Biker Build off – Part 1

Harley Rock Riders are set to return to Mumbai from October 30th – 31st, 2015. Each year, Harley-Davidson India tries to provide motorcycle and music lovers a platform to come and experience the Harley culture. This year Harley-Davidson India is taking its quest for self-expression one-step further. This year at Harley Rock Riders, Harley-Davidson India is opening the customisation platform to crown the best independent bike builder in the country.

 This year at Harley Rock Riders, independent Indian bike builders will go full throttle to make a personal statement through customization of Harley-Davidson motorcycles through the Custom Champions contest. Five talented customizers will come together from different parts of the country to showcase their creativity and talent on Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The winner gets an all-expense paid trip to the mecca of motorcycling, the Harley-Davidson museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.

We interviewed the five participants to get an insight into the custom motorcycles they plan to showcase.

TJ Moto

 Q1. Who is TJ Moto?

A. I’m a 24yr old guy and an automotive designer by profession. After studying in Italy I came back to India and started TJ Moto and we build custom motorcycles from New Delhi.

 Q2. Which Harley Davidson Motorcycle are you going to use for customisation?

A. I’m using the 883 Iron from the sportster series.

Q3. Can you tell us one customisation that you plan to do? And if you have a theme in mind?

A. It has a one off frame where the top tube goes on top of the tank rather than under giving you the illusion of a floating tank. We are trying to keep an old school theme.

Q4. Do you think you’ll win the competition? What is going to make your build better than the rest?

A. I want to win but even if we don’t, we are going there to have fun. My build is better than the rest because mines the most radical build out there.

MotoMiu

Q1. Who is MotoMiu?

A. MotoMiu is a small outfit run by me Saurabh Shilke  and Arjun Bafna. We customise motorcycles and will soon come up with a clothing and accessory line. We are based at the Seven Islands New Bombay Harley Davidson Showroom.

Q2. Which Harley Davidson Motorcycle are you going to use for customisation?

A. We are using the Forty Eight from the sportster line.

Q3. Can you tell us one customisation that you plan to do? And if you have a theme in mind?

A. We’ve made a café racer out of this forty eight and added a mix of a street fighter look. It’s more of a race themed motorcycle.

Q4. Do you think you’ll win the competition? What is going to make your build better than the rest?

A. Yes I think so. We are using state of the art technology on our custom parts and so our motorcycle is lighter. We are using aluminium parts and we’ve used modern technology like steering dampeners, race tyres, a mono suspension at the rear, etc. which is going to make it a lot better to ride.

East India motorcycle Revolution (EIMOR)

Q1. Who is EIMOR?

A. EIMOR is about telling your story through your motorcycle. It’s a lifestyle statement and a part of your life. We want to make motorcycles more special to customers. I come from a fine arts background and I do the paint jobs on the motorcycles myself. Our paint jobs have won many competitions.

Q2. Which Harley Davidson Motorcycle are you going to use for customisation?

A. We are using the Street 750.

 Q3. Can you tell us one customisation that you plan to do? And if you have a theme in mind?

A. This motorcycle was made especially from the view of riding pleasure. We’ve cut the chassis and made it a bit longer. We’ve extended the handlebar and put a front fairing along with a windshield and we’ve split the exhaust in to two different directions.

 Q4. Do you think you’ll win the competition? What is going to make your build better than the rest?

A. To be honest we are going to the competition to showcase my work even if we don’t win its fine. My motorcycle is not a showcase motorcycle; it’s a pure rider friendly motorcycle. The handling and posture is what we’ve concentrated on.