Call it a dry run, but the last ten stories I’ve written have been about machines where horsepower is secondary, academic. Here too, 7.5 bhp isn’t a competitive remark. It could have been 6.5 or 8.1, and there wouldn’t have been a difference. Motorcycle transportation was the idea, and that’s the essence. Only, the GTS, famously titled ‘Bobby’, brings in a gimmick to the scene. It’s small. And hence the meditativeness of the engine, same as on the bigger Rajdoot, is on standby. This one’s a cheerful chap, and will win you over with it’s scaled-down stance. It is, due to its basic construction, an intrusive motorcycle. Unlike on the 175, the Bobby won’t leave you unnoticed. When you’re out on the road, people will look at you, wave, cheer, smile and so on. What’s the psyche behind all the waving and smiling? Is it that a person with odd choices is to be smiled at? Or is it in some way a belief that a man on a ridiculously small motorcycle is a friendly, harmless bloke who, because he won’t indulge in murder or theft, needs to be told he’s the epicentre of happiness of the world? It’s a bit annoying, but you move on anyway. Three gears, again and at least this motorcycle had fully functional brakes.

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