So, what next? Surely it has got to be the Aprilia RS 457, right? Or, could it be the only other viable contender, the Kawasaki Ninja 500?
BHPian neil.jericho recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Time flies, doesn’t it?
10 years ago, on account of my professional commitments, I was all but destined to pack my bags, say goodbye to Bangalore, and relocate to the United States of America. Before I did, I briefly flirted with the idea of upgrading from my beloved Yamaha R15 to either the mind-bending first-gen KTM Duke 390 or the gorgeous Royal Enfield Continental GT 535. I held off on a decision, unsure of life’s vagaries and the unexpected doors that they could throw open.
When my relocation plans were temporarily binned, I had no choice but to pull the trigger. Despite the all-conquering KTM Duke 390 managing to allure a generation of Indian motorcycling enthusiasts, it was the beguiling Royal Enfield Continental GT 535 that was scripted to find its way into my garage.
Life isn’t a matter of milestones but of moments.
In the past decade since then, the yellow Continental GT 535 has been my motorcycling companion through thick and thin (well, almost). Inevitably, other motorcycles found their way into my garage and vied for my attention. Despite clocking tens of thousands of kilometers on these new entrants, I occasionally entertained the thought of selling one of them. It was the yellow Continental GT 535 that was the only constant. The more my friends suggested (and secretly prayed) that I sell it for a better looking (ludicrous!) or more powerful motorcycle (ridiculous!) or more reliable (preposterous!) alternative, the more they, and I, were convinced that the Continental GT 535 would never be sold. This was undoubtedly a keeper.
As enthusiasts, we love to talk about forming a telepathic connection with our motorcycles. It is pretty obvious that I had one with the Continental GT535. I’ve ridden the motorcycle on the hottest of summer days and the wettest of monsoon rains. While it has been to the race track, this motorcycle has also been through slush that would make SUVs tremble in their oversized tires. The motorcycle has been pampered like no other Continental GT 535 in the world has been, and it has been caked in dust like it was an unloved bike. I’ve corned the bike through endless mountain twisties harder than probably any other Continental GT 535 owner, ever, and I’ve blasted down open highways like my life depended on it.
Life isn’t a matter of milestones but of memories and the people you share them with.
Thanks to the Continental GT 535, I have been fortunate enough to meet the most amazing sets of motorcycle enthusiasts on different rides over the past 10 years. We have shared endless meals and laughs, given more low blows than one could possibly imagine receiving in several lifetimes, and been a part of each other’s real-world lives, through the highs and the lows, the triumphs and the tragedies.
And after all this, it is time to say goodbye to the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535. Or rather, was. As much as I enjoyed riding the motorcycle, there was no escaping the reality that it still ran on a tubed tire setup, and more importantly, there was no ABS. These factors have been gnawing away at me over the last few months until one fine morning, I finally decided that it was time.
A few days ago, I traded in the Continental GT 535 for another motorcycle. And that brings the curtains down on what has been one roller coaster of a motorcycle ownership experience. In case you had to read those 2 sentence again, don’t worry, the guys that I ride with are even more shocked than you are!
I’m grateful for having been able to share the last 10 years with everyone who has been a part of this thread. Whether it is the casual reader who flips through the last few pages of updates once every 6 months the avid car enthusiast who occasionally stumbles upon my thread from it being featured on the Hot Threads section, or the regular contributors in our little motorcycling corner of TBHP, it is genuinely hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this thread has been viewed 885,716 times (at the time of writing this)! I hope that you have enjoyed reading these updates and being a part of the journey, both on the motorcycle and through my life, as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you.
As one door closes, another has to open. So, what next?
Surely it has got to be the Aprilia RS 457, right? Or, could it be the only other viable contender, the Kawasaki Ninja 500? I’m sure some of you would bet at least Rs 100 that it is the Himalayan 450 in the delectable Kaza brown colour. Some of the old timers in our TBHP motorcycling world might remember my irrepressible infatuation with the Interceptor 650, from the day that it was launched. All these are, without a shadow of a doubt, fantastic motorcycles, in their own right. The truth is maybe I was always destined to bring home a Duke 390, exactly 10 years after I first thought that I would. Time flies, doesn’t it?
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