BIKE India Editor and his brother team up to design an exhaust system to juice up the FZ

The Yamaha FZ 16/FZ-S is one amazing street fighter. It has a low end grunt which every enthusiast loves in the urban scenario. Flicking the bike around the city chaos and getting the torque from the engine with a slight wring of the right wrist makes it the perfect urban tool. But then, the bike lacks a bit in the higher revs. A biker is not going to be riding in the city all the time. He will sneak out on weekends and do some highway runs. It goes without saying that he will also head towards the mountain roads where the FZ will do uphill climbs around the bends of the ghat sections. This is where the bike suffers a bit. It is strong enough till 5000 revs but after that it becomes a bit tough for the bike to match the expectations of an aficionado.

To solve this very issue and make the biker happy anywhere and everywhere he travels, BIKE India Editor Aspi Bhathena and his brother Sheri Bhathena sat down to design a free flow exhaust system. After tackling quite a few things, a completely new exhaust system was made which included the bend pipe as well as the end canister. The front bend pipe has been given a proper tuned length. The end can, unlike a regular free flow exhaust, has a specific degree and a newly calculated diameter and volume. This has resulted in a uniquely customized system that, as we expected, performs much better than the stock one.

It definitely impressed me once I rode the bike up and down the Dehu Road stretch. Pinning the throttle, the rev counter showed the needle going all the way past the redline and that too pretty freely. The engine didn’t feel stressed at any time throughout the rev range. In fact once past 5000rpm, unlike the stock FZ, the bike with the custom exhaust revs more happily. With the least amount of hesitation, the bike revs more in each gear giving a better top speed in every gear and this finally reflects in the top speed of the bike. To gauge the difference in the performance of the new exhaust and the stock one, we carried the stock exhaust along as well. Testing the same FZ with two different exhaust systems back-to-back left us with baffling results. The data recorded by our testing equipment showed that the stock bike managed 0-60km/h in 6.5 seconds where as the one with the free flow exhaust crossed the same mark in merely 5.2 seconds. (The figures of the stock bike are different from the one we tested earlier since this was a used bike and tested in a different environment than the one that we rode during our road test).

Even the top speed of the FZ has gone up considerably from 110km/h (true) to 114.7 km/h (true). While delivering the performance, the sound level has also been kept as low as possible for the free flow exhaust. Though it is louder than the stock one, it is not at all annoying for the rider, the pillion or the people around them on the road and in the neighbourhood. Apart from the performance gain achieved on the FZ, another modification has been done to the bike giving it a better braking ability. The rear disc break unit from the Pulsar 220 has been installed on the bike to improve the overall braking at higher speeds.

For further details and to buy one of these for your very own FZ, contact: Prakash Kunthe +91 9822442911 Sheri Bhathena +91 9850057477 Pramod +91 9422080811

Mulund lad, Gaurav custom builds an exhaust system for the YZF-R15.Adhish Alawani finds out if it performs better

Yamaha introduced the YZF-R15 with the intention of acquainting Indian bikers with hardcore performance. No doubt, the Japanese company successfully defined track performance with the R15 in India. However, most costumers in the country are going to use the bike in cities and for sport touring on highways. Like a trademark Yamaha race bike, the R15 has its power band in the higher revs, more precisely over 7500rpm. Riding the bike in such high revs is not practical on a daily basis in town. The R15 definitely feels a lot sluggish from the bottom end to the midrange making it a chore for tackling traffic.

Gaurav, an avid BIKE India reader and a hardcore sports touring fan, decided to modify his R15 so that it would deliver a better midrange performance. To start the project, he made a new exhaust system for his YZF-R15. Obviously, he was not keen on making just a new free flow canister. Gaurav decided to engineer the complete exhaust system which included the pipe as well as the end can.

Getting help from some local mechanics for the labour work, Gaurav managed to make an exhaust system for his bike which he felt was good enough to kill the stock R15 in straight line acceleration as well as top speed. So we decided to hook up our performance testing equipment on his modified bike and gauge its performance against the stock R15.

