[TorqueyTechie]

What's with the dudes on KTM bikes and rash driving! I should not generalize about the KTM riders but what I have seen (and I do have seen many) is that most of the people do drive crazily atleast in Bangalore. I think it has to do with the racing stance of the bike and the bike being nimble in traffic.

Today one dude riding the 125 cc (??) variant drives zig zag manner and keeps trying to squeeze in any of the smallest gaps. So I was waiting neat the Koramangala water tank signal and this guy driving rather fast hits the brake hard and comes to a sudden stop very close to my car. And then seeing that there is a small gap between the TT and my car tries to squeeze in. At this right moment the signal is green and TT starts moving forward which makes this person try to move towards my car and in the resulting in him losing balance and the gear level ( I think) hitting my car. Before I could even react he just zips away as soon as possible.

Since I could not do anything, I drove to office and then get down to see what had happened. There is a big dent on the rear left side door now. I am so angry that I could not even stop the fellow. I was cursing him for close to 5 mins I guess.

There goes my rant for the day! Sorry for the long post.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

What's with the dudes on KTM bikes and rash driving! I should not generalize about the KTM riders but what I have seen (and I do have seen many) is that most of the people do drive crazily atleast in Bangalore.

I think its safe to generalize this tribe of KTM Duke riders, 101% of them (and yes I've seen dozens if not hundreds) ride like they are on methamphetamine. That bike has to be abolished, period. 2nd on the list comes Honda Dio riders, well actually they are just as bad.. today I saw one with strobe-lights on the front (he should be arrested immediately for this) and zig-zagging helmetless without a care in the world. Third on the list are the Enfield Bullet guys (not all but yeah a few).

Having tints in cars is illegal, not renewing the emission certificate every 6 months is illegal, but somehow getting strobes installed on the front of bikes, high-decibel horns, helmetless riding etc are all fine. Great priorities the traffic police have. Way to go!

[tharian]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I think its safe to generalize this tribe of KTM Duke riders, 101% of them (and yes I've seen dozens if not hundreds) ride like they are on methamphetamine. That bike has to be abolished, period.

I wouldn't say it is the bike. It is maturity of the rider rather.

When people can break rules as you mentioned in all possible ways, another easiest way to do so is by riding rashly when you know you have a bike that is powerful and capable.
I know how it feels since I use a D390 once a while and the urge to open and leave the traffic behind is immense. One needs to be patient and mature enough to handle a high powered bike and that is what is missing , not the bikes fault

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Third on the list are the Enfield Bullet guys (not all but yeah a few).

Hmm. Having a Thunderbird, it seems to me that bullets are usually sanely driven. Not just me but its harder to squeeze in bullets compared to other bikes.

Perhaps a bullet is more audible and that's why you feel so?

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

Hmm. Having a Thunderbird, it seems to me that bullets are usually sanely driven. Not just me but its harder to squeeze in bullets compared to other bikes.

Perhaps a bullet is more audible and that's why you feel so?

I agree the overwhelming majority are sanely driven. However, there is a particular sub-group who have suddenly graduated to a Bullet from much smaller and nimble bikes, and simply don't know the graceful method of riding a Bullet. They still ride it like a RX100 and that causes the issues I feel.

I mean, come on - its a stunning, graceful and (now very powerful) bike which needs almost a M800 footprint if fitted with the huge knee guards etc.

If a newbie twit rides it like a 100cc bike, then other road users are sure to face the brunt of it.

[audioholic]

Add me to the list of those who are seriously annoyed by KTMs. The riders think they are God and nothing comes in their way. Once this guy on the Duke tried through a gap near ecospace and finally when it was my car for him next he took me by my right though I was in the right most lane and traffic was not so fast moving for him to have overtaken me and zipped to glory. Though there was space between me and the parapet wall of the flyover for him to pass, there are heaps of mud left at the sides after sweeping the flyover which hindered his progress. Then the hero decides the heaps are no obstacles tries to go on one which leads to him slipping and his front tyre brushing my rear bumper I guess. Took him to task and asked him what was the hurry in life. As usual he wanted to pass through since there was a gap. Then I gently told him if he did that and I had to pull my car to right for any emergency, he would be off the flyover and up above the clouds to heaven, while I would be sitting inside the car with a few scratches to my car and worst case legal proceedings. He then went silent and stayed behind me until the end of the jam after which I took the middle lane and let himpass, albeit he was riding a little sanely this time.

