The VW Jacket Days

Last week, while on a trip to another city and some serious drinking there, I caught a bug. By the next morning, there was a frog in my throat and a few hours later, a fever came along. Once back in Bangalore, I searched through my old trunk, looking for something warm to wear and I found the old VW jacket.

As I was wearing it, reruns of the old days filled my mind's screen. Me, the VW Jacket and the Honda Hornet 250 made the picture complete. Monoshock ran as a website for a full two years and the blog is still online but there never was a story on the Hornet and me. There was a comparo though which featured the Hornet, written for BS Motoring but thats it. I never wanted to be seen as a guy who rode an import around town and had followers because of the 180 section rear and that seductive exhaust note. To me, Monoshock was a website for everyone, created and maintained by people who were like any other biker on the street. Lonely deep inside, sensitive, caring and a bit loony.

The Hornet is long gone and the zeal for the website has lost itself somewhere in the twists of this road called life. The VW Jacket still remains. Its on my shoulder as I write this. It still smells of the days gone by. The wife just came in and asked, "What are you doing wearing shorts and that jacket?"

"Just planning to take the Hornet out", I replied, transported to another day.

Poor Rahul, she would have thought as she walked out, must be going round the bend!

Still Around

Almost a year has gone by since the last post. A year that was full of surprises, laughter, friends, struggle and hardships. The economic slowdown did little to uplift dampened spirits and emotions. I did go around though. Down the little green hills of Coorg and the cobblestone pathways of Pondy. I even drove up to Ooty and spent a whole afternoon gazing at the meadows from the verandah of the Ooty Gymkhana Club. A little bit of writing has happened too, albeit they are all notes. Some of them, have been penned down just to amuse myself. The hard drive has some new images as well, but they do not really fit anywhere on Monoshock!

To tell you the truth, I have carried my camera along to pretty destinations this year but, have often come back home without clicking a single picture. The biker in me, loves the "Midship" sticker on the new Yam. I think the new Zma sucks and Dubai was always over rated. But thats just me. Doing a round of the web, I see too much information on motorcycles. Tech Specs and user reviews pop up from the most unsuspecting links and everyone seems to be generally happy. There are also a few around who still email. Asking about a possible restart of the www.monoshock.in website. Thanks so much! Mean it from the bottom of my heart. I really have nothing to tell them right now.

Except that, I am still around!
- Rahul

Bang galore for the buck!

I have been living in Bangalore for almost two months now on work and I still have not been able to figure out how the city moves. Call a Meru cab and 8 out of 10 ten times, the waiting time for a cab to arrive at your doorstep will be in the excess of two hours. The buses seem to go nowhere even when they are clogging up every possible street er, lane to be more precise. Then there are the double coach buses, joined by a vestibule that resembles some ancient space ship docking system from the children's books. Three wheelers are another story. The meters are completely warped. I remember having done what seemed to be 15 kays and this guy's meter read 24 kays. Negotiations from a guy who does not know the local language is mostly futile. Running a car with those petrol costs is unviable.

Biking is an option if you do not mind massive concrete carrying trucks and buses constantly sniffing your backside. Their motors hissing away barely inches from your rear numberplate. Hence my state of confusion. The office is about 3 kays from where I put up these days and with the cool breeze and clear blue sunny skies, I have been walking back and forth all these days to work. And each time, drooling at the P220 or an FZ that passes by, recklessly overtaking that dump truck from the left. Darn!

Seasons Greetings from Monoshock!

Six years ago, one of my long aimless rides had taken me to Aurangabad. I had met N there. She was beautiful, warm and alive. Her expressions reminded me of those pretty women who feature in classy advertisements. Their faces emotive, their lips quivering. Around her neck, she wore a silver necklace. 'It was given to me by my father', she said. In one of our close encounters that followed, I remember that necklace as the only thing left on her body. I spent countless hours at night, staring at her Goddess like fingers while she slept peacefully.

She was a chirpy and easy pillion when we blasted across the rain swept plateaus beyond the Buddhist caves just above Aurangabad. My P180 classic, wearing that trademark lilac colour pulling the insignificant extra weight like a relentless locomotive. The bass note from the blowtorch exhaust coupled with that 'jet engine' whine from the engine intoxicating me.
Then, one morning, she was gone. Just the way she had appeared. That morning was Dewali. She promised to stay in touch. People can be forgiven when they break some promises in life. Like every biker out there, I forgave her. We people keep forgiving don't we? Its Dewali again. I thought I would let all of you know. N never comes on to the Monoshock site. At least I would like to keep believing that, forever.
Happy dewali bros. Happy Dewali N.

Hitting the rewind button on a Pulsar 200

Somethings never fade from the memory. When Monoshock started, the Pulsar 200 was the first bike we tested officially. Today, a good friend of mine in Bangalore threw me his P200 keys before he went away for a couple of days to attend a family wedding. The morning was clear and there was a nip in the air when I fired her up. In no time, the cobwebs of almost 3 months of non riding were swept away. Bangalore traffic is however your worst nightmare come true. Menacing buses come within inches of you in traffic crawls despite knowing what that contact can do to a petty rider. Pedestrians are perpetually on a suicide mission while crossing streets. I have a simple rule for riding in this city now. If you see someone planning to make a crazy move, rest assured that she/ he will just do it. I reserve the braking judgement now. That way, I am a lot safer!
The road that starts from the flyovers at Hebbal is good all the way to Nandi Hills except a few rough patches that do not even figure as I write this. Along the way, some strange plantations came around. Some sort of a tender crawler that needed support and looking under these crawlers gave a very gemoetric and mesmerising view. Here is one for you to enjoy and figure out.

The hills started after a long, smooth straight where I pinned the throttle and held it there. 113 kmph is the max the digital speedo read out. It would go no more and for the moment, that was enough. The climb started abruptly after a right turn and this is where I felt the difference between a P180 and a P200. Even in the most serious hairpin inclines, I was very comfortable on second cog. Not even once during the hill climb did I engage first gear except when I got off to shoot this picture. A 20 degree temperature coupled with a clear blue sky and decent twisting roads was just what the doctor ordered for a Sunday afternoon.

I reached the top which was bursting at the seams with happy faces carrying packed lunches. These packages would be a lot lighter once the day was done and the downhill journey started for the many families. A fifteen buck parking ticket and a three buck entry ticket later, I trudged my way up to the top of the entire sanctuary. It was a tiring walk and many times during the climb, I was reminded by an inner voice that the fitness regime I had been putting on hold for so long now needed a jumpstart. Yes, that is a priority now. The view from the restaurant on top was simply surreal. The word horizon takes an all new meaning from up there. And so does architectural scale model. The world below looks like the perfect place to be in. The green terraced slopes and the fields that stretch till the end of the world from there make you forget that there are wars, crimes and killings happening right then, in some cussed part of the world. The same world! A greasy, meaty lunch was made quick work of.

Before dusk arrived and made things tough for a rider who has lost the touch, I headed back down. I kept the 3rd gear engaged to give me an unhurried and controlled descent. Many bikers I had seen on my way up had simply cut their motors and were riding the brakes and they would do that till the slopes ended. Not a great thing to do though as it it may get dangerous with the brakes fatigued and no engine power in case of an emergency. Grape sellers greeted me on the way down and then through part of the straight, with a bunch of the ripe fruit hanging from an outstretched arm. Little did they know that I love my grapes crushed, aged and in bottles with cork stops that go 'pop' when unscrewed!

I am getting back to doing what I love most. Riding and writing. Contrary to the scenery around me, the mist around my mind is clearing. There is quite some way to go though. I am reminded of my commitment to those who believed. I park the P200 beside an old temple wall and shoot a picture. Darshan will be back tomorrow and his steed needs to go back to him. I will borrow another one soon. From someone kind enough to lend me one. maybe it will be the Yamaha R one five (need to say that right!). Or a Karizma. I do not know. The gates have opened again and the road lies just beyond it. See you soon!

- Rahul

Daman

We mostly travel to get somewhere. For something. Often forgetting the means to the end. What we get at the end of it all is always not what the truth is. A few days back I rode away to Daman. Once I reached there, the image was pretty disturbing. I wondered where all the Portugese architecture and splendour was. Not many locals, busy running their numerous bars had a clue either. Someone wise told me that it was called Moti Daman. I reached, and what I saw was unbelievable. Beautiful. I touched the old church walls and absorbed in my mind's screen as many images as I could of the human passion to build, travel and spread. At the end of the day, all you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be!

Truckies now have a bad habit!

