There is a lot of misunderstandings of what ABS is and what it does and more importantly, what it doesn't do. Let us discuss it with a listing of what I think are 3 facts and myths surrounding ABS and why it could save your life someday . ABS is Anti Brake-Locking System As the name implies, it prevents brake locks - the heart-stopping panicking moments of wheel locking up if we apply brake too suddenly. Brakes? Kinda are more important than the engine themselves. This can cause awesome skids which could be attractive if you are a stunt rider and are stunnting. Whereas, if you are trying to stop because you are riding head-on onto oncoming traffic; I have no clue why you would be; but that wouldn't spell good for you, so stopping the biking when you want it to stop is critical for riding. ABS is any system that prevents the wheel lock, by releasing the pressure on the brake disc, if it senses a wheel lock. This is done using motion sensors, which in turn
Having had a fluffle of rabbits (Recently learnt: a group of rabbits are also called a fluffle) for a few months now, I have had the opportunity to learn a lot from them, and through them by retrospection. Of those, I am penning down what I felt were the most underappreciated and barely discussed life lessons. And yes, since this is a blog about love-and motorcycles, these do in a way also relate to motorcycles. So here we go.
Lesson 1: Love Can be Perceived Differently by the Giver and Receiver.
I used to pounce on the rabbits initially to cuddle them and show them that I love them. Hold them in my arms and feed them treats. But they would just get scared and run away. My method of showing love was to cuddle while theirs is to nudge, lick and groom. They wanted to be left undisturbed in their space. Perhaps if you are patient enough, they might let you share their space. Imagine a legacy printer with a serial port to your new Mac with Thunderbolt ports. Yes, the essence is the same, data to be printed is carried to the printer where the printing happens. Yes, they are both ports of some nature connected through a cable.
However, physical incompatibilities of the cable will require multiple adapters before you can make things work. But is it worth the hassle..? That’s the real question to introspect about.
And what I did learn is that it makes sense to figure out how they perceive love, and if possible reciprocate it that way. But trying to enforce your version of love might only end up building fear and mistrust. Perhaps, kissing your motorcycle might not be worth it? Regular maintenance and using it goes a long way than just posting photos with quotes saying how much you love them..? Just like physical incompatibilities of a cable-port does exist, emotional compatibility as well exists and is important. Perhaps, we could find overlap and bridge the gap from there?
Lesson 2: Every Bun is Different no matter How Similar they Look.
Two out of three of my rabbits look almost similar, by age, shape and size. In fact, both are blood-sisters. Yet, they have opposite dispositions. One is attentive, docile and enjoys cuddles. The other is hyperactive, curious and will let you touch it when it wants you to. Irrespective of their similarities in physical appearances, biological connection and the social-geographical environment they grew up in they still are drastically different. Perhaps there is more to emotions than just genetics and social history. Perhaps some things and people are just as they are meant to be. The bike that has been giving you random brake troubles is perhaps just as it is.
A hard lesson I learnt is that the differences that I thought were psychological or physiological issues are just how they are. If I could see them as quirks instead of issues, it opens up the possibility of looking past the quirk, accepting them and working around them. I don’t chase the hyperactive rabbit as it doesn’t like to be held but I could play with it by having it chase me when I treat it. The docile one doesn’t mind being picked up and cuddled, while I wouldn’t expect to play fetch with. Understanding your motorcycle's quirks and realistically working around them is the best path to harmony. Expecting an off-roader to be good at race tracks and a race-oriented machine to ace on a public road filled with pits is a guaranteed road to disappointment.
Lesson 3: The Upkeep Can be Overwhelming
One of the most understated aspects of owning an indoor pet is to clean up after it does its business. Bunnies can be litter trained they said, bunnies are intelligent enough to understand the concept of social hygiene they said. I am certain that they are saying all this because they have the security of the internet. If I ever meet this “THEY”, I will make them come home and do the cleanup duty for a day at the least. The say goes for the pre-launch, post-launch 1st-day reviewers and the celebrities who do any form of endorsement. I am certain at this point that they are either understating the hardships because of modesty or are simply not stating them to attract sponsors. I will let you be the judge of which it would be, trusting your intelligence.
What I learnt from retrospecting about this is that there are no shortcuts around hardship. You can’t own a fleet of motorcycles without earning enough to take care of their upkeep. You could compensate by doing some repairs on your own, but either money, time or both would be expensive. Anyone who owns several motorcycles is either having someone else take care of it, at which point I don’t know why even own them, or doesn’t have a day job/commitment to getting back to. Bite small, learn to chew and then bite more. Eventually, you could down an entire plate of biriyani in one mouth, but would that be worth it? I'd rather eat slow, enjoy small bites at a time. My dad would say just one, but given my commitments right now, maybe, one, two or three bikes at the most is what I would ever need simultaneously. Or anyone for that matter.
I am sure that there is a lot more that can expect to learn from them, and a lot that I can also learn from owning the motorcycles as well. But for now, the most important lesson I have learnt recently that has been vital, almost for survival - going all stoic on my ass- is that there is always a lesson to learn, no matter how big or small the object in the focus is.
PC: Photo by @gavla & @alexisamz
Ride safe and retrospect every second,
Hk
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