Looking at the exhaust, you can immediately make out that this one is a bit smaller than the stock exhaust. However, it has the same cap on it that is found on the stock one making it look more familiar to a layman’s eye. Leaving aside the looks, I decided to do a couple of performance runs on the bike. The second run itself gave a 0-60km/h timing of 4.5 seconds. Just a new exhaust system has trimmed off more than over half a second in the 0-60km/h acceleration run. Even the 0-100km/h run showed us that the modified R15 managed the sprint in 12.5 seconds as against 13.2 seconds of the stock bike. As far as top speed is concerned, the bike recorded a top whack of 134km/h on the equipment. A slightly longer straight with lesser traffic to bother about would have raised the top speed further is what we felt looking at the few more revs to go in the top gear.

This rise in performance of the R15 can be experienced from around 5000rpm unlike the stock bike which comes alive just after 7500rpm. The midrange of the bike was much stronger than the stock R15 which I am sure will make a positive difference for city riding. Also, the sound note from the free flow system is louder than the stock one yet much better and quieter than the other locally made exhaust systems.

 

This exhaust system for your R15 can be bought at a humble price of Rs 9000 (includes the pipe and the canister) Contact: +91 9819003637

 

Saeed Akhtar is in a stupor as he goes one up on Vin Diesel with a steroid injected Karizma
Photography by Sanjay Raikar

 

A few decades back, performance enhancement was a term very few bikers in India were familiar with. The racing community was in its nascent stage and most bikers were satisfied with whatever miniscule performance was on offer. But as time progressed, bikers – like all humans – began demanding more from their steeds and started getting familiar with acronyms like NFS, TFATF and thus NOS.

Nitrous oxide systems are still regarded as an arcane art even in most tuning circles. Movies like the Fast and the Furious series, Dhoom and the Need for Speed games franchise have elevated the NOS acronym to something of a cult yet they are also notorious for wrecked powertrains and giant fireballs. First used during World War II in Luftwaffe aircrafts to boost the power output, Nitrous Oxide or N20 is a colourless non-flammable gas with a pleasant, slightly sweet odour and taste. It is popularly known as laughing gas because of the euphoria it induces in humans. Amongst petrolheads too, it induces euphoria but of a slightly different sort. Although it is not flammable in itself, its ability to deliver more oxygen by breaking down at elevated temperatures makes it an excellent catalyst for burning Saudi Arabia’s finest in the fastest possible time. The gas is stored in liquid form and injected either into the intake manifold or right before the cylinder (direct port injection) whereupon its expansion causes more air/fuel mixture to enter the cylinder. By this simple expedient of burning more fuel, very large power gains are possible provided you know how much stress your machine can handle. The increased cylinder pressures caused by nitrous induction have to be harnessed very carefully otherwise you risk blowing off your valves or melting the piston to a molten lump in your enthusiasm. No kidding.

BIKE India has tested NOS kits fitted on the Yamaha Enticer pseudo-cruiser as well as on the screaming Pulsar 180 third gen in the past. This misty morning we ushered in Diwali with the best firecracker we could lay our hands on – a modified Hero Honda Karizma with NOS and a reworked, longer gearing. The blue Karizma featured here is fitted with a 300ml nitrous oxide can that is sufficient to propel the 223cc bike forward for 15 short bursts. Harish Chellani, the owner, importer and installer of the NOS kit, will happily supply you bigger containers for more bursts if you don’t fancy visiting the refill shop too often. Speaking of refills, a 300ml refill will cost you only 150 bucks – a fair bargain considering the power that’s on offer. Harish has found a convenient location for the cylinder in the sari guard, from where a silver coated pipe carries the gas to the inlet manifold. Call it direct injection if you will. A toggle switch, resembling the ones used in old spy movies, that controls the NOX induction is mounted inside the fairing. With it, in the on position, the horn switch ditches its usual duty as a traffic shredder and assumes the role of a catapult. Harish hasn’t fiddled with the carb yet but he has two jets of different sizes for varying amounts of nitrous boost, depending on your craving. The smaller one was on the bike and the bigger one was, well, in his friend’s pocket. Bugger!

