My BlackBull is here - Bullet Electra 5S

The reasons for delaying the purchase were hope that the CBZ would be back and secondly, the very strict dates followed by my family for buying new vehicles. So when I finally got the green signal, I ran off with the cash in by backpack to Cuttack RE showroom, which many told me was better compared to Bhubaneshwar's in terms of sale and service. The in-charge had told me bikes were being unloaded when I called before leaving my office, so I reached after an hour at half past two. At five, I sent back my friend and waited alone. Bad news!! Only two bikes unloaded: a black and a red. The black was promptly taken by a guy who was waiting since Saturday and I plainly refused the red one. Called a friend to pick me up and stood fuming outside the showroom. At 6:30, this guy asks me to go to godown and pick bike directly. Again a failed attempt as godown owner refuses to release the bike. My friend gives them a HUGE piece of his mind and we left.

At the Cuttack showroom


There goes the black one

The very next day, I book the bike for delivery on next Friday at my city's showroom and leave town for a long weekend. Friday arrives real slowly and bikes are unloaded post-noon. I am more excited about the delivery than my annual appraisal. I reach and find new bikes parked there. After getting to see my own, I was like . I make the payment and get the papers ready, while PDI is going on at the same time. The sales people and the head mechanic were really friendly and I pass some time chatting around. It took some time before I finally got the keys, but the bike was there and I had no qualms. Will be going back next week to get a complimentary saree-guard fixed. At around six, I leave with a smile on my face and my new companion with me. Filling petrol and bike's pooja pass on like a blur and I am back on the roads in no time. Few friends who've seen the bike are impressed and re-thinking their decision of getting a ZMR.


My friend and the bikes lined up at BBSR showroom



Hold on...not mine (looked awesome though)

Right now handling is ultra smooth and I am strictly going by the book for the run-in for the first 500 km. After that, it would a mix of Gurunandan's and Ritwik's advice.

A small problem I was having was that bike was a little difficult to start, specially when the cold evening set in. The front tyre is squeaking a little, most probably the bearing needs oil, so I would be going back to the showroom tomorrow.

History of the Motorcycle

American, Sylvester Howard Roper (1823-1896) invented a two-cylinder, steam-engine motorcycle (powered by coal) in 1867. This can be considered the first motorcycle, if you allow your description of a motorcycle to include a steam engine. Howard Roper also invented a steam engine car.

Gottlieb Daimler - First Gas Engined Motorcycle
German, Gottlieb Daimler invented the first gas-engined motorcycle in 1885, which was an engine attached to a wooden bike. That marked the moment in history when the dual development of a viable gas-powered engine and the modern bicycle collided.

Gottlieb Daimler used a new engine invented by engineer, Nicolaus Otto. Otto invented the first "Four-Stroke Internal-Combustion Engine" in 1876. He called it the "Otto Cycle Engine" As soon as he completed his engine, Daimler (a former Otto employee) built it into a motorcycle.
The Harley Davidson Motorcycle
Many of the nineteenth century inventors who worked on early motorcycles often moved on to other inventions. Daimler and Roper, for example, both went on to develop automobiles.

However, inventors such as William Harley and the Davidsons brothers continued to develop motorcycles and their business competitors were other new start-up companies such as Excelsior, Indian, Pierce, Merkel, Schickel and Thor. In 1903, William Harley and his friends Arthur and Walter Davidson launched the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. The bike had a quality engine, so it could prove itself in races, however, the company planned to manufacture it as a transport vehicle. Merchant, C. H. Lange, sold the first officially distributed Harley-Davidson in Chicago.