Previous articles related to this topic.
1.Brain Stroming on my Next Upgrade
2.Yamaha R3: The Booking Experience
Ok, so the R3 was booked on 23rd of October 2018. The delivery was promised as soon as the full payment was done and after the RTO formalities are complete. I have been following MotoGP since school days and Valentino Rossi’s Blue Yamaha with digits 46 on it were itched in my heart and mind. So, if it was going to be a blue Yamaha, then registration number needed to be 46. Why? Because you don’t buy a 4 Lakh+ bike everyday right? And when you do, you go all out!
During my online research, I had read an article on Teambhp regarding obtaining a choice number without having to use any agent’s service. All you need to do is search the number you wish to get on the RTO’s website, and if it is available in the current series, drop a DD along with the bike’s booking receipt at one of the dedicated window at the RTO office. And then wait till the results were out. Pretty simple huh? Well not when the number in question is desired by everybody from an Activa user to a Polo racer. This way I lost the 46 number in the 2 consecutive series. So I decided to take agent route. I also had an option to pay the dealer’s agent for the same, but he missed the opportunity by not picking up my call and by never calling me back!
The delivery was fixed as 3rd of November. From 23rd Oct to 3rd November, every minute felt like an hour and every day as a year passing buy. On “the” day, I went along with my riding buddies. The bike was parked out for the delivery and from there things just started to go downwards!
First, I saw that some of the radiator fins were deformed. And I very well knew why that happened. Damn the washing guy! He must have targeted the water hose directly on the radiator while washing. One of the reasons why I had specifically instructed the sales guy not to wash the bike before delivery. Lucky by then I was part of the Yamaha R3’s pan India WhatsApp group and the folks there were quick to help me out. The number of damaged fins were small and acceptable. Initially, I was hell bent to get it replaced but then decided otherwise.
That was not it, though the RTO agent hard confirmed that 46 number of the current series was allocated to me, the required receipt will only be available a day later! To this, the showrooms guys objected and decided that I cannot take the bike home without the number on the number plate! So long story short, I came back home without the bike. 2 days later, on 5th of November, I walked into the showroom carrying the RTO receipt and left along with my brand new bike just after a short photo shot conducted by the dealer.
Riding the bike home was an exceptional feeling though. It was mixture of excitement and fear. I was over the moon with my new possession but wanted to ride it home safely without putting a single scratch on it (yes I have a big OCD for scratches). The first ignition start, the first gear shift, the first traffic signal, the first fuel stop, all these just feels like yesterday and I am going to cherish them for a very long long time!