Came the Tides of March and with it came the call for the Vintage & Classic Auto Expo at NITK, Surathkal, courtesy Zahin!
Thought it would be similar to last year, where we had to cope up with the dust on the open grounds and the blazing sun that tanned our hides properly. Hence was in two minds but since Zahin asked me to join in, I decided to - this time though with a change. I wouldn't be taking either of my old bikes there. Instead I would be taking the grand daddy of them all - the '72 Jawa all in its original splendor! My friend, Arun had been talking to me about me taking out his bikes for runs regularly, since he barely finds the time to do it and just the other day, I was honoured to take out his '96 Roadking, one of the last models to actually roll out of the Mysore factory, before the plant shut down.
So, the 3rd March flew in and Arun was very very happy about me taking his Jawa for the show. Went to his place almost 45 mins before our appointed meet up time and fired up the Jawa. With Arun's blessings and much apprehension (don't know for whom it was more - for him maybe since he has always babied the bike, rarely rode it above 40 kmph and only took it in and around the city and he never give it to anyone else to ride - or was it for me, as I have never taken any vehicle that old in my own hands, excluding Girish's '68 Army Willys Jeep at the last expo. And that too, this was going out of the city almost 10 kms away, out on the open highway!) Just outside his gate, I realized horror of horrors, the front brakes had absolutely no effect and for the rear, I had to literally stomp on the pedal to slow down, reminding me of the Tata buses brake pedals!!!
Well, I said I'll do it and I was not turning back. I gingerly eased the bike out into the traffic. It was really agile and on the move, with the low handlebars, handling it around turns was a dream! The engine throbbed below, the muted roars significant to regular Jawas & Yezdis, well captured by the silencers and end caps. Best is people on the road and in the vehicles started to notice me, or rather the bike!
Came up to Lower Bendurewell circle and took the turn and immediately heard the tamed roar of a large capacity bike just behind. I turned and there was Zahin, astride the 900 cc Fireblade, neatly slotting in from the right next to me. On my left I heard an angry purr that I recognised well and there was Karthik on Zahin's modded RD 350 Cafe Racer. They gave me the thumbs up and we rode on, all abreast of each other. At the right time too! It was time for the Agnes girls to come out for lunch and there were huge crowds on either side of the road. With the traffic, we all benevolently rode like saints, the sounds of the different engines all unique from each other.
And so we rode on directly to the Expo, where we showcased our bikes with all the other vintage and uniquely special vehicles in their own rights!