The rules are clear and simple, you can employ nitrous boost in every gear provided the rpm is above 4000 and the throttle is fully wrung to the stop. On my first run on the expressway, I gingerly pressed the horn button while in the second gear and braced myself for the kick in the back. Although it didn’t quite qualify as a kick, the tacho needle went berserk and raced up the limiter very fast – too fast for a 223cc bike! Approaching the limiter, the engine roared like it was going to blast its innards out if I persisted anymore. Hmmm. . . . must be time to wind up another gear. A momentary slowing down of pace and it was mayhem again as I pressed the horn button hard enough to snap it off its mounting. No time for glancing down at the speedo or tacho, my eyes were too busy watching out for innocent and beautiful belles with pitchers straying on the tarmac as well as four-legged creatures answering nature’s call right in the middle of NHAI’s crowning glory. If you have not ridden anything on the far side of a Ninja 250 or a RD350, the acceleration even with the smaller jet and longer gearing (14 teeth front/38 teeth rear sprocket a opposed to 13/40 stock sprockets) is astounding. The noise too! Even in higher gears, the bike pulls with such alacrity, that it is very easy to cross sane speeds unless you are also keeping an eye on the speedo. Which frankly, we won’t recommend. Whereas this Karizma (with a reworked gearing) does the 0-60km/h run in 4.77sec sans the laughing gas, it does the same run in 3.87sec flat with it. The 100km/h mark was done and dusted in 10.06sec with NOS. Without it, the bike touches the ton at a relatively slow 13.10sec. Lack of saddle time and horrendous traffic prevented us from taking the top speed estimate, although it must be fairly high up on the stock bike. Sorry.

The downsides of this manic exercise are that it becomes very difficult to resist a dab on the horn button every time you see an open stretch of tarmac. If you are ready to compromise a fair bit on the longevity front for some adrenalin, go right ahead and install it – it’s worth every precious penny. Whether it should be used on public roads is an issue only your heart can decide. However, continuous high revving will eventually take its toll on the bike. A small price to pay, we reckon, considering the excitement that’s on offer.

The NOS cylinder finds a convenient home in the saree guard	The sprocketing has been revised for a higher top speed	Faster acceleration and higher top speed hand in hand, gimme more.

The leading performance parts maker from U.S.A, Two Brothers Racing introduce a special exhaust system designed specifically for the Yamaha R15. Adhish Alawani finds out just how good it is

The YZF-R15 was launched in the Indian market more than a year ago and it raised the standard of sport biking in the country to a new level. The country’s performance motorcycle scene has been scaling new heights ever since. An appreciable change that is currently being witnessed in the Indian biker is that he has started preferring performance upgrades to the cosmetic ones these days. As a result, various options along these lines are being explored today.

After testing the performance kit from Daytona and a locally made exhaust system for the R15 in our previous issues, what we have here is the latest offering from Two Brothers Racing (TBR), USA. Specially designed for the YZF-R15, this exhaust system comes from the US manufacturer who has been making high performance racing canisters and full exhaust systems across the global range of street motorcycles, motocrossers and ATVs.

