The day had finally come when my dad nodded yes to buy a bike for me. That day was my 20th birthday. But I had to wait for about a month to actually lay my hands on a bike as there was a lot of homework to do on which bike to buy. Would it blend with me well? Is it within my budget? etc. My budget was around 70k. Not a penny more for a bike, said my dad… Even if I myself would have saved any! he he 🙂
I began my quest for the best bike for me by asking friends, visiting the showrooms of every company. One by one I went- Honda, Bajaj, Hero Honda, Yamaha and TVS. I had by then come across BikeAdvice.in and also reviewed the valuable comments of experts on what to choose. Karizma had always 85k+ was something way off. Finally I had shortlisted the Pulsar180, Unicorn, CBZ Extreme.
Unicorn had too refined an engine for a 20 something guy and a stunner did not give me the adrenaline rush I needed. Least on my mind was the Apache RTR 160 due to various reasons like bad service, vibrations etc. But everything changed once I laid my hands on one of my friends RTR 160 carb version. It had done about 8000km. It had everything that i needed- Perfect handling, Instant pick-up, could easily do 95 in a jiffy. It was a short ride, so couldn’t test it more.
But I could easily see that the bike was ready to give me more if I asked for it. It really gave me a rush no other than Karizma or Pulsar 180 could give. But there was something special about the RTR 160 which made me fall in love with it the very first time I rode it…. So my decision was taken. Vibes or no vibes. Taking good care of a bike is what matters to remove its faults and keep it healthy. Not just the new bike ‘JOSH’ of taking care will do. Any bike needs care as time moves on. Oh sorry. Back to the point. I did not opt for Apache RTR Fi as it was rather new and still needed the time for corrections.
It was almost a month after my dad’s approval, and the day i was gonna buy the bike. Excitement was at its fullest. Just couldn’t wait. But was going only in the evening to the showroom as I had to go to college. Anyways, the waiting was sweet. To add to the waiting the traffic on the way to the showroom. My parents were already there and I was late. Can you believe that! Finally i reached the place.
The colour I had chosen was a Titanium Grey one. I had spoken to the showroom guy on the phone and he said it was available. It took an hour for all the processing and to get the delivery of my new beast. Shimmering in the showroom lights and the lights from the street, it was finally brought from the cellar to the delivery point. On the first look itself the bike was seemingly saying “Hey there…. Ready to rev?”
But I shouldn’t cross 50 for the first 1000km. Damn…. But I had to wait. It was then taken to a famous Hanuman temple and the pooja had been done. Just couldn’t wait to flaunt it in front of my friends. When they did see me, their eyes popped out and they went green. Raw power that’s all can be said. Now the bike has done about 5200 km, and I still love it the same. I did a max of 127 kmph (that’s was the speedo shows) Maybe an actual speed of 120-122. 0-60 timer on the console still displays my record of 4.7 secs. I did that when I completed about 1500 km.
I never repented buying it. Perfect. Just take good care of it, and it gives it all back to you. Enjoy every bit of it. Also an excellent bike for highway cruising. APACHE RTR 160… Its really “NOW OR NEVER”
– Anand
The day we buy our new bike is always a special occasion. Why don’t you share your experience of choosing and buying the right bike with the readers of BikeAdvice? Afterall, it is a big community here! Ok, now go and Submit Your Bike Story 🙂
