Fellow members of Roaring Riders, a Jawa and Yezdi bike club, call Satheesh ‘Kero'. This strange nickname is the result of owning a Jawa that used to run on kerosene. The 1971 Jawa 250cc/353 Kyvacka that he picked up in Thiruchengode had a fuel tank with two compartments — one stored petrol and the other, kerosene. The previous owner did this to keep fuel costs down. He would start the bike on petrol and then switch to kerosene.
Satheesh has installed a single compartment fuel tank that stores only petrol. Due to a fixation for the single saddle that Jawas of an older era sported, he uses a single seat while riding in the city. For long-distance outstation tours, he switches to the guitar-shaped seat characteristic of the later day Jawas.
Satheesh is a regular long-distance rider. Shortly after he got the bike readied through experienced Jawa mechanic Dorai (‘Vathyar' to a crop of young Jawa mechanics), he undertook a Chennai-to-Point Calimere ride with his Jawa club buddies. As the bike has to deal with difficult roads often, he does not spare any effort to keep it at its best. Roaring Riders has two regular mechanics — Shekar and Senthil. Satheesh relies on both.
He wants the bike to be more than a showpiece and, therefore, is not predisposed to looking only for original parts. He deviates from the norm if a spare part could contribute to comfortable rides. The taillight is of the garden variety and different from the one an immaculate Jawa can be expected to sport. But this rear light serves the purpose well. It has stood the test on hellishly dark roads around Tamil Nadu. For Satheesh, a reliable bike is any day more appealing than one that stands out at judging events.
