Try this out for me. Sit back on a chair and pretend that you are sitting on a bean bag, with your legs stretched out in front. Now extend your hands as if you are holding a handle bar just above where your knee is. Not exactly a comfortable stance, right? Now imagine doing a clean 160 kph like that and you know what the Harley-Davidson Night Rod is all about — they don’t make bean bags like them any more!
This episode unfolded on day two of the first media ride organised by Harley-Davidson India. After the nice and fast ride from Delhi and having explored the pristine roads to local forts just before Jaipur, I was feeling quite upbeat and confident. We were returning to the base camp after what was indeed a lovely sunrise ride and we had the breakfast spread on our minds. The road was more or less deserted and I could see Kyle whacking the throttle open and doing a vanishing act on me with the XR1200. I had to follow him. Now, the Night Rod is not your average Harley-Davidson. It is as if Porsche designed a V-twin powered motorcycle. Heck, it is actually just that. So as far as character goes, the Night Rod shares absolutely nothing — let alone DNA — with the rest of the Harley stable. And it goes as if the Allies are chasing it all the time. Soon I crossed the century mark and got Kyle back in my frame, albeit as a speck accelerating even harder. At 120 kph I cursed my idea of bringing an open face helmet for this ride, as it was now acting like a mini parachute held back by the chin strap. I bent down a bit more to make myself more aerodynamic — it’s a tad challenging when you are built like me — and changed another gear. Soon Rajasthan was passing by me as a 150 kph blur and Kyle was certainly within a kilometre away. At 160 kph, wind resistance won and my guts lost. I decided that I won’t win a battle with a straying peacock let alone a cow at such speeds – not when I am seated to watch race day on a bean bag.
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