The end can of the exhaust system offered by TBR features their patented lightweight, thin wall die-cast aluminum inlets and outlets. The vertical oval canister from the M-2 series comes with the V.A.L.E. (Variable Axis Locking Exhaust) system – a method in which the muffler canister is attached to the exhaust tube without the use of welding. With the V.A.L.E. systems, the muffler assembly – the exhaust tube and canister – can be positioned perfectly on the bike before all the mounting hardware is fully tightened. Once the canister and exhaust tubes are properly aligned, the V.A.L.E. assembly locks the muffler canister to the exhaust tube assuring a perfect, leak free fit. A lot of technical science, is it? Okay, let’s talk the language a biker understands. Performance. With the data logging equipment mounted on the R15, we decided to do 0-100km/h runs on the stock bike as well as the one with the TBR system. Very frankly, we didn’t need the data logger to tell us that there was a noticeable rise in the performance of the Yammie. The R15 started pulling pretty strongly right from 5000rpm unlike the stock model which does the job from around 7000rpm. The midrange of the bike feels much stronger than the stock one making it a more tractable machine for city use. If one has to speak in terms of accurate timings then with the TBR exhaust system, the R15 managed 0-60km/h in 4.15 seconds as against 4.9 seconds of the stock bike. The R15 crossed the three digit mark in a mere 11.76 seconds with TBR which is much quicker as compared to 13.04 seconds with the stock exhaust. With an improvement of 1.28 seconds in the 0-100km/h run, the TBR system definitely does the job it is intended to do. The weight of the new exhaust system is just 2.09 kg, almost a whopping 3.5 kg lesser than the stock one, which helps in boosting performance to a considerable extent.

Apart from the fantastic performance offered by the exhaust system, there is no doubt about the cosmetics of the canister. The brilliant finishing and the upmarket styling of the muffler, like the ones on Fireblades and R1s, will definitely add glamour to your bike. However, being a pure racing product, the TBR system is loud and can technically be used only on the racetrack. Riding the R15 with this system on a daily basis in the city is not really going to be comfortable for anyone’s ears. The company claims that they will soon be coming out with the Power Tip accessory for the exhaust that will help in suppressing the sound emission to a great extent with a negligible reduction in the performance. Apart from the loud nature of the exhaust, the price is going to be another negative aspect. At Rs 19,990, the exhaust is quite expensive but then, it’s the racing performance that we are talking about and every bit of it comes at a price – especially when it is from the masters who have been delivering amazing products for quite some time in the international market. The TBR exhaust for the R15 will also be available with csarbon or titanium canisters (Rs 27,500).

Full System The kit will include the pipe as well as the canister along with all the nuts and bolts and accessories for fitment	Muffler Cap The canister comes with a neatly crafted magnesium cap

A cool, custom built cruiser based on the RD350
Story Mihir Gadre

Shirish Kakatikar, a young lad from Belgaum and a jeweler by profession, has a passion for big cruiser bikes. He has always dreamt of owning a big cruising machine. His dream seemed to be materializing when he approached AMC (Amit Moto Co) run by Amit Sawant, a mechanic who specializes in modifying bikes. At AMC, Amit and his team started working on a Yamaha RD350.

Selecting the RD as the donor bike was definitely the right choice as the 32bhp, two-stroke engine had more than enough power to propel a heavy cruiser. Moreover, the sonorous exhaust note of the twin cylinders would make sure that the finished product would grab attention on the road with ease. The Vulcan, as Shirish calls his customized bike, is full of exquisitely detailed, eye catching features. It features a custom made tank with twin lids like the Indian Chief, a chrome plated instrument panel and a flame paint job, which is a common sight on most custom bikes.

A lot of modifications had to be made in order to fit a wide Bridgestone 190/17R tyre at the rear. A rim that could house this wide tyre was sourced from the Tata Sumo and was altered by taking off the center portion and making a provision for the hub and spokes. A special swingarm that was wide enough to house the wheel along with a custom made wide fender had to be fabricated. Even the chassis had to be widened at the rear to house the huge rear fender. The paint job on both the fenders and the tank is another center of attraction. The flame job on the bike is the reason it is named after the Roman God of Fire, Vulcan. The chrome plated engine, the rims, the forks, the footrest assembly, the rear shocks and the wide handlebar make the bike more attractive.

The Vulcan features a host of other modifications as well. The clutch operation system is changed from a normal cable system to a hydraulic one, using the hydraulic pump of a Honda bought from a junkyard, which was found to be working fine on the RD. The same bike’s front disc’s hydraulic pump was picked up to do duty here. The ignition system has been changed from the normal point setting type to an electronic ignition using separate coils for each cylinder. The front and rear discs are taken from the Honda Unicorn, the front caliper is of a Pulsar and the rear caliper is of some sports bike, bought from a junkyard.

