[GTO]

R.I.P. Sir! A big fan of yours. Never met you, but have read so many of your articles that I feel like I've known you.

Bet Dilip will be tinkering with the 2-wheeled chariots of Gods right now!

Just went through this thread in his remembrance and on some. A unique personality, like absolutely no other!

Originally Posted by Mpower

I remember reading a Yezdi 350 road test by him ages ago in CBI. He claimed that the brake lever was designed by Sunil Gavaskar.

Turns out Gavaskar had knocked down his bike while it was parked and bent its lever.

Originally Posted by Edsel Rulez!

I wasn't able to dig out the taxi driver issue, but I did find my tattered copy of the bike buyer's guide by Dilip Bam, BE (Mech) MBA MIE (I) Chartered Engineer AMI Mech E (London) MIIE (USA) and Visiting Professor BITS Pilani. The 100-page book is called "How to Select Your Perfect Two-Wheeler" and it was published in 1990.

Here are some excerpts from the classic:

On safe riding:

On encountering trucks and tempos on the road you'll probably see the cleaner frantically waving his hand through the left window. This has been going on for the last fifty years and nobody -- no driver, no cleaner and no cop -- knows what the hell it means. Neither do I, unless the cleaner is swatting flies or giving 'tata'.

On selecting a two-wheeler:

If Chetak was good enough for Rana Pratap, it should certainly be good enough for the average householder.

Women may take objection to a sex distinction while selecting a bike. True, women have competed against men in some races and even won some of them. This book is NOT for them.

A bright orange kameez worn with a (say) green churidar may be very becoming on a pretty girl, but the same colour combination would hardly do for a 50-year-old lady. Likewise a five-footer riding a Harley Davidson Electra Glide (1340cc) would remind one of an insect stuck on the windscreen of a Porsche.

On buying a second-hand bike:

The most successful marriage is when you marry the girl next door. You know her background, her caste and creed, her "other" boyfriends, the company she keeps, her performance, her behaviour and so on. So also with a bike. If you know the bike for some time while it is in the ownership of the guy who is selling it to you [blah blah] you know the vehicle.

On dealing with animals on the road:

Buffaloes: These are the stupidest of God's creations. A buffalo's brain weight is the lowest among ALL mammals. Thus when a buffalo is in motion it will NEVER change its mind, simply because it has no mind.

Cats: Crosses roads in a flash. So unless you are superstitious, let it cross first. Even if you ARE superstitious, let it cross first and then let two other vehicles overtake you so that they carry away the bad luck.

From the buyer's guide section:

Hero Majestic Pacer: The old Hero Majestic VIP 240DX has been repainted and renamed 'Pacer'. Let's see if it will change the pace of sales. A wind fairing has been added, maybe to give the impression of a 'ghunghat' on a 'chand-sa-mukhda' (headlamp).

Hero Majestic Panther: If I changed my name to Bruce Lee, wore a kung-fu suit (paint job) and put on a helmet (fairing), could I hope to beat up Dara Singh? They did this to the popular 240DX model and called it Panther. Let's see how many from the market this panther can devour.

Bullet 500: If the 350 is ego, the 500 is ego plus. Though slower and much less powerful than the Yamdoot (RD350) this is more than just a bike -- it is something that has to be owned to be believed. It is not the fastest, nor the most powerful, nor the prettiest, nor the most ergonomic. It is also not many other things. But it is a name. Like Helen of Troy, you've GOT to have her. That's all there is to it. All else be damned.

The Acknowledgments page ends thus: "Finally, I wish to thank God that I am still alive!"

[saket77]

The irreplaceable and the inimitable Mr. Dilip Bam. If you have read him once, you'll never forget. His writings were showered with humour and lots of practicality at the same time.
He wasn't on TBHP but I used to read his blogs often. In fact, I was discussing him with another BHPian just a few days ago. Really sad to hear him pass away.

My fear is that if we keep losing these great old timers with such impeccable automotive knowledge, we shall run out of the treasure soon.
You shall be missed, Sir!

[centaur]

Another gem lost this year. First it was Behram Dhabhar and now Dilip Bam. May his soul rest in peace.

[rxpaul]

He was the Guru and only source of two wheeler wisdom. Owe my purchase of my RX100 to him.

[Ritzvxi]

RIP Dilip Sir, Was introduced to your site from Team-BHP. Read a few of your stories and then I could not get enough of it.

What a gem!

I'm thankful to team-bhp, for introducing people like Dilip Sir and Sam Kapasi to me.

There writing will always be with me!

[GTO]

Veeresh Malik shares the following via email:

Dilip Bam was everybody's bike-guru, from bicycles to huge motorcycles, and all points in between - but the big ticket as far as he was concerned for success of a two-wheeler in the India of the '90s was that it should be capable of carrying a gas cylinder. India changed and so did two-wheelers and Dilip kept with the times. Nor do many two-wheelers need to be used to carry gas cylinders around either.

