Love at first kick!

I’ve had my rockstar bike for a week now.

This pic was taken with a camera phone and obviously does not do the bike any justice. But due to lack of a better camera at my disposal and the fact that it’s already too late, here I go.

And yes, I can see why this bike has a tagline that goes ‘Feel like God.’

I can really feel it. It has been happening for a week now. I take the bike out and everyone in the street becomes my audience. As I kick it, a crowd begins to gather and soon, there are advisors (ha ha!) asking me to use the self-start.

And every morning, I have to tell a different person on the street that the first start in the mornings should always be a kick. It just makes it that much more easier on the battery. Besides, it’s a mark of respect to old school and my Last Samurai. And an exercise as well. An exercise which will come in handy the day the battery fails.

So its like a ritual every morning. I religiously wipe the dust off it, so that the screaming wine red colour shines and gives it that gleaming glory it truly deserves.

A ride on the Avenger, is pure magic. At 180 cc it has all the power you need to rule the road, but when you ride it at 40-50 (as you are supposed to, during the honeymoon period), it is a saint… it’s so gentle that you won’t even hear it on the road. So as I watch people check the bike out as they overtake me, I just merely smile. Im just content and happy that I have my bike. You know the feeling when you have enormous power and you are happy just possessing it and not putting it to use. That is the feeling of being like God.

It’s clearly not a bike for those who wanna do road-rash. It’s a mature, grown up bike. It’s not the fastest, but it can really zip if it has to. It’s not the most powerful, (the Bullet is way ahead it terms of power and then there are the 600cc and the 1000cc, which only the rich can afford) but it can really handle long distance trips if it has to. It’s a bike for those who are content to the extent of being philosophical and grown-up. That is the feeling of being like God.

It’s become a habit getting watched. Yes, it started off with the Orange avatar of Last Samurai but for entirely different reasons (yes, it is now orange after my art-directors gave it a new personality for my movie… obviously I rejected it at the audition level cuz my friend thought I stole it from a mechanic’s garage before he could put it together) but these days, other riders just look at it in awe, often catching up just to ask: “Enna mileage Sir?” I tell them it’s 45 as they continue riding beside me refusing to take their eyes off my cruiser. It’s great when people look at you. The feeling of being like God.

At the parking lot, it occupies the space of one and a half bikes and tends to jut out of the alloted space at work. Clearly out of the ordinary. The feeling of being like God.

[Everytime I come to take it out of the space, I catch fellow employees stopping to stare and ask: “Enna cost Sir?” “Mileage?”
The height of all the attention was cops stopping the bike. Some three of them in three days. Just to ask how much it costs and what’s the mileage. I’m considering putting up a sticker. Ha ha! ]

This is the only bike in India that has a cruiser design in the truest sense. Look at the distance between the front and the back wheel. No other bike, not even the Thunderbird, or Bullet Machismo or the cheap imitation Yamaha Enticer have that kind of distance. Hence, the Avenger is a longer bike designed for cruising, a mini-Harley. And take a closer look at the back wheel of the Avenger, it’s thicker than a Maruti 800’s tyre. By convention, a cruiser does NOT have identical wheels. The Avenger’s front wheel is 2 inches bigger than the rear wheel and it is also much fatter than all other bikes giving it a much superior road grip. It’s so smooth that its really like sitting on a topless car. Only that here, you can also experience that divine feeling of the wind blowing on your face. Puts you at peace. The feeling of being like God.

Anyways, so this saint of a bike flutters like a bird that you can hardly hear it at 40, but just accelerate a little and hit 60 and it gives you a sample of the roar… a roar that can give even Bullet a complex. I love its roar, it instantly makes you feel powerful and you can sense the bike asking for a long stretch of road. One of these days, I’m gonna give it the space it deserves. After all, to experience the feeling of being like God completely, you have to rule the world. Or at least its roads!

So, here I come, world!

As the Last Samurai retires to stay at home forever. I’m gonna give him a fresh coat of paint soon. So that my brother next year can train with him to be a Jedi. And then one day, a few years from now, when I give him this rockstar bike, I will indeed feel happy.

And yes, feel generous like God!

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Love at first kick!

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