Suppose I were Humpty Dumpty

and you knew that I am so fond of motorcycling, you would say, "Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!"

Talk about my sense of humor. :)

Some blood stains on my shirt below.

Those are the positive scraps out of my jeans torn away so that my knee could be dressed.

That's my knee and the negative cut out in my jeans.

Don't ask me how the accident happened. In short, a little slum-kid of about 3-4 yrs just popped up in the middle of the road rather nonchalantly. I braked hard and fell. Nothing happened to the kid. Walked away like they typically do.

While I was falling, in that half a second, I just said to myself, "I am in for some serious stuff here."

Well I got up almost in a push-up manner. What a relief it was when I found that my legs and hands were fit enough to push me up after a nice motorcycle fall. No it isn't funny. I was scared about having broken a bone or two.

Anyway, I just feel it helps to keep (or try hard to keep) our body in shape. There's just a slight bit of better control and balance in our movements and acts, if we work to keep the body in shape. And that 'little better' goes a long way. To relate my efforts to stay fit with the accident might seem far-fetched but there's no other way I can think about it.

We've been gifted with an amazingly evolved and arranged body. It's organic and has its own ways and so very easy to abuse it. But quite a bit rewarding when we put in effort to stay fit and in shape.

On the new Bullet's thump

Just read this article 'Biting the Bullet' in BT dated 27th Nov 2011. Sharing the most interesting bit:

But the new engine, unlike the old, had hydraulic tappets, a new engine arrangement, new metal and fewer moving parts. Obviously it did not produce the vibrations and the beat of the old, but international experts were consulted and sound mapping carried out for over 1,000 hours to ensure it produced maximum rhythmic vibrations possible and a beat, which was 70 per cent of the amplitude of the original.

It further says:

After much testing, the silencer was extended to capture, to the extent possible, the throb of the old engine.

Now that's how we sustain a brand. Great job! Innovation in mechanics to please the senses in the same old ways. Lovely.

What a Royal surprise!

I've been contemplating buying a bike off late.

A few days back I visited the Royal Enfield showroom at Ambawadi, Ahmedabad. Wasn't as interested in the test-ride as I was in knowing the price of Bullet Electra. So after a brief 5 minutes at the showroom, I was on my way.

Yesterday, in the afternoon, I got a call from Rakesh - I suppose he handles (or may be owns, I am not sure) that showroom. He asked me what I was thinking. Hearing my answer, he simply said, "I giving you a 500 for a day. Ride it for a day and then think. I am sending my guy with the bike at around 6."

And I had a Classic 500 for a day. I went for a ride to Gandhinagar in the evening. 55kms. Dad rode it too to the factory in the morning. 40kms. All combined we did a little more than 100kms before I returned the bike to the showroom.

I must say a lot has improved. Clutching. Gear-shifting. Starting, etc. And the one important (perhaps the most important thing) has stayed the same. The THUMP. And  the throbbing feeling you get riding a Bullet is just the same. I had a Machismo 350 (AVL engine) earlier and I sense 'this thump' is closer to the original than the one I remember of my Machismo.

As disappointed as I was with my experience at Royal Enfield showroom at Bandra Mumbai, this one thrilled me. And the gesture of offering me the bike for a day was oh so 'royal'. Policies are the same for every showroom; how the prospect feels depends on the man present at the moment of truth.

I might just buy a Classic 500 now!