Like the disclaimer on ads showing stunt se-quences, we wash our hands off the ill effects these boys may have on your wallet. Statutory warning: This story is for bike maniacs with a very fat bank balance, indulgent parents and lots of bones to spare. Be-ware of the harmful effects of riding a Rs 7 lakh-plus super bike at speeds more than 250 kmph. Don’t imitate them if you don’t have an express-way close to your house.THEY CALL THEM su-perbikes, and you know one of them is round the corner when its throaty howl disturbs the peace of your locality. Once near you, the cacophony of the exhaust reverberates in your head, hammering your adrenaline gland and eardrums mercilessly. You don’t need to be a bike fanatic to fall in love with one of these roaring beasts.Indeed, these marvellous works of engineering come at a price not many can afford. Yes, it hurts to cough up Rs 10 lakh for just two wheels and the accompanying jazz. Who wants speed and power when you can have the creature comforts of a car for the same price? So you may think. For many, the guttural ferocity, the de-monically growling exhaust under your right heel, holds a temptation worth every penny on the mean machine. It’s about power, absolute power.Take, for instance, Delhi’s Indeep Madan, an automobile ‘freak’ to his friends. An exporter, this 27-year-old automotive design engineer from Coventry, UK, is an embarrassment to the typical image of a die-hard biker: no tattooed biceps, broad chest and hardly any physique. But talk of bikes and his eyes sparkle: “I had the best of both worlds in the UK—I had a silver-gray 106bhp Suzuki GSXR 600 and a Lotus Elise car. There is no match for a Gixxer, and the Elise… it has one of the best power to weight ratios in the world with 120bhp propelling a mere 550 kg for a car!You cannot have anything better than that.” A measure of his “passion” for bikes: three years ago he came back to India for good, in typical style. He rode all the way from the UK to India over 21 days. “I wasn’t allowed to enter Pakistan. But for that damper, the ride was a breeze.” Since then, Indeep has changed bikes many times and is now the proud owner of a 1,000cc Yamaha R1. But why one with such a high price tag? “Because it is the closest you can get to a high-performance machine. If you cannot af-ford to own the best car in the world, you can at least have one of these for a lesser price and still have the same adrenaline rush. What else can give you the power of a 0-to-100 accelera-tion in under three seconds?”His buddies Vikrant Sareen, an architect, and Sanjay Paul, an interior designer—all of them members of GODS (Group of Delhi Su- perbikers)—agree. Says the 25-year-old Sa-reen, who bought Madan’s Gixxer about two years back: “People don’t mind spending Rs 5 lakh on a golf course membership. We spent Rs 10 lakh and it is the same. It is no big deal. Just save for two years—no movies, no pubs and no eating out.” Adds 43-year-old Paul: “I cannot wait for Sundays to come when I take out my Suzuki GSXR 1000 for a spin outside Delhi. It is a passion not many can afford, surely. But it is not out of reach. Don’t let the price tag deter you from having one of these toys for yourself.”Like Delhi, Mumbai too has its share of “commoners” with a similar passion. Vicky Jaisingh, who is into freight brokering, is one of them. The 32-year-old bought his first super bike, a CBR 400 RR, in 2000, and has changed six since then, the latest a GSXR 1000. “I knew I could never own a super car; so I fell for the next best thing—a superbike.” Vicky claims he has a video of a ride on the Panvel bypass where he touched 271 kmph! But where is the space on busy Mumbai roads to take out these monsters? “I go in the night to the Fort area or on the Mumbai-Gujarat highway once a month.” Vicky is still crazy for the two-wheel-ers inspite of a bad accident on Marine Drive in 2002. “I had gone for a spin in the night with my wife and we banged into a taxi.” That was the last time his wife agreed to go on a ride with him, but Vicky’s passion for bikes continues.His friend Boman Parakh, who works in a BPO, is a new entrant to the club. He bought his red Honda CBR 600 RR about eight months ago and says the “thrill” hasn’t waned yet. “I grew up looking at posters of dream bikes. I bought this bike out of my own savings. I paid this price for its quality and craftsmanship.” But Boman didn’t buy his bike for the speed it can touch. “I know that my CBR is a head-turner. Still, I believe that to enjoy a motorbike, you need not speed up every time. Just ride it, be one with it and then see what it is about. Don’t abuse it. If you handle your bike sensibly, you’ll realise that it works better than any other two-wheeler in this world. Of course, it also has the power when you need it.”Their buddy, Cyres Mehta, 34, an eye surgeon who runs the Mehta International Eye Institute in Mumbai’s Colaba area, bought his red Honda CBR 1000 RR for a completely different reason. “I bought my Honda in 1999 to keep my guide in the US, Dr Howard Fine, happy. He had a Harley Davidson then. You know how it helps to keep your boss happy?” Not that Cyres regrets the de-cision.Since coming back to India, he’s changed three bikes in four years. “Biking is an expression of freedom. The fun is in acceleration,” he says, adding: “There are only two types of bikers in this world—the careful ones and the dead ones. I prefer to be in the first category.” His friend Neel Grant, a 30-year-old who runs his business in trampoline bungees in Mumbai, agrees: “My Kawasaki ZX-10R can touch up to 300 kmph. But I don’t find high speeds thrilling any more. Maybe five years ago, I would just release the throttle; now even 210 kmph is too fast for me.”But Bangalore’s Nikhil Hegde, a 21-year-old electronics and communications student from MS College of Engineering, is into stunts, wheelies and speed-run events in the metro with his buddies. Part of Frenzy Riders, a group of “like-minded” riders, Nikhil bought his blue Yamaha R1 with his savings and “some contri-bution” from his father. Says this Yamaha loyal:“Yamahas handle better and their styling is awesome. It is expensive, but for the adventure it gives you, the price is worth it. At 6.17 sec-onds, I have the second-fastest timing in Ban-galore for a 200m wheely. Can you ask for anythng else on your bike?” His buddy Rahul Mansatdar, doing his BBM from Mahavir Jain College, had a tough time convincing his par-ents before he bought his Yamaha R105 in Febru-ary last year. “I asked them if ‘I don’t ride a bike now, when will I?’ It was the first time I was touching a bike like this. I was thrilled and did-n’t mind the pain in my wrist. The price, the pain… everything was worth it. The bike is worth every penny of its price tag of Rs 10 lakh. The engineering is indeed marvelous.”THE MOTORCYCLE DIAIRES• Ever imagined a two-cylinder, steam engine motorcycle powered by coal? American Sylvester Howard Roper invented one such in 1867• William Harley and his friends Arthur and Walter Davidson built the first motorbike with a quality engine and initially sold it as a transport vehicle• Che Guevara travelled all over South America riding his motorcycle. The Motorcycle Diariesis an inspiring and thrilling adventure that traces the youthful origins of the revolutionary spirit• Kinetic Engineering’s Comet 250, priced at Rs 1.8 lakh is India’s most expensive motorcycle
