[spaidak]

Hi fellow forum go-ers!!

First and foremost; after reading some of the introduction posts, I can see why this is such a close knit community that supports forum go-ers and non-registered lurkers alike with a wealth of information honestly not found elsewhere. I'm embarrassed to say that I only became aware of BHP forums 3 months ago after moving to India but I'm glad I've found a substitute for the forums I used to use back when I lived in the U.S. Also, I'm 34, yes I've been obsessed with cars since childhood. First thing I drew was a car, hahaha.

A bit about me: Born in India (Chennai), moved to the US in '97 when I was 7 and basically grew up there and came back to India and back to my home town to set up my own Neuro clinic. I'm at a loss for how different the car/bike scene is so very different in India compared to the US. (Lets just say I took far too much for granted)

Some of my other hobbies: Playing guitar, and violin, make mechanical/automatic watches, general DIY buff. If it can be done by myself, then by god I'll do it by myself.

Lets get the elephant out of the room. I'm in the process of researching and buying a vehicle but right now my ride in India is a '22 TVS Jupiter 125...a far cry from what I'm used to and in desperate need of something on 4 wheels but also don't want to rush it. I've driven and owned a large variety of cars and a handful of motorcycles.

Here's my previous roster in somewhat of a chronological order (mind you I started driving at 15 so the first few are my parents' cars. Except for the motorcycles which were fairly cheap and I was able to work on them with a part time job. Only after I started Medical School did I start buying my own cars. So here goes.

1998 Nissan Altima GXE - Champagne Gold

This thing was a hand me down and as a 16 year old I'd do some of the stupidest things like neutral drops and it went through 3 transmissions before we donated it.

1994 VW Jetta GLI - Baby Blue

This was an absolute piece of crap. Parents bought it used and I don't ever think I've seen it without it's check engine light on.

2004 Nissan Quest SL - Metallic Brown

Again another car my parents bought but this was a LOT faster than anything i'd driven before with a NA 3.5L V6 from Nissan. Same as the ones that were in the 350z's at the time.

2004 Yamaha r6 - Blue

First thing with an engine I bought myself after working a summer job. I bought this back in 06' used for $5k and put a power commander and it would haul!! It was far too powerful for a first bike but I'm thankful I'm alive! I kept this bike throughout my 3 years in Undergrad, and sold it in '09 as I had no place to store it.

1994 Acura (Honda) Integra GSR - Taffeta White

This was my first time actually starting to work on cars. I bought the GSR in 07' and it was bone stock with a b18a motor to work with. Although I didn't have all the tools, my car buddies had a fully decked out garage with all the tools I could ever need and I basically leeched off of them and learned how to work on cars form them. From stock, I changed the Headers and Intake, Garret Turbo pushing 12lbs of boost and a an eBay exhaust and when I sold it in '09 It was making ~340 hp and ~300 ft/lb of torque. It was most definitely a pocket rocket!

2008 Honda Civic - Blue

Bought this car in 09' when I started medschool after selling my bike and car as this was much more practical. I kept the engine pretty much stock except for a cold air intake and coilovers with better wheels and tires so its still fun around the corners. It wasn't fast, but it could hold a corner pretty darn well and with the manual gearbox, it also was surprisingly economical at 30 mpg. (Still getting used to the mpg vs kmp metric, the kmp metric is definitely far better in my opinion). Kept this car until I was rear-ended by a drunk driver in '12 and it was basically declared a total loss by insurance.

1982 Honda CB900F SS - Black-red

This was my itch to get back on a motorcycle and I wanted to do a cafe racer build so I bought this for a mere $1100 in medschool to work on. It seemed like a really stupid idea at the time but it was in EXCELLENT cosmetic condition and I learned more about wrenching on things from this bike than I did from anything else. I've stripped this bike down to the frame and rebuilt it multiple times and restored it to its former glory. It's an old school muscle bike and I kind of didn't want to turn it into a cafe racer and destroy it's looks so I went with more subtle modifications. Replaced the rear shocks with some ohlins and painted it to look stock, wider swingarm from the '83 cb1100f ss to support 200 profile tires in the rear. Aftermarket kerker exhaust and aftermarket carbs for a more aggressive sound and acceleration. This thing became one of the most fun motorcycles I've ridden. I've ridden GSX-R's, Ducatis, even a busa; but there's something about learning how to corner and taking twisties that is so much more fun that going 176mph on a straightaway which gets boring fast. I sold this bike last year because I couldn't import it to India. *sigh*

2011 Hyundai Elantra limited - Metallic Grey

I bought this in an basically a hurry after my civic was wrecked and there isn't much to say about it. It had enough power on offer and would top out at about 115 mph on the freeway. It got the job done. It was mainly for commuting and as a Medical Resident, you don't make much so this was what was in reach. I sold this car in '20 as it was limping by now. (I put about 220,000 miles on it)