The twin exhaust pipes are merged into a single pipe, firing out sound notes somewhat similar to a Harley. But using the exhaust of a four-stroke motorcycle on a two-stroke engine doesn’t make it a technically sound proposition. The front footrests, the brakes and the gearshift paddle have been sourced from the Yamaha Enticer. The stock front forks have been raised by two inches. The rear suspension is taken from the Bajaj Eliminator. The front tyre is a Dunlop with a 120mm wide section. The head lamp and the speedometer are taken from the Bajaj Eliminator. The Vulcan, like all custom motorcycles, offers the ultimate poser value and guarantees exclusivity that can’t be had with any mass produced bike.

RD350 engine with electronic ignition	Rear disc from the Unicorn	RD350 engine with electronic ignition

No, that’s not a new Royal Enfield model for the overseas market but the result of a passionate biker’s dream of making a V-twin

 

For Aniket Vardhan, it was his love and passion for Harley-Davidsons (and their awesome V sound) together with a dream to visit the legendary bike maker’s homeland that lured this Delhi-born bike nut to the States. But before he left India, he had enough time to toy around with his own bike, a Bullet and try to gather whatever information he could on V-twins. In 2002, he went to the States finally to pursue a Masters in Industrial Design. The idea of picking up an old Bullet engine, while on a trip back home in 2003 helped him kick off the whole V-twin dream project – the final result of which you see on these pages. Yes, that an actual working V-twin motor made by using, well, two 350cc Royal Enfield engines!

After months of patience, hard work as well as a few minor setbacks, Aniket was about to give up when he thought of getting back to the basics. For instance, he kept the engine stock – same old tappets, stock piston, oil pump, etc. Tweaking the oil filter slightly, having external copper oil pipes and keeping the same single downtube frame were some of the things that were essential for Aniket. He also had to learn machining and thus sought the help of Mr. Boggs who was kind enough to let him use his workshop. After a year of machining, one fine day, unbelievably, the lump of metal, err, the V-twin fired up on the very first try! Mild Bullet cams have been retained and the compression ratio is a low 7:1. Power modifications are in the pipeline but even without them, the bike pulls cleanly from as low as 30km/h with the stock four-speed gearbox which Aniket intends to replace with a new five-speed one. The second piston also helps cut the vibes to an extent which means that this bike makes fewer vibs than Aniket’s Triumph Bonny!

On the mechanical front, the two cylinders share the same crank and transmission. The oil pumps are stock but the flow rate has gone up by four times. Aniket is looking at raising the compression ratio, fitting lumpier cams, some porting job and of course bigger carburetors. All these changes should make the new engine churn out around 50 horses!

The Musket, as he lovingly calls his bike, is a rare outcome of a biker’s dream and passion of doing something. Words can’t describe what this bike sounds like. So log onto www.bikeindia.in and listen to the lovely beat of the two cylinders on the move.

 

Boasting of true American character, Confederate Motorcycle Company redefines the laws of motorcycle building by creating rebellious bikes
Words: Ravi Chandnani
Photography: Confederate

I believe that conventionality has a new challenger in the form of Confederate Motorcycle Company that specializes in building some of the wildest motorcycles in the world. Their one-off creations are scintillatingly awesome and mature enough to give healthy competition to some of the biggest names in the custom bike industry. H. Matthew Chambers, the alpha male who dominates the Confederate jungle, is the mortal who can be held responsible for initiating the company with a vision that was sculpted out of rebellion and carved by individuality. Chambers started off as a lawyer and worked his way up the ladder but after winning a major case, he opted out in order to follow that little rebellion inside him and build motorcycles that were adorned by the true American industrial design character and his love for hot-rods.

