The Shed

I had a chance to take a look at a decaying old factory from inside today. The walk to the shed was riddled with bush and snakes (heard the security staff swear by the 'Big Black One'). The top had blown off in places and the setting sun was peeking through one of those gaping holes in the metal and asbestos! I shudder when I think this was a place full of people at one time, manufacturing who knows what for who knows who... The image is with me to stay. I am happy for that. It makes a lovely desktop wallpaper. Fits widescreens too!

- Rahul

Riding into the sunset - Avenger 200

Here is an image of our test rider alongside the Bajaj Avenger 200 oil cooled cruiser. Shot on the NH2 from Kolkata to Delhi, the image portrays the essence of riding long and into the sunset!

Photo data: Camera body - Nikon D80, Lens - AF 24mm F 2.8. Mode - Aperture priority. Aperture set at 16. Metering mode - Centre weighted. Focus mode - AF Single Servo. I held the centre area to get the metering off the setting sun after focusing on it. Then, I used the Auto Exposure Lock and the Auto Focus Lock together, reframed the shot and released the shutter for this effect!

The Hero Honda Hunk does not let down!

Sit astride the Hunk and you will immediately start feeling great. That massive tank ahead of you feels substantial. The retro styled instrument console with analogue readouts and the new improved rear add to the style statement.

The gear shifts have become slicker, however, missed gears are still in the ballpark if handled carelessly. Handling is a tad better now and the bike rides a bit stiffer with more feedback.

The front brakes on the bike we got were spongy but that front wheel just comes up like your daily bread. Amen! Full road test report here>>

Cruise Control - The whole weekend, spent riding the Avenger 200!

The whole weekend was skooshed riding the Avenger 200 oil cooled number. We went on the highway, along the back roads and just about anywhere where good smooth tarmac was to be found!

The road test report for the same will be up on the site in a day or two. Till then, you can enjoy this desktop image of our man scraping the Avenger pegs to kingdom come!

Enjoy!

Remembering the Lambretta!

It has been a long time since we did this story on the Lambretta. A whole day that we had spent just canoodling around town on this graceful blue machine from the yesteryears!

Makes for a good read once again and here is a great new wallpaper for you to see and use as your desktop image for a while!

Fits widescreens at 1280 x 960 pixels.

- Enjoy

Our cup of tea!

A lot can happen over tea. You wonder how we mooched that famous one liner and replaced the last word with tea eh? :-D

A lot of bonding, relaxation and work happens over endless cups of tea at Monoshock. Our Ed in Chief, Ben needs loads of it to go through a day. Some great relationships a few of our resident road testers have had, had a lot to do with earthen cups full of the brew. Here is an image that could be called, Days gone by! We love it.

- The Monoshock Team

When less is more - CBZ Xtreme

Get this: 7 out of 10 men think that they are, er, not big enough! I hope you understand what we are saying. The reality is that size seldom matters to the other side. So, stop drooling at big cubes. That is the typical manly thing to do. Concentrate on performance instead!

So while most of you were preparing for the Dewali night, we were having fun with this red explosive too!

Full story and stunning wallpapers here>>
- Ride Safe

Pulsar 200 or Karizma?

Hi,
I was planning to buy a Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTSi. Can you please tell me a list of things to look out for while buying it? Also, considering the fact that I could buy a karizma for almost the same amount, would my buying a pulsar 200 be a wise decision?

Apart from the bike, are there any other accessories I can add to it while purchasing it? How would adding a more powerful horn/ headlight impact the battery?
Thanks in Advance,
Anirudh

Hello Anirudh,
Thanks for writing in. The Pulsar 200 is a great machine. For those who came in late, the Monoshock road test is here>> We think there is a great price difference between the P200 and the Karizma, hence its a no brainer which bike to pick up! Just go in for the P200. Its a more contemporary machine with a lot of technology going into it. Hmmm, what do you look out for when buying this machine? The color choices and the babes swooning on the streets comes to mind. I mean what could you look out for while buying a standard new bike? The horn is pretty good and so is the headlamp. So leave them untouched.

