This is gonna be a long and winding one, so u better sit down nice and comfy, with a cup of coffee near at hand, maybe?
I had given my Zen for service yesterday morning. And all through yesterday and today, till the moment I picked it up, I was feeling a bit jittery. Is it just me or do others also feel a sense of unease, of discomfort when their car is not in their garage or in their sight? Anyway, the dee was forcing me to meet her right after work and postpone picking up the car by a day. She tried every trick in her book. She even assumed I would succumb and be waiting for her when she got out of office. Man, was she disappointed. I'm sorry dee, this is one of the times when I stand guilty as charged, with no defense, but i really can't let it be any other way either. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever understand my crazy obsession. But the sense of relief that overcame me as soon as I saw my sweetheart standing there with the rest of her kind, spotlessly clean, smiling to me a pleasantly satisfied smile made everything worthwhile; ditching a date with the dee, paying 8000 bucks for the service, everything. The seats were not even dry after the shampoo wash. I had to drive sitting on newspaper sheets. As soon as I started her up, the response from the engine was great. Sweet and delicious. Just a contented purr. The engine tune up job seemed pretty good in idling. Put her into first gear, and the lever just slid into the notch with a reassuring click. Call me crazy and old fashioned, but what I like about the Zens of my era (1999-2002) is the degree of feedback the driver gets. From the road, on the pedals, the steering wheel, the gear lever, everything speaks to me. Some language that only I can understand. Telling me how each element is doing, and what's the general level of friendliness or grumpiness that day, so many things. In fact, I can notice the slightest drop in her power, the slightest vibration that wasn't there before, her slightest rattle, her slightest discomfiture of any sort. And i released the clutch. Smooth as silk; it immediately brought a smile on my face. The clutch overhaul (4500 bucks) had worked magic on the feel of the pedal. And when she was in motion, it was poetry. As soon as I was on the road, I noticed, the steering felt a lot smoother, the pickup was a lot higher, the engine was a lot quieter and the brakes were a lot sharper. Motoring Nirvana. She climbed so quickly through the gears. I was doing 35 kph and she hit 5th. I listened for any complaints. None at all. I further dropped the throttle, down to 30 kph, still no complaints. Then i accelerated and she instantly picked right from there, 5th! Awesome. Then I dropped her to 4th at 40 kph, and suddenly she raged forward like a leopard leaping out of the bushes for a perfect ambush. Brilliant. I could almost kiss her motor. I cruised into a quieter street and tested the work on her brakes. Not too noticeable, but the front feels better, the retardation sharper. Good enough. I pulled over to the side and called the dee. Arranged to meet her at 7.15 at the Forum, and u-turned to join the chaotic evening traffic of Bannerghatta road. The Zen was obviously enjoying her little outing after 2 days of cleaning, checkups, tune-ups and upgrades and make-up. She told me so herself. And I was at peace with the world. The traffic didn't bother me. The lane cutting cyclist didn't draw my ire. The painfully slow auto rickshaw didn't irritate me. Suddenly all was perfect. The Zen, the road, her wonderful dream of an engine, that sporty gearshift, me. All in perfect harmony, doing a choreographed sequence, all the cogs and wheels and shafts and cams, to some exotic music that only we could hear.
Life I love you, All is groovy.
PS: I took her out again at 10.15 PM to the NICE road (the stretch between Kanakapura road and Bannerghatta road, 7 km of well asphalted 6 lane highway). I wanted to time a zero-sixty but i didn't have the heart to race her motor just then. I figured she must be sleepy already, so I didn't push her. Anyway, she seemed to be happy just cruising, and she made it a point to mention it again. Very quickly, before I realized, she was sailing at 120 kph. Like knife through butter, her heart humming, the rubber sticking to the new damp tarmac, purring in the confidence of complete control.
I had given my Zen for service yesterday morning. And all through yesterday and today, till the moment I picked it up, I was feeling a bit jittery. Is it just me or do others also feel a sense of unease, of discomfort when their car is not in their garage or in their sight? Anyway, the dee was forcing me to meet her right after work and postpone picking up the car by a day. She tried every trick in her book. She even assumed I would succumb and be waiting for her when she got out of office. Man, was she disappointed. I'm sorry dee, this is one of the times when I stand guilty as charged, with no defense, but i really can't let it be any other way either. I sometimes wonder if I'll ever understand my crazy obsession. But the sense of relief that overcame me as soon as I saw my sweetheart standing there with the rest of her kind, spotlessly clean, smiling to me a pleasantly satisfied smile made everything worthwhile; ditching a date with the dee, paying 8000 bucks for the service, everything. The seats were not even dry after the shampoo wash. I had to drive sitting on newspaper sheets. As soon as I started her up, the response from the engine was great. Sweet and delicious. Just a contented purr. The engine tune up job seemed pretty good in idling. Put her into first gear, and the lever just slid into the notch with a reassuring click. Call me crazy and old fashioned, but what I like about the Zens of my era (1999-2002) is the degree of feedback the driver gets. From the road, on the pedals, the steering wheel, the gear lever, everything speaks to me. Some language that only I can understand. Telling me how each element is doing, and what's the general level of friendliness or grumpiness that day, so many things. In fact, I can notice the slightest drop in her power, the slightest vibration that wasn't there before, her slightest rattle, her slightest discomfiture of any sort. And i released the clutch. Smooth as silk; it immediately brought a smile on my face. The clutch overhaul (4500 bucks) had worked magic on the feel of the pedal. And when she was in motion, it was poetry. As soon as I was on the road, I noticed, the steering felt a lot smoother, the pickup was a lot higher, the engine was a lot quieter and the brakes were a lot sharper. Motoring Nirvana. She climbed so quickly through the gears. I was doing 35 kph and she hit 5th. I listened for any complaints. None at all. I further dropped the throttle, down to 30 kph, still no complaints. Then i accelerated and she instantly picked right from there, 5th! Awesome. Then I dropped her to 4th at 40 kph, and suddenly she raged forward like a leopard leaping out of the bushes for a perfect ambush. Brilliant. I could almost kiss her motor. I cruised into a quieter street and tested the work on her brakes. Not too noticeable, but the front feels better, the retardation sharper. Good enough. I pulled over to the side and called the dee. Arranged to meet her at 7.15 at the Forum, and u-turned to join the chaotic evening traffic of Bannerghatta road. The Zen was obviously enjoying her little outing after 2 days of cleaning, checkups, tune-ups and upgrades and make-up. She told me so herself. And I was at peace with the world. The traffic didn't bother me. The lane cutting cyclist didn't draw my ire. The painfully slow auto rickshaw didn't irritate me. Suddenly all was perfect. The Zen, the road, her wonderful dream of an engine, that sporty gearshift, me. All in perfect harmony, doing a choreographed sequence, all the cogs and wheels and shafts and cams, to some exotic music that only we could hear.
Life I love you, All is groovy.
PS: I took her out again at 10.15 PM to the NICE road (the stretch between Kanakapura road and Bannerghatta road, 7 km of well asphalted 6 lane highway). I wanted to time a zero-sixty but i didn't have the heart to race her motor just then. I figured she must be sleepy already, so I didn't push her. Anyway, she seemed to be happy just cruising, and she made it a point to mention it again. Very quickly, before I realized, she was sailing at 120 kph. Like knife through butter, her heart humming, the rubber sticking to the new damp tarmac, purring in the confidence of complete control.
