The Thumper

When I was much younger, which feels like a long while ago, I was fascinated by the thump and presence of the Bullet, that venerable old warhorse that came out of the World Wars in England. The 350 cc Bullet started life in 1939 made its way to India around 1949 and started being made in India around 1955. Why the history lesson? Just that there appears to have been precious little changes in this baby since about then. The basic seems to be around the same.

Coming back to moi, after pottering around on a 50 cc moped and then a 125 cc experimental engine, I finally got my hands on a 350cc beast. That was the start of my love affair with this bike. There is something so distinctive about each bike, a character, if you may call it so. 

You develop an attachment that is difficult to describe except that when you are on the bike and riding, a calm settles in and the miles begin to melt. Not to mention, the tinkering with the parts and the whole involvement thing of getting your hands greasy and wondering where that darned nut went.

I now face a question that I must answer, do I buy another Bullet or succumb to the fiber body, digital speedometer, the supposedly insane speed, handling and the various blandishments (gorgeous women dropping out of the sky or swooning when macho stud boy pulls a stoppie) that project a certain image to the bike and by association the rider.

Methinks I will think on that while I go for a ride on my borrowed thumper.