2018 Camaro SS - Garnet Red

Delayed gratification does pay off. Now that I was practicing and I paid back a large chunk of my loans, I got my hands on this 6 Liter V8 with 455hp to the wheels. It was an absolutely phenomenal weekend car and burnout machine!! sold this before moving to India for obvious reasons

2019 Infiniti Q60 3.0T - Graphite Shadow (Grey)

My daily driver, I regret buying this car. My first really "luxury" car I bought. It was certainly nice on the inside, the ride was smooth, it was totally an impractical coupe and the infotainment system was like putting a potato. It was as basic as they come. At it's pricepoint it was not worth it! I thankfully didn't buy this new and didn't get hit hard by it's depreciation. Sold this the same year I bought it because I'd purchased a different daily driver.

2019 Audi A5 S-line - Daytona Grey

Look at me becoming more of an adult! I bought a sedan, yes it had less power but the ride quality and power delivery were absolutely amazing. Best of all, it was well ahead of it's time when it came to interior infotainment and configurability. Absolutely one of my favorite interiors. Also sold this before came to India for obvious reasons.

In addition to this, I've been to track events where I got to drive a Lamborghini Hurcan which is probably the most bonkers fast car I've ever driven. Outside of that, I had a pretty close knit group of car friends who would borrow each other's cars for a day or two for the sake of enjoyment. So I've driven everything from a lifted Ford F-250 with a Cummins diesel making a 1000 ft/lbs of torque to A Nissan GTR for a weekend trip to your normal everyday econoboxes galore.

I've been feverishly getting myself re-established in India from basic identification to getting my driver's license here and finding a place to live. So TVS Jupiter 125 until I get my license in another 20 more days. I've also been quite occupied with the bureaucracy of medical registration so I can practice medicine here which has held me back further from doing my due diligence in research in what to get.

I almost feel as though I've got to relearn everything I've learned about buying and owning cars/bikes for India with a drastically different rules and road conditions and traffic.

I've attached some random pics I could easily find of the cars and bikes I've bought

Hoping for a warm welcome and I can shed light on any questions you have about older bikes or working on engines. I'm not an engineer by trade but my father is a mechanical engineer and he instilled the DIY attitude and taught me a whole lot along the way as well so I'm able to impart knowledge on technical questions as well. Thank you for your community and I look forward to contributing and posting more in the future guys!

MOD NOTE : Please go through Forum Rules and Posting Etiquettes. Your post is edited for more than 2 smileys (Forum Rules) and capitalization (caps *I* in India please, similarly when referring to manufacturers or oneself) .

Thanks for Support.

[PrasadS]

A warm welcome to the forum spaidak. Your 34 years of obsession has definitely led you to a great collection of wheels and technical know how!
Hope the process of settling down is going well. Holler on the forum for any help you need and I'm sure people will get back, luckily we've got amazing members from every walk of life.
Glad to know that you enjoy playing Guitar
Violin is something I'm looking forward to learn but have failed to find a proper teacher yet

[spaidak]

I don't remember a time when I wasn't playing the violin. I started when I was 4. It was easy to transition to the guitar when I took a break from the violin. Becaues of my violin background i'm a finger player and absolutely hate picks. Weirdly enough I can rip up the guitar with riffs but its hard for me learn new chords (again habits from playing the violin).

To be honest, you dont need a teacher for learning the violin. A few basic youtube tutorials and a lot of practicing daily playing warm up scales and your fingers will start to move and you build your muscle memory for finger placement! Unlike the guitar theres no frets so you basically have to nail your finger placement, but with practice, you'll start retaining that muscle memory. Hope that helps! Most important thing is you get yourself a decent beginners violin as theres no reason to spend big money on a super expensive one when youre nailing down the basics.


Thank you for the warm welcome prasad!

[Dippy]

Hey there,

That's quite an impressive set of wheels that you have owned over the years. The car and bike scene in India has evolved by leaps and bounds and you get every brand at a showroom near. you.

That Camaro SS looks smashing. It would be awesome if you posted more about it and your superbikes too.

Looking forward to DIY stuff from you as well.

See you around in some interesting discussions soon

Cheers.

[TrackDay]

Hi Spaidak,

Nice set of wheels that you have owned in the past. Hope you get settled here seamlessly and own a good set of wheels soon. Quite interested in hearing your story; how your family migrated abroad and what made you come back to India. If it wont be a headache, hope you could share you story so far here.

