To start with, I wonder if anybody remembers the tag-line of the advertisement for the RX100 back in the 1980s when it was launched along with its other part Japanese cousins the Suzuki Max AX 100, the Hero Honda CD 100, and the Kawasaki Bajaj KB100.
It was pretty simple with a pic of the RX disappearing into the distance “Ahead of the 100s”.
And it truly was the most awesome pick-up it had most unsuspecting newbies doing unexpected wheelies, and the experienced ones burning them, red light after red light!!! The sound unmistakable, endearing, and the most soulful on Indian roads save the big guy the Bullet.
Foibles too the separate oil tank which fed oil straight into the combustion chamber, so every time you twisted the quarter turn throttle (I later heard that the later models had half turns) to the max you literally were leaving the laggards in the CD100s behind you in your smoke. And woe betide you if you forgot to fill that have heard some horror stories of seized pistons!!
Let us not forget the mileage (or the lack of it!!) that it gave but like one unforgettable ad (which I can’t remember correctly now!!!) said if you are on a Yamaha. Who cares?!!!
I got my hands on my RX100 in my final year in college, a second hand bike I got off a senior who lavished care on it for the one year that he had it, before he upgraded to a 4 wheeler. It was a 1988 RX100, with the original Japanese Carb originally Cherry Red, but jet black by the time I got it, an idiosyncrasy on the part of my senior.
The first long trip I made on the bike was a 400 km drive from my college to my hometown and I managed to inspect the underbody of a bus which decided to occupy the same bit of road I was occupying at that point of time. Got off the road (Most of me, that is, though a bit of my elbow decided that it liked the company of the road!!) blood streaming down my arm, and I was more worried about what was the state of my Japanese darling!! Brief detour to a hospital, where a few stitches set me right, but thankfully the only thing awry with my bike was a bent crash-guard, and a broken indicator. That, thankfully was the only time I had an incident with that beauty!!
The first thing I did after I got out of the hospital (I still had 100 km odd left to go to reach home!!) and hit the highway was to push the speedo back over the century mark, where it belonged!!
More escapades to follow and eager to hear your stories!!
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!!
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