I finally parted ways with my five and a half year old CBZ. She was the first bike I had truly earned all by myself. Here’s a small walk down memory lane:
The Beginning
The CBZ was probably the first truly sporty bike in India and it hit the markets around 2000, when I was in the final year of college. One look at the pic had me floored instantly… the neat sweeping lines, the aggressive front, disk breaks…wow. I knew that was the bike I wanted to have with me. Got into the job and finally saved up enough to get her in Jan ‘02. Went for the deep bottle green color as it was so rare…not many were on the roads then (…and even now). I still remember rushing out of the office at 4 that day to pick ’er up.
The Commutes…
yup… the daily office commute was never so fun… overtaking was just a matter of down shifting and opening up the throttle. Oh! how I loved that roar and that feeling when I watched everything in the rear view mirror shrink rapidly. Later on, when I got my ipod, the daily commute was my personal favorite… awesome music, the dull throbbing of the engine and that perceptible sense of the world just freezing in time while I was cutting past it.
The Rides…
How can I forget those rides. I learnt how fun touring was because of her.
the first big ride was hyd - srisailam - hyd. It was close to a 500 km ride done in two days with the office junta. My first long distance ride and my first ride out of the city. I had a pillion for the whole ride, but it was so fun that I drove all the way
The next ride was totally unplanned. Just woke up one morning and decided I wanted to head out. That was the hyd - nagarjunasagar - hyd ride. Approx 370 km done in one day. Perhaps the most tiring of all the rides I’d done so far.
the last and of course the biggest ride was the HX-4. A true adventure of sorts…it was a six day ride into the interiors of Himachal… had been to places not many have been to, seeing sights that made my jaws drop and making new friends.<
and yeah… the crashes too…!!
we all remember this don’t we :)
A New Beginning…
It was a very hard decision to let go of the cbz, but once I’d made the decision, the upgrade was a no brainer. Took delivery of the karizma yesterday:
I was told by many to consider the apache rtr 160 and the pulsar 220. Didn’t want to get the rtr as it’s not that great for touring, plus its still a 150cc class bike. The puslie 220 is definitely more powerful and better value for money, but I’m still not convinced about the reliability of the bike with so much new technology put together at one shot. I’d rather have 3-4 bhp less and be slower by 2-3 sec to 60 kmph - on the flip side, I know I can keep doing a 100 - 110 kph on the karizma all day without a care in the world.
First Impressions
In the space of around 24 hours, I’ve completed around 90 km on the bike. Few thoughts.
- This bike sounds so lazy :). Thanks to the highly de-tuned engine, 50 kmph is at around 3000 rpm. The bike sounds as though its doing 30 kph while the speedo says 60. I’ll have a hard time getting used to this.
- The stock horn sounds pathetic. I’ll be replacing this soon.
- The finish of the bike is simply top notch. Quality parts from end to end
- The handling is simply awesome
- No vibrations at all. This is a totally new feeling.
- It’s pretty difficult to keep her under 60 kph. I don’t know how I’m going to complete the run-in :)<
- Need to get used to that fixed front fairing, especially on u-turns.
- Awesome headlights. lots better than the cbz.
- HH engine oil sucks as usual. Need to get this one on fully synth oils as soon as the warranty’s up.
It was a mixed feeling when I left the showroom yesterday. As I threw a backward glance, I saw the last five years of my life passing by. However, to move on, you have to learn to let go!
AP 28 AD 2430 - your precious memories will stay on for a very long time. You will be missed.