What a weekend!!

[Rtech]

It all started off on Thursday, when I got a call to take a look at CBR400rr for sale. I had some work near the International airport anyways, so I decided to drop by on Friday.

the day started of well, its always a good sign when you see a bright red Ferrari 360 Modena in the flesh!! Yup, I came across Sachin's Ferrari! woooooow whatta car! I was just drooling over that engine peaking out thorugh the glass cover! Man, this car was made to be red and the yellow 360 spyder just doesn't do it justice!!

The next car i run across, and now quite common in Mumbai, was the Bangled 745i. A white one. Somehow, after the 360 though, seeing this just didn't have that appeal!

Finished my work and went to check out the 400rr. I always wanted to ride the 400 to see how it stacked up against the 600's. Well, powerwise, its way behind, ut in Mumbai traffic, it was just great. The darn thing just flies to its 14000 redline accompanied by that hair raising sound that only a inline 4 can make. I like the 400, only because you can ride it like a Pulsar around the city. The 1 serious drawback though is the shape of the tank. Its designed by a Jap who seemed to hate his manhood, and was out to make all those who rode his creation suffer as well. You press the brakes and you can't help but slide into the tank, which then proceeds to smash into your jewels!! * * *Not fun! I mean, seriously, I don't see how you can ride that for any length of time without one of those groin gaurds!!

On the way back home, I decide to stop over at GTO's pump. There was a Del-Sol sitting there for sale and I just had to take a closer look. Very clean car, a pista green shade. DL plates. The asking price seemed waaay out there, but the dealer there (real nice guy - Mahesh) insisted that I take it for a spin! Well, no need to ask me twice. Off we went to seaface. How was it, well, its like driving a Vtec City, except you sit lower. I was pretty disappointed. The clutch play needed to be adjusted and I think the AC compressor was vibrating way too much, but the engine was fine, revving cleanly to 7000. Still though, I expected something a little (if not a lot) more exciting to drive. IMO, the only reason a person would buy this car would be to show off.

the next morning I was off to Pune to check out some more bikes. guess my luck must've been with me still as exiting the Expressway, I catch upto a '04 BMW 5 series, yes, the bangled one!! Metallic blue in color. WOW. I was blown away. I mean, for all those who think the new 5 looks bad in the pics, I say jsut wait till you see one in the flesh! It is jaw dropping...and this is just the base model...I can't wait to see the M5...*Gotto give credit where its due, Bangle struck home with this car. The metal just flows over the gorgeous curves.

I just get over seeing the 5 when I pull up to ride the ZX9r. Its a beaut! Very clean bike, not used much though and too much slack in the chain. But the power...ooh baby. As I pulled out of the driveway, I twisted the throttle and whoosh! The darn front wheel was up before I knew it. Boy, there really is nothing to compete with the power of a serious 900cc+ superbike! What sucks is that I really could not use anything more than 3rd gear in the Pune traffic. I mean...its crazy, all that power and nowhere to use it. In this regard I seriously feel the 400rr would have made a better and more enjoyable bike for India as you can take it to its redline in traffic, which just makes it more fun!

I then went to look at a whole host of super machinery. GSXR 750, Fazer 1000, number of other Kwackers and Honda's...in short, I was in heaven!

BUT...the surprise of the ay awaited me. regular T-BHPians will know of my longing for a Honda CRX (2nd or 3rd Gen). I had only ever seen one before in India. And that day, under a cover near where the bike were...I spot it. That was my car dammit. I wanted it! A mint condition maroon CRX. I just couldn't believe it....something had to be wrong here, I mean, I can't be that lucky.

Well, I wasn't. The car was NOT for sale...and no amount of begging was helping But wait....whats this I hear....there was one more CRX for sale!! All these years I go without even seeing one in India, and now in one day I come across 2!! I had to see it...so off we went!

Well, this one was a mess! Body damage, rear glass missing, NO brakes (something I found out by almost crashing during my drive!!), interior falling apart. The engine though felt good, really good actually, but the dollar signs were flashing in my head at the amount of work the would have to go into it just to get her running well. To top it off, the guy was asking a ridiculaous price…4.5L for this! Is he maaad!! Oh well, I’m currently trying to get him down to a respectable figure, but easier said than done. Wish me luck guys!

The drive back was sedate, the only excitement was the almost blinding rain at Khandala dropping visibility to less than 5 meters! Oh yea, did I mention I saw the Scooby WRX on the expressway! Saw the wing first and thought it was just another lancer with a terrible spoiler, but this baby was the real thing (as proved by the T-BHP pics I saw when I logged in today!!) Wow, the sound that car makes is pure music…pure heavy metal if you had to categorise! Lol!! And finally, as if to make me recall my weekend so far, the last car I see before reaching home is the Ferrari 348 outside Crossroads! Man, the car god’s were with me this weekend.

Where are all the pics I hear you ask…well, as GTO told me on the tel, Murphy’s law dude!! Sure enough, the darn cam screwed up just when I needed it most. Trust the Koreans (it was a Samsung) will you….then suffer the consequences!

Rtech

[GTO]

Hey Rtech,

Now if only all of us could have such a birthday weekend. Ferraris, riding superbikes, Scooby at full gas...awesome. Your experience is really well written...Got me glued to it. Did you go to all these places alone or had someone tag along?

BTW that Maheshbhai is the same chap who has the vehicle I spoke to you about. Drop him a line. Hes really amazing with his service levels.

GTO

P.S. That Bangled 7 series would lack appeal after even seeing a nicely modded Lancer. A ferrari is something else.

[RJK]

Hey Rtech,

very well written! So many cars in one weekend..truly the car god's were with you! Btw was Sachin driving the 360 or was it someone else?

I've not seen the Bangled 5 series yet but there is one 7 series here in Hiranandani & boy does it look good ! Wouldn't be surprised if the 5 looked good as well..

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Its designed by a Jap who seemed to hate his manhood, and was out to make all those who rode his creation suffer as well. You press the brakes and you can't help but slide into the tank, which then proceeds to smash into your jewels!!