Petrol Head since birth

As far as I can recall, I've been a petrol head since I came into this world in my birthday suit. Some may ask 'what's a petrol head?'. Well here's what the Cambridge Dictionary online has to say:

petrol head noun
/pet.ral'hed/ n [C] informal
someone who likes and uses their car a lot, and does not want to use any other type of transport

I believe altering this definition to 'someone who likes and uses their car or bike a lot, and does not want to use any other type of transport' would still serve the purpose without prompting English pundits to raise their eyebrows.

I've been totally digging cars (yes 'digging' is a part of the English dictionary :D) my entire life. When I was 6, like any other child, I always recognized red Ferraris. Maybe Lamborghini or Porsche was too difficult for me to remember but never did I forget the red car. You see its very interesting, how the first of many cars that small kids recognize is a red Ferrari. I remember going to this toy shop with my father in the evenings and buying small Matchbox cars. I don't remember which ones I had - but I definitely remember a red Ferrari among them.

My passion for bikes came in a later stage of my life. Having spent my entire childhood in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - I got to see a lot of fancy bikes, such as Harley Davidsons, Gixers (Suzuki GSXR series of sport bikes), Hondas and Yamahas. I remember watching the HOGs roar by our car on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway, completely awestruck.

My passion for bikes became more stronger when we came to Pakistan during our summer vacations. My maternal uncle taught me how to ride on his Honda CG125. Balancing was no problem because I knew how to ride a bike - putting the machine in gear was the issue. I got over it soon but would only ride in a small area in the first gear. I learned proper riding when I came to Islamabad for my higher education, aged 17. I also started driving at the same age.

I purchased my life's first vehicle in spring 2006- a shiny new Honda CG125 Deluxe , in black. Taxes and the excise duty on vehicles is very high here in Pakistan, so is the fuel and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) on which the entire road traffic of this country runs. As a result the CG125 is considered as a luxury amongst bikers and is a dream bike of every Pakistani student to own (unless he owns a car). My plans for purchasing a new bike were halted two times. The first time was when my uncle gave me news about a new model of the CG125 that was expected to come into the markets soon. The second time was in respect of the month of Muharrum. I ended up purchasing the bike in April 2006, the most exciting day of my life. Thanks dad! :)

Once I got my very own bike, my love for bikes and biking grew more intense. I searched the internet for online forums for technicle and modification tips and suggestions for the CG125 but sadly couldnt find any related to my bike. After many days of searching online, I found a website, perhaps the only website (http://hondacg125.awardspace.com/), that contains lots of information for CG125 owners. The owner of that website has posted his email address for communicating via email. I've referred to him a couple of times with some maintainence issues and he has been very kind to help me out. I can never thank this guy enough. It was during this period I started searching for bike magazines in used book shops, since new magazines were very rare and very expensive. I eventually found a detailed motorbike magazine called Fast Bikes Magazine (http://www.fastbikesmag.com/). I couldnt find any better magazine to date. It contains tons of info on bikes, maintainence, proper riding techniques etc along with some eye candy.

Its from this magazine I discovered my favourite bikes. I had the 2006 issue of Fast Bikes and at that time they had a cover issue of the new Suzuki GSXR 750. It was the bike of the year 2006 and 2007. In 2008 Yamaha took the title with their all new R1 - which they claim is the closest a road legal bike can get to a MotoGP bike. Being a huge fan of Valentino Rossi, I'm a loyal fan of the R1. I do like the GSXR 750 too. I plan to buy either one of them once I get a job abroad. Sadly it would be too expensive to buy and run in Pakistan.

In my summer vacations this year, I got to drive a number of cars: A rental Toyota Yaris and a Nissan Tiida (when our own car broke down), our old humble Mercedes Benz 300 SE (W126 shape) and the new addition to our family; an E320. I also got to drive my friend's BMW 350 Coupe. I thoroughly enjoyed the driving experience in the UAE.

I can keep on writing about my petrol head-ism but I guess I should call it stops now.

Motoring-ly Yours

G