However, for the price of a Karizma, you also have the Pulsar 220, which is the big daddy of all bikes in India now! So we put in a picture above here to see if you get interested. Best headlights, electricals, handling, brakes and power delivery in it's class. Let us know when you make up your mind!
Ride Safe!.

Time testing the P220

For something as contemporary as the P220, we thought we could do with a time test. What with quality issues plaguing the other Pulsars and things like that!

So we took our test bike round and round the roads till we clocked a thousand kays! Yes, our road test reports will be out soon.

Till then, here is a desktop wallpaper of our man, Mc. Veggie Sumit putting in his share of kays on that odo! Also fits widescreens at 1280 x 960 pixels!
- Enjoy!

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!

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

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!

Tub Thumping! The Royal Bengal Cruisers!

Monoshock presents to you the Royal Bengal Cruisers! These guys from Kolkata are Bullet riders who believe in eating miles for breakfast and lunch!

We are starting a section on them and hence Enfields in a week's time. Prosenjit, the head of the thumpers' pack is a cool mate who is working on the same with us.

Here is a sample of their photography, namely the loops of Ladakh! 1024x768, for you to download!

M for Monoshock!

While I was up on the terrace during the start of a thunderstorm, I shot this image. It was a formation of streaks of lightning that somehow formed the letter 'M'!

Sheer luck. You can download this image as a wallpaper too. Looks good.

Oh Calcutta?

Hey Guys,
This is Abhijit Nag frm Mumbai , was just going through ur site, the photographs r amazing!! I never knew tht Kolkta had such beautiful places to see!! I was in Kol only for 2 yrs & then i moved to Mumbai. U guys r doing a grt job. All d best & God bless U...

Regards
Abhijit Nag.

Here is another image for you. Thats the Victoria drawing up the background one early morning!
And please take a bow from all of us. Its an honour to hear such warm words. Bless you too mate!
- The Monoshock Team

Land's End

Our constant search for the most amazing biking destinations brought us to this beach. A 14 kilometre long afair where you can keep the throttle pinned till the end of time.

The Karizma gave us hours of riding pleasure with the sea spray for company. The full story will be in the September issue of the emagazine.

Till then, we brought this desktop wallpaper back for all of you!

Enjoy.

Monoshock Wallpapers now available on Mobile!!!

In an effort to make our content more accessible, we have tied up with Mjoy on short code 56569! Our wallpapers are now available on mobile phones across operators around the country!

To see the wallpapers available currently, click here....

Follow the short code download instructions on the page that opens up and enjoy our images right on your cell phone. Standard download rates apply as per operator!

Enjoy, er Mjoy!

The Road Has Promises #3

Imagine the surprise, when, after crossing the messiest of roads and the dirtiest of slums in rural West Bengal, you come across a river front where all the architecture is French!

Yes, you heard that right. Chandennagore is that place. As you hit the road which is called 'The Stand', you have beautiful French architecture to sample on the right side, a lovely pavement on the left with park benches that are shaded with lush green trees. Beyond the pavement is the river Hoogly, so untouched and virgin in its form. Nobody washing clothes or bathing. Just clean water stroking the embankment.

We saw this beautiful Sacred Heart Church too... Another substantial example, that the road has promises! The image can be downloaded to make a neat wallpaper for your desktop!

Dusk at Chandennagore

We do not need to go far and wide to see amazing things. I have seen people take pictures in their backyards that look out of this universe.

So, when Nitin and I were riding to Chandennagore (a 45 kays ride from Kolkata on some blissful tarmac) we found this amazing scenery at dusk! You can click the image and save it as a wallpaper too.

Photo data: 24mm 2.8 lens used. Aperture set at 2.8, spot metering taken off the blue top end of the frame, exposure locked, re framed and shot! No filters or software tools used!