Team-BHP - From a City Down Under to a Country Down Under : From a RX100 to a Fatboy...
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Hello Everyone!

I came across Team-BHP a while back, quite accidentally, has been browsing and thought it is high time I joined up. I was absolutely amazed by the sheer variety of discussions and the depth of expertise and passion shown. I would like to congratulate the people who kicked off this forum and thank the moderators for a stellar job in keeping the passion ongoing.

I have been crazy about cars & bikes ever since I can remember and so, when I thought about a username, I thought the one that best expresses me is a simple “LTAutoMad”, “LT” as in “Long Term”!

I am no spring chicken (boohoo!), spending the best time of one’s life (late teens - early twenties, at least in my opinion!) during the times of Michael Jackson, yes, the 80s! That was the time the auto revolution kicked off in India and it was a thrill to move from heavy, lumbering 50s Euro tech to sleek, 80s Jap tech.

Born & brought up in our southernmost capital city (yes, Trivandrum as it used to be called), I discovered the local British Council library (alas, it is no more there) at the age of 10 and I can categorically state that from then on I did not miss a single issue of Autocar, Motor or Motorcycle News until I left TVM at the age of 21! In those pre-internet days, I was lucky to live in a city that had a means for me to indulge in my passion for automobiles.

During my college days doing mechanical engineering (what else would an auto-mad person do?!), I had a Vijay scooter which I had extensively modified & subsequently a RE Bullet. Then, I booked, and got one of the first batches of Yamaha RX100s that were released - it was almost 100% Japanese. I always thought I will ride it for a couple of years before I upgraded to The King, yes, the RD350, but funnily enough, that little bike was so good I couldn’t bear to part with it. In fact, in my opinion, it was far more fun to ride the RX100 than the RD350 for the simple reason that, on the RD350, you could treat the rest of the 1980s traffic with absolute contempt, dispatching them with a tiny flick of the wrist while, on the RX100, you had to really use your riding skills and smartly use the gears and the accelerator to achieve the same effect.

I worked for a few years in Bangalore; have lots of fond memories of the time, ok, ok, ok of the RX100 kind, mostly to do with being flat out, throttle pegged open, late night on a deserted Airport Road. Except the RD350, nothing could catch up with that little fellow on the roads then.

I then emigrated to Australia 20 years back. Imagine coming from a country with 3 types of cars to one with 100s - I maniacally used every opportunity and then some to drive different cars and within a few months, had literally lost count of the number of cars I had driven (I think I gave up after 50!).

If you look at car ownership here, like different iterations of the Ford Falcon (4000cc, 6 cylinder), Holden Commodore (3600cc, 6 cylinder) etc, you can see a pattern - yes, large cars with big engines, rear wheel drive and massive amounts of torque that provide spacious family transport while satisfying the driver’s right foot needs & wants! I had a toy, a Jeep Wrangler (4000cc, 6 cylinder) for a while when the kids were young.

Currently, I am driving my first diesel ever (blame it on middle age!), a Mitsubishi Pajero (or Montero as it called in India). Luckily, my better half does not mind driving large, powerful cars and so "her" current car (selected by me, of course!) is a Commodore.

My current toy has been the realisation of a long held dream, a Harley Davidson Fatboy, with lots of mods. One funny thing before I sign off: my teenage children just cannot fathom why their dad who rides a Fatboy gets all nostalgic when he talks of his old RX100, which in their eyes (being born & brought up here, in this wide open country where anything up to 650cc is a learner legal bike) is a tiny, toy bike with a 100cc engine HALF the size of the lawnmower in the shed!:):)

Warm regards,
LTAutoMad

LTAutoMad, To begin with you have a really innovative forum handle. Your intro is by far one of the most interesting and includes a whole bunch of mean machines you have driven so far. I have read it with great excitement and respect you for enjoying and living your passion wholeheartedly.

Even your present ride is one great vehicle with whole lot of power and surely you would be enjoying it to the core. I am really impressed with your narration and look forward for great ownership reviews of your cars in the times to come.

Welcome to Tbhp and going by your experience I am sure you will enrich our knowledge with great and valuable inputs from your end. Have a great time and enjoy yourself here.

Thanks.

