Love... continued....(all about the bike!)

(Continued from last post)

Dateline--> 6th sem, college
Place--> college, jaipur

I was in the parking lot, and finally got the dream of bike to start...And i was revving it up to just enjoy the scream...Finally, i decided to let it loose,,and get down to business..Set it in gear and released the clutch..What happened next brought another smile on my face,,though this time,,a different type of smile..The bike stalled!!! I started to think that it has only a bark and no bite...So there was a repeat telecast the long episode of starting the bike again...This time, when it awoke from its slumber,,i didnt fool around, i got out of the lot, and took a few seconds to acquaint myself with the gear system, got pandu to sit and set it free...

It was only then i realised how much of a bite it had!! This bike was a dream, it had a roar like no other, and when let loose, it just took off!! There was no stopping it..(remember, it had loose brakes too!)..But then, while sitting on it, you would never want to stop it anyways!!! It had a life of its own,,a little touch to the accelerator and it was off,,,faster than anything i had ever experienced...before i knew it,,i was in top gear at around 80kmph!! This bike didnt need a speedometer, it just needed a binary switch of on or off,,which said stop(0 kmph) or speed!(80kmph)...Nothing in middle even exists!! The slightest touch of the accelerator and it zoom away! And once it reached around 80,,it peaked out!! It wouldn't go any faster..But being the city, there was nothing faster! whizzing past everything else on the road,, enjoying the wind in my face and the scream of the engine,, i was loving every moment of it.. And then, out of the blue,,it stalled!!! This was the first bike i had ever driven, which at high rev's, for no reason whatsoever, just stalled!! The engine died, and i went rolling upto the next red light (thanx to the speed)...And then, this bike just wouldnt start! It had fuel, it had already heated up, it didnt seem overheated, but it just stopped, and refused to start!! This bike was COMPLETELY MAAAAAAAD!!! Whatever we tried,,nothing worked..So finally, we used the oldest technique used to start a geared vehicle,,,to push it and once it gains speed, put it in gear..The only reason for this technique to fail is that its not fast enough, or the bike is plain dead! Sure enough, it started,,and the moment it came to life, we jumped on the runnning bike and we were off..Again before i could catch my breath,,we were at 80 again!! It again stalled after a while, and again we repeated the process.. Repeating the cycle a few times, we finished out work and came back..

But as strange as it may seem, even after all that hard work of pushing it so much, we still loved the bike,,and the only reason we came back was that the bike was needed by someone else in college...There was nothing logical in this bike,,it was just plain MAD!!
This bike was one head turner!! whether it was cos you had to be deaf not to hear it,,or cos u just had to see what just flew by you,,the fact still remains,,that you couldn't ignore it!!


To give you a better idea, i thought of an analogy, comparing bikes you might see in India to animals..
The Donkey::Splendor, CD100--> This is not the most glamorous of rides, nor the most comfortable or even powerful..This beast of burden will do what its made for, carry things/people around for years and years together. Its as cheap and practical as can get, no frills, no thrills,, just plain transport from A to B.
The horses::Pulsar, CBZ--> These are for people who want a few thrills in life, don't mind spending that little extra to look stylish and race past the beasts of burden,,but still being useful for the day to day usage..(To prove my point, my college dhobi had a pulsar)
The race horses::R15, FZ16, Karizma--> These are not mean to used for daily mundane tasks..They'll guzzle fuel and run very very fast when needed..Meant to enjoy the powerful drive while turning quite a few heads..
The Russian Stallions::Suzuki Hayabusa, Kawasaki Ninja etc-->These beasts have aaaaaall the power in the world, are the fastest things on land and will stop just short of flying but just need a rider daring enough to handle them.. They ride like a dream (only faster!!) and leave gaping jaws wherever they go because of the sheer class that they exude!!
The rhinoceros:: Harleys,Bullet--> You just can't miss one of these on the road. Each one of them is as close to a tank (on two wheels) as road laws allow..They are heavy, can be fast when needed, and are loud! Stay out of their way, cos they have enough momentum to break right through cars or even walls in middle!!

All the above is fine,,but something is missing here..An RX doesnt fit into any of these classes...No animal i can think of fits its charecteristics..The only animal i can think of is a cartoon character..the looney toons character..Tazz - THE TASMANIAN DEVIL!!

This fits perfectly...It is loud, faaaast, small and light weight, eats a lot, WILD!, it either stops or moves at full speed, dramatic (makes a scene wherever it goes!), will move a small distance and just stop for no reason!! and again starts again as if nothing happened!! in short,, MAAAD!!!

I've been going on and on about it, but those who've not ridden the bike wouldnt know...So
lets check out the specs..
1) Technology and power -> not very modern..has an old 2 stroke engine, with not too much BHp
2) Fuel efficieny-> this is a guzzler
3) Top speed-> not very impressive..
4) Style-> not very attractive as a bike standing on the side of the road..
5) Environmentally friendly-> not really...
6) Gadgets-> A speedometer! (thats abt it)
So what makes the bike soo cool??
7) sound -> To DIE FOR!!
8) acceleration-> So fast that it almost seems as if its a spring waiting to be released
9) Torque-> GOD level!! By the time you think of doing a wheelie, the tyre's already in the air!!
10) control -> It has a mind of its own, but when you learn all the eccentricities of the bike, it will do ANYTHING you want it to..

I've driven almost every bike in India, (except the superbikes)..But the feel of RX,,and the madness...is unmatchable..
The bike has been out of production for over 4 years..So when i wanted a bike, this was my first choice..One of my friends went to a second hand bike-dealer to find out how much i could get an RX for..He said
"aapko koi bhi bike la doonga, par RX nehi milegi..Jitne the, usme se bahut saare khatam ho gaye accident mein, baaki jo bacche hain, unko koi bechna nehi chahta!!"

So the love for an RX continues, and even today, when it passes by, you will see a faint smile dawning across all the bike enthusiasts faces.. They have all been in love...
If you haven't ridden one yet...I pity you,,you don't know what you're missing.....