Reader Rides- Debargha's 2005 Honda CBR 1000 RR

A regular visitor of Indian Autos Blog and Kuwait resident, 27 year old Debargha Mitra, is terrific and charming. Born and brought up in India, Debargha invariably desired to play Rossi on the tarmac once he grew up and began earning enough to pillar himself. His dream came alive, approximately a year and a half after he arrived in Kuwait to take up a job . His dream bike, a Honda CBR, found itself a home in Debargha's garage. Let's hear to what he has to say-

"Take the risk if u want to achieve something…. May be you will get more than what you want…"

In 2005 I got an opportunity to go abroad as I was given an irresistible offer by a reputed firm in Kuwait . I earnestly did not have any idea about this country as in India no person understands what Gulf countries are all about. What everybody relates to Gulf countries is money, but practically things are unlike. However, I'm only allowed to speak about my bike here, therefore I'll stick to that!

Nevertheless, when I came outside the Kuwait Airport after a few hours of flight from India, straight away I saw Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches, BMWs, the things that you find in kid's bedroom walls in India. I stared at them for long enough to cause the taxi driver get annoyed and unwillingly walked across to the parking lot. There, things got even better. SUV's, the size of Venezuela donning badges that read 'GMC,' 'Chevrolet,' 'Dodge' etc, stood all over the place, where I only habituated of Tata Sumo, Tata Safari and Mahindra Scorpio- the popular SUV's in India, which were fifty percent their sizes.

So Debargha labored hard and finally the day came when his dream turned into reality-25th dec 2006, a day to remember, he says. A partly used CBR 1000 RR, dressed in a black attire, was now at his disposal. He paid 2600KD (roughly U.S. 9700), for it. How excited he was, he attempts to explain-

"I can't explain or express to you guys how important 25th dec 2006 in my life was, as I realized my dream on this day … I can try but I cant tell u how delighted I was that day…."

So, one happy man he is. Debargha rides 214 kms to and fro everyday to his office. He's been doing that for nearly two years now, and so we queried him a few question about his experience with the bike.

IAB- You ride 214 kms day to day, don't you feel weary or doesn't your back ache? You might have gotten used to it, but the comfort the seat offers and the riding position plays a large role, doesn't it?

Debargha- The handling of this bike is really cool, and it is made for travelling at high speeds, not for comfort, which is the case with cruisers like Harley Davidsons. A cruiser bike is like a luxury car, while sports bikes like mine are like Formula cars. They shake you up when you feed the power in. Even so, you will at no time feel uncomfortable, as in your joints and muscles won't ache after you learn to ride it well. But always rememeber, speed is entertainment only when you know how to shed it. Braking control, even if varies from one rider to another, is a vital thing to master, before you try and push the bike to high speeds.

IAB- Is owning the CBR 1000 a costly excersice? How much do you shell out at the service station every time?

Debargha- In order to avoid unscheduled maintenance, to save time and leave out headaches, one must learn to take care of his/her bike. Otherwise, maintenance is not much of a fuss. Maintenance also helps you get the highest performance from your machine. Here's the schedule I follow for my bike- Same as the one prescribed by Honda.

Engine oil change after every 2500KMs
Brake oil change after 1000KMS
Brake shoe change after every 10000Kms
Tyre change after every 15000kms
Chain change after every 20000kms

If the aforementioned is followed properly, there won't be much of a difficulty. All you need to do to apart from that is refuel and enjoy!

IAB- What are the safety equipements you armour yourself with, before climbing onto your bike?

Debargha- Some people get back onto their bike after a fall. Some don't, while some can't. Fate is something which we can believe in, but we need to ensure that we are fully protected, so that even in an occasion of an awful fall, we can reduce the damage on our body.

One must always wear gloves, helmet, jacket and shoes before riding a bike like the CBR. There are plenty of good and established brands in the market, but I personally suggest Alpenstars for gloves, AGV, ARAI, NOLAN for Helmets, and I have two types of riders jackets. The one I use in the summer is SWIFT, and for winter its ALPENSTARs.

IAB- Well, what you ride is no 50 cc moped. But we would still like to know what fuel consumption figures your bike returns. This one is for the Indian audience.

Debargha- Lol! Yeah, I can understand. As I ride most of that 214 kms on a freeway with little traffic or stop signals, my bike returns 14 to 15 kms/ltr. As this is the middle-east, and fuel is dirt cheap, I really don't bother about gas mileage. Furthermore, as you said, this isn't a moped, it's a 1000 cc monster.