Team-BHP - Hi I am Hari Shankar.

Hi all,

I am Hari Shankar, from Thiruvananthapuram, born on 10/12/1964, now 44 years. I am an analytical instrumentation service engineer. (Kind of off beat stuff, u know, instruments used for chemical analyses, like...... OK for example the instruments used for analysis of coke for pesticide residues, you remember? such stuff)

I am passionate about technology and engineering. So the most common aspect of technology is automobiles, so that is one of my passions. Similarly aircraft, aerodynamics, and generally about the physics of any locomotion. In fact my passion is more towards the physics of locomotion rather than the locomotive itself. So I am not the kind of character who can reel out the specifications of various models of cars from different stables but rather someone who can explain or who is trying to learn, for example the function of a stabilizer bar, or how EBD works, or what is a roll spoiler etc.

I own a Black 2006 model Toyota Innova G4. Previously a White Tata Sierra and a before that a Black Maruti 800. I bought my first automobile in 1985 a blue Yamaha RD350. I bought my second RD350 in 1997. This one I bought for Rs 7000/- and then spent nearly Rs 55000/- on it. With the help of a friend who was the expert, we stripped down this RD to the frame, powdercoated the frame and the engine covers, painted the rest of the parts with DuPont paint, and re-assembled the whole machine. Sold this bike in 2005 and now do not own a bike.

Other passions are Music (Old Hindi, Malayalam and Classical/Folk Rock and Blues) and Photography.

Am really glad to be here with you all. Thanks and see you guys around.

Welcome to world of automobiles, Sir :)

Buy price - 7000 & mods price - 55K WoW.... Curious to see that picture if you own any. Anyway, that shows how much interested you are in Yamaha.

I wish Yamaha get back its brand image sooner.
O.T: I bought a new RXG and sold it and got the RX100 in second. Whatever, the initial RX was a gem of its era. None of its succesor was able to match it.

Thanks mjothi and jkdas.
Yes mjothi, I did spend a lot on the bike. But more than the money it is the passion I had for locating spare parts. I remember hunting for parts in various parts of the country, like remote areas of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where there was rumours of old stocks of RD spares. Like wheel cush rubbers, the clutch rubber rings, etc. which were worth killing for! It was fun!

And yes, JKDas, I could well be one of the oldest guys around. There are a lot of characters like me hearabouts who are my age or older, are crazy about stuff (or just plain crazy, depends on how you look at it) and enjoy being so! :) Thanks for the welcome.

By the way guys, I travel a heck of a lot (usually out of town for more than 20-25 days a month) and internet access from my laptop is at a premium, so please do not feel offended if I do not post replies for long periods at a time. It just means that I am travelling and unable to access the forum. Sorry.