[Gansan]

It does not really "move" me, but gives me considerably more pleasure than driving a car. The convenience, the economy of operation etc are added factors. There is an added thrill of risk associated with a bike, which is absent in a car;one is vulnerable on a bike, and needs considerably more skill to keep out of harm's way. What you see through the windshield of a car is more like watching a TV screen. Riding a bike, we feel one with the elements. We can feel the sting of cold or blast of hot wind on our face. The sun will roast you, or the rain will soak you!

Riding a bike calls for a unique skill - balance - which is not required for driving a car! Just about anybody can learn to drive a car at any point in their life, but you either pick up the skills for riding a bike when you are young, or not at all! If one did not learn at least to ride a bicycle as a youngster, he can forget about ever riding a bike later in life!

Being "moved" by the sight of a bike comes from a subconscious feeling of considering it as animate, I guess! Somewhat like the love of a cowboy for his horse!

[PrasannaDhana]

In my view, men never grow up. We just have a perception that we have grown up because we have a job, a wife, kids, responsibilities, a boring 9-5 job and a nagging boss. We tend to convince ourselves that cars are safer, more comfortable and pampering. This normally happens in the start of 30s, the prime time when a man gets grounded by family, work and self-belief that he is no more young.

One fine day, when he gets on a motorcycle and feels the air in his hair, the childhood memories of riding the MTB9000, teenage memories of riding a max100R/RX100/CD100, college days memories of riding pulsars and karizmas with favorite crushes on the pillion, all these memories just shakes his stressed persona so hard that he starts feeling young again. Plus the feeling of being advenurous, since we Indians dont get to sky dive/bunjee jump/ or go hiking, the only risky stuff without having to spend a lot is to ride a motorcycle with a thousand morons and idiots surrounding us on road.

We are born to be wild, and two wheels makes us feel wilder by feeling the actual climate, terrain, bees and wind, than being inside the comfort and safety of an air conditioned car.

[Meccanico]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Why motorcycling moves you.

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

We are born to be wild, and two wheels makes us feel wilder by feeling the actual climate, terrain, bees and wind, than being inside the comfort and safety of an air conditioned car.

Agreed. Being exposed to the elements makes the experience a whole lot better.

Riding the bike clad in leather makes me feel like a samurai cutting through the air. The agility and the 'risk factor' that motorbikes provide can never be fully experienced driving a car. You are so much closer to the road, so alive, weaving through every corner as you leave those cars behind

[alphadog]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

I wrote the below small piece of text, with this I would like to know from the fellow bikers about that one special thing that motorcycling gives you. Why motorcycling moves you.

Thats a nice topic for a thread.
I have been driving cars for as long as I remember, only recently, for the last 2 years have I made my re-entry into motorcycling. I can honestly say that the feeling I get when on my bike can never be matched by the car.

Coming to think of it, there are two reasons I lurve motorcycling,
One, sense of freedom and a sense of being in the thick of action. One is closer to the smells, sights, sounds of the environs around oneself.

Secondly, it is a bit like Scuba diving, and is a bit like meditation. The reason being that the concentration, awareness needed while riding is quite akin to meditation.It is a bit like scuba because, within the confines of the full face helmet, one is aware of ones every breath, and I feel alive and peaceful when on the bike.

Originally Posted by barcalad

Here's something I had written in an old thread around 1.5 years back. Have made some additions to it. Hope you folks like it.

I must say, I am very much the second kind, to the T.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

I don't think I have ever read a more moving article that came in of one of the issues of bsmotoring by Sachin in the Indian context. I have saved the article since the day and till date gives me goosebumps. Sharing it again today

Nice article and it does certainly sum up the feeling and essence of motorcycling.

Cheerio!

[navin_v8]

Words will fall short if I start defining why motorcycling moves me. But I will still give it a shot.

For most of the guys association with a two wheeler starts from their childhood.

Why is it that when we grow up we find a distinct attraction towards a bicycle than any other toy in our closet?

Why is it that we always pick up the toy resembling a two wheeler and make it do stunts like jumping and drifting while playing with friends?

Why did we always compare our bicycles with each other while admiring each others rides?

Why did we always throw away our cricket bat and ball on Sundays to watch Street Hawk on Doordarshan TV channel?

Why do we still always rewind the scenes from Terminator 2 showing Arnold riding and doing stunts on the Harley Davidson Fatboy?

Why do we still discuss about our first bicycle and the experiences we had on them with friends and family?

Why do we still turn heads when we come across a CI Bullet, RD350, Jawa Yezdi, CBZ, Pulsar, Karizma, Fiero, RX100, Shogun, KB125, etc?

Why do I get the same feeling(which cannot be expressed) when my dad bought me my first bicycle costing a thousand rupees and when I bought my motorcycle costing almost 300 times the first bicycle?

Why after a day full of agonizing office meetings and tiring work I look forward to going back home and riding my motorcycle in the dead of the night?

