The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Bikers brake at xkmph.com

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 20, 2007
ePaper

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Bikers brake at xkmph.com

Staff Reporter

Now a club for bike lovers in the city

BANGALORE: Bangalore’s record number of bikes could be one reason why the city roads are so chaotic.

The riders are often cursed by pedestrians, car drivers, bus drivers, truck drivers, and of course, the men in khaki. Yet, beyond the gaze of the street hawks exist a tribe so passionate about biking that they will set up an online platform to debate, learn, record, and share just about anything about the two-wheeled wonders.

They call it “xKmph”, a club so open that it does not discriminate between scooters and four stroke bikes, mopeds and old two-strokes, Indian and foreign motorcycles.

Active both online and offline, xKmph is a non-profit biking club meant for the passionate biker. But it is not all about speed.

“It does not necessarily mean only those who ride bikes at top speeds. Anyone who rides a bike can join this club and share their experience with others,” says Bharath Kumar K., of xkmph.com.

The club’s intention is to bring all bikers together to share different aspects of biking, and create an ambience that is friendly for members. Club members could submit their photographs to be viewed by others and use the website’s built in classified system to sell or buy biking items. The Bangalore chapter of the club has been built on memberships of a number of avid bikers. As Mr. Bharath puts it, “The day-to-day count of the registered users here is growing fast. The members are people who love their bikes and want to make new friends and share their experiences online.”

To make the city chapter meaningful, the club has arranged a get-together on October 21, near Jumbo-Total mall, close to Mysore Road Flyover. Expected to attend are those with sports bikes, super bikes, mopeds, and even stunt bikes. For starters, xKmph is open to anyone with a bike. But the members will have to share the roles and responsibilities of the community, says Mr. Bharath.

He is confident that the club will find more takers, much beyond the current membership of 50, because “Bangalore has the maximum number of bikes on its roads, and bikers here keep their machines clean and neat and are also looking out for new models”.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka