If bikers went by feminist logic, this is how it would probably be
50% of the road should be reserved for bikers and the other 50% for all other vehicles, which the bikers may also use as per convenience thus establishing equality
Only a car can harm a bike. Bike harming a car is not recognized by law based on the assumption that it cannot happen
Don't teach me how to ride. Teach the car driver to wait till I pass
I will not wear protective gear. If I meet with an accident, I will bleed free
Different speed limits for different vehicles is discrimination
Allowing only cars on Mumbai-Pune expressway is discrimination
Drinking and riding is my choice
Don't tell me how my exhaust should sound. You learn to close your ears
Biker can accuse a car driver of any crime. The car driver will be arrested immediately
Special fuel stations needed for bikers so that car drivers don't eat up their time
What do you know about risk? Do you carry inflammable liquid between your legs?
You sit in air conditioned enclosed cage. Respect the bikers who ride in dust.
Bikers get a day off for servicing their motorcycles every month since they roam around without stepney
It is not about being against car drivers. It is about empowering and uplifting bikers to be at par with car drivers.
http://bikegear.in/guards/body-armour-online This is where I bought it from.
I had read a few bad reviews about bikegear.in on mouthshut.com. Thankfully, the product was delivered to me on time. The armor was in good condition and hence no complaints about the shopping experience.
This is how it looks like
I ride a Bajaj Avenger 220. Going by the style of motorcycle, leather should have been my 1st choice but I had a tight budget. Mesh jackets were okay but were too mainstream. Armor seemed interesting enough. I had earlier tried fox armor however, I was not satisfied with its build quality
PGS body armor comes with all the protection integrated. It is quite sturdy, looks like it can take impacts and protect you well. None of the parts can be detached. The cloth material does good breathing. The armor has shoulder, elbow, chest, stomach and spine protection. The belt is adjustable and comes with velcro. I would have liked a buckle instead to ensure tightness throughout the journey.
These armors are meant for motocross and stunts but can be used for touring as well. The armor makes you confident enough to open full throttle. It shields 70% of the upper body. The armor is as comfortable as a full face helmet ( By this I mean that a full face helmet is not very comfortable when worn for the first time but when you get used to it, you cannot ride without it. The armor will also share the same chemistry with you)
The armor is best worn inside t-shirt/jacket. Wearing it outside will make you look like power ranger or a wannabe robo. But if you are hairy, wear a vest and then this armor and then the t-shirt. This is what you will end up looking like
clicked by Sagar Acharya
The armor will make you give an impression that you are a man on special mission and a guerrilla warfare expert. :D
The 2 strips connecting the chest protection and spine protection will obstruct your head movement if you wear a full face helmet. I removed it for my convenience. If you want to keep those strips, using a modular helmet will be convenient. Also, the spine protection tends to get stuck in low waist pants. Wearing normal or high waist pants or proper motorcycle pants will make it much easier to carry. When seated, the chest protection bends a little to form V shape. When seen from side, you will look like you have grown a pair of boobs. But i guess this V shape bending helps you cut through the wind better. I do not know if it was meant to be that way.
The armor does not protect you from rain or winter So you will have to carry additional jackets for the same.
I have worn this armor during 3 rides and I have faced no issues apart from the need to adjust it every time I get up (like a tight t-shirt).
All in all, I would say, for Rs 3700 it is a good investment to ensure safety when riding a motorcycle.
Enough has been discussed about the safety that a full face
helmet offers. Let’s look at some other advantages too.
Photography by Sagar Acharya for Bajaj Avenger Club - Bengaluru
You ride in city and want to overtake someone. He/she might
be preparing to spit. Full face helmets will protect your face. Full face
helmets can also protect you from driving smokers who throw ash out of their
windows.
A tinted/mercury coated visor can enable you to think about
anything and smile. You can check out anyone and give any expression which
satisfies you without having to deal with consequences.
On a nice motorcycle, you’ll look great if you wear full
face helmet even if you are ugly.
Full face helmets prevent you from easily eating or drinking
thereby regulating your food consumption habits.
Full face helmets do not let you smoke while riding.