Why do we run our fingers on the motorcycle body before/after every ride?

What do we gaze down the window in the morning with a hot cuppa in hand?

Why does it come in between our family commitments and mid age crisis?

Why is it that we always fantasize of riding somewhere alone, somewhere beautiful, somewhere peaceful?

Why is it that despite knowing our office formal clothes, shoes will become dirty we still choose to ride rather than drive?

Why is it that the monsoon does not give us as much joy while driving than riding?

Why is it that the key stand always has motorcycle keys on top and the hand subconsciously goes towards them even when you want to Drive and not Ride?

The answer to all of the above questions is simple.

A motorcycle does not hide anything, it is a naked machine and makes us feel that it has life. Unlike a car everything including the rider is exposed to natures elements. Man seeks thrill while exploring and it is his nature from the beginning and only a motorcycle satiates that thrill while exploring one's own self, the motorcycle itself as well as the nature. A motorcycle is like an external combustion steam engine locomotive it is raw and does not hide anything. It makes the owner feel one with itself, like an extension of his own personality.

The experience:
While shifting gears and hearing the gear box going krrrrr... khataaak...

The change in the pitch of sound of the engine with every twist of the wrist

The exposed front suspension going up and down on undulations without complaining

The winding exposed brake and throttle cables shrinking and expanding while pressing and releasing

The zzzzzziiiinnnggg sound of the chain going against the sprockets

The noise from the tyre tread on a smooth tarmac

The grin on the face while riding on narrow dirt trails where no 4 wheeler can dream of getting on

The art of balancing and banking angles while pulverising those sharp hairpin bends and curves

The smell of rubber(wheel spin) and burning clutch plates while doing crawling speeds on offroad trails

The ease of access to touch each and every part unlike a car while caressing the cooling fins, fenders, headlight dome, rims, fuel tank, etc.

The sound while decelerating from high speeds where the lower gears fight against the torque and speed

The hot air flowing around the legs making one feel that the motorcycle beneath their legs is working hard to keep up with the endurance of the rider as it is against the unrelenting hot Indian tropical and dusty climate

The ease with which it caries out odd jobs like hauling monthly grocery to office commuting to making road trip of 1000's of kms

The similarity in riding position we take while riding super sports bike akin to our position when we were in our mother's womb.

Talking to oneself in the coziness of a helmet while riding

Talking to the motorcycle and appreciating it while also scolding it before/during/after the rides

The feeling of the piston(s) going up and down somewhat in rhythm with one's heartbeat

The vibrations, jarring and unsettled nature of the motorcycle tickles our adrenaline/testosterone or whatever that gives us a high

The fish tailing and nose diving while hard braking brings us very close to what we call Danger!

The dream of flying which each one of us have dreamt at least once in our lifetime, it is Motorcycling what comes close to flying. Remember Maverick from Top Gun with his F-14 Tomcat and Kawasaki GPZ900R?

I can go on and on, but this is what comes to my mind as of now.

By the way a brilliant thread bluevolt mate.

[dhawalmakwana99]

There cannot be a one line answer to this question. At least not for me.

This thread takes me back to 28th October 2001. It was Dusshera. And it was time for the first vehicle to be welcomed into our family. The Hero Honda Splendor.
Coming back with my parents on the motorcycle sitting in between (yes, triple seat wasn't a big deal back then I suppose, but that is not the point here) I fell in love with something. It was a feeling of mixed emotions which cannot be described even with a plethora of emoji's available online today.

My father used to take me to Bandra Kurla Complex Back Roads once a week for a ride and eventually to teach me the art of riding a motorcycle. I clearly remember the first time I correctly let the clutch go and accelerate without over revving or stalling the motorcycle, I had almost told the whole world about it.

Fast forward to some 9 years and I have a Bajaj Pulsar 180 UG4 which I absolutely loved and I still love as it was the first motorcycle I got from my own hard earned money.
Long Story short, I was riding somewhere and I saw a Ducati 848EVO and I happened to just stop and stare at that thing. It was beautiful. It was like a super model. Apparently, I was so excited that the owner came up to me and asked me why am I lusting over his motorcycle. A few words later he teases me with the keys of the motorcycle and my eyeballs turn into stars. I am taken aback when I realize that the owner is not taking me a pillion on the bike for a ride but is giving me the keys to his bike for a spin around Carter Road, Bandra. I don't know what I was going though or if I even calculated the risk of taking someone's I don't even know's motorcycle for a short spin. I rode the bike, I came off and I thank him for undertaking the risk he had taken even after knowing that I had never ridden a big motorcycle before that day. I didn't know anything else at that moment. All I wanted to do is be around motorcycles.

Fast forward today. I work with a motorcycle brand and I cannot say I am not content with it. My job has given me a chance to ride motorcycles I have not heard of. A chance to live the life on the inside of the place people look with amaze and keep looking till they are content.