He established Confederate Motor Company in 1991, and since then there has not been a single product that has wandered off CMC’s core values. Products like the Hellcat Combat and the Wraith rocketed CMC to new heights in the galaxy. In 2005, the Hellcat Combat made its debut and to the world’s surprise, it took the company global. After that, came the Wraith which needless to say, was the ultimate custom bike that truly portrayed American rebelliousness with elements that shouted industrial designing. The firm’s latest machine, the P120 Fighter is as solid and rugged as American designing can get. Machines built by CMC are more like rock stars with a love me or hate me attitude.

F131 HELLCAT COMBAT

If you think custom bikes are motorcycles that only boast of poser appeal, then I would recommend you reconsider. The F131 Hellcat Combat is an amazing CMC creation that will perish all the images of chrome laden custom bikes with raked out fronts and fascinating paint jobs from your bloody brain. The design of this beastly machine screams American industrial design which forms the base of CMC’s core values. The F131 is loaded with components that surpass the regular benchmark and create a new niche in terms of quality and exploitation of technology. Use of aircraft grade aluminium and carbonfibre along with exclusive and expensive metals make the Hellcat one expensive ride. However, you get a whole lot more bang for every penny you pay starting with the design itself. The marvellous silhouette of the bike presents a perspective that visualizes future custom bikes. High quality Marzocchi racing front forks clamped to the solid triple trees hold the highly durable 18-inch carbonfibre wheel that is shod with 130/60 Metzeler rubber. The sleek and minimalist front with three tiny lamps and a single speedo/tacho unit with a touch enabled switch gear give a futuristic character to the Hellcat. The uniqueness of the bike lies in the frame which is constructed using thick carbon steel tubes enabling the chassis to hold oil inside these tubes. But the biggest feature on the F131 is the handcrafted radial twin engine. It boasts of mammoth proportions of torque which happens to be 203Nm and 151PS of power. All of this is transferred to the huge 9.4-inch wide rear tyre via a five-speed transmission designed by CMC. Massive braking power comes in the form of six piston, monoblock front callipers with semi-floating 300mm rotors and a two piston CNC machined rear calliper with 240mm rotor. The F131 is a pure example of traditional American custom bike designing meeting contemporary technology and materials to create a futuristic machine.

B120 WRAITH

Have you ever wondered how tanks are built? If not, then I would suggest you read on. Comparing a bike to a tank might seem way to much, however, one look at the Wraith and your queries are answered. This is a machine from Confederate that challenges conventionality. Many creative minds would put up an argument on whether this is a bike or some sort of army experiment. However, in my book, this is definitely a motorcycle and that too an intriguing piece of art and technology. Built using some of the most expensive and exclusive materials, this has to be one of the wildest and the most gorgeous bikes ever built. The B120 features a carbonfibre monocoque frame that makes it more agile and lends excellent torsion and bend rigidity. The frame also eliminates the need for body work as it has the capability of storing fuel and oil in carbon tubes. However, the most eye-catching feature of the Wraith has to be the Girder style front forks. Such suspension units were initially seen on examples such as the Brough Superior, the Vincent and a few others. They had units made out of steel, however, the Wraith features a unit built entirely out of carbonfibre. With CMC everything is exclusive and the Wraith is no exception. Breathing fire whilst sitting in the monocoque frame is a 2.0-litre V-twin motor hand built by Jims/CMC to develop a whopping 176Nm of turning force and 126PS of power. All of which is directed to the rear wheels via a five-speed tranny developed by CMC. The Wraith weighs around 176.9kg (dry) which might be on the heavier side, however, the ride is awesomely comfortable thanks to the well calibrated Penske suspension unit at the rear and high end Girder forks up front. The overall ride quality of the B120 is quite sporty as its dimensions are pretty similar to a sports bike. These examples are built in very few numbers with an ultra high price tag, hence it’s best just to dream about the Wraith.