OTOH, I must say that the Enfield riders that I come across on my way to office are very well behaved. They wear sufficient gear and helmets, keep a constant pace and mind their business, thumping away. Its only in skme narrow bylanes that we find one or two bullets being driven rashly. But majority of the working crowd is at least very well disciplined.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by tharian

I know how it feels since I use a D390 once a while and the urge to open and leave the traffic behind is immense. One needs to be patient and mature enough to handle a high powered bike and that is what is missing , not the bikes fault

Of course, I know all too well that no vehicle per se, is at fault.. its always the handler of the vehicle. As you mentioned, I was referring to the temptation of over-speeding by reckless, thoughtless beings which scare me and the only viable solution here is to not make such high powered vehicles available for purchase. Short of that reckless riders must have their licenses seized and suspended for a minimum of a year per violation but well utopian dreams are not quite practical for this age.

Originally Posted by deep_bang

Hmm. Having a Thunderbird, it seems to me that bullets are usually sanely driven. Not just me but its harder to squeeze in bullets compared to other bikes.

Perhaps a bullet is more audible and that's why you feel so?

Yep you are correct.. and you have answered the question yourself too. No, it has nothing to do with the noise the bikes make, its the sheer size of them and the riders still zig-zag in stationary traffic like they are TVS mopeds, I had 2 of them bump into my car due to careless handling on the riders part (in red signals) luckily the Bullet that grazed the side due to its 100-feet wide knee protector grazed the rubber cladding and nothing happened, another bumped into the back.. both under the helm of extremely callous indifferent riders. They do the same when in motion, cutting in suddenly like they're driving a car, maybe the heft of the bike makes them feel all-powerful? No offense to owners of Enfield though, as I know that this is purely a rider fault. Each vehicle requires different care and attention but unfortunately we have motorists with despotic tendencies and there is no fix for that.

[binand]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

What's with the dudes on KTM bikes and rash driving! I should not generalize about the KTM riders [...]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I think its safe to generalize this tribe of KTM Duke riders [...] ride like they are on methamphetamine.

Originally Posted by tharian

I wouldn't say it is the bike. It is maturity of the rider rather.

I also agree that if it is a KTM bike, chances are good that it'd be driven rashly. And notwithstanding the point about generalization I think we have the cause-effect backwards; it is just that KTM is the first choice of immature people with a streak of rashness in them.

[chandrda]

Add me to the List. I wouldn't say all but many of them do ride KTM bikes rather very rashly and with little or no regards of fellow drivers/Riders. I agree that KTM is very nimble, has good balance and control. But not sure why everyone tries to be Rossi on KTM.

Another two wheeler which gets me mad is TVS 50 XL Plus..

Can I file a PIL to immediately ban this moped. But I know a lot of people depend on it for the livelihood.

OT: Yesterday, I was stuck on the flyover on the ring road opposite to IBIS Hotel just before Ecospace going towards Silkboard. I must have been on the top of the flyover for over 10 mins. The flyover was shaking and oscillating continuous even though the traffic was standstill. I know flyover are built to observer shock and vibrations of heavy vehicle and are designed to move a bit. But is this kind of vibrations normal.

Regards

[etrast75]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

What's with the dudes on KTM bikes and rash driving! I should not generalize about the KTM riders but what I have seen (and I do have seen many) is that most of the people do drive crazily atleast in Bangalore.

If I see something orange and moving when I a driving, my attention antenna goes up immediately and I make sure that it moves out of my eyesight and away from my car before I try to change lanes or turn.
I have seen these things being driven at 100 kmph in city roads and over 140 kmph on highways. Someone needs to tell these guys that they do not have the power to wake up from dead if they are involved in an accident.
We, as a society, have a long way to go in learning how to be responsible for self and considerate to others on our poorly designed, traffic infested roads. But alas, more young people are earning more money and now the first thing they are attracted towards are fast bikes. Nothing wrong with that but most of them have no idea how to ride them responsibly.
When I was in the US, the saying was that you had a death wish if you bought a sports bike and rode it on the freeways because every single accident involving a bike resulted in life altering injuries or death. Sadly, the same is slowly creeping into big cities like bangalore even though we do not drive at speeds anywhere close to the US roads.
Just walk in to any of the campuses of the umpteen colleges around bangalore and you can hear at least 10 stories of students who have been seriously injured or dead driving these high powered bikes in the recent past.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by chandrda

Add me to the List. I wouldn't say all but many of them do ride KTM bikes rather very rashly and with little or no regards of fellow drivers/Riders. I agree that KTM is very nimble, has good balance and control. But not sure why everyone tries to be Rossi on KTM.

Agree, the KTM is very nimble and fast. I ride a Pulsar 200NS which uses a very similar engine and power and torque. The NS itself can be very fast. The KTM 200 is lighter (uses a lot of aluminium bits) has a short gearing and has a power to weight ratio of 186 bhp/ton. It is very affordable too. Which is why we see so many on the roads.

As the saying goes: "With great power comes great responsibility" , which is unfortunately lacking in a lot of people buying powerful bikes. And this trend is going to increase with more and more powerful yet affordable bikes coming out.

