Wanja Kavengi
My problem with electric motorbikes is that they are too smooth, too quiet, and they thus rob me of the original boda boda experience. I’m addicted to the noisy mbbrrrr sound of the boda. When I sit behind the boda guy, the wind blowing the odour of his sweaty neck in my face, I want to feel my buttocks vibrating from the noisy engine.
An electric motorbike won’t give me the experience of sitting on a boda as the rider makes that firm, downward stamp to kickstart the engine, and then it refuses. KA! He stamps. It refuses. KA! He stamps again. It refuses again. KA! He tries again. The engine is stubborn. As he allocates all his energy to his right foot so that he can deal with the kickstarter properly, the motorbike jerks with him to the right, and I, sitting on the boda feeling rather embarrassed and silly, am also jerked to the right along with them. KA! He tries again. We jerk again. Nothing. I want to alight. He tells me to stay put. He will get it running now now. I am already feeling too embarrassed to protest. Passengers on other motorbikes pass us by and they look at me pitifully, hoisted on the jammed boda boda, jerking to the right each time he stamps. KA! He does it again. MBBRRRRR! The piece of junk is resuscitated. We are both relieved. This is a special experience that an electric boda would never give me.
Nor would that impostor of a boda boda ever give me the experience of being asked by the rider mid-journey, to alight so that he can bend over the motorbike to see if he can “pull” a few extra drops of petrol in his empty tank to deliver me to my destination.
This post was created with our nice and easy submission form. Create your post!
Did this story move you? Every gift goes directly to Wanja Kavengi — writers on Muwado earn from reader appreciation, not algorithms. Even $1 makes a difference.
Muwado weekly chart
Get Africa’s top 10 stories every Thursday
No account needed — just your email.
Want to follow Wanja Kavengi and get notified every time they publish?
Create a free Muwado account →