An Alaskan escapade set free the biker in lawyer Hemant Sahai. Now he has seven motorcycles lined up outside his home.
A lawyer by profession, Sahai has his own firm, Hemant Sahai Associates, which consults for infrastructure projects. Living in a gated community in Gurgaon is probably the only reason he can flaunt these expensive machines at the kerbside. He has an imported Victory Vision Tour, a Honda Valkyrie, a Honda Rune, a Triumph Rocket and three venerable India-made Royal Enfield Bullets.
The massive Victory Vision immediately catches the eye. The size of a small car, this American bike is any motorcycle tourer’s dream. It belts out power from a massive 1800 cc V-twin engine and has enough luggage space to sustain you through your own version of The Motorcycle Diaries. It weighs a whopping 675 kg unladen, and comes with GPS, a radio and Bluetooth audio. Sahai laughs: “It is quite nimble, you know. True, it’s different from driving a small bike, but once you choose your lane, it’s fine.”
Sahai’s first love is still there, albeit a little dusty and rusty now. It is a Bullet, purchased by him in 1981 when he was still in college. Though it has been “painted over” many times and undergone stylistic alterations, he still has a place for it, as it comes with many fond memories of first rides.
It was a chance reading of an article about riding a Harley Davidson through the frozen landscapes of Alaska that, according to Sahai, kick-started his big spending on bikes. “After I read it, it had to be experienced. So, I took a trip out to Alaska and hired a Harley to ride there. The family came along and followed me in a car,” he recalls.
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The shopping spree after that Alaskan experience, though, has been remarkably eclectic. Although Sahai confesses to not being much of a machine-head, his choice of bikes shows a lot of thought. Take the Hondas, for instance. While an enthusiast would be satisfied with a 1500 cc Valkyrie, billed the world’s dream cruiser when it was launched in 1997, he also picked up a limited edition Valkyrie Rune. The Rune, much more powerful at 1800 cc, is considered a motorcycle design icon. But the Triumph Rocket III enjoys pride of place in the line-up because it has the largest engine on a motorcycle ever, at 2300 cc.
“You will be surprised how quiet these motorcycles are, for their engine size. It is because of the strict regulations abroad. I actually had to change the tailpipe on some of the models to get the sound.”
Sahai is part of a group of bikers from Delhi, and 100 km weekend rides are the regular activity. There are also longer trips, such as the one Sahai participated in to Shimla recently, on the Victory Vision. The group does attract attention. “The most common question is the price of the bikes and the mileage they deliver. But a villager once shrugged my bike off as a jugaad [heavily modified] Bullet,” he says.
Servicing and keeping the bikes shiny is a project by itself. And it is worse if there is a small knock, as he once found out. “The mechanic realised that the paint on these bikes was so complex, with many layers giving the final look. It required research by the mechanic to find out the exact formula from the manufacturer’s website. It seems the formula gives it one finish in the sun and another in the shade.”
It doesn’t seem possible that Sahai will stop adding to his collection any time soon, especially now that he’s planning to move to a new house, where his bikes will have a roomy garage all to themselves.