The biggest surprise of the year 2002 is the LML Energy FX bike. Indeed, if I were to name this bike I would name it just FX, not Energy FX, because apart from the Energetic looks, almost everything in the FX is newer and better. There is an old saying, which says, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating - not in the looking".

In biker's language, "The proof of the bike is in the riding - not in the looking." And the riding of the FX is XLNT, or rather Excellent, with a capital E. Looks the bike already had in its old avatar. Performance is what has been added. Indeed, today I'd say, among the economy segment bikes, the FX is right at the top.

OUTSIDE CHANGES:
The amount of thought that has gone into the FX bikes is apparent the moment you sit on it. You upright the bike from the side stand (forgetting to retract it) and give it a kickstart. The bike start at the first kick every time. You try to shove it into first gear, but gear doesn't fall. Eh? Why not? Why doesn't the gear engage? Aha! You forgot to retract the side stand, which could have been dangerous if the gear had engaged and you had ridden off without retracting the side stand. You see the side stand has a short extension above the pivot, which has a notch in it. When the side stand is down, this notch locks into a short shaft protruding inwards from the heel of the gear shifter (see photo-1), making it impossible to engage gear and move off without retracting the side stand. This is an excellent, failsafe, foolproof, mechanical device, which requires no maintenance.

There are other bikes, which have warning lights and beepers, to warn you of side stand not being retracted. But they are not foolproof. The warning bulb may fuse. The beeper may kaput. The battery (on which these electrical devices work) may be low or dead. Or you may simply fail to notice the warning light or fail to hear the beeper because you are busy saying 'bye to your GF - and get into a fall. But with this solid mechanical arrangement, NOTHING CAN GO WRONG. Excellent!

There are many more changes and improvements in the FX. Starting from the rear, one notices that the FX rear mudguard is much broader (18 cm wide) than the earlier one (12 cm wide). This is great news for the rainy season - will save many clothes and much dhobi expenses. The rear grab-rails are different as also the rear blinkers. The FX blinkers are protruding type (not integrated into the tail lamp as before) which are much easier to distinguish and hence safer. Moving forward, the side panels are different to the extent that the two small compartments built into the side panels (for the tool kit and first aid kit) have been done away with.

Further ahead, the shape of the seat is slightly different though size is the same. The rider cusp (front part) is more pronounced. I have never liked such pronounced cusps where someone else decides where your ass is parked. It hinders ass-slide ability and triple seat riding, so common in our rural areas. This cusp is not unique to the FX. A lot of bikes including Caliber, CBZ, Pulsar and many others have the same shape. Why not offer seat shape options such as an optional flat seat, like the RX 100?

The handlebar width feels an inch wider at 30 inches and pillion legroom also feels an inch longer at 19 inches in the FX. The timing chain tensioner also appears to be different outwardly, though I haven't opened and seen the innards. A very significant improvement is in the electrical switchgear. While earlier the RH light switch moved vertically, and blinker switch was of the old inconvenient sliding type, in the FX it moves horizontally and the blinker switch is of the press-cancel type. What is most important and convenient in the FX however is the addition of a pass-light and an engine-kill-switch (EKS). I firmly believe that an EKS is most essential on every bike and that a bike without a pass-light switch is most unsafe. Luckily for us riders, LML has addressed both these issues and has provided both these essential and safety features on the FX. The shape and positioning of the choke levers too has been changed - while it is LH thumb operated in the old bike, it is LH index finger operated in the FX.

More than the above differences is the fact that the FX has one-key operation, in that one key fits both ignition as well as fuel tank (FT) cap, while in the old Energy (not FX), the FT cap had a different key. The loud and effective twin horns of the earlier bike are just as effective in the FX.

The crowning glory among differences is something out of this world, or rather, out of the ordinary: The excellent transparent headlamp fairing which gives the bike a maha extraordinary look and the twin "Mandrake-the-Magician" type eye-lights (like Bullet) mounted on this headlamp fairing. This is an excellent aesthetic and appealing feature not available on any other bike in India. Full marks to who ever at LML thought about this feature. (Leading bike stylist Amar Paithankar of Pune has fitted this transparent fairing and the Mandrake lights on his Pulsar 180 - and is turning heads).