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This Salman Khan Tribute bike helped Reza
Hussain win IBW Biker Build Off for the second time.
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| RH Custom's Da-Bang at India Bike Week 2015 (Image credit: Binoy Parikh) |
This generation of
motorbike lovers have grown up watching the creations of Orange County Customs,
Billy Lane, Paul ‘Tooty’ Moody and the late Indian Larry. During the early-mid 2000, reality shows such
as American Choppers and Biker Build-Off proved to be an insight into the world
of custom bike building for bike enthusiasts in India.
Over the last decade,
India has seen a growth in custom bike building scene. One such custom bike
builder is Reza Hussain of RH Customs. Hussain broke on to the scene with his reptilian-themed chopper called Valeno Mortale which made him win the title of the Best
Chopper Design at IBW 2014.
He returned to India
Bike Week with his newest creation – Da-Bang – to defend his crown. And defend
he did, with a creation dedicated to his favourite actor Salman Khan.
This
bike is a dedication to Salman Khan. I’m a big fan of Salman and this is my
style of showing my admiration towards him.
“This is not a very
usual motorcycle. This is very unique. It has a very masculine and macho image.
I have been to Middle East and shows elsewhere. I wanted to showcase a bike and
show the world that even in India we can do such stuff and that us Indians are
not behind,” said Hussain.
Let’s take a closer
look at the bike which won Reza Hussain the title of the Best Custom Bike at
IBW 2015.
Name: Da-Bang
Creator: Reza Hussain of RH Customs
Chassis: Custom
Type: Chopper
Theme: Larger than life
Engine: Stock Harley Davidson Superlow
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| Headlight x 3 (Image credit: Binoy Parikh) |
Speedometer: Digital speedometer by Koso. Besides being a regular speedometer, it
also displays average speed, top speed, RPM and fuel gauge.
Headlight: Custom triple lights. The middle one is chromed while the other two are
blended with the body colour to highlight the details. At first, Hussain went
ahead with a single headlight but the size of the triple tree is so big that a
single headlight wasn’t doing justice hence, he machined two more. The other
two are sidelights but if one switches to high beam, the other two also glows.
The two secondary lights are adjustable; one put it straight, down or at an
angle, this can be done by just retightening one bolt.
Air filter: Cobra intake air filter to give a masculine feel to it.
Paint: Apple Candy with flames. Some shades of black as well. Pinstripping and
air brushing done in house.
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| Wrapped exhaust (Image credit: Binoy Parikh) |
Tyres: Vee Rubber from Thailand. 310mm in the front, 360 mm in the back –
world’s fattest tyre. Nobody else in India has done it.
Swingarm: Custom.
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| Swingarm (Image credit: Binoy Parikh) |
Exhaust: Custom. It has three bends/pieces, each machined separately.
Rear indicators: LED. Custom.
Tail light: LED. Custom.
Drive: Chain drive. There’s a single chain to minimize the weight on the soft
tail and also to give it a neat and clean look. The jackshaft was aligned so
that the chain can be installed slightly towards the outer side giving it a
cleaner, more prominent look. It’s a combination of a chrome chain with a
sprocket setup which has a chain drive as well as a disc brake on it.
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| LED taillights (Image credit: Binoy Parikh) |
Why chain and not belt?
“Because I wanted to
chrome it out and stand out. I wanted to show the beauty of the chain. The
black belt doesn’t give the same industrial feel that a chain does. Chain
tensioners are made up of hard nylon,” said Hussain.
Suspension: Mono suspension at the rear. Custom telescopic forks at the front – the
triple tree at the front is machined. No bolts are visible from the outside,
it’s all been fitted from the inside.
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| World's fattest tyre (Image credit: Binoy Parikh) |
Time to build: 50 days. With just 3-4 hours of sleep every
day. Do your math!
After Valeno Mortale
and Da-Bang, let’s see which new creations Reza Hussain, the two-time champion
from Hyderabad, brings to life.
