Living with a used Yamaha R1: 2 years & 29,000 km

I'd be lying if I said it's been all roses and rainbows all along, it hasn't, it's been a mixed bag

BHPian krishnaprasadgg recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This week rolled out and it marked 2 years since I brought the R1 home. 4th Jan to be precise. Was not able to ride the bike on the 4th so waited till Sunday to take her out for a special ride, well there was nothing special about the ride, to be honest, it was the same usual route itself that I have at my disposal but what made it a bit more special was that the odometer rolled to 29,000 km. Pics from today's ride are scattered along with the post.

I took delivery of the bike with 20,759 km on the odometer. As of today, I am just shy of 9k km with her, wish I could have ridden more but we all know what a terrible 2 years it has been in general so let's not get into it again.

I'd be lying if I said it's been all roses and rainbows all along, it hasn't, it's been a mixed bag of ups and downs, the roller coaster kind nonetheless.

There have been days where I was super frustrated with the bike, even contemplated if I should sell the bike or not because of the lack of usage during all the lockdowns or not being to take the bike for a ride because of the bad road conditions here, but there have also been days where it still feels like a dream and feels surreal that I actually own this beauty and engineering marvel.

I have had a few niggles along the way too, regular readers will know as it has all been documented in detail here, but ended up loving the bike even more when I got the satisfaction of working on the bike and fixing it myself with the help of friends.

Met up with some riding buddies from Cochin at my destination point (Thrissur). Had some chit chat and I started back home.

Got to go on some epic rides and some not-so-pleasant ones too in the deadly heatwaves we have had here last two years, also in the opposite spectrum of being drenched to the bone. Many many instances of cursing at myself under the helmet at my decision-making skill or lack of rather while being stuck in terrible traffic but then redemption almost immediately as the traffic eases up.

Many instances of just plainly indulging strangers on the road be it while stopped along the road or stopping the bike for some truly enthusiastic (in all the right way) people so that they can have a lasting experience getting a touch and feel of the bike (this hits home at a different level because once I was in their position too, just that I never had the courage to ask any of the people I saw before, was just content staring at the bikes).

From being super impressed with the availability of the spare parts in the first year of ownership to being utterly pissed and disappointed at Yamaha India (still am) the second year and ongoing, ended up openly recommending getting a Yamaha big bike to others to recommending them never to do it now if they are not ready to deal with all the headache.

Lastly but not least, to be able to share this beautiful machine with some of my closest friends, it's been one big roller coaster ride, hoping to have many many more in the coming years. I've said it before and I'll say it again, she's a keeper and will stay with me for as long as it's possible.

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