[spaidak]

@ Dippy

Thank you for the compliment! I only just started breaking into the luxury market, the way I got my kicks was with my SS. In India vs other places I can see that certain brands are perceived as difficult to get or unattainable for a lot of people but there was guy down my street who had a Ferrari f430, mind you I didn't live in some expensive neighborhood. The city I lived in though, well I've seen my fare share of Buggati's, Old rare Lambos like the Diablo SV, Ferrari's are basically crawling the streets on a saturday night if you go to the right spot.

As for the sport bike scene there, a 600cc bike is seen as a bargain. a liter bike is still well within reach especially ones that are used. Now the rare ones and unicorns are the limited edition/limited quantity ones. I'll find more pics of my r6 (I have to dig through my archived files as these would be from 15 years ago. I have a lot more photos of building up my 1982 cb from a barely running bike to one that can hold it's own and hit a 140mph as a muscle bike. Yea it's not as fast as a modern 600cc or something in that class, but boy does it sound absolutely amazing.

I dont know if this is allowed but here is some horrible video of me on my '82 cb (if not mods please remove this paragraph and link):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idKI...aripaidakula88

@ TrackDay

Thank you for the compliments! I'm not sure exactly what you want to hear as this is a super open ended question but i'll take my own interpretation and answer accordingly.

So I moved to the US from India when I was 7-8 years old through my father's job. Not just me, but my entire family (Mom and Younger Brother included). From that time on I basically grew up in the greater Chicagoland area. Finished my schooling up to 12th Standard and wanted to go into medicine not because my parents said thats what I should do, but it honestly drew my interest. So in the U.S. you must finish a bachelors degree to apply for medical school.

So I did my Undergraduate studies @ the University of Chicago with a Bachelors of Science in Neurosciences. Then 4 more years of Medical School at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Then 4 more years of Residency trainig (what you'd consider PG here in India in Neurology). For my residency I went to Yale in connecticuit and the Barrow Insitute of Neurosciences in Arizona for the last 3 years of my Residency Training. Then bada bing bada boom I got board certified in Nerology & Epilepsy Medicine.

After that I moved to Portland in Oregon where I taught as professor while researching as a "Research Physician" at the Movement disorders lab at a fairly prestegious school (OHSU). At the same time I was getting my Masters in Public Health. So 2 more years to finish education and finally I was ready to enter the workforce.

I started working as an attending at OHSU but even though compared to a Resident's salary, the pay was more (60k/year vs 180k/year, at any academic institution you dont really get compensated very well). So I moved to the closest highest paying job as a Neurologist and ended up in Reno Nevada. Portland and Reno are probably the most beatiful places I've lived in. There are tons and tons of mountain roads, curves and unyeilding and underpoliced straightaways when you wannna let it rip. I got up to about 170mph in my SS before letting off the throttle. The thing was STILL ACCELERATING!!!
So I was finally making the big bucks (330k/year) and working for a large hospital.

I think I have a problem with other people telling me how I should practice medicine. I'm not sure if anyone here is aware of the Opioid crisis that basically exploded all over the United States. People would get simple injuries and doctors would prescribe them some fairly strong opioid medications which was marketed to doctors as "non-addictive". Beofre you know it, there were millions of poeple who essentially became dependant on what is basically legal Heroin. Those who could afford the medicine basically just bought Heroin instead. (Bear with me, the story is going somewhere). So I'm practicing as a Neurologist and for most of the patients I see I'm their Primary Care Physician because...well.....their primary problem is neurological in nature so I'm also managing all of their other problems regardless of what Neurological issue they have.

As you know, just like here in India, where large hospitals need to worry about the bottom line and profit, same goes in the U.S. The absolute idiots who ran the hospitals were interested in keeping patients happy because happy patients keep coming back and give better satisfaction surveys which the hospital can then advertise for more business. They also recieve better compensation from the government for any services rendered to patients.

How do you make patients keep coming back? Keeep prescribing them more opiate medications. The same medications that are KNOWN by this point to be HIGHLY addictive and we were told under the table and pressured to write prescriptions for an insane amount of pain medications.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen a you 20 some year old who overdosed on Heroin and stopped breathing and is now completely brain dead. Street drugs are unpredictable and mixed with very strong additives like fentanyl and sometimes, these kids use the same amount they always use but a little too much of fentanyl happens to be in the batch they used and they never wake up. Well this is was what was most dissatifying about working for a large hospital. Yes I was making a very comfortable living but at the expense of others' wellbeing.

The final straw was a poor old 26 year old young lady who came in with weakenss, sudden loss of vision and a slew of other neurological symptoms. Tests confirmed she had Multiple Sclerosis and she was properly treated and this was now undercontrol. When she came in, she had also lost consciousness and tumbled down some stairs so she was pretty bruised up and so this did require some intervention for pain control. I was pressured into writing a 90 day script for her for Oxycontin.