Full face helmets keep you warm in cold weather. In summer,
it can induce sweat which will in turn keep your head cool.
Full face helmets can be locked to your motorcycle.
A full face helmet can act as your container in super market.
In situation of fight, it’s easier to hit someone with full
face helmet.
On 2nd of April my Bajaj Avenger 220 got stolen. I realized that on the morning of 3rd April. On previous night foolishly I had parked my vehicle outside my building gate. Realizing my mistake, I rushed to the Mico Layout police station outpost. When I said that my vehicle got stolen, none of the cops seemed surprised. They asked me to find out myself by searching for it in every lane in 3km radius. They refused to take complaint. I was told that if I failed to find my vehicle, They will write the complaint the next day. I came home disappointed, borrowed a friend's vehicle and searched for it. I searched for a few hours though I knew that practically it is impossible to find. By then almost everyone around my building knew about the theft. I had tough time dealing with the common questions like
1. Who stole it? (Right! if I only knew)
2. How did it get stolen? (Like I was there to witness)
3. When did it get stolen? (Simple! when I was not watching)
You will have to deal with such questions anyway.
[This was the bike. No... It's not me. I had used my motorcycle in a short film that I have directed]
The members of Bajaj Avenger Club - Bengaluru helped a lot by spreading the word since the biker club's network is strong.
Next morning, I was asked to go to MICO Layout police station. There, the moment I entered I was greeted with harassment. A constable by name Raju even said that purchasing the vehicle itself is a mistake and one should commute by bus. After this bullshitting, Raju noted down my vehicle number somewhere in some random book and said, "You will be called if the vehicle is found." As this happened, another guy with similar complaint came to the police station. His vehicle was stolen and found but was damaged a little to repair which according to the guy would cost Rs. 12000 to 15000. So he expected Raju to give a letter stating that vehicle was stolen and found so that the guy could claim some insurance. Raju yelled at him and asked him to leave and made it seem like it was the guy's mistake that he hadn't filed a complaint. On seeing this, I got determined to file my complaint. but where!? Since the vehicle was registered in my dad's name and my dad was out of Bangalore then, they cited that as reason for not taking the complaint. A constable named Sadashiv pushed me out of station.
[Just in case if you want to know how beautiful the motorcycle was, click on the link above]
With no hope, I wrote to Bangalore city police facebook page. Surprisingly, they responded and guided me to meet Inspector Rajesh. Meanwhile I contacted everyone I knew, who probably would have some link in police department. Luckily, some recommendations from higher officials started pressurizing the inspector. The constables did not know about this and hence they continued behaving like thugs when I wanted to meet the inspector. It was election time and hence they were short of staff at the station. By evening, I was asked to meet an SI who was busy escorting a politician about 3-4 km away from the station. I searched for him. He came to my house and did a spot inspection. After that my complaint was accepted by around night. Next morning by around 10 o clock the FIR copy was given to me. Even then, the constables yelled at me for going to higher officers. A constable openly asked for some money too. During those two days the behavior of constables was absolutely unfriendly. All of them seemed unapproachable. They either wanted some bribe from me or wanted to send me away without taking complaint because FIR would mean things are on records. Obviously they did't want it.
Getting an FIR seemed like an achievement. Immediately I reported the theft to ICICI Lombard. Thankfully I had a first party insurance. For a two years old vehicle the insured amount was Rs. 67500. The surveyor got in touch with me and guided me nicely about the procedure. All the necessary forms were e-mailed to me. Also, I had to submit a few things related to the vehicle. It included the following
NEFT Claim form
Necessary details of the vehicle and the FIR number will be mentioned in this. Account number of the vehicle owner needs to be filled in and a cancelled cheque of the owner needs to be enclosed. This form will require name and signature of two witnesses.
Indemnity Bond
A bond through which the stolen vehicle gets transferred from the owner to the insurance company. This document needs to be stamped (In Bangalore it is for Rs. 200) and notarized. I got it E stamped and notarized from a notary in Jayanagar near cool joint.
Original RC
Without this the claim won't be made.
Both the original keys
If one key is lost, 20% will be reduced from the claim amount.
