers there can actually enjoy their bike’s full potential, if ever.
Imagine, if we had less than half a year to enjoy biking, I for one would be one unhappy soul. Moreover, we can exploit the potential of our bikes far easily (and regularly if I may add).
So then why do we crib about the goras having it better than us? Just because they have more powerful (and better looking and better laden with technology and better handling and …) machines than we do! Sure, it’s a sore point. But looking at the bigger picture, I think we are better off. And not because we can now buy the R1s and the MT-01s of the world (that’s for the select money bags amongst us in any case), but because we can enjoy ourselves and our set of wheels probably to a level our firang friends can only dream about.
I love the motorcycling here - it’s challenging, what with all the daft motorists around braking, overtaking, lane changing and spewing pan juice (not to mention the trucks laying in the oil for royal treatment) at the most unexpected moments (and places). It’s also entertaining and involving – the roads in Maharastra, in Rajasthan, in Kerela these are superbly surfaced with twisties abound. And for those who enjoy excursions off road, there’s Bihar, and UP too.
We also aren’t burdened with devastatingly high insurance costs, or ridiculously low travel range (barring the Kinetic Blaze, no doubt), or 250kmph rockets – cause the latter will most definitely kill the majority. The stories coming in from Greater Noida are an indication, wouldn’t you say? Rhetorically speaking, of course.
Okay, I am not completely kicked about the sort of bikes we have here at the moment, sure these look good but score poorly under the ‘capacity-horsepower-performance relation’ head. A 125cc bike making 8-10bhp, or a 150cc that has only recently crossed the 15bhp mark aren’t the makings of an enthusiast driven scene. Things get even more dismal up the capacity ladder – a 200 making 18bhp but struggling to beat a 223 with an even more shameful 17bhp on tap is seriously sad.
Now the good news! Come Auto Expo and we will see the capacity-horsepower-performance head realign itself. And expect Yamaha and TVS to lead the charge.
It will also not be a one model brilliance this, but a continual effort leaving us bikers with even lesser reasons to crib!
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