Feb 26, 2007 10:49 AM
3758 Views
I bought my Hero Honda Spendor at a time when I was working as a Consultant in Vatva, a place in Ahmedabad which is a good 22 km away from my home. Since I had to travel more than 44 km daily at least on a daily basis, I was looking for a vehicle which would give me better fuel efficiency than my Bajaj Super, which I was using till that date(December 2001). After reading a lot of reviews and hearing all my frinds extoll the virtues of a bike, it was now time for me to decide which bike.
I decided on Hero Honda soon after I recieved some good reviews from my really good and reliable friends. Now came the question of color, where the standard black color lost out to the more elegant and royal silver color in just a few moments, especially since I am a man of quick decisions. The truth is that I fell in love with a silver splendor out on the roads. Whether it was the pretty girl riding it that made the difference is something that I cannot really swear upon, but in the last five years, I can say that I have loved it's fuel efficient performance and a maintenance free one too, which is an added bonus.
The main thing that I have always liked about the difference in driving a bike and a scooter is that since I am a tall person with long legs, I tended to slouch on the seat of the scooter, whereas on the bike I am seated more upright, hence the chronic back problems that were beginning to affect me when I was driving the scooter have now been permanently resolved. Though many people(including my wife) tell me that I tend to occupy most of the seat when I drive(again a tendency for people with long legs) thereby making it necessary for my pillion rider(most of the time, it is my partner who sits behind me) to request me to shift up a bit to make more space!
A lot of people have been after me to go for a small car now that I am doing reasonably well in my practise, but like John Abraham, my bike has gradually become one of the things that I am very passionate about. If I can afford it, I will continue to have a bike parked in my parking space for as long as I feel like driving a bike, which may be till I am 60 years old, which means I still have 15 years more in which I can enjoy driving my bike to the hilt. The only negative point about that is only two people are allowed on the bike, and now with the helmet becoming compulsory, it also means that you have to carry the helmet wherever you go.
But the other more important reason that I have for maintaining a bike is that I frequently have to visit the old part of the city, where parking problems are enormous to say the least. Try taking a maruti frunti to the Kalupur or Maskati Market region, and you will know what I mean.
All said and done, the bike is an ideal vehicle for people who(a) have to visit the older parts of the city frequently and(b) who need to get from one place of Ahmedabad to another, skirting the traffic jams that occur rather frequently(at least till the time that the numerous flyovers are being built), mainly at Shivranjani Char Rasta and at Naranpura Circle on the 132 feet Ring Road.
Though traditionally, the bike is more popular amongst the college students and the middle level executives working in the various organisations of Ahmedabad, I find that there are a number of professionals like me who maintain a bike because it makes travelling so much easier, especially when most of the travelling has to be done alone.
The only problem that one can face is when you get a puncture in the bike. Lord only knows how difficult it is to drag along a punctured bike on the roads of Ahmedabad!
