I live in a rural setting in the Philippines where motorcycle is the
primary movers of people here, including me. Fifteen years ago I bought
my first bike to suit my need and my riding arena – dirt and trail, so I
got myself a dual-sport bike a KMX 125 2-stroker. The bike served me
well and brought me to places that are still worth visiting again,
wishfully. When you are still young your body can take easily the abuses
and beatings associated with dirt riding. Time flies however, and as
you get older and tamer lol, your preference and riding skill changes
too. So, without a choice I was forced to convert from dirt-eater to
on-road whizzer. Because of age. For those who are curious, yeah, I am
already 42. Well in the middle age, a point in life where you wanted to
stop the clock here.
Looking for a bike that will satisfy my yearning to drive on-road was
difficult thing to do for in the beginning because of 2 reasons: first,
there are many bikes to choose from and, secondly, my wallet can only
bring me far but not really far enough. To make things easier for me I
limited my eyes to just 3 bikes to choose from: Honda CBR150, Yamaha
FZ16 (Fazer) and the Rouser 220 (Pulsar).
To help me out with my final choice I scoured website forums
including BikeAdvise to get an idea how these bikes fared in their own
paces. I also visited showrooms to see the actual bikes. My first choice
really was the CBR150, however, I find it too pricey vis-a-vis its
engine displacement. FZ16 was culled out primarily out of my distaste
for the rear drum-brake. I settled for what I call bung-for-a-buck. And I
didn’t regret that decision.
My Rouser 220 (Pulsar) is already 4 months old and has an accumulated
odometer reading of more than 7,000 kilometers. I made regular journeys
to places I have never visited or rarely been set foot on since I can
remember. It’s a different experience from what I used to do before in
the dirt and trails. Towns and cities within and outside my province
feels closer than they were before. It’s a good thing I decided going
on-road, it opened new avenues for me to see life as what it is in my
homeplace.
My bike never failed me from the day I laid my hands on her until
this very moment. In fact, it has never visited a mechanic since then!
My only routine maintenance is replenishing oil every 2,000 kilometers.
Thanks to the internet, most do-it-yourself ideas can be easily accessed
with just a click of the mouse thus, motorcycle maintenance is getting
more of a personalized thing when you want to opt out of the hassle of
going to the mechanic.
Kudos to Bajaj for giving us an opportunity to own performance bikes
at an affordable price tag. I am looking forward to years of riding
pleasure with my black Pulsar.
Ricii Exiomo
Philippines
Philippines
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