One Twisty Stretch Of Road, Two Little Motorcycles And One Incerdibly Rainy Day. Mondays Should All Be Like This…
So there I was, staring at the blankness, trying to make sense of everything that has happened over the past few hours. My mind seemed to be drawing a blank. I couldn’t seem to make any progress. What do I do? The situation was killing me… But then I realised, it wasn’t so difficult to make sense of all this. Because, at the core of the matter, while the RTR 160 4v and the Gixxer might be two motorcycles of the same kind, they are both starkly different. Once I broke things down into little boxes and squares, the answers would all come. Oh, I also realised Aatish’s bald head was blocking my view as I tried to make up my mind. So clearly, things weren’t all that blank. Except for Aatish’s head.
It’s still bald. Jokes aside, once the moon moved over. Dammit! I mean, once Aatish moved over, I could really have a look at both the motorcycles side by side. And to be honest, the formula is similar. The styling cues are similar. It’s the same line that the first Pulsars took. Naked street-fighter, to be exact. No, not the video game kind, you dirty minds! The motorcycle kind!
So yes, the basic formula is the same. Muscular lines, alloy wheels, disc brakes, flashy paint, un-faired headlight, monoshock… You know, the works. But despite all this, there was one crucial difference. The RTR somehow, to quote Moto Moto the hippopotamus, seemed more “chunky”. It took us a while to figure out why, but we finally did. Turns out that the RTR’s belly pan is what makes all the difference. It creates the illusion of the RTR being a bigger motorcycle despite both being roughly the same size. The fact that the Gixxer has been around a fair bit longer than the RTR doesn’t help its case either. Familiarity and all that…
Denne historien er fra August 2018-utgaven av BBC TopGear India.
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Denne historien er fra August 2018-utgaven av BBC TopGear India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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THE PERFECT RECIPE FOR KARI FT. EUROGRIP
What happens when you do track days in the name of pushing the limits of a tyre
ROOKIE BLUES
Acosta Urged for Patience as KTM Chases Ducati
THE VALUE OF TIME
Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen
DJI Osmo Action 4
Being an automotive journalist, our job entails us to ride motorcycles of all kinds and not to forget, the life behind driving some exotic set of wheels as well.
WAR WORDS WORLDS
Indians might not have played a deciding role in the previous world wars but now, our participation is much more evident
XTREME MACHINE
Maserati's racing history is a patchwork of epic highs and long absences, so can the MCXtrema - a track only version of its latest supercar-bring back the glory days?
WET AND WILD
No doors, no roof, no boot, but at least there's a windscreen... Paul Horrell pulls on his waterproof trousers and takes the Nomad 2 for a spin
STREAM W0RKS
This is an MG. Yes, really. Turns out it's got form in streamliners too...just ask Stirling Moss
A map and a compass.
Dacia got a foothold in the UK with cheapness, now it wants toughness on its CV. Can the new Duster handle Morocco's heat and locate a Dakar team in the desert - no GPS allowed?
A RECKLESS DEVELOPMENT?
Farewell, V10, this is the new Lamborghini Temerario, a 907bhp V8 hybrid. A worthy Huracán successor, or a misstep from the Italian firm?