 

P120 FIGHTER

After creating the wild and furious Wraith, many were curious about what the company would introduce next. High-end technology and expensive materials were all utilized in the making of the Wraith and many thought that the next CMC creation would follow similar cues. However, Chambers came up with a unique idea. To an extent, he excused the use of carbonfibre and diverted his attention on utilizing a metal that has been used by CMC since the Hellcat – aircraft grade aluminium. Hence his latest creation, the P120 is a hell of a lot different than the other two bikes. To begin with, the P120 features a frame that is built entirely out of aircraft grade aluminium which eliminates the heavy factor from the equation thus creating an agile frame. At first, the massive backbone tube might appear to be hollow at the beginning. However, a closer inspection reveals that the hollow part is actually an oil reservoir which feeds oil to the engine via copper hoses. The backbone also doubles up as an 18-litre fuel tank with a tiny little seat attached at the rear of the tube. But what steals the spotlight is the radial twin monster nestled in the monocoque frame. This 2.0-litre beast develops some staggering figures for a bike made completely out of aluminium. Turning force is rated at 183Nm at the rear wheel with a maximum power output of 162PS. These figures are transmitted to the massive 8-inch wide carbonfibre wheel fitted with 9.4-inch wide Pirelli via a five-speed close ratio tranny from CMC. The cherry on the cake has to be the Girder front forks, again fabricated using aluminium which makes the front extremely agile just like the frame. The P120 might appear to be a rhinoceros, however, it weighs just over two quintals with dimensions close to a sports bike, thus making the handling butter smooth. The P120 is a classic example of rebelliousness and true individualism that is based on the CMC philosophy.

 

Here’s how you transform 200 odd kilos of a classic era heavy metal into an evocative café racer
Words: Saeed Akhtar

Regular readers of BIKE India will be familiar with the name of Chanderjeet Rai whose story we featured on these pages two years ago. He loves all things automotive, especially those that need two wheels for locomotion and an engine in between. This time round, Chanderjeet has directed his biking endeavours towards another realm – bike customization.

It all began way back in August last year when a local dealer offered him a 1972 Royal Enfield B-model 350cc motorcycle. Sensing that he was onto a good thing, Chanderjeet duly decided to go further and customize the bike in order to give it that distinctive feel. Since he already had an AVL 500 sitting in his garage, Chanderjeet was not too keen on retaining the bike’s original looks and decided to do away with it. Thus, the café racer project was born (he briefly mulled over a trials version too, but decided it had more cons than pros in India anyway).

First, every part that could be stripped off the bike was taken off. Then it was the fuel tank, the seat and the rear cowl which got the boot. In their place came an especially handcrafted custom tank in addition to a small, rearward mounted humped seat and an aerodynamic rear cowl. Complementing them were the modified handlebars for that signature café racer crouched riding posture. The non-folding kick starter was ditched and the footpegs were replaced by custom made rearsets which completed the riding position. Chanderjeet hasn’t fiddled much with the engine, considering its venerable age, and hence the only concession to performance is the free-flow exhaust. Over a period of six months, the old warhorse slowly evolved and after a final dash of chrome to the tank, it was ready to roll. As a fitting tribute to his better half, Chanderjeet chose to christen the now gleaming café racer as Richenfield – a portmanteau word that blends his wife’s name Richa and Enfield.

 

Young guns are building custom choppers. Are we getting ready for future biker build-offs?
Words: Adhish Alawani  
Photography: Sawan Sekhar Hembram

Custom choppers are gaining popularity in the country. With a growing consumer base, we have newer and younger talent showing their skills at building custom choppers in the market. The latest chopper customizer we come across is from Gujarat. Calling themselves the Trojen Horse Customs (THC), Pandit brothers Dhruv and Nipun are involved in building custom choppers.

Dhruv has always been a motorcycle fanatic. His passion for modifying bikes and an education in Commercial Art tempted him into the business of building custom choppers. Having met the brothers at the Auto Expo and witnessed their obsession for modifying motorcycles, we decided to get hold of one of their machines in Mumbai and see for ourselves what the Pandit brothers were up to.

