Xianne - here to stay...

It's been 8 months. I like her. I adored her before I got her, then after a while, things started to happen. I wouldn't say she's high maintenance, but I have to be very careful when I go out with her. If ever, I go too fast, she puts me in my place.. I have to pick a perfect time, and that hugely depends on where I am. To truly appreciate her, crowded city roads aren't the place, it has to be some place deserted, or the highway!

20bhp! I was thrilled at the thought when I read the first reports. About a year after launch, I had her. The decision was sudden. I had Sylvia. She was always just herself, throwing tantrums at almost regular intervals, till one day the docs got it wrong. A botched inspection left her with a nagging noise, and jitters from the clutch cover. I couldn't stand it. Ten days and complete overhaul later, the problem was still there. I need to ride. I needed a bike bad. Enter 220. One test ride I got, upon convincing the blokes there after dozens of dyno rides, and that made me confirm my choice. I wanted the best out there, and she was it. The Karizma, in my opinion, is crap, more importantly, something I would never want to, or even imagine owning. The RTR160 was awesome, but a tad (ok, a lot) smaller than I would have liked. But the 220, when I looked at the spec sheet, outshone her "rivals" by a huge margin.

Two months later, I had my first ever crash. It destroyed all my notions about me being a good rider. Barely a month and a half later, another one! This one left the bike broken now, and my knee, today, is still healing from the successive assault, which it endured thankfully. I read articles on how riders encounter panic situations at times, and I consoled myself solely on those grounds. But now I realise I can be a much better, more responsible rider.

I must admit that I, on many occassions, contemplated sale. But, for some reason or another, fought the thought. Till one day, just this week, I was approached with a genuine offer. I get her out of the parking, put in the key. The guy gets on, goes off for a ride. He returns barely a minute later saying "she's not responding". I wondered what had happened? Had he broken her in the first go?? I got on, turned the key off, and on again, watched as the needle went upto 12 and back. Then thumbed the starter. Nothing, a choking sound. There were 4 bars on the fuel gauge, couldn't be... I took her back in. Turned off the kill switch. Turned the key again. Turned on the kill switch. A dry whirr of the fuel pump followed. No fuel. 8 months it never gave a false reading, yet now, it showed 4 bars when the tank was almost bone dry. Surprised, I needed to check. I took Sylvia to the nearest BP joint, filled her up with Speed and headed back. Pipe and bottle later, I turned on the kill switch. The dry whirr turned into the sound of active pumping. I thumbed the starter and she came to life again.

No sale. Period.

She's mine.