The Next Ghost Rider?

We ride the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R 1000/ R on the Kari Motor Speedway!

- Sundeep Gajjar

There are few bikes which evoke a sense of speed and mystery and associate themselves with real life superbikers who have achieved cult status riding them. Our own John Abraham in India is mostly associated with the Hayabusa due to his first Dhoom movie even though he is a brand ambassador of another motorcycle company. However on the world stage it was the Ghost Rider who achieved cult status which many have tried to, like more recently – ‘MaxWrist’ who has been going around on public streets on a BMW S1000RR, and even managing to get out of jail to do it again.

For me however, it has been the Ghostrider with his black GSX-R1000. He set the European highways on fire and shared low resolution videos via YouTube, which made him something of a fabled creature.

Coming back to the present. I found myself flying to the Kari Speedway in Coimbatore, my first tryst with the famous track. I gather it has played an important role in shaping a lot of riders and a lot of activities keep happening there. Much before the F1 spec BIC up north. Riding the GSX-R 1000 was excuse enough to pay a visit.

It was the second time I saw the new GSX-R1000s in the flesh, after the INTERMOT last year. There they were – a matte black with red accents looking absolutely fantastic and ‘ghostrider’ ready. The other in the traditional Suzuki blue colours – this was the top spec GSX-R 1000R. But I was already in love with the black!

The Kari Speedway isn’t really suitable for 1000cc machines. What I didn’t know is the condition of the track was literally like that of a road with one-way traffic. Bumps et al and with gravel around a few corners ensured that no flirting with the bike was possible. At least I didn’t want to take any chances!