A little more than a year later, this same young lade was in my Neuro-ICU brain dead. This was basically the last straw for me. I broke down because I directly facilitated this girls untimeley death. I quit that job after years of working there and came back home in a deafeated state. By home I mean Chicagoland. At this time my parents were in the process of retiring and had always planned to move back to India after retirement.

I realized the cost of entry for opening my own clinic was far too high and that bar was much lower in India. So I've basically tagged along with my parents and in the process of settling into India after selling most of my possessions except for the bare essentials which I actually got shipped via cargo container and a week ago it had cleared customs in Mumbai and should be here any day now. Yayyyyy! Anyways thats the reason for me to move back to India. I always have the option to go back and practice in the U.S. as I hold a dual citizenship, but I really want to work for myself and not be told how to take care of my patients! Hope that answered your question.

As for my OWN faimly, I haven't found the right girl, I've been in a few serious relationships that eventually fell apart. So I dont have a Wife or kids.

Once I get my own place (right now I'm basically mooching off of my parents as I don't know what or even where my plans will unfold and didn't want to make an impulse purchase or throw money away on rent. When I do though, I do plan on having space for a workshop so I can work on cars/bikes but that will be a ways away. In the mean time, one small step at a time!

Thank you for asking about my story with genuine interest. I can see this is an amazing community already from such a warm reception!

[bhugs]

@spaidak
A great story and very impressive that you were able to listen to your inner voice and gave up such material comforts for the sake of peace. Convey my regards to your parents for instilling such good values which are so rare to find in todays materialistic world.

[deep_bang]

A very warm welcome to you on this forum. Apart from your auto interests, it takes a lot for someone to leave a cushy job and move to India. Kudos to you on that.

I have lived in the US for many years and now in India. There will be things that are never going to match what was in the US (like we treat the RE 650 as a pretty decent cruiser, while it may be an entry level motor in the US). But as I say a true enthusiast will appreciate what we have instead of what we don't have (great scenic routes for example). So, please do yourself a favor and see what's good here and not compare with the US (especially since you grew up in the US meaning you are pretty much a US guy).

[spaidak]

Originally Posted by bhugs

@spaidak
A great story and very impressive that you were able to listen to your inner voice and gave up such material comforts for the sake of peace. Convey my regards to your parents for instilling such good values which are so rare to find in todays materialistic world.

Thank you! I'm glad you see it that way unlike my parents who see it as me being crazy. But I can't stay happy knowing i'm doing the wrong thing. Thanks again for the warm wishes!

Originally Posted by deep_bang

A very warm welcome to you on this forum. Apart from your auto interests, it takes a lot for someone to leave a cushy job and move to India. Kudos to you on that.

I have lived in the US for many years and now in India. There will be things that are never going to match what was in the US (like we treat the RE 650 as a pretty decent cruiser, while it may be an entry level motor in the US). But as I say a true enthusiast will appreciate what we have instead of what we don't have (great scenic routes for example). So, please do yourself a favor and see what's good here and not compare with the US (especially since you grew up in the US meaning you are pretty much a US guy).

I am indeed basically a US guy for sure. Not only when it comes to cars or bikes but right now I'm readjusting my entire perspective on living life. I had myself fooled when I was completely ok with the 2 weeks trips i'd come to India for to visit family and friends. I'd visit once or twice a year every year. Those visits are NOT the same as straight up moving here. Its been a big slap in the face but i'm becoming accustomed to it slowly and coming to accept (as I must, otherwise whats the point of moving here right?) the way to live a happy life in India.

Its funny you bring up the RE 650 because i've also taken a keen intrest on it because of its wide popularity not just in India but in the UK and the availability of aftermarket parts and RE's general overbuilt reliable engines (hopefully that is still the case). I bored out the cylinders in my cb900 when I revived the engine to 985 cc because it was an overengineered 40 year old muscle bike. I feel the 650 twin cylinder engine would be a great starting point to mess around with. The rest of the bike is also bolt on friendly so lets see where this goes.

Already booked a Kia Carens Luxry Plus 1.4 Auto DCT for my parents (it's got an insane 24 week waiting period...) and shopping for for a skoda octavia vrs for myself (for obvious reasons hahahha). In the mean time I've test driven a handful of motorcycles on offer at dealerships here and thankfully my brother in law's younger brother has a RE 650 that I got to drive around and although it defeneitly has some faults, it was a very pleasent bike to drive. It wont knock my socks off but I'm not looking to be on the edge of my seat when I can barely predict when the next guy is gonna jump in front of me in traffic. I just wanna stay alive hahaha. Were planning some driving trips after the rainy season here ends and we have more time. If anyone knows any treasures closer to chennai with nice bends and curves to really get in some lean angle....let me know !