Atulesh Kumar
UI-UX expert who loves to ride
I have been an motor enthusiast from the day when I didn’t knew to drive. I used to see how my father starts his bike/scooter/car and what happens thereafter. Close monitoring. Then began asking my dad to handover his scooter (Bajaj Legend) to let me park it to the garage. It was an immense feeling of transforming into a real man. But wait…! I never knew it would take me almost 8-9 years to get hand on my very first machine.
The story will be bit longer and I apologies for making it long. The sole intention is to share my story of dreaming for something and achieving it on day. I also want to encourage anyone and everyone to dream. If you dream, you will eventually get it.
Prelude
2003 - Jhansi: Graduation pulled me to a different state and entirely new world. I used to go to college on foot by walking around 4 kms. Sometime it was easy as I was lean and thin and never sweated much (because i hadn’t any left). But sometimes it was unbearable in the heat of 40ºc, no shade, no trees to take rest. Not enough money to hire an auto, or most of the time it was just a mere reason to save pennies. I used to admire of other boys in my class who used to come on expensive bikes. Pulsar 180 was on my mind and I used to have dream of having one, but never get a chance to ride one. Boys used to neglect my urge to test drive and I felt humiliated. Days passed by, desperation resulted in nothing, begging before father turned into lectures.
First Ride: Bajaj Pulsar 200 (Blue Beast)
2007 - Chandigarh: Eventually after getting my first job, it took me around 1.5 years more to acquire my first bike, Pulsar 200. Yes it was the day when I marked my own oath as completed of getting a bigger bike than Pulsar 180 of whom I was denied once. The feeling was more of accomplishment satisfaction than the joy of owning one. It was truly a wonderful feeling that even till date I had not been able to regenerate for other motors I own. I have so many stories attached to that bike. Riding it in the curvy roads of Kasauli/Shimla was like stress busting.
P.S: It was then when I came to know about BCMTouring when I read about about @Yogesh Sarkar doing his Leh Trip on his Pulsar. I guess it was 2010 or so. Don’t remember exactly.
Second Ride: Maruti Swift Vdi 2011
2011 - Mohali: I got married, and as newly married people do, we bought a car. I don’t know but I always have a feeling of keeping my family as safe and relaxed as I can, and thus the role of the car was crucial. That resulted in Blue Beast started getting less driven. Though my affection was still intact. Eventually circumstances played their own role, and I had to give the bike to my brother.
Present day, its still with me at my hometown, never opted to sell it and I guess I would never sell it.
Third Ride- The real Story: Royal Enfield 350
2013 - Pune: I moved to a new place. New job, new life and almost everything from scratch. I was financially broke, had only 3000 bucks in my account. Fortunately a job with good salary was in hand which helped me stand up again. By the end of the year, I was stabilised economically. Then the crush of having a super bike haunted me badly. Though I wasn’t reached a position to own a real super bike, my heart fell on the looks of Hyosung GT 250R. Somehow I convinced my wife of buying it, even if it was costing me around Rs 4 Lakhs on road. I was short of some money, thus applied for a bank loan. Which was later abruptly denied from everywhere. Crush was so intense that I started dreaming of it and marked it as a milestone to buy it with full cash on my marriage anniversary.
No one in my family was confident on my decision, thus got too many criticism on my thought. I guess some invisible entity was stopping me by any mean. Circumstances played its own role, and finally surrendered, and invested that money in investing into a flat purchase. Which I till date feel that it was one of the best decision I took.
2015: I became father and eventually that led me to think of getting a two wheeler just for the reason of convenience. No dream or no crush, just sheer requirement. One day, I was checking out a jacket on the Royal Enfield website, when suddenly I thought why not get a thunderbird. Its look, and overall usability convinced me enough to go for it. Talked to my father then and there, and within 30 mins, we were ready to book it from nearby showroom.
Booked the bike on February, and i was asked to wait for almost 2 months for the delivery. No promises made, but they said that most deliveries has taken place in within 45 days of booking. Since I wasn’t going for any bank finance, thus no paper work was required. On road I was quoted of Rs 1.51 Lakhs. Only a booking amount of Rs 5000 was made, which was fully refundable if I chose not to buy. I guess due to heavy demand, they don’t have issue loosing one customer, as they already have many people waiting behind me. Opted for the dark brown colour which in their terms is Lighting. Didn’t took any test drive, as wanted the experience to be virgin. Though I took a small ride of my neighbours older model thunderbird once, and I liked it. Also had a previous riding experience of my father’s Electra 350 at home, so I knew how the engine sounds or behaves. Countdown started.
2 March 2015: I got a call from the showroom guys and they asked me to come tomorrow to take the delivery. Awesome! I asked them about the required documents, They listed few items like address proof, pan card, driving license and visit the showroom by 12 Noon.
