Oct 16, 2016 07:58 PM
3862 Views
I was happy commuting to office and back to my bachelor pad on a TVS Jupiter. It was easy, comfortable for the short distance that I was using it and low on maintenance - a proper fill-it-drive-it kinda vehicle. But, internally, I was not connected with it. I was doing all the regular services, but would dust only the driver's seat, not even the pillion seat. Then I met her - my fiancee. That late evening coffee(December 3rd, 2014) changed the course of my life.
Fast forward to May 2015, I was engaged to her and my commuting style changed drastically. Now I was riding even up to 150 km in and around the city. The Jupiter started to feel incompetent for the duties. The long rides felt really long and the spongy drum brakes were becoming more evident.
A plan of getting a good, stylish, geared bike was seeded in my heart. Riding a bike with my girl's arms around me also swayed my heart. But my mind had other plans. It was not co-operating with my heart to sell the Jupiter which had just 10, 000 on the odo. Then, there was a great opening. My sister got a new job as a lecturer in our hometown. I decided to give the Jupiter as a gift to her with hearty congratulations.Evil grin
Once I had decided to get a new ride, I made a list of points important to me.
It must be a bike. I had dreams of roaming on the bike with my girl. It was time to make them come true.
I had learned bike riding on a Hero Honda Splendor. Also, over the years, I had regularly ridden only my dad's bikes. They were all 100cc commuters, starting from Hero Honda CD100 to the Bajaj Discover 100. So, due to my inexperience, I consciously decided to go with a 150cc bike.
Bike budget allotted by the home ministry was a maximum of Rs. 1 lakh.
The engine must have good low-end grunt as I won't be using it much for long highway rides and will use it mostly for city rides. It must feel light on its feet and should be eager to leap and run.
The bike must be comfortable for day trips on it. My girl isn't keen on really long drives on it. We use our Chevy Beat diesel for those longer-than-a-day trips.
The bike should have great road presence. I am a sucker for features. I had chosen the Jupiter over the Activa since it had features like pass switch, mobile charger(though I never used it), etc.
Bike must be great to look at. It must have a mature and aggressive look.
There were lots of bikes in the 150cc segment. I don't like faired bikes and commuter bikes. So, I decided to go with naked street bikes. I liked their styling a lot.
