All around the world, at any given moment, you can guarantee their will always be a group of like minded friends riding, chatting, scheming, laughing and having themselves a damn good time on their motorcycles. In India the word to describe this specific pastime is a “Gedi” and more often than not it will include obligatory tooting of horns at passing young ladies. It was on one such Gedi that Pritpal and his three companions, whilst chewing over the custom motorcycle scene in India, reached the conclusion that they should band together and start creating their own custom machines. Many such pipe dreams that spawn over leisurely rides filled with coffees and brews remain purely as figments of imagination but in this case, the boys had the wherewithal and commitment to see it through. This is the first fruit of their labour.
“We were all a bit skeptical about it at first until one of us bought a second hand Royal Enfield, then we knew there was no turning back.”. To begin they sourced a well appointed workshop just outside their city of Rupnagar, with the bike inside their dream was beginning to take shape but they needed a name to fly above the door. “While we were hustling in & about the workshop we still couldn’t come up with a name. Many different names popped up, but one stood out; BAMBUKAAT, an unofficial name from the old days in Punjab that was given to motorcycles because of the simplicity of the machine itself. We wanted to bring that simplicity back in trend.” With a brand and design ethos in place the four likely lads brain stormed multiple ideas, references and designs before arriving at a finalised plan for the conversion. Work began.
Amongst the major parts withdrawn from service were the bars, wheels, headlight, and tank. Wider Bars were fitted and stripped of any unnecessary electrics which were relocated to a custom box, the original 350 wheels were deemed too small and replaced with chunkier units. The all in one Royal Enfield headlight/top yoke binnacle was exchanged for a traditional fork ears set up with a taped, eye lidded light. The tank was replaced with a specially fabricated 22 litre receptacle that illustrates Pritpal and his associates’ skill and ambition. To achieve the desired stretched out stance for the bike the swingarm was lengthened, reclining the rear shocks by a few degrees. The rear wