Indian motorcycling gets a move on

We have seen stunting aplenty - both in motoring magazines as well as on the road. And it’s a brilliant thing because motorcycling is as much about skill as it is about freedom and expression. Stunting, is also an expression, by the way.
Moreover, it’s really heartening to see that we the biking enthusiasts in the country aren’t looking for excuses to steer clear of challenges. We have traversed the most challenging terrain, in equally challengingly inapt bikes; done stunts our western counterparts pull on better suited, more powerful offerings; and the so-called barometer of motoring enthusiasm – motoring magazines have done their bit as well – showcasing brilliantly executed pictures of artistry on our teeny-whiney machines, then be it brilliant shots of wheelies, stoppies, burnouts, jumps or even cornering.
However, what has been missing hitherto has been the lack of show of some everyday riding skill. Getting one’s knee down around a corner is one; power sliding out of bends on opposite lock is, of course, the other!
The former I firmly believe aids corner speed, and is also a vital safety ingredient when it comes to fast riding. The latter meanwhile is a display of not just immense riding ability, but of utmost courage.
And we have been missing both for sometime now, on the road as well as in print. Thankfully, things are changing for the better. And I’d like to congratulate two particular individuals for it - Joshua from BSM who got his knee down on the Bajaj XCD a couple of months back, and Varad from Bike who achieved the same on the Hero Honda Hunk just last month.
There’s good reason to cheer the achievement too, just in case some of you were wondering what the hullabaloo is all about… You see, we have seen all and sundry pulling wheelies and stoppies not to mention burning rubber in mags, on traffic lights, around crowded locales and deserted roads. But, knee down antics, hitherto have been rare.
What makes it all special is the fact that the rider’s have wafer thin contact patches (read ridiculously thin tyres) to play with here. Not to mention tyres that are designed more for life than grip and over roads which are anything but predictable or well-laid or grippy. Unlike our racing friends (in India) who use special soft compound imported rubber on tarmac so grippy, it can shred leather (of your suit and your body) if you were to have a fall. Little wonder, knee down on tracks is a common occurrence.
The feat achieved by both is an indication really that motorcycling in India is getting a move on. We are not afraid to experiment, and take things to a higher level.
What is also of importance here is the fact that a lot of riders look up to magazines and their writers. They emulate them, cause they feel it’s possible – after all the mag guys too are riding the same bikes.
Heart felt congratulations then to Joshua and Varad for not only adding oomph to biking pictures, but also giving the Indian motorcycling youth yet another escapade to embark upon.

Why trusting auto mags is a good idea…

I know many of you might not agree with me when I say, making a buying decision based on an auto mag review is a good idea.
But this is where I am coming from – We generally form opinions based on what we see, hear and feel. So, if we find the bike good looking, like the Pulsar or the Hunk, we are already bitten by it. We then hear and read about the bikes and their performance, on blogs, from friends, and from a lot other channels, besides auto mags, of course. We also, more often then not, take a test ride of our short listed models.
It’s all very good, till you realise, all that you have read about are impressions gathered on a new bike. No one really speaks about how the bike is aging up; whether the clutch is slipping; are rust patches forming all over; or the switchgear or instrumentation has gone haywire, or how many times a month does one need to adjust the brakes (if they do it at all).
But the shallow reviews aren’t exactly the writer’s fault. To begin with, the test rides offered by all company dealers is just too short to understand anything.
Then there’s the question of lack of experience. And no, I don’t mean the lack of riding experience, but the lack of experience riding a variety of motorcycles. If, all you have ridden is a Splendor all your life, or maybe a friend’s Pulsar off and on; you’d be completely blown by the P220, or even the Karizma or the P180 for that matter.
But if you have experienced a plethora of bikes, of various segments, back-to-back, you begin to understand who is short changing you, and who is delivering as promised.
The auto mags have this advantage, the advantage of sampling any model, at any time, and for any duration. Needless to say, they are in a better position to deliver the correct verdicts on a motorcycle’s handling, ride quality, ergonomics (both for city use and for the highway), and also things like performance and driveability, the latter, obviously is backed by test data.
Mags, thanks to running a long term fleet, can also tell you and me, how the bike is aging up, and how well or poorly is it doing compared to the competition.
The biggest issue, I believe, you guys have with mags, is the disparity in their test figures, and at times in their judgment.
Here’s a pointer which helps me make sense of it all, and I hope it might help you too.
Every magazine has a different outlook, so while one might lay more emphasis on performance, the other might choose to base its verdict on the user friendliness of a bike. There’s a reason behind that too – the varying needs and preferences of the Indian buyer. My last post on ‘why we buy, what we buy’ tells you a bit about it.
In fact, you can try it yourself. If you own a 150cc motorcycle, let’s say the Pulsar (cause it’s the best selling model in its segment), try asking other P150 owners en route to work, college, or home at a traffic signal, or at the chai tapir, why they bought the motorcycle, dig a bit deeper and you’d realize, he reasons are quite different from yours! You can try the same with your friends even.
As for the difference in performance figures, a few tenths here and there shouldn’t really matter, cause mags use different test routes, different riders, and moreover different bikes for their tests, and just like no two people are the same, neither are two Pulsars, Apaches, or CBZs.
I have bought bikes and accessories based on magazine reviews, and truth be told, besides making a wrong choice of tyres, it has all gone very well.