Sunday August 9, 2009

Brotherhood of bikers

By RASHVINJEET S.BEDI

Big boys and even bigger bikes. The two become one when they hit the road, turn up the throttle and thrive on the adrenalin rush. Sunday Metro catches up with a group of bikers who can’t get enough of it.

WHAT is it about men and their bikes? The older they get, the bigger or more powerful the vehicle they seek.

Ask the guys who gather every Sunday to take their mean machines up Genting Highlands, and the answers are enlightening.

Have bike will travel: Zulkifli Othman, 38, and wife Hazila Abd Kadir, 34, get closer when they go out together for bike rides.

“Middle-age crisis” is one of the more honest confessions. “The power” and “feeling alive” are other euphemisms.

These grown men with their leather jackets, some with bandanas, are a loose gathering of enthusiasts, many initially strangers to each other, congregating at the Coffee Bean outlet at the One World Resort from early to late Sunday mornings.

For Kishore Samuel, 32, riding his Kawasaki Ninja (worth RM80,000) provides him with a sense of freedom.

Easy Riders: (From left) Johnny Cheah and S.C. Chia

“It’s about you, the bike and the road. There is nothing else in between. It’s about feeling alive,” says Samuel with passion and conviction. There are no interruptions by phone calls from colleagues or friends as you can’t take any when focusing on the road, neither are there radio stations blaring in your ear or worries about work plaguing your mind.

“It’s totally different between driving a car and riding a bike,” he explains. In fact, says Samuel, some people find biking so exhilarating that they are taking their bikes beyond local borders; a few bikers are organising a two-month ride from Malaysia to Norway.

“Maybe it’s a form of soul-searching for some,” he adds. While the novice may be highly sceptical about bikers’ claims, the test is in revving the engine and being “as one” with the machine.

For Kishore Samuel, 32, riding provides him a sense of freedom.

Recently, shares Samuel, he introduced a friend who had never ridden a bike before. But once bitten by the bug, his friend was hooked. “I was looking at a bike and my friend tagged along. I told him that riding is therapeutic and he wouldn’t know the feeling until he rode one. He was hesitant at first but after giving it a few tries he came on board. He is now a full blown biker and even goes on trips without me.

“Some of his wife’s friends have come up to me and said, ‘So you are the one who got him into riding.’ I guess I won’t be going for any of his family functions anymore,” says Samuel in jest.

For many others, riding is a way of overcoming their so-called midlife crisis. Tony Siew, 42, started riding when he was about 18 but stopped due to family commitments. He re-ignited his passion for bikes six months ago. “I just needed to feel young again. There is a feeling of total freedom when the wind hits you. It’s not same with a car unless you drive a convertible,” says Tony who rides a BMW GS1200 (RM120,000).

So almost every Sunday, Siew rides up to Genting Highlands via the scenic Ulu Yam road in a group of four or five.

It is the same buzz that branding consultant Peter Gan, 51, gets when he is on his bike.

“There is always an element of danger and the un-protectiveness gives you a thrill,” says Gan who has been riding seriously for eight years. He adds that biking helps him sharpen his reflexes.

“You have to be totally present and focused. A mistake can occur in a split second and you are exposed to the elements,” says Gan who owns a Ducati Monster (RM70,000).

Is the machine a chick magnet?

“Chicks dig bikes but we don’t do it for that. We do it for ourselves,” says Gan.

For biker businessman Edwin Check, 47, the passion comes with a heavy price, so much so he stopped biking for more than 10 years – his brother passed away in a bike accident.

But time healed the wounds and Check was back on the road in 2001 after purchasing a Ducati, which is considered to be the Ferrari of motorbikes.

“My passion was always in bikes. I always wanted a Ducati, which is an evergreen bike,” says Check who co-founded the Kawasaki Motor Owners Club back in the late 80s.

He used to ride fast but now emphasises defensive riding.

“I ride differently now. When I was younger, I would get an adrenaline rush going fast. Now I just want to ride, and not race,” says Check who sometimes rides alone.

Generally, bikers love moving in groups and are bonded by a common passion for the machine. Check shares that when they gather, everyone talks about bikes, a relief from their mundane work routines.

“When you own a bike, you are in a fraternity and fellowship. Everybody is a friend. Everyone shakes your hand whether you know them or not,” says Check, who also owns a BMW Boxer Cup (RM95,000).

But do non-bikers give them the wide berth? Shares senior insurance agency manager S.C. Chia, 43: “At first bikers might look intimidating, but they are all nice people. Most of them are businessmen hanging around looking to network. We are more like the Wild Hogs.” Chia rides with about 20 others who have named themselves the One Cock Club (OCC).

“Most don’t know each other initially. I only knew one of them before riding but somehow, we all tag along. That is beautiful part of riding,” he says.

One thing is obvious – you can’t get your adrenalin fix if you don’t have the purchasing power for one of these babies. These big toys – superbikes, choppers and easy rider bikes – cost more than a basic car or even an arm and a leg. A bike could easily set one back by RM40,000.

Samuel says a big bike such as his would be an item usually purchased after a house and car.

“I’ve wanted a big bike ever since I was of a legal riding age. I told myself that I would get one when I could afford it,” he says.

Johnny Cheah, 45, who has been riding for three years, agrees with Samuel and reckons that most people would buy a bike when they could afford one.

He had previously ridden a bike when he was 21, but stopped after only nine months when he dislocated his arm in an accident. His decision to purchase a big bike was a spur of the moment decision.

“I just woke up one day and decided that I wanted a bike. Many people advised me against it but for bikers, the journey is like the destination. You enjoy it all the time,” he says.

So are they frowned upon like the Mat Rempit?

“We are more like Pak Rempits,” says Siew with a laugh. “At our age we don’t do silly things or harass anyone.”

But these bikers would sometimes be on the receiving end of Mat Rempit harassment. “Some of them like to provoke us by cutting in front of us and ramming their bikes. We just don’t bother with them,” says Chia.

“We are a bit too fast for the Mat Rempits, they don’t have enough power to keep up,” says Gan.

And what about harassment from the police?

“The police rarely disturb us. When there are any road blocks, they let us pass easily,” says Gan.

Related Story:
Bonded by machine

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