Originally Posted by chandrda

Another two wheeler which gets me mad is TVS 50 XL Plus..

Can I file a PIL to immediately ban this moped. But I know a lot of people depend on it for the livelihood.

Unlikely, it is still the 5th or 6th best selling 2 wheeler in India and moves 50,000+ units every month.

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I think its safe to generalize this tribe of KTM Duke riders, 101% of them (and yes I've seen dozens if not hundreds) ride like they are on methamphetamine. That bike has to be abolished, period. 2nd on the list comes Honda Dio riders, well actually they are just as bad.. today I saw one with strobe-lights on the front (he should be arrested immediately for this) and zig-zagging helmetless without a care in the world. Third on the list are the Enfield Bullet guys (not all but yeah a few).

Wow, you should be given an award for this and be allowed to contest in the next elections!!! I'm sure you'll come up with an interesting manifesto there as well.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Having tints in cars is illegal, not renewing the emission certificate every 6 months is illegal, but somehow getting strobes installed on the front of bikes, high-decibel horns, helmetless riding etc are all fine. Great priorities the traffic police have. Way to go!

Yea right! Like all the drivers drive without tints and renew the emission certificates every 6 months! Dude, do not make this a car vs bike duel. Bad drivers can be found on both 2 and 4 wheels in every nook and corner of this world. Generalizing statements based on the hundred idiots you've seen on roads makes the other thousands who ride with proper gear and follow traffic rules, look bad. As a biker myself who tries to ride better everyday, I feel its not fair to generalize and borders towards intolerance (since this word has been doing the rounds in our country lately! )
I hope you and I can make efforts to spread traffic awareness rather than sit in our comfortable chair and make these baseless statements.

PS: No intentions to offend you mate. Peace.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

As you mentioned, I was referring to the temptation of over-speeding by reckless, thoughtless beings which scare me and the only viable solution here is to not make such high powered vehicles available for purchase.

Slow clap. And here I was wondering why the politicians are ready to ban anything and everything at the drop of a hat and now we have one more ban to add to the list. Sure, let us all ban powerful bike and while we are at it, why spare powerful cars? There are many cases where high speed cars have caused accident and death, so let us ban them all. In fact, let us ban anything which can go above 100 kmph and be done with it.

From the general mood of the last few posts on this page, it seems like KTM riders are the bane of roads and is a special breed waiting to unleash chaos and destruction among the sanely, peacefully driven traffic in India. I do agree that a part of people who ride KTM do ride rash (A bike is always ridden, never driven) - but I have seen lot of people riding equally harsh on many other bikes. There are equally (or dare I say, more dangerously) driven Tempo Travelers and Buses (Especially those run by Infant and leased to Samsung), there are equally rashly driven cars and auto rickshaws, so let us not go to extremes and generalize that 101% KTM riders are rash ( As the British Philosopher Jeremy Bentham said: "Hasty generalization, the bane of prudence and of science" ). Let us refrain from making this a car vs bike issue - there are equally guilty parties on both sides.

Even if 100% of the KTM riders you encounter on road are rash, that do not give any one the power to generalize that KTM riders are rash - there are more than a few exceptions among us Team-BHP-ians here itself.

--Anoop

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by chandrda

OT: Yesterday, I was stuck on the flyover on the ring road opposite to IBIS Hotel just before Ecospace going towards Silkboard. I must have been on the top of the flyover for over 10 mins. The flyover was shaking and oscillating continuous even though the traffic was standstill.

I am actually relieved to hear this. Day before yesterday I felt this and initially I thought that either something was wrong with me or there was something happening outside. For around five minutes I did not know how to react. Whenever I stopped, the car used to literally shake like as if someone was doing it from outside. Yesterday I did not experience this. At first I thought it was some kind of a tremor, but later I see people around me driving as if nothing has happened.

When I went home, I read that the bridge spans lie on the pillars with a spring in between. Maybe as vehicles move from span to span, the difference in weight causes this oscillation. But it was definitely something shocking for an experience.

[TorqueyTechie]

Wow guys , I did not think that my rant would end up in creating such a debate. Folks let me be very clear here. I do not have any bad feelings towards bikers infact I am more of a biker as well just that I do not ride so much because of my bad back. My rant is against those two wheeler's who think that they own the road and can drive however they want and wherever they want without thinking about the inconvenience they cause to others on the road (which may be in fact for other two wheeler riders as well). Lets not go into banning or any such! Atleast let few of us try to make a change by driving/riding safe.

Anyways here are couple of pictures to show the damage done to my car yesterday. Trust me felt very bad clicking it today morning!

Apologies for the not so great pictures. Had to do with the camera angle.