Pure Musical Beats

I got the bike back from Dilip after he tuned it at 1000 km or so. The beat is like pure sweet music now. My bike has never sounded so sweet. That clanking sound is completely gone now. The gear shift is smooth like never before. The bike rides like a charm.
I couldn't meet Dilip when I went to take delivery of the bike. Wanted to find out if he changed the engine oil. The gears are shifting like knife through butter. But I wonder if it is perfect tuning of the clutch wire or new engine oil.
The rear view mirror it seems was a good investment. They cover a much wider area and are freely adjustable.
Dilip has also added the lights on my dashboard. The dials are now illuminated but it puts strain on the battery when you blow the horn with all the lights turned on. That's marginal only though.

Two Hours of Pure Bliss

Last Saturday - June 9, 2012 - I went out alone for a long ride. I am getting the bike to break in slowly after the engine overhaul and this ride was a part of that process. I had gone on a 65 km ride with Monisha the previous Sunday - basically rode upto the airport and back. Today I wanted to push the bike a little further. I wasn't very sure about any destination. So instinctively I followed the previous Sunday's path and reached as far as the airport. Here I thought let me cross the Ganga at Nivedita Setu and come back via Vidyasagar Setu after riding along NH6.

After touching the forehead and chest with my finger and remembering my departed father (who I feel is always protecting me from somewhere above) I turned towards the Belghoria Expressway. On this road there comes a point where it bifurcates into two. One goes towards the new bridge - this is the tollway - the other goes towards the old Bally Bridge which is toll free. I turned towards the toll way. It's a marvellous eight-laned road (4 + 4). 

But soon after going a few hundred meters there is a notice on the left hand side - No Entry For 2 and 3 Wheelers. This is announced in such a place that you can do nothing but turn around and go against the traffic flow. I saw a lane coming in from the Dakshineswar side and there was a traffic guard kind of person in uniform waving at me. I went close to him and they (there were two more people there) said, in a very friendly tone though, that no you cannot go to the new bridge. You have to go back and take the old bridge. But the question is how? 

They said go along this road - and showed me the road towards Dakshineswar via the wrong side. I was hesitating a bit. They asked one of their men to accompany me, as he was actually waiting to go where I was going. I took him on my pillion and we crossed the old Bally Bridge comfortably. 

After this I took the NH6 going left towards Kharagpur. From here I know the route like the back of my palm. Soon enough I came to Kona from where I turned left towards Vidyasagar Setu or 2nd Hooghly Bridge. And then came home via Sharma's kachori joint in Bhawanipore. A total of 78 km in two hours. From home to Bhawanipore was a non-stop journey. I am slightly surprised that the home-airport-home distance was 65 and this journey was only 13 km more. I would have thought that would be a lot more. But anyway.

Needless to say I am happy with the performance of the bike. Later on Saturday I bought a pair of rear view mirrors from the Bullet spares shop on AJC Bose Road for Rs 430. Actually Monisha and I had gone to her bank and then Tata Capital to make some prepayments towards our home loan. That's when I bought the mirrors.

Today, that is Monday 11th June 2012, I gave the bike to Dilip for him to do the needful that he had promised he would do on completion of 1000 km. I also gave him the mirrors for fixing. I want him to mainly fix the clanking sound that is coming from the engine. Today I had to come by car in any case. So took this opportunity. 

A Comedy of Errors

This morning I started the bike for going to the Lake. By the time I came to the left hand side of the bike, it stalled. I had to start again. Later in the day at around lunch time I went to Khalil-da to take him to Minku's for my tyre change. Khalilda couldn't go as he had a couple of customers. I went alone to Minku. But the bike gave problem while starting. It started all right but stalled again. I had to restart the bike.

Next stop was Minku's where I couldn't find the MRF. I went to Ghai Motors to buy my spare clutch and accelerator wires. Starting there became a problem once again. But it finally started. However, ultimately it stalled near India Trading on Lee  Road. And now it would just not start. I had to walk the bike upto the office. Sweating profusely.

In the evening the bike started once again inside the garage. By the time I reached the road it stalled again and wouldn't start. I quietly walked it back to the office and went home by Metro. Met Monisha near the auto stand. Gave her my bag and went straight to Dilip who, luckily enough, was there.

Dilip sounded a bit puzzled as to why such a thing happened. He took a new spark plug and came out with his bike. The two of us went to office. The first thing Dilip did was to check the fuel. He pulled the pipe out and turned the knob to ON position. There was no oil !!!

I felt like a complete idiot. He turned the knob to RESERVE and the bike started. Half kick in fact. I have never felt like such a big idiot in life. I have ridden a total of close to a lakh kilometer on two wheelers at least. I have never been fooled thus. Filled in 12 litres of petrol right away and went home dig dig dig dig.