3 March 2015: Got up early and asked my brother if he wants to accompany me. But due to the long distance he had to travel to reach home, I asked him to relax and decided to go alone. Quickly made a visit to my bank and withdrawn remaining cash. Hired an uber taxi, and it arrived in 15 mins. Butterflies in my belly started as the ride started towards the showroom.
Reached the showroom at sharp 12:00 to find that the bikes hasn’t arrived yet. Great! Gave them some amounts of words. Paper work, cash counting etc went for some more time. To kill time, I asked them to show me some jackets and gloves. Tried some postures on the newly launched Cafe Racer. Clock still ticking and now its 1:30PM.
Killing time
Trying out the bike and the jacket. Didn't liked both
Eventually I was called to checkout the bike. It was standing outside. Shiny, beautiful and looking bulky.
Some novice guy started walkthrough which was quite basic. I asked him how to adjust the LCD clock. He pressed, tapped, tried numerous combinations and was not able to adjust it. Great! I asked him to stop fiddling. Took out the manual and read. Asked him to try exact procedure as mentioned and it worked. So, I asked him to go read the manuals of the bikes you are selling before showing things to the customer. Temporary number sticker was placed, since registration would take some time. All papers and all delivery related stuffs were checked. All items in place. Asked them if its legal to drive one without a number, they said upto 100 its ok, but can’t assure if police will comply. So was advised to take precautions.
Started the bike with the kick. Yes I like kick starting it, rather push button. Engaged the first gear and pulled the accelerator. Voila, the bike stalled. Felt immensely humiliated as if I am a novice guy who is trying to ride for the first time and due to wrong clutch-accelerator combination the vehicles stops. Was it my nervousness of having a big heavy bike under me or was it just some clutch play. Fired up again, adjusted my process and it worked. Now I was riding it. Since nobody was with me, I decided to go home directly and get it blessed by my mother in the most casual manner (I am not a show off guy who liked garlands and too much beautifications).
Took the sigh of relief. The bikes was looking big, really big. It was heavy which I wasn’t used to or say had forgotten. I was happy and so my wife. She was happy that she won’t have to suffer anymore exhausted riding position and our baby can travel too without any worry of stability.
So eventually, the bike came to my life, without any prior decision or dreaming. It was all sudden. And when I said that some entity was behind the rejection of Hyosung GT250R desire, he somehow wanted me to meet my new ride Thunderbird 350.
In upcoming posts, I will share about helmet, gloves selection and few more photos. I will also add the service report. Till then, see your all and happy riding.
The story will be bit longer and I apologies for making it long. The sole intention is to share my story of dreaming for something and achieving it on day. I also want to encourage anyone and everyone to dream. If you dream, you will eventually get it.
Prelude
2003 - Jhansi: Graduation pulled me to a different state and entirely new world. I used to go to college on foot by walking around 4 kms. Sometime it was easy as I was lean and thin and never sweated much (because i hadn’t any left). But sometimes it was unbearable in the heat of 40ºc, no shade, no trees to take rest. Not enough money to hire an auto, or most of the time it was just a mere reason to save pennies. I used to admire of other boys in my class who used to come on expensive bikes. Pulsar 180 was on my mind and I used to have dream of having one, but never get a chance to ride one. Boys used to neglect my urge to test drive and I felt humiliated. Days passed by, desperation resulted in nothing, begging before father turned into lectures.
First Ride: Bajaj Pulsar 200 (Blue Beast)
2007 - Chandigarh: Eventually after getting my first job, it took me around 1.5 years more to acquire my first bike, Pulsar 200. Yes it was the day when I marked my own oath as completed of getting a bigger bike than Pulsar 180 of whom I was denied once. The feeling was more of accomplishment satisfaction than the joy of owning one. It was truly a wonderful feeling that even till date I had not been able to regenerate for other motors I own. I have so many stories attached to that bike. Riding it in the curvy roads of Kasauli/Shimla was like stress busting.
P.S: It was then when I came to know about BCMTouring when I read about about @Yogesh Sarkar doing his Leh Trip on his Pulsar. I guess it was 2010 or so. Don’t remember exactly.
Second Ride: Maruti Swift Vdi 2011
2011 - Mohali: I got married, and as newly married people do, we bought a car. I don’t know but I always have a feeling of keeping my family as safe and relaxed as I can, and thus the role of the car was crucial. That resulted in Blue Beast started getting less driven. Though my affection was still intact. Eventually circumstances played their own role, and I had to give the bike to my brother.
Present day, its still with me at my hometown, never opted to sell it and I guess I would never sell it.