After about 15 years of riding experience when I am just 26, I realized that it is not the speed/ acceleration/ agility or the exhaust note of the motorcycle which moves you/ your soul. It is in fact the emotions that the motorcycle and you share when you are on it. (Mind you, I am not a person who names motorcycles and calls it a 'she') I can say this because emotionally, my favorite motorcycle till date remains the Hero Honda Splendor even if there are motorcycles like the 2007 Yamaha R1, Husqvarna Nuda 900R, the MV Agusta F4RR Senna 1000, the BMW S1000RR and the BMW R1200GS were in contention for the title.

You will find me to be the happiest when I hop on a motorcycle seat. I have a smile on my face every single time I remove the helmet. Helmet hair is what determines how far I rode this morning.

I am proudly a Motorcyclist in my own manner. I do not need a title that says how many kms I have ridden a motorcycle and how far have I been on one.

To sum it up, a cumulative feeling of all of the above and a zillion other emotions move me from within to go out and ride a motorcycle.

DM99

[avisidhu]

Our very own legend wrote something that should find a mention here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...-memories.html

I miss this guy :(

[Divya Sharan]

No particular reason that I can pin point at, that makes me want to ride.

Riding makes me happy in more ways than driving does. Yes, I do get tired more over a 1000 km trip on my motorcycle than in the car, yes, I get wet in rains and yes, I'm more exposed too on a motorcycle; but then I guess that is part of the charm motorcycling is!

But, I don't ride just for the "biker" name tag. I sometimes leave home for a short chai ride at 4 AM in the morning and I sometimes defer a planned 4 AM ride to catch up on sleep. I ride because I want to ride.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by avisidhu

Our very own legend wrote something that should find a mention here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...-memories.html

I miss this guy :(

Amen to that.

I am sure that Sam must be smiling at us lesser mortals, where ever he is. RIP.

Thanks avisidhu, for reminding us.

Best Regards & Ride Safe

Ram


Best Re

[Nagato710]

Pretty much sums it all up.

[YoungSaint]

The thread title made me think why motorcycling moves me and I was not able to find any reason. Then, I tried to think about my first memories about motorcycles. The first memory I have of a bike is about my Dad riding his 1986 model bullet. This was the year I was born.

My love for bikes was maybe in the genes as my father was an avid motorcyclist himself who loved covering great distances on it. So, if I say that I started loving bikes when I finished my school or college - it would be just plain wrong. My love for motorcycles began even before I understood what love was. Even to this day, I don't want to have any reason to love motorcycling as I think it would ruin the divine connection that I have with it. I would love to summarize my thoughts with these lines from the song in movie Khamoshi(1969):

Humne Dekhi hai unn aankho ki mehekti khusboo,
Hath se choo ke inhe rishto ka naam na do!

Sirf ehsaas hai yeh rooh se mehsoos karo,
Pyaar ko pyaar hi rehne do koi naam na do!

[tharian]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

I wrote the below small piece of text, .

Not sure if you meant to tweak this line;
“you live more in five minutes riding a motorcycle than most people live in a lifetime”

If not and if you don't mind, the line was -

"You live more in 5 minutes on a bike like this going flat out than some people live in their lifetime." Burt Munro referring to his Indian motorcycle.

[Ironhide]

These words by Robert M Pirsig, in his iconic work, more than sum up why we ride motorcycles .

“In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame.

On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming. That concrete whizzing by five inches below your foot is the real thing, the same stuff you walk on, it’s right there, so blurred you can’t focus on it, yet you can put your foot down and touch it anytime, and the whole thing, the whole experience, is never removed from immediate consciousness.”

― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

Cheers !

[VeyronSuperSprt]

There's a guy in my apartment complex who doesn't have any dress sense nor can he carry on a proper conversation. But he owns a Harley. And boy, when he dresses for the ride with full Harley gear, there is a compete transformation - looks like even of his soul!!

Suddenly he's probably the best dressed guy in town and when he rides away on his bike , you just can't stop staring, unashamedly - just to witness a transformation like you've never seen anywhere !!

So you walk upto him when he rides in, and start a conversation as he gets off the bike and **Poof** it all disappears as soon as he removes his helmet as he's back to his normal usual self.

And you wonder whether it's clothes that make a man or whether it's a Harley that makes a man.

[Swapnil_Alto]

I ride a bike and drive a car too, But there's something about a bike that makes you love it. I don't have any extraordinary story than the rest to share, but I could tell how good it feels riding a bike. When I wear the helmet and sit on the bike, it feels like my throne. I've always liked sport bikes over cruisers and own a Yamaha Fazer. It's a totally different feeling when you lean to corner in turns, when you twist the accelerator etc. I came across a quote recently and loved it- "Some do drugs, other pop bottles. I solve my problems with wide open throttle". Well, it's true in my case. Whenever I feel low, I start my bike and go for a ride, mostly inside the City limits. That surely helps a lot. I've done numerous bike trips and when I conquer my destination, it's altogether a different feeling. That's all I can say.