The old age rider @ OTAI

The glass door of the single storey shop creaks open and in enter two Malay guys in their thirties. Both are of short stature at barely five feet and half. They dont look like they are built for riding big bikes. The tall guy who walks in earlier is going through the catalogues and eavesdroppings to the questions from the two Malay guys about exhaust pipes and other accessories that will add more power to their already powerful R1s.??????. The salesman entertains them reluctantly. He is a big fellow pushing 60 years old, been riding motorcycles three third of his entire life with a clean record. He can spot a poser from miles away.

Flashback to the eighties.....

The skinny kid, not more than 18 years old pushes the 600 lbs bike out of the shed which is actually the basement of his house where he lives with his parents and siblings. He punches the electric starter as he straddles the bike comfortably with both his feet flat on the ground and he feels very safe which boosts his confidence level. The bike is a 1100 cc, four cylinder machine of Japanese make.The bike moves forward slowly as he releases the clutch and feeds in the throttle. Twin shocks at the rear and a set of telescopic upfront take care of the basic suspension system and still the bike is such a joy to ride being flexible and general purpose. He rides it everywhere even on gravel roads and beaches.

Yesterday,What you buy is what you get. There are not many accessories available to make your bike better from the factory specs and set up. Make of tires available are limited to one or two international brands. There is no soft compound,medium or hard. Riding compound is all you have, the rest is up to your skill and good judgement We make do with what we have. To be safe we have too use better judgement every time we are out for a ride. The technologies available are basic and human input are very much required. There are no ABS, no fuel injection, no traction control,nadday. We are solely in control. To survive the streets we must master our craft and to learn from a good teacher.

Back to present day.....

The two guys leave without buying anything. They are talking to each other while walking out of the shop." I should have put my new bike on the lorry this morning and drive my bike here", I can hear one of the guy says to the other. They walk toward the comfort and air conditioned automobile parked in the front, enter and drive away into the flow of the lunch crowd.