Competition is good, it acts as a catalyst to bring out the best products in the market. It is responsible for better quality products, innovations and overall growth in any industry. That being said, sometimes it just becomes ugly and downright stupid, if taken out of logic. Today we are going to talk about the recent video in which people are comparing Royal Enfield Himalayan and Bajaj Dominar 400. Before we go into the topic of why it’s stupid to compare those bikes, let me give you a preview of what happens in the video. The scene is of a dirt track and several motorcycles can be seen down the hill waiting to climb on the sand. The Himalayan goes first and it easily clears the track without any difficulty. Next up was Dominar, which tries to climb the hill but gets stuck in a ditch.
That’s the whole video. What bothers me is not the fact that it was recorded and shared by someone, I mean all of like to share bloopers, but the way in which it was interpreted gave me a headache. Soon, after the video was posted, media websites picked it up and labelled it as “Himalayan vs Dominar” or “RE’s reply to Dominar” or “Royal Enfield strikes back”. Come on man, don’t you have to go out and make a list of “expensive vehicles owned by celebrities who hardly use them”.
Now people will wonder what about the “Haathi Mat Paalo” ads, they too were in the same league as this one, well sorry to burst your bubble but no, they were not. The ad wasn’t made by people to make fun of both of these bikes; instead, it was made by a certain “Organization” in order to make more money for itself. It wasn’t a couple of friends who were just having fun. The real question which you guys should be asking was “Did those ads suck?” and the answer is yes, they do. (Excluding one of them;) )
I am talking about this issue because events like this cause polarization in the Motorcycling community, I have seen two good friends debating like idiots over the topic of Royal Enfield Vs Bajaj. If you don’t believe me, then try posting things like “Classic 350 is a fun to ride a motorcycle” in a Dominar 400 group and “Haanthi mat paalo, Dominar is best” in a RE Bullet group. You will be surprised at the number of people whom you have never met in your entire life, trying to end your existence. It isn’t healthy to point out each and every mistake of one’s motorcycle. Just because corporations fight between them, doesn’t mean we have to as well.
I tell you what; Classic 350 is one of my favourite motorcycles. It is one of the best city bikes ever and I also like the Dominar 400 for its mid-range rush and top speed. Motorcycles exist on such a plane of existence that given enough time, a motorcycle enthusiast will easily own more than one bike.
Not every day you want the aggressive riding position of a Sports bike, sometimes you need that relaxed ergonomics of a cruiser and other times you want the torque rush of a naked monster. All Motorcycles are meant to be experienced, that’s why in the price of just Rs 10 lakh you can buy a Triumph Daytona 675 R, which accelerates faster than almost everything you see on Indian Roads.
Biking community needs to flourish without these shortcomings which start out as fun but soon turns into hate. People come together from different backgrounds to become a part one culture and not to get segregated again in another group. We must learn to appreciate the differences because that’s what forms a perspective and let us know that a certain something is good.
Understand this, Duke 390 is a great bike and I like to ride it whenever I get the chance but if every Motorcycle in the world became like Duke 390, it would become boring.
I hope this article gave all of us a better understanding of what the biking community represents and how we can preserve it. For everything related to Motorcycles stay tuned to BikesMedia.
By: Yetnesh Dubey