IT IS BETTER TO SWEAT THAN TO BLEED

Automobiles have always been a status symbol for the fellows of the elite class in the society. Be it sports people, politicians, industrialists or movie stars and celebrities, your car shouts your name out loud. But only a handful of these people are inclined towards motorcycles. It’s not often that you see a movie star on a superbike. They’d rather pick their four wheeled machines to run about on their everyday chores. The reason behind this would be probably the risk factor. The added risk of injuries while travelling on a motorcycle would probably scare them off. But out of the very few movie stars who are adorned by their mechanical marvels, one notable person is Mr. Ajith Kumar, a superstar from tamil cinema. After all what better way to write an article to the star’s passion for automobiles, who recently celebrated his birthday on May 1^st.

The 43 year old actor has always been associated with automobiles since the early years of his cine career. He is well known for his short stint in motor racing. Yes Ajith Kumar is a professional motorcar racer, who drove in circuits around India in places such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He had also been abroad in his various races including Germany and Malaysia.

·         He has participated in the Indian Formula Maruti Championships n 2002.

·         He has participated in the Formula 3 BMW Asia Championships in 2003 for the Indian team.

·         He placed 6^th and 5^th in the 8^th and 10^th rounds respectively.

·         In total, he finished 12^th among a total of 20 drivers.

·         He participated in the British F3 Scholarship in 2004 for Team Mango from Japan.

“I’ve always had a need for speed. Ever since I sat in a car I wanted to be a professional racer. Lots of people have told me how difficult it is. But I’m not going to fail and I’ve never given anything less than my best shot in all my endeavors.” – Ajith

            He is a fan-favorite among superbike enthusiasts in and around Chennai and almost all his fans know about his passion towards collecting superbikes. Ajith for one has had his hands on a wide variety of superbikes like the Kawasaki ZMR, YZF R1, Ducati 1098, Aprilia Caponord, Ducati Diavel, BMW K1300S and his latest addition the BMW S1000RR.

            It is with this superbike that Ajith recently went on an awareness ride from Chennai to Bangalore and back. His fans are well aware of the star’s late night rides in the city, but this is the first time that he was reportedly seen on his new BMW superbike on bright daylight. He was quoted saying that the ride he undertook was mainly to emphasize on the importance of wearing proper safety gear on motorcycle rides in and out of the city. He also added that “It is better to sweat than to bleed.” Now this is a common phrase among the biking fraternity in Chennai and also among his fans.

            Now let us take a look on his race horse, the BMW S1000RR. In the world of motorcycles, BMW Motorrad was known for its offbeat, out-of-the-world adventure motorcycles until not long ago. The S1000RR however shot BMW into superbike zone. It won a pile of Bike Of The Year awards (BOTY) on its debut and almost overnight this bike was the one to beat. To put it in perspective, it’s the same way how the music composer of the “Kolaveri” hit single rocketed to fame overnight. The bike simply adds another feather to the crown of BMW and its great bie making heritage. This was the bike that gave BMW an indisputable edge in the world of sport bikes. When it was launched in 2009, it instantly became the most powerful production bike on the planet and it held that record for almost three years.

            Parked in a lot, this bike can pull a huge crowd, thanks to its quirky design. As with the case of almost all BMW bikes, the asymmetric design with the headlamps seems to kick of very well. The S1000RR is the epitome of German functionality. The oddball styling if not drool-worthy, is certainly eye catching. Not to mention the shark gill slits on the right fairing. That monolithic swingarm continues to exude that ‘marvel of engineering’ aura. It is bigger than most other liter class superbikes, especially the Japanese. It looks like nothing else and no one’s going to mistake it or anything else.

            For the S1000RR, BMW decided to do things a bit more in the conventional manner. They equipped it with a powerful 999-cc inline four cylinder engine, mated to a six speed transmission that supplies power to the rear wheel via a chain final drive and not a shaft drive. The chassis is aluminum and it features radial brakes, ABS, traction control and a weight of just 183 kilos. BMW’s intentions for the S1000RR were mainly related to racing and, in order to homologate the bike for WSBK, BMW initially produced only 1000 units. However, public demand for the bike forced them to enter series production, and the rest is history.

            With the inline four at heart, the Beemer boasts of a noisy and throaty cacophony from its exhausts which would be a delight to any superbike enthusiast. The power output of the S1000RR is around 193bhp and a whole 112Nm of torque at 9750rpm.

            Electronics and rider aids wise the Europeans have consistently had the upper hand. Throttle response is electric (literally) with ride-by-wire technology which is quite high end.  The S1000RR’s power delivery is quite aggressive, quite enough for your body to automatically clench itself onto the bike’s bodywork with just a slight twist of the throttle. It won’t kill you, but I’m sure it’ll give you a proper scare before it grabs you and knuckle-rubs your head.

            On the whole, the machine is a focused track tool, dedicated to motorsport enthusiasts. It works with the precision of a scalpel, slicing through corners with ease. And with the electronic package on, you’re free to switch it between ‘watering plants’ and ‘chainsaw massacre’ mode. The S1000RR remained the undisputed champion for a long time, saluting the Japs with its middle finger. On the pricing front, it is bloody expensive for things on two wheels. At thirty lacs on road, you could get yourself a brand new Audi Q3, or even a used premium sportscar. Nevertheless, the S1000RR is very much a fitting bike for an ex motorsport racer/ sport tourer/ superstar like Ajith Kumar.

-         Nova