Address and Identity proof of the vehicle owner
I do not know for what reason.
Form 28, 29 and 30 (will be provided by the surveyor)
These forms have to be filled and signed in triplicate (3 copies of draft should be taken and all of them have to be signed separately)
Purchase Invoice of the vehicle Insurance copy 2 Passport sized photographs of the vehicle owner Owner statement and User statement
Needed in case of vehicle owner and vehicle user being different. A simple letter stating that I would do all the transaction on behalf of my dad. This had to be stated by me and my dad in separate letters.
Attested copy of the FIR
Once the above documents are submitted, the surveyor gave me an acknowledgement stating that these documents are submitted. It will be for my reference.
Now it has been 2 months since my motorcycle got stolen. There is no update from police. The claim processing can happen only after I obtain C report or Untracable report from police which can happen only after 90 days from the date of theft. I will update this article after getting C report. Till then, you can watch the film Ditch Please to acknowledge my effort to educate you.
After completion of 90 days, I went to the police station asking for the C report. The writer and the constables said that it was not ready. From then, I went to the police station on every weekend to check the status. Nothing changed. I wrote to Bangalore City Police facebook page again. After writing to them thrice, they gave me the new inspector's contact number. The inspector asked for about 15 days time. After 15 days my C report was still not ready. I then made it a point to tell the inspector, the constables and the SI in all our conversations that I work for a TV channel. They started taking me seriously. They prepared the file and showed it to me but without the ACP's signature it would not be valid. I asked the inspector if I should go and speak to the ACP directly for which inspector requested me not to. One fine day while returning from office, I called up the inspector to check the status. The inspector casually asked where I was. If I was somewhere nearby he thought he would ask me to come to the station. I told him that I was in Nrupatunga road (That is where commissioner's office is). He asked me for a day's time. Next evening I got a call from a constable from MICO layout police station stating that my document is ready. I went to the station and collected the C report. The motorcycle model and the engine number, both were wrongly printed. I got it corrected from the station writer and got it duly counter signed with police seal. With that, my work in police station was over. There was a sense of accomplishment but even that was short lived.
In mid November, I called up the ICICI lombard call centre to ask for the further procedure. To my surprise, the executive told me that the claim cheque has already been sent to the bank. I checked with the bank but no record of any incoming cheque was found. I registered a complaint with lombard regarding this. I patiently waited for a few days but nothing happened. I called up the call centre again. This time I re activated my previous complaint. I was asked to contact Mr. Thyagarajan, an ICICI lombard employee. I dialled his number several times till 1st week of January. He did not answer any of my calls. Then I left a message to him to which he never replied. I called up the call centre again. I shouted at the top of my voice, threatened to make it into a story for all major news channels and newspapers. They said that they will get back to me in a day.
The next morning Thyagarajan called me. He confirmed that my cheque is with him. I yelled at him loud for his sheer irresponsibility. He apologized and asked me to collect the cheque from his office. I ordered him to deliver the cheque to me right then. He came to my office and handed over the cheque to me. Apparently the delay happened because he had left the cheque on his table and it had fallen off between the drwer and the table. Nobody bothered to clean that gap for 3 long months and the cheque remained there unattended. All is well that ends well I thought but more surprise was there for me in store. The cheque was dated 31.10.2014. I received the cheque on 21st Jan 2015. I had 10 more days in my hand to have the cheque credited since it would become outdated after 31st. I could not go to the bank for next 2 days due to professional commitments. On 23rd my Mom came home. I gave her the cheque and asked her to drop it in the bank. 24th to 26th being a long weekend I was prepared for a delayed credit of the money. I knew that it would for sure get credited before 31st but I was somehow not ready to be very positive about it. No more twists luckily. The money came to the account thus making it a happy ending. Between all this, I did not understand how Lombard issued the cheque without me submitting the C report. The report is still with me.
Riding to Yelagiri with BAC was there on my to do list from a long time. I had planned for this 30 days in advance. And as the saying goes, man proposes, God dispeses; My motorcycle got stolen and my left shoulder got dislocated. Doctor fixed my shoulder but what to do with the motorcycle?! Anil Kumar of our club was kind enough to lend his motorcycle to me since he was unable to make it. Thus I was all set to ride to Yelagiri
Sagar and Kiran came to my place next morning to pick me up. From my house, we rode to Electronic City meeting point via NICE road. Surprisingly this time more than half of the riders were on time. That’s when Sunny and I realized that we were running short of fuel. We went a little ahead and got our tanks filled and waited there for the group which was being led by Ankit. After a few minutes, we saw a few lights flashing at a distance. 2 sets of collinear headlights were seen which certainly meant that BAC is coming. We cranked up our engines and joined the group just before the sweep.
We stopped for tea at a tea stall on the way somewhere in Tamil Nadu. Heat was catching up but it didn’t bother us much. Till now Ankit had been maintaining a speed of around 100kph due to which we didn’t feel the heat. Took a brief break, had coffe/tea/snacks and again we were back on road.
Then we rode for a while and we reached our breakfast destination. Over breakfast a healthy but loud debate like leg pulling session happened between brothers regarding who supports which political party. Election time was around and hence the topic seemed interesting enough to keep us waiting till our orders came. Once the delicious idlis, doses and pooris were served, nobody actually cared.
We finished our breakfast and waited for the grand entry of BAC Chennai. Yes, this particular ride witnessed meet up of 2 chapters of BAC; Bangalore and Chennai. Chennai team led by Siddharth received a warm welcome. After the meet and greet, we made a motorcycle formation based on color (No this has got nothing to do with racism). We rode to Yelagiri hills from there. While riding to the top of the hill, we encountered a lot of gravel since the road asphalting was still in progress. We somehow managed to dodge that and finally reached our resort after taking a very small ATM break.
All the boys freshened up and we gathered to ride to a different place for lunch. I do not know how the non vegetarian food tasted, but the veg rice, rasam and papad were too good. We finished our lunch soon and started playing in kids’ play area. Yes we actually did that. Luckily it started raining. We thanked God for giving us much needed rain. After a while, a few boys went topless and played Lagori till the rain stopped. It looked like they had great fun playing it. An injured me watched it from a distance and it looked no less than a gay porn intro
We rode back to the resort where Sunny and Sagar took video bytes of riders. Sagar filmed the whole thing while Sunny played guitar live to suit the mood of the byte. By evening, people got booze and lit up campfire. Sunny and I went to the town to get stationery to write certificates for riders who were being recognized for their efforts during the previous ride of BAC. While returning from town, Sunny took me to his school where I happened to meet his principal who seemed very delighted to know that a biker group has come to Yelagiri. The school also looked very scenic and I was not really in a mood to come back to the resort if it was not for booze.
We reached the resort and I secretly wrote the names of the riders on all the certificates. By then campfire had begun and all the riders were already a few pegs down. Frank confessions started happening. The confessions were interrupted in between to present the certificates. The confessions resumed post that and a few of them really took longer than we thought they would. But then, everything is fair when you are drunk. Dinner was as nicely cooked as lunch. All of us had dinner near our parked motorcycles. Post that a cake cutting session was organized. I got too tired by then and hence, came to my room and slept off. The next morning we freshened up, had awesome breakfast and reminded each other of what everyone spoke about after drinking. Hangover retrospect meetings are always fun. Then we started from Yelagiri. Rode continuously till the place where we had received BAC-C. In between, Srinidhi’s car broke down. Srinidhi reached the restaurant after getting his car fixed. From then on, we rode till a McD non stop. A lot of curious onlookers were taking photos and videos. We felt like the stars of the evening. Post a photography session, we rode to Bangalore non stop. I was delighted to see “Welcome to Karnataka” board. We stopped at our meeting point. From here, the riders rode to their respective homes.
Here is the teaser of the ridomentary
Yelagiri ride, a landmark event for BAC where two chapters of the club met, was indeed a fun joyride with a great display of passion for riding and brotherhood
I will not wear protective gear. If I meet with an accident, I will bleed free
Special fuel stations needed for bikers so that car drivers don't eat up their time
