The Tryst With The Dio

I have always enjoyed riding a two-wheeler. It is exciting and liberating, and sometimes scary.

The cool breeze making its way through the gaps in your helmet , the countdown to zero at a signal, the sudden turns and stops and incessant honking by rowdy drivers , and of course the great Indian pedestrian who feels he is magneto while crossing the road, these are part and parcel of every bike ride.In my case, however, the fuel tank emptying is a bonus feature.

My tryst with empty fuel tanks stared after I came to Pune. My faithful Jupiter in Bangalore loved me a lot, and would indicate time and again, if and the fuel was low. It seems that I made a mistake holding the Dio in Pune to such high standards. The only thing that is guaranteed with the Dio is that the fuel will empty in the most important situations, or when there is maximum scope for loss of face.

Let me give you an overview of the Dio.

To be fair, the vehicle is very old, about 15 years. The Odometer is stuck at 74456 km, after being reset twice. So you can imagine the amount of abuse it has gone through. The fuel indicator is dangerous, it goes from full to zero, faster than the speed of light. Sometimes I think that it can disprove Einstein's theory of relativity. Maybe one day it shall get me the Nobel Prize.

The self-start does not work, due to which I have to kick start it every day, and that too at least ten to fifteen times. So this is not only a vehicle, but also a mini-gym.

So why don’t you sell it and buy a new vehicle? you may ask. Well, this is my sister’s first vehicle, and she is emotionally attached to it. Secondly, the engine and other critical parts work fine. Thirdly and sadly, money does not grow on trees. Fourthly, and most importantly, it can get me the Nobel Prize one day.

Anyway, let’s get to the main story

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One fine evening ,I was returning back from office after dropping my friend ,happily smiling ,thanking my stars that I had got Pune as my base location, admiring the empty roads , when the sudden loss of power in the vehicle brought me back to reality. My smile had become a frown, and just like people compare present and ex-boyfriend s/girlfriends after a fight, I started comparing the Jupiter and the Dio, one an angel, the other Satan himself.

I had become one of those people I had occasionally looked down upon, for I could not understand how anyone could be so careless that they would be unaware till the petrol emptied.

But as they say, you’ll never understand until it happens to you.

2 Kilometers was the trek I would have to undertake, to bring back to life the dead engine. Wearing my TCS Id proudly, I commenced my journey. On the way, a person offered to push the bike till the petrol bunk. The movie scenes finally came true. I am grateful to him for helping me, and I have always tried to do the same if I find anyone stranded with empty petrol tanks.

They say once bitten twice shy. But certainly not in my case. It is as though I enjoy being stranded on the road with a 110 kilo scooter with 0 liter of petrol. I say this because in the next week, a similar situation occurred, but the situation was much worse.

My uncle and I had planned to go to the Pimpri market, for the selection of wedding cards for my sister's marriage. Now, my uncle is as careful a person as one can be, and every time I would say I am going out with the scooter after I narrated to them the ‘incident’, he would caution me to check the petrol. But the thing with repeated advice is that it irritates after some time, and you purposely do the exact opposite of what is being advised.

No sooner did he sit on the Dio, than he uttered these words. The overconfident me brushed off his concerns and we started on our way. And right when we were climbing the flyover, my and more so my uncle’s worst nightmare came true. The Dio had stalled. My love for Ola increased several times that day, because it took my uncle home safely, and saved me from being thrown out of the house (almost).

Now you must be thinking as to why I didn’t service the vehicle even when I was aware? Well, it was a combination of laziness and the belief that the vehicle was damaged beyond redemption, and even an extra rupee of investment on it would be a waste. Why didn’t I keep an empty bottle to fill petrol in case of emergencies like this? To be honest, it never crossed my mind.

The third time and hopefully the last time I make the same mistake was again with my uncle, again when we were in Pimpri. History repeats itself, it surely did in my case. The autowala came to the rescue this time, and I had to undertake another 2 km trek to the nearest petrol pump.

‘Golden’ words awaited me at the entrance of our house, and they continued for the next few days. Whether I deserved it or no, you be the judge. I think I did.

Three incidents were what it took my brain to finally realize that servicing of the vehicle was the need of the hour. It thus got a new fuel indicator, a new headlight, a proper center stand and a working self-start. The mechanic, Ganesh is one of the most honest one that I have met in my limited experience. His honesty, and dedication to his craft is truly inspiring. If anyone lives nearby Pimpri, I recommend servicing your 2 wheeler from here. Be rest assured, your vehicle will be safe in his hands and. The shop is located next to Premacha Basundi Chaha and Ayyappa Dosa centre, near Sai Chowk. (I forget the name of the shop, will update when I remember).

All things said and done, I love my Dio. It may have flaws, but don’t we all?

Even a broken clock is right twice a day

Without it, the journey to office would have been many degrees tougher. Without it, my freedom would be curtailed to a great extent. Without it, would I ever be able to experience these incidents (of course, due credit should be given to my ‘genius’ mind').Without it, I would have one less blog post. I can go on and on but without it life would be different and difficult.

P.S. For once, I outfoxed the Dio, but unintentionally. It so happened that I had parked the vehicle in front of our apartment (on the ground floor). I got ready to go to office and looked out of the window, only to see 5 to 6 people frantically cleaning the Dio. At first I thought that the local Honda service center had become generous, but in closer inspection, I could see that drops of paint had dotted my Dio!

(The apartment complex was being painted, and normally the painters tell us to move the vehicles. But on this occasion, it seems like they forgot, and while painting the top floor, some of the paint fell on the Dio)

After 20 minutes of washing the Dio with water, the end result left much to be desired. To this day, the Dio wears the paint just like a warrior wears his scars, and I don’t know why, but I like it more this way.