Disclaimer: This article was first written by the author for RedBull.com
It's not your regular 150cc commuter bike.
Automotive Designing is not just on his graduation certificate; the love for all-things-machine had gripped Shail Sheth since he can remember. This Coventry University alumni is a true son of soil. After finishing his designing course, Shail returned to India and set up workshop in the small shop -which has been in his family since nearly a century - in bylanes of the busy Girgaon area of downtown Mumbai.
Today, we take a look at one of his best creations.
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| Bombay Custom Works (Image credit: Nayan Shah) |
Bike Builder: Bombay Custom Works
Type: Fusion of Café Racer and a Low Rider.
Platform: Bajaj Pulsar 150
Engine: Stock Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTS-i
Tyres:
Front: Ceat Vertigo Sport 19”
Rear: Ceat Vertigo Sport 18”
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| These shoes will crush the potholes like ants (Image credit: Nayan Shah) |
Shock Absorbers:
Front:Girder Forks
Rear: Stock Avenger
The tensioners of the front girder froks are made of brass.
Seat: Custom. It’s not leather but a combination of rexine and another fabric. We used this because rexine is durable and long-lasting. And in Bombay weather, because of the monsoon, we need rain protection.
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| Brass for sheer class (Image credit: Nayan Shah) |
Handlebar: Custom designed. To give it the Café Racer look, we had to keep it short, so that it gives you a forward leaning posture.
Headlights: Stock headlamps from an old Yamah
Footrest: Custom fabricated brass footrest on both sides.
Everything you see in brass is custom fabricated. It’s been lacquered and polished.
Fuel Tank: Custom sheet metal. Glossy paint with pin-striping. The tank cap is of brass.
Design Language: We wanted to keep it very simple and classic with gloss paint, brass trim and custom seats.
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| Brass Foot Pegs. Goes well with Brass Fuel Cap (Image credit: Nayan Shah) |
We tried to build this bike as simple as possible because wanted simplicity to be one of the defining factors of this bike. At the same time, we wanted this to be practical and usable on a day-to-day basis. Though it was for the show – IBW, we didn’t want to restrict it to being just a show bike. We wanted it to be a purpose bike that you can ride around the town.
Personal style:
I like Café Racers. They’re simple and no-nonsense. Cafes are simple to ride around and simple machines.
Future plans: I want to keep it low – one bike at a time. I try not to do more than one bike at once because that would just defeat the purpose of building a one-of-its-kind custom bike, since, one might not be able to give enough time and do justice to it.
How was it building the bike for a show?
Building the bike for IBW was a great experience. We had 30 days to build the bike but we did it only 13 days; that’s because I had my wedding in that same month, as well as many other ongoing projects. It was really fun experience. I came across a lot of things and met many new people, it was really amazing.
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| You can never go wrong with black and gold (Image credit: Nayan Shah) |
Which project are you looking forward to working on the most?
I’m looking to do more and more work on the smaller platforms. A lot has already been done on the Royal Enfied. People have also started doing more and more on Harleys, but not much has been done on smaller platforms like 150 and 180 cc. These smaller platforms have a lot of scope for improvisation and that’s something we’re really, really looking forward to.
As a bike builder in India, what are the challenges that you’ve faced?
Infrastructure is the no. 1 challenge. You have to have a proper space to do things easily, you can get done things other also, it’s not entirely impossible but having a proper space to work is essential. And having the right attitude is important as well.
We try not to import parts, we try to fabricate as much as we possibly can on our own.
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| Your ride is waiting for you, Sir. (Image credit: Nayan Shah) |
Favourite bikes?
I like Yamahas. The RDs and the RXs – RD 350s, RX 100s and 135s. In the older bikes, I like BSA, and Triumphs are nice machines too. One my most favourite bikes is the Triumph Bonneville.
In your dream garage, which bikes would we find?
Yamaha RD 350 is an absolute must.
A classic BSA.
An Indian. If I can get my hands on one.
Triumph Bonneville.
Disclaimer: The article was first published by the author on RedBull.com
