The next time you are at a signal after speeding on a cruiser motorcycle you rented from Date a Bike, they will call you and you can take that as a warning. And if you repeat it three times, you will not be able to travel further as your motorcycle would have switched off.
“It is only for the safety of bikers,” says Vikram Sethuraman, founder of Date a Bike or DAB, city’s one of a kind bike cafe which rents high end cruiser motorcycles like Triumph and Harley Davidson for tours.
It was started in 2015, by two avid bikers, Vikram Sethuraman and Girish Gopalakrishnan, who gave up their full-time jobs to set up this cafe on East Coast Road. The tagline reads ‘Indulge in your dreams,’ which, Mr. Sethuraman says, sums up their objective.
While motorcycle tourism is picking up steadily on one hand, safety of riders has become a rising concern on the other. However, DAB has a strict set of rules which it swears by. It rents out bikes only to those who have completed 25 years of age — they need to submit their original driving licence and passport. Customers are later taken for short night ride in the city. Once convinced about their capability, they are allowed to kickstart their tour. Bikers are also provided riding gear, jackets and helmets.
SIM to track speed
To track their movement, each vehicle is connected to a tracking software with a SIM card and data pack. If the rider speeds, he or she is given a warning over phone when at halt. And the third time, a code is sent to the SIM card of the vehicle which then stops moving when the biker brings it down to 10 km or is at halt.
“We set speed limit of 80 km. When they return the vehicle, we give them live data, which has details about their speed,” said Mr. Sethuraman .
Radhika Sivaramkrishnan, member of the cafe, pointed out to various motorcycle accidents in the city and said motorcycle riding needs discipline. To educate and create awareness of motorcycle riding, DAB will soon be tying up with corporates, educational institutions and Regional Transport Offices in the city.
