Riding a Motorbike

Bicycle was the main mode of transport in those days for the village folks. From single gear bicycle to multiple switchable gears type was a breakthrough, only well-paid workers could ever afford one. How cool it was, just with the clicking of the handle switches to drop or raise a gear ratio! The possession of one of this type of higher end bicycle also symbolized the social status standing of the owner in those days.

When motorbike was first introduced into the village, that was really a conveniece and it also signified the standard of living of Malaysians was generally improved one notch above and its dominance over the conventional usage of bicycle as a means of transport was inevitable. At that time vehicles on the road were few and accidents were less common!

As years went by, the rate of accidents increased tremendously because many people started to own vehicles. Many villagers died a gruesome death because of accidents involving motorbikes. That was common and even until today, a few cases involved the death of our workers in the plant that traveled to work using their motorbikes. Within a short period of 8 months, it had occurred at least 3 cases!

My parents would never agree to allow me to own any motorbike because of safety concern. I had owned one of my Suzuki scrambler in varsity days and I only told my mum upon paying and bringing it home. She was not really happy over it however I did observe the unwritten rule of not riding the bike all the way home from KL to Kampar during holidays or semester breaks. I normally arranged to send it home by using a transport company for a small fees. It was safer to make arrangement this way in order to pacify or relieve the concerns of my parents!

From Honda C70 or popularly known as Honda Cub to Vespa, scrambler or motor-cross bikes, and subsequent more trendy bikes continue to flood the Malaysian market over the years. And now with Yamaha Virago, Kawasaki Vulcan, Honda Shadown and the luxurious Harley Davidson etc. on the Malaysian roads, only the rich could afford! Malaysian government had levied a very high import duty on big bikes. But I think big bikes are safer and more noticeable by other road users, and the use of it should be encouraged!

I would like very much to own one Vulcan 500 or a Honda Shadow 600, though my driving licence is only valid for riding a motorbike till the limit of 250 CC. I know it is really dangerous to ride a motorbike after having driven cars through my many years of experience. On the other hand, I think it is really fun to ride such big bikes for fun especially for leisure trips organized in a group when proper safety precaution is taken.

If I have more money, I will own a Harley!