Quite often, when I go down the highways these days, I have made a strange observation. It has something to do with the truckies. See, principally, I am totally against overtaking trucks from the left hand side.

However, when I am approaching a truck from behind, I feel many times that the guy on the wheel up front does not know which side I am going to pass him from. Small cars and zippy bikes on the highway just go through the convoy of trucks like an obstacle course. If there is space on the left, they will get their nose in and gun the engine. If there is space on the right, they will take a moment to decide which side will it be more fun to do their stuff this time! So, truckies are now a confused lot. They are not sure which way a small vehicle behind them will go. So I pull close to a truck when I want to overtake it, flash a couple of times and stay right there till he moves and then I pass him with confidence and safety and a small nod as I go past his cabin!

In India, we overtake from the right hand side of a vehicle. So let us keep the highways disciplined. Just try it. You will be amazed at how well mannered truckies really are. They have never let me down. How about you? Tell us.
- Rahul

A day by the river. CBZ Xtreme and all!

I spent the day by the river today. This was no deserted, scenic riverside. Men and women of all ages were jostling for space like auto rickshaws in office time Bangalore traffic! The few pockets of space that remained were filled up by stray dogs, that were amazed at the sudden turnout of humans, eating away into their private spaces.

Today was Chhat, a festival celebrated in Northern - Central India, with much gusto and colour. However, amidst all the chaos, there was an amazing riot of colours. Our red CBZ Xtreme added to the heady mix of hues. Very beautiful women in traditional Indian dresses had hit the streets. The sun occassionally glinting on the precious stones that hung by their slender necks. Everyone was headed for the river. Cheap music systems by the roadside played folk songs from the heart of India in a very sweet language. The air was charged with a strange kind of romance! I am not a very social creature and festivals are not my cup of tea. But, as a stranger to all of this, I could not help but think about the beauty of life and human relationships.

And more so, in Ruskin Bond's India, Jim Corbett's India, My India!
- Rahul

Watching the world go by - On Dewali's Eve!

" There are heroes in the seaweed,
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love,
And they will lean that way forever."
- Leonard Cohen

Riding back home from a small photo ops on my favourite, the Xtreme was a sad experience today. You know why? Small children, like this one, were nowhere to be seen. I mean, not this side of them atleast. Little hands held little weapons! Pocket bombs were being hurled at each other's feet, cracker pistols were being brandished. We really catch them young don't we? Violence and the power of arms is ingrained into our systems that early.

As the sun faded away, huge crackers leapt up into the sky! Their amazing colours somehow justifying their insane levels of pollution and astronomic levels of cost. A poor woman sleeps by the roadside, abandoned by the stock exchange and it's believers. Nobody has anything to give her, while a school going child steps out and buys a few thousand bucks worth of paper and chemicals, which will burn off in a matter of few hours and leave the world a more toxic place.

We all live for the moment. Individuals and corporations. We plan only as far as we can see. As long as this lifetime goes by in peace and prosperity. Like Ostriches, we are blinding ourselves instead of tackling the problems that can end our very existence. Love? I am still trying to figure out what it means. Love is probably what you feel when you see the picture of a large drop of dew on a lotus leaf, or a V- Max cornering gracefully. All the rest has a reason, which can be argued as being selfish in one way or another.

It was a disturbing ride. I got home and slept off for a while. Will be meeting a friend at night who is coming back to town after a year. I guess it will feel good, great even. And ill use a little time when I am with her, to convince her not to spend any money on firecrackers this time!

- Rahul

Colours of the Indian Highway #2

We love this image. The evening was in and fog decided to make an appearance. So we pulled over, got the P220 into a service lane and got this image.

Photo data: Exactly the same as Colours of the Indian Highway #1. Notice the white streak on the left of the frame formed by headlights of traffic hurtling by!

Wallpaper size: 1280 x 960 pixels!
- Enjoy

Colours of the Indian Highway #1

Those are a lot of colours out there. The road has promises and great images on the Indian Highway system are just a finger press away. Here is the P220 posing on NH2 as a whole bunch of vehicles of all kinds zip by!

Photo Data: A Nikon D80 with an AF Nikkor 24mm F 2.8 was used for this. Aperture set to 8, focus done on the tail lamp of the P220, Auto focus locked, camera placed on the road and fired. Shutter speed was about 6 seconds! Hence no hand holding allowed! No post editing done.
Wallpaper size: 1280 x 960 pixels.
- Enjoy!

