The auto journalist in me awakens!

Here is a write up I posted on www.xBhp.com 20/11/2006.
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Wine & Whiskey - The Bull & The Comet : The unusual cocktail!

I, The DONKEY that is, own two of the highest capacity bikes that can be (could have been) purchased legally in India. And they are as different in character as wine and whiskey could be! The intention is to pen the riding and owning experience of these two very different bikes. Its not meant to be a comparo cause it doesnt make sense to. Can you compare a slow, mellow, fragrant wine that grows on you as you sip more and more to a shot of cold, strong whiskey that gives you an instant high?

The Comet - The King Still Rules!

Lets begin with the Comet cause its a set of wheels thats very very close to my heart. After riding borrowed bikes for all my life but dreaming of owning really fast one myself all the time, I finally had arrived in my own sense! I had the money to go buy something that was faster than most of the things on two wheels available in India but at the same time keep a beginer like me from going down.

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That Bike is instant gratification! From the looks to the ride. Just look at it standing still in the screaming yellow I have. You can surely spend a few minutes just taking it all in staring at it. Another few going around it to check the curves. And that too day after day after day! I don't seem to get bored of admiring it! Its the next best thing to having a girlfriend. I know some would disagree cause for them its better than having a girlfriend! The sculpted fuel tank, the aluminium frame, the low seating, the raised rear with fat 180 section tyre! It all just flows in one nice swoop.

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Some people dont like the instrument pods. I know its not enough when you pay 2lacs of your hard earned money but I wouldn't bother. Its not bad except for that fuel gauge that makes you refuel every now and than cause its so off the mark that you are scared to be dead in the middle of the road in Pune with no fuel even to move out of the screaming traffic behind you! Now arguing whether it looks best in red, black or yellow is like arguing about who make the best girl friends - mexican, spanish or indian girls! It is still the Bike with THE road presence, what ever colour.
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Lets get down to the bang you spent the buck for - the performance! Wring the throttle and it pulls away. No! You dont hear any roars if thats what you are expecting. Its like a hot knife slicing through the butter. All you hear of the clean slice is a sizzle! Do you get scared? Hardly if you have been riding Pulsars or ZMA's. Such is the confidence you get after the first few rides! No surprise wheelies but just loads of smiles on your face.

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Its got enough power to keep you ahead of the pack of ZMA's and Pulsar's in the city. The engine is stress free and you practically stop caring about gear shifts after riding it for a few months. It really doesnt matter if you are in 3rd, 4th or 5th. The riding position is just perfect. Sporty with the foot pegs way behind what we are normally used to. The handle bars just wide enough to get a perfect grip. And you are seating not on but 'in' the Bike making use of the legs to grip the tank to give you that push you need to steer the bike. The golden 'inverted' front shocks that looks so good do the job just as well. The rear is adjustable but I couldn't figure out how to? Its a bit soft in stock set up and as soon as a pillon hops on, its twice the weight and half the fun! Plus the pillion's got no place to hold on to except the rider's shoulders! Pretty scary right? So its not a very practical Bike for two. But ride it alone and its just what the doctor ordered to cure the commuter-syndrome. Take it to school, college, work or just for a spin. Traffic or no traffic! Its a bit heavy but one feels the weight only in case of an absolute U-turn. Even that is something we get used to. Besides people leave you all the room to make that turn, such is the respect!

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Take it on the highways and it gets into its own elements. Open straight stretch of roads is where you will hear it roar (well its still not a lion!). But hit 5.5k rpm and it just goes down a blip! Like its missed a heartbeat at 80kmph before the heart resumes pumping. It runs out of breath at 10k rpm (on the tacho!) and shade over 140kmph (on speedo!). And by breath I mean more top speed cause it just stops responding to any more twists of the throttle but isn't really choking. Plus the climb from 110 to 140 is pretty slow with 125 to 140 being an agony! But thats cause you have climbed through the 2 digits so fast and you are expecting it to go on and on! So now can you really keep it at 140 on and on and on in India? Since you really can't, its more than enough of that wind-blows-away-my-hair feeling. But again, Warning Warning! Though the Bike can stay at such speeds for ever, it wont really stop in a hurry! Brakes are the biggest let down and there is nothing you can do to fix it. You will need to ensure you have enough braking distance even after you hit the brakes full on! But don't you worry when you do that. I've done that a plenty of times almost sitting on the tank and the Bike never gets its tail out of the line. (Well I wasn't testing the brakes, just trying to avoid hitting into a board screaming out DIVERSION!)

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Talk of cornering and its just about there. Well i'm no expert like a few on xBhp are but if you are sitting way up there on the bike, its prolly scary anyways. Its got good grip (except in rains when the tyre spins at a small blip of the throttle while taking a turn and the tyre spins), pretty light steering but I could'nt scrape the pegs really. Probably cause even though you are sitting low in the Bike I felt i was still too high up from the ground! Plus that bulk of the tank that pans out in front gives me scares when I corner!
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But can you take it touring? Errr...Not really. Why? Cause :
1. Where is the luggage to be tied? You dont get saddle bags for it yet (Cramster doesnt have them for the Comet)
2. If you do get them, it simply makes a mess of the bikes handling since its so high up from the engine!
3. Spares? Hah! You are kidding me if you intend to load them with your luggage. Cause you gotta find them first right?
4. If you encounter bad roads, your done in. The Bike isnt meant for any off-roading. Not even the beginers-under-5yrs course!
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So what is it good for besides the big snob value? It is (or was?) absolutely the best Bike available to get used to the feeling of riding a 'BIG'ger bike. Its the perfect set of wheels that can be pushed hard on every single ride you go on without getting scared outta your pants. And it doesnt cost a bomb to keep if not abused (My total expenses since August'05 being Rs.1750/- for two sets of brake pads, some Rs.1000/- for oil changes & servicing.)
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Verdict on the good -- Ride it on the highways for a one-day-outing and you will return grinning ear-to-ear!
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The biggest pain? Maintenance & endless wait for spares that cost the moon! And since spares are as rare as spotting a law-abiding-2-wheeling-commuter in pune, you tend to be cautious about pushing the Bike too hard. Sometimes you end up being so over protective that it can spoil the fun. Guess thats for any 'imported' bike!
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Verdict on the bad -- Bring it down and it will be standing in your parking lot for months. Bring it down hard and you will mostly wish that it was totalled cause fixing it will pretty much burn you wallet and not just burn a hole in it!
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And we should'nt really be talking of mileage here but for the more inquisitive ones, 22-25kmpl in the city and 32kmpl on the highway. So at 27hp, 140ish (on odo), great handling, good looks, it still rules! Atleast my heart!
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To be continued...