Third Ride- The real Story: Royal Enfield 350
2013 - Pune: I moved to a new place. New job, new life and almost everything from scratch. I was financially broke, had only 3000 bucks in my account. Fortunately a job with good salary was in hand which helped me stand up again. By the end of the year, I was stabilised economically. Then the crush of having a super bike haunted me badly. Though I wasn’t reached a position to own a real super bike, my heart fell on the looks of Hyosung GT 250R. Somehow I convinced my wife of buying it, even if it was costing me around Rs 4 Lakhs on road. I was short of some money, thus applied for a bank loan. Which was later abruptly denied from everywhere. Crush was so intense that I started dreaming of it and marked it as a milestone to buy it with full cash on my marriage anniversary.
No one in my family was confident on my decision, thus got too many criticism on my thought. I guess some invisible entity was stopping me by any mean. Circumstances played its own role, and finally surrendered, and invested that money in investing into a flat purchase. Which I till date feel that it was one of the best decision I took.
2015: I became father and eventually that led me to think of getting a two wheeler just for the reason of convenience. No dream or no crush, just sheer requirement. One day, I was checking out a jacket on the Royal Enfield website, when suddenly I thought why not get a thunderbird. Its look, and overall usability convinced me enough to go for it. Talked to my father then and there, and within 30 mins, we were ready to book it from nearby showroom.
Booked the bike on February, and i was asked to wait for almost 2 months for the delivery. No promises made, but they said that most deliveries has taken place in within 45 days of booking. Since I wasn’t going for any bank finance, thus no paper work was required. On road I was quoted of Rs 1.51 Lakhs. Only a booking amount of Rs 5000 was made, which was fully refundable if I chose not to buy. I guess due to heavy demand, they don’t have issue loosing one customer, as they already have many people waiting behind me. Opted for the dark brown colour which in their terms is Lighting. Didn’t took any test drive, as wanted the experience to be virgin. Though I took a small ride of my neighbours older model thunderbird once, and I liked it. Also had a previous riding experience of my father’s Electra 350 at home, so I knew how the engine sounds or behaves. Countdown started.
2 March 2015: I got a call from the showroom guys and they asked me to come tomorrow to take the delivery. Awesome! I asked them about the required documents, They listed few items like address proof, pan card, driving license and visit the showroom by 12 Noon.
3 March 2015: Got up early and asked my brother if he wants to accompany me. But due to the long distance he had to travel to reach home, I asked him to relax and decided to go alone. Quickly made a visit to my bank and withdrawn remaining cash. Hired an uber taxi, and it arrived in 15 mins. Butterflies in my belly started as the ride started towards the showroom.
Reached the showroom at sharp 12:00 to find that the bikes hasn’t arrived yet. Great! Gave them some amounts of words. Paper work, cash counting etc went for some more time. To kill time, I asked them to show me some jackets and gloves. Tried some postures on the newly launched Cafe Racer. Clock still ticking and now its 1:30PM.
Killing time
Trying out the bike and the jacket. Didn't liked both
Eventually I was called to checkout the bike. It was standing outside. Shiny, beautiful and looking bulky.
Some novice guy started walkthrough which was quite basic. I asked him how to adjust the LCD clock. He pressed, tapped, tried numerous combinations and was not able to adjust it. Great! I asked him to stop fiddling. Took out the manual and read. Asked him to try exact procedure as mentioned and it worked. So, I asked him to go read the manuals of the bikes you are selling before showing things to the customer. Temporary number sticker was placed, since registration would take some time. All papers and all delivery related stuffs were checked. All items in place. Asked them if its legal to drive one without a number, they said upto 100 its ok, but can’t assure if police will comply. So was advised to take precautions.
Started the bike with the kick. Yes I like kick starting it, rather push button. Engaged the first gear and pulled the accelerator. Voila, the bike stalled. Felt immensely humiliated as if I am a novice guy who is trying to ride for the first time and due to wrong clutch-accelerator combination the vehicles stops. Was it my nervousness of having a big heavy bike under me or was it just some clutch play. Fired up again, adjusted my process and it worked. Now I was riding it. Since nobody was with me, I decided to go home directly and get it blessed by my mother in the most casual manner (I am not a show off guy who liked garlands and too much beautifications).
Took the sigh of relief. The bikes was looking big, really big. It was heavy which I wasn’t used to or say had forgotten. I was happy and so my wife. She was happy that she won’t have to suffer anymore exhausted riding position and our baby can travel too without any worry of stability.
So eventually, the bike came to my life, without any prior decision or dreaming. It was all sudden. And when I said that some entity was behind the rejection of Hyosung GT250R desire, he somehow wanted me to meet my new ride Thunderbird 350.
In upcoming posts, I will share about helmet, gloves selection and few more photos. I will also add the service report. Till then, see your all and happy riding.
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