Winter is here!

The P220 has been a constant entertainer at Monoshock lately. The last couple of days were rainy and dark, and hence, low contrast pictures came out really well.

I was out on the road again today evening. However, this time, I was enjoying myself on the pillion perch as Nitin was incessantly doing 7k rpm on the neat deserted highway. The aim was to get somewhere, while getting a stamina and fatigue test done on the P220. After a 100 kays, we decided to turn around. The sun had well been consumed by the horizon. Here and there, young boys were scurrying home, their pet stray dogs close on their heels. A million flying bugs ended their lives, leaving their entrails all over that brilliant headlamp, fairing and our visors! The truckies were all pulled over and sweet milky tea was being brewed at every shanty that passed by.

As we cleared a long trailer, a gust of cold wind hit our bodies which were plummeting down the black top, well over a 100 kays an hour. I closed my eyes inside the lid and saw visions of myself coming back from school to a warm glass of milk and some cookies my mother bought for me from a nearby shop owned by an old man. He was as old as the mango trees in the garden nearby, some said. We had no television or power in my growing up days. Mom says, we could not afford it. I feel I never needed it. As long as the sky was clear, the dew was forming and there was a nip in the air.

I filled my eyes with reruns of my life till they had to make space by letting out some water. Tears that originated and died inside the shell of my Index lid, untouched by the world. I opened my eyes and shouted, "Dude, the winter is here!" A gentle nod confirmed that the feeling was the same upfront. The chill in the wind continued. So did the closed eye recaps of my life. Someday, dost, I will tell you all about it! Ride Safe.
- Rahul

Image in post: Winter Road By Thorolf Holmboe

The Monoshock P220 Tadka Blast!

We, at Monoshock can do anything for food. So while the city was struck by a political bandh, our ed mooched our road test black P220 and headed out for some tadka, a hundred kays from home.

Read the rough weather report, the tale of a unique gastronomic adventure and download some cool wallpapers here>>
- Enjoy

Being a Wing Rider! We could not agree more!

Hi everyone... Having recently bought a new Honda Unicorn (Red), I thought I will share my experience with you all.

I must tell you, it was really tough for me to choose from 150 cc bikes available in the market today. Firstly, there is a legendary P150 then, there is a successor to the highly acclaimed CBZ and now there is Apache RTR which is priced very aggressively.

I have a daily to & fro travel to office of around 30 km. Hence, what I wanted was a powerful bike with a good seating position, good mileage and decent looks.

With these requirements in mind I zeroed in on two bikes viz.., P150n & Unicorn. I was really confused between these two bikes. But then, with inputs from Monoshock [we just showed you the door mate, thanks] and after test driving both the bikes I found Unicorn more suitable for me and touch wood, after 450 km on odometer, I feel that I made the right decision.

Of course, it lacks that sound or thump of P150, but then roaring clouds hardly ever rain. Unicorn is like an eagle which glides through the traffic without much fuss. One thing which I liked most is that it shows incredible stability at high speeds, even at corners. The overall fit and finish (build quality) is also ways ahead of any other bike in the segment.

However, cold starting is a big problem and low speed torque is missing.

Summing it up, I must say I am a proud owner of new Unicorn.

Kartik H. Shah
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.,
Automotive Sector,
R&D Centre

Have a story? Tell us. And ride safe!

Going Green!

Reading the newspapers daily fills your mind up with stuff on crime, the games sensexes play, the lingerie celebrities (don't) wear and some more. Sometimes, there is also an off beat article on how we are mutilating the natural resources of our planet. How the weather is changing and that some of this has also reached a critical irreversible phase!

Open any great bike magazine and see the shots. Nine out of ten pictures will have a great green background that is all natural and lush. The great twisty roads that have gone down as legends of motorcycling tarmac are covered on either side with green, which no human being can create in a lab or a production line. Twenty years from now, the weather will get worse, there will be long periods of rains and dry spells that will annihilate crops. Cities and towns will drown out under unprecedented rainfall levels and flash floods. Its all there, written in black and white. There are always ample warnings, there are always subtle signs. Yet, we seem to ignore these. The human emotions of lust, greed, libido and power far over rule ones like charity, sensitivity and love for the environment! We, as a race will probably not last very long. And certainly not if we are going to carry on this way. There is not much one can do at a personal level but here are a few things I thought up!

