I used to ride my father’s bike(Kawasaki 4s champion) which was getting aged and unreliable. Naturally I was thinking of buying a new bike.
Reading and comparing the bike reviews on mouthshut helped me in zeroing on
this bike. At the time of my purchase this bike used to have an 85% recommendation on this site. The apache model was introduced in early 2006 and I was eagerly waiting for one. However, the first version ran into some quality problems. At that time everyone(in mouthshut) was talking about vibrations in the bike(after a certain speed).
This postponed my buying decision till the issue got sorted out.
Finally in the end of 2006 was able to lay may hands on TVS apache E3(150 cc disk brake). A good offering from TVS whose heart was the enhanced(5 geared) Suzuki Fiero engine. At that time it was the most expensive bike TVS had to offer. Pulsar had just introduced the digital speedo, but I was looking for a quality bike(You see Pulsar at that time had a lot of issues related to quality).
The available options for me other than the pulsar and apache were:
Unicorn, CBZ extreme and Yamaha Gladiator.
Both Unicorn and CBZ extreme had higher seating( I am only 5 feet 3 inches).
Gladiator didn’t pack the punch required(it’s just 125 cc and 4 gears).
After a test ride settled on this bike and bought it by full cash payment.
It is small in size but packed with features of it’s time. It still gives me
a good mileage(62 km/lt) on city roads(add 4 more for highway). The handling
and comfort while riding this bike is satisfactory. The turn radius is small
which is quite helpful on Pune roads. I ride approximately 30 kms everyday
for work. Riding in traffic is made more bearable and it feels just like
someone said before: A knife cutting through butter.
Hope you can bear a small song to show my appreciating for this bike:
My Silver Horse
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Just a press for the start
Off you go without a complaint
Treading on a path that some may fear
Making a roar that only the rider can hear
The dusty wind blows past in our face
I give some throttle so we can keep the pace
Just ahead a turn appears
The honk you give make the others aware
The comfort with which you make the turn
Looking ahead some heads turn
Moving to the next gear isn’t so smooth
Once there, however, you show some tooth
Out of nowhere a bike appears
Before we realize our path it blocks
Not missing a beat both the brakes I apply
Thank god we just missed it by a fly
Rising fuel price don’t give me worry
People don’t believe the mileage you carry
Never smooth is the path that life takes
With you more bearable it makes
Once a biker, always .