Achilles, the first of the THC bikes to have hit the road, carries the basic ideals followed by the builders of the chopper – innovation and uniqueness. Built on the Thunderbird frame, the bike’s side profile shows a mixed blend of flowing curves and flat panels. The tank’s top outline flows smoothly and gels into the seat nicely. The curve continues to dip beyond the centre of the seat and then rises up further beyond the seat in the form of steel tubes. Though it’s a smoothly curving shape that we see from the side profile, it actually turns out to have a sharp edge if seen from any other angle. The flat, slanting side walls of the tank give it the feel of a stingray. The twin tank comes as a part of THC’s innovative thinking. Separated by the backbone tube, the two tanks supply fuel through two different fuel pipes that converge into one and are then connected to the carb. A bigger 19-inch front wheel and a smaller 17-inch rear wheel shod with fat 190mm rubber give the bike a typical American chopper look. However, with the rake angle unchanged and the handlebar pulled back, the bike’s geometry doesn’t turn out to be very appealing. The front forks are straight from the Thunderbird while the rear one is the monoshock from the Honda Unicorn. Custom detailing is seen everywhere on the motorcycle, right from the flamed mirror rods to the forked footpegs to the LED tail lamp strips. Highway bars have also been incorporated for long cruising journeys. The Bajaj Avenger’s front disc has been used on the Achilles as a rear brake.

The THC Achilles comes with a twin tank that supplies fuel through two individual fuel pipes	The engine and transmission come from an old Bullet

The THC Achilles is the Pandit brothers’ first attempt in the market. There has been an investment of thought, art and skill in the product. However, there is a lot of scope for improvement at the same time. The fit and finish needs to be worked upon. Better engines and transmissions would help them make better bikes. Some elements like the two headlights sandwiching the registration plate, the handlebar design and the front alloy wheel don’t suit my taste. Nonetheless, the end consumer has an option of customizing the bike according to his own choice. THC is working on a couple of more bikes which could probably include new stuff like a single sided swingarm, airbrush art paint jobs, an alternative to the chain drive, etc. We are waiting!

NIPUN PANDIT
Nipun, who took time out on a Saturday morning for the shoot, handles the marketing for THC in Mumbai currently. He plans to expand sales by tapping the markets in Goa, Pune and Delhi in the future

 

Oshan Kothadiya can’t take his eyes off the latest custom bike on the block built by Rajputana Customs
Photography Vijay Singh

Custom bikes are gaining popularity by the day in India. Even at the 2010 Auto Expo, what really caught my eye was the custom bobber built by Vijay Singh from Jaipur. After completing his studies in Canada, he returned to India recently to pursue his passion for custom motorcycles and built the Original Gangster using a 350cc Royal Enfield Thunderbird twin spark engine. The frame is built by him and his team at Rajputana Customs from the ground up. No compromises were made in the materials used too.

The bike oozes a classy vintage appeal. The retro looking white walled tyres are hard to find in India. The air filter cover looks like a revolver tumbler which sticks to the theme. The Rajputana Customs emblem and the neat detailing given to the footpegs add to the bike’s individuality. The frame has been built from carbon steel and the accelerator is internally built in the handlebar which gives it a
clean look. Adding to the bike’s vintage appeal is the hand shifter (Jockey shifter) which was used in Harleys in the 1940s and 50s. Since the bike is a hard tail, the rider’s seat is given a spring to cushion the ride. The Springer suspension which works on a linkage mechanism looks brilliant and has been totally hand built by Vijay. The bike rides on 21-inch front wheels and 17-inch rears. The wheel hubs for the front tyres too have been built by Vijay.

Equal attention is given to the battery box that is neatly tucked below the rider’s seat. The dual fuel tank is simple but well executed. Even the fuel tank lid does not look like it has been borrowed from some other bike and adds to its distinctive touch.Though the bike is unique it does not lose the Royal Enfield feel. A custom vintage bike like this would cost you around Rs 2.5 lakh which is not a very steep price. We would love to see more bikes from this youngster.