1) Turn off your bike's engine at red lights. It can save the world more pollution than you can imagine
2) Keep your engine services at specified intervals so that you are not spewing more hydrocarbons in the air than you should
3) Buy your college going kid that new electric scooter
4) Recycle batteries and other parts responsibly
5) While in office, use the forward mail button more that the print button, and
6) When going out to buy that loaf of bread, just take a walk!

In the course of time, we will come up with more such tips and thoughts. Hey! Its time to go green!

The Two of You!

Hot, humid and grimy
Bright, soothing and pristine
Accelerate, lean and brake incessantly
Men can have multiple orgasms too
A dirty ragged boy beside the tarmac
An old lost soul from behind young naughty eyes
One unkempt, analog, filthy petrol pump
One stop less for another 400 kilometres
Some lonesome trees in an arid landscape
A little water in a lake of fire
There stands an ageing prostitute
Someone's loving mother

A puncture repairer in the middle of nowhere
God's son himself
Two roads start up right ahead
But you knew all your life, which one to take
There are always the two of you
The one that rides is somehow more true!

Riding Along

Why do we ride out? I ask myself this question often. Is it for the pictures? Or the distance? New faces and people? Asking Nitin this results in a similar loss of words. "Listen nincompoop", he will say while pulling gently on his cigarette, "we ride for ourselves and to stay alive in a world so full of crap!"

Ok buddy, I take your word for it. I always start a ride not knowing where it will lead and how it will end. There is always the excitement of riding long, far and hard. Other times, I ease the pace, absorb the scenery and the lazy Monday afternoon suburbs. Schoolgirls noisily returning from school. A lonesome eagle floats above, frozen in a time-space vortex, and it will be that way forever. And yeah, then there are times when I stop more than I ride. Nicotine is a reason but then its mostly to see and photograph an amazing little visual arrangement of items in the scenery. Weeks have gone by, based on the highs provided by these little amazing outings. Months and years will too. Common sense also tells me that this lifetime consists of weeks and months and hence, these rides can happily fuel it and some more!

The highway beckons. While I sleep, laugh and make love. Images of the tarmac keep flashing on my mind's screen. Ill be there soon, again. Riding Along!

All the Suzuki you ever need!

Hello People, here is a machine our ed is in love with. The Suzuki GSX1400.

We found some great pictures and loads of info on Suzuki Cycles on this page by Jarmo Haapamäki!

A site, put together with a lot of passion. Get there and leave a word of encouragement for our man Jarmo - Way to go!

Its now or er, later!

I came across this ad on the net. It says take your riding test now, get legal and enjoy your freedom before it gets tougher to do so in a year's time!

Hmmm, does that mean the guy in the 6th standard now can jump to the 10th because he knows its going to get tougher? Ah! Marketing is reaching amazing levels of clarity I feel. Gone are the days when a cleavage would pull viewers to that oh so amazing website! Its between the eyes now, hook, line and sinker and minus the sugar coating. Ad campaigns hinted a year back - "Its now or never!" What the heck? The EMIs on those bikes are not even halfway done and you have another one with petal discs and a lot more punch. So, did anyone eat their words? No, the consumer did I guess. Everything has to sell. Every darn model has to perform in Q1, Q2 and so on!

Welcome to real world experiments, where every human emotion, desire and hate is being used as a marketing tool. Instant gratification being the key word. Powerpoint presentations in smoky boardrooms decide where your and my savings are going the next month. Every product is launched like its a Pagani Zonda! Press launches happen by the dozens every week. Its now or never, till the enhanced product comes up. Making that college goer feel cheated. Reducing resale values to junkyard levels. Whats next? Answer us you ad gurus out there! Well I'll be damned. . .
- Rahul

Hampi(n) around!

"The return day breaks out, am ready with everything, eager to head back home. Ride out to nearby villages helping Pradeep distribute invitations of his brothers wedding. Through with the distribution process and am back again on NH17. One of the best roads to ride and with bends at almost every 50-100 metres- its prayers answered."

That is a great trip log. We can tell you that. Hardcore Monoshock reader and a sort of guardian angel of ours Deepak Dongre send us the link to this ride to Hampi he undertook.

The story is here and the pics here! Enjoy!