Rear Shocks

Today I got two Armstrong shock absorbers for the rear from Ghai Motors. They charged Rs 980 for the two. The sticker price for each is Rs 550. Gave the bike and the shocks to Dilip. Will be going to Haldia tomorrow so he can fit them.

June 1, 2012 - Odo 24430 km

It's 9.40 pm now. Came back from Haldia at around 7 pm. Just rode the Bullet back home from Dilip's with the new shocks. They are superb. It's a tremendous improvement over what I had for so many years. Dilip said those old shocks were really dead long time ago. I wonder how much more comfortable ride the Endurance gas filled ones make.

Dilip made a few other changes too. The yoke of the left hand clutch lever has been replaced with a new one (bought yesterday from Ghai for Rs 40). A new round rear view mirror has been fitted (bought from Ghai at Rs 40 - it's very shoddy quality though. Good ones aren't available). Till the other day, the left hand mirror was a Bajaj Pulsar type - slightly oval shaped. So I bought the new round one from Ghai. Trying to take out the old mirror the yoke broke !!!

I got the third class side stand thrown away too. I always had a good side stand. Got Dilip to fit it today.  Dilip feels it's not good enough either. But for me it serves the purpose. 

Dilip also rearranged the clutch wire properly. It was touching the hot engine and the plastic casing was melting away slowly. Now it's falling in a proper way with adequate clearing between the wire and the engine.

For safety's sake will have to get a set of clutch and accelerator wires and keep them in the tool box. Will also get a spare tube and keep it somewhere for longer rides.

Tomorrow I intend to change the rear tyre. Once I cross 1000 km I shall change the engine oil and Dilip has said he will get the clanking sound killed. 

One point worth mentioning here. The Armstrong shocks are now being manufactured and marketed by Tenneco in India. Not Gabriel anymore. I wonder why it is so. They own the brand globally. I wonder why Gabriel owned the brand in India so far. Will have to probe these angles.

Sports Shoes

I remember the first pair of sports shoes I had seen on my friends' feet in school. North Star from Bata. Pradipta Dutta in our class had a pair of them. Deep blue and yellow. They looked lovely and extremely desirable. Debasish Nag - one class junior to us - also had a pair. His was green and yellow. That wasn't as nice but the brand was just as desirable. I think this was in class eight or nine.

The Asics Gel - best pair of sports shoes I have ever worn

I wanted to own a pair of those. The deep blue ones perhaps. But the price was prohibitive. I think Rs 80 for a pair. It was really high for a pair of sports shoes. My father's annual budget on my shoes was Rs 30. So it remained a dream. A dream till some years later I bought a pair of sports shoes. Probably with my own money earned from giving tuitions to younger boys. It was a pair of grey Power Jogger. I remember buying them from Bata Lake Market and I came home floating in them.

The memory of that first walk in the first pair of sports shoes is really dear to me. I came home with a new bounce. Ever since I have bought many pairs of sports shoes of all brands available in India but none gave that feeling of the first walk.

A very good pair of Asics (Size 42.5) - sent by Chenka from England

Something similar happened when I changed from Indian tyres to four Michelins in my car. It gave me the same kind of floating feeling.

My fetish for sports shoes brands started with Lotto. I had a pair of white ones and subsequently bought many. Rajiv Gandhi made them famous after his assassination. I have owned Adidas, Nike and Reebok. In 2010 I ended up buying two pairs of Asics. The red Asics is by far the best pair of sports shoes I have ever worn. In terms of fit, comfort and support.

Euro Size 42 - they fit me the snuggest

Maa, Mati, Manush

Last Saturday I had gone to Welington Square to enquire about a part for my Bullet. I was coming back down Dharmatolla Street (I think its current official name is Lenin Sarani) to take the metro from Chandni when something caught my eye. A street side vendor selling old Gramophone records. The LP record which caught my fancy was of SD Barman. Dur Kon Porobashe. It had a lovely black and white photograph of SD on the cover. I asked the price and he said Rs 80. I had made up my mind to buy it. The seller showed me another LP of SD which I also decided to buy.

After this I squatted down to flip through his collection when this blue LP caught my attention. Maa, Mati, Manush. A double LP album. There was no further questioning. I bought the album. It cost me a total of Rs 250.

The Album Cover

Did I (really) Do It?

The moment we entered their territory they started asking this question. Did you do it? Did you do it? I told them several times and yet they wouldn't be convinced. They kept on repeating the question. Did you do it? And what aggression. They were coming very close to us. Almost ready to strike.

We were two of us Suman and I. They were also just two of them. Vociferously guarding their nesting site. We were walking along a partition between two large but shallow fisheries ponds. They thought we were going to raid their nest which must have been somewhere close by. We were going in search of the common shelducks. And the moment we turned a bend their calls stopped.

The same vociferous defence of their nesting site resumed when we came back down the same narrow path. But we could not help it as it was the only available path. I did record the call and of course took a few photographs also. But we didn't do it.