Welcome fellow TVMite:D
Sure can hope to see more from you including travelogues, old pics of your former Aussie full size rides and a review of the Commodore that your better half is driving right now.clap:
Cheers...

Welcome aboard LTautomad!

Look forward to your detailed ownership experience of the Fatboy. Please share the reason you picked this one with lots of photographs and everything else you can think of.

Congratulations and all the best with your new acquisition.

Cheers

ad3952n, Dicky & Cyborg:
Thank you for your warm welcome.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyborg (Post 3483061)
Welcome aboard LTautomad!

Look forward to your detailed ownership experience of the Fatboy. Please share the reason you picked this one with lots of photographs and everything else you can think of.

Congratulations and all the best with your new acquisition.

Cheers

There was no "reason" or logic or cold calculations of pros & cons of Fatboy vs Moto Guzzi California vs Triumph Rocket vs Honda Goldwing etc or even Fatboy vs other Harley models for picking up the Fatboy - it was 100% driven by the heart! As I mentioned, the Fatboy had been a long-held dream of mine, obviously for the sheer chunky looks & masculinity of the Fatboy. I like my bikes bare (not dressed up with bags & panniers) and hence did not consider the HD tourers. Maybe, 10 years ago, I would have looked at a Hayabusa or similar, but am now too old & creaky to be draped flat over the tank and scraping my knees! Unlike India, two wheelers are the exception in Australia and most people won't even have ridden pillion let alone have a motorbike licence. I wanted to share the joy of motorcycling with my kids and with the Fatboy, I could do that in comfort.

I have seen a few posts here in the Superbikes section where people have said the Fatboy is their dream machine. I can relate 100% with them! Btw, it is not a new acquisition - I have had it for a while now.

Welcome aboard! Nice choice of cars there. Between, you didnt mention which Aus city you're based in.

Welcome!! As a fellow tvmite, even though we seems to be one generation apart, the British library thing is common between us! Loved the Autocar (UK) mags, big, with fantastic pics and reviews. Shame it has closed down!

Looking forward to:
- Travelogues in the great outbacks et al.
- Some ownership threads on your vehicles, esp the commodore.

Hope you will oblige!

I'm not one to read 'Introduce yourself' threads carefully, but a lucidly written thread is always a treat to read.

Welcome on board, LTAutoMad, and have a great time here.

Team-BHP is represented in Australia too - our dear moderator benbsb29, who responded to you in an earlier post, is in Brisbane, and Senior BHPian rideon is in Melbourne. As benbsb29 asked you, which city are you located in?
Quote:

am now too old & creaky
Old a Team-BHPian might be, but creaky? No way! :thumbs up

Welcome aboard. Loved your opening post, makes for very good reading indeed.

So what happened to the RX 100? Am assuming you sold it before you left Bangalore. Would you have loved to have had it around now, along with your Fat Boy? As for the Fat Boy, pictures please.

Thank you benbsb29, wantarangerover, SS-Traveller & sunny310c.

I am in another "City Down Under" in Australia! I live in Australia's southernmost major city - Melbourne. Only difference is that while it got hotter as you went south in India, here it gets colder! :) Currently shivering through the peak winter.


Quote:

Originally Posted by sunny310c (Post 3484938)
So what happened to the RX 100? Am assuming you sold it before you left Bangalore.

Mate, It is funny you bring up my RX100 as I still remember in a very bad way my parting shot of her. Once I got my Aussie PR, I had told my trusted mechanic to put the word out to sell her, a college kid wanted to see the bike and he was so eager, he immediately took it without waiting for the paperwork which I agreed to provide the next evening. Btw, after riding for 2-3 years (by then RX100s had become commonplace), I had painted it in a unique metallic charcoal grey, also put the comfortable RD350 handlebar, a fatter rear tyre etc - overall a lovely bike (I am biased!). Ok, the guy takes it and what do I see 24 hours later? I didn't even recognise my bike when he pulled up! To my & my wife's utter shock, bewilderment & outrage, the guy had (within 24 hours) replaced both the chrome mudguards with massive, revoltingly ugly, spade-like plastic monstrosities set up high to make the bike look like a MotoX bike. The most disgusting part was that they were a hideous taxi yellow!


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