I met Dilip properly in and around the time when two-wheelers and three-wheelers were being moved into 4-stroke engines for environmental reasons. A manufacturer had at that juncture manufactured a two-wheeler scooter that looked like a mate between a Lambretta and a Vespa - really wide. I had it out for a test and asked him, for my little TV segment, as he happened to be in Delhi, what he thought. His response was typical Bam, and therefore could not be carried on television,but briefly it was to the effect that rear orifices of those sitting on the rear seat would become larger.

But where Dilip had a mastery which few people knew or know about was commercial vehicles, especially trucks, and so he was always my go-to guy with another friend from Chennai for truck tests and comparatives, non-media so always fully confidential. To the best of my knowledge, Dilip kept those confidences secure till the end, which is saying a lot in these days. The other gent, let's call him "K", decided to off himself a few months ago and when I told Dilip about it, the response was typical - "wow, what guts man!!"

So there we were, Dilip, "K" and I, playing truck-truck with cowl and chassis of everything from LCV to prime mover on a test track "somewhere in Central India". Hand-brake turns, high-speed "Y" turns, and some amount of sideways drift, we did it all, and those are the happiest memories I have of Dilip, double-declutching and pumping brakes as well as dealing with complex gear boxes. Sure, he loved his two-wheelers, but he really came into his own taking a trailer truck into a high-speed turn. We tried hard to source a trailer double-decker but were singularly unable to do so!

I've also had the good fortune of working with and knowing Dilip's family members spread across different countries, as well as employing people who he positioned with me in non-automotive fields, and most of all as a house guest during Auto Expo years ago. Of course, over the last few years, both of us stopped going to Auto Expo!

Onions and mangoes, Dilip had traded in them along with his engineering and management exploits, and knew a lot about the pilfered and adulterated oil business so rampant in the Mumbai - Pune - Nashik triangle. There was also the time he tried to make a powered hang-glider. Test flight went OK for a while, but after some time, first the engine disengaged and fell into the lake, then Dilip, and then the glider. The next few days were spent trying to retrieve the engine.

Good man, Dilip, beacon to so many young people all over India. Gone to the big truck in the sky. On a flotilla of bikes.

[vinair]

Sad news! One of the wonderful writers I grew up reading! No one can forget his signature reference of carrying a LPG cylinder when talking about foot well space in scooters he tested!!

[kutoos]

RIP, Dilip Sir.. Surely cherish the time spent as stand in faculty and those wonderful midnight trips to Sinhagad.

[TheARUN]

Rest in peace Sir. We are losing so many of them so soon, after Mr. Dhabar this is the second shock. I grew up reading your reviews and there were very few who could write them like you back then.

[indigo74]

He had accepted my request to test UM commando bike to be launched soon.I was so waiting for it.Alas..
May his soul rest in peace. ओम शांती ।

[anjan_c2007]

Mr Dilip Bam's death at age 69 is not just a shock, but an irrepairable loss to the automobile fraternity and for all the readers who were always giggling and enriching their knowledge , after reading his witty reviews.

I have been reading the oldest issues of the Indian Auto Journal (IAJ) since mid 1987 (when it was launched) , Car and Bike International and later Auto India. When Maruti launched the 800 (SB 308) in 1986, he wrote a review in the IAJ saying that when he was recently working in Singapore, his maid used to drive one to work. He said that we are renaming the same car after Hanumanji and that this will target premium buyers here (not the exact words but he meant something like this). The floor gear he rightly described as a joystick that obeys your commands. Must have got relief after engaging gears of the Premiers and Ambassadors. I bought myself a Maruti 800 soon after that is still with me. Thanks Dilipji.

I have preserved each issue and his reviews read at times provide information, honest, unbiased views and reveal his excellent understanding of the subject matter. One can never hide his or her smile while reading his reviews.

He maintained this wit till the very end. When we say these days that life begins at 80, its really sad that we lost this great man so early in life.

I will fish out more and more of his reviews and post excerpts in the Dilip Bam thread, that we had created here long back. He must have read all the posts there.

[manishalive]

RIP Dilip Bam, he was the guy I grew up reading to (along with others), sad news really. He was unquestionably the best, his way of writing was out of this world. May God give strength to his family.

[mallumowgli]

Sorry to hear this. Was a fan of his writings from my school days - his cylinder test for scooters, his disdain for the new variomatic transmissions, and general 'give a two hoots to political correctness' style of writing...will miss them

RIP

[splitinfinitive]

I had met him many years ago at an alumni meet - absolute rockstar! Talked to him about his epic trek across the Sahara on a Kinetic Honda and mentioned how I wished I could do something like that - in inimitable style he says: "let's go now - am not doing much!" :-) Happy travels on the long highway in the sky, Mr Bam!

[GTO]

A story-teller par excellence! On crossing the Sahara desert with Kinetic Hondas.

Made my Sunday morning....

In 1992, we had no internet, no GPS, no mobile phones.

In 1892 (actually 1492), Columbus only had a compass.

In 1992, we only had a compass.

I was made to sign a declaration on a 100 rupee stamp paper that if anyone came to kidnap us, I agree to be the first hostage.

Board says "You are now entering the Great South".

Next point is, "please do NOT enter".

Watch the incident @ 17:25. You'll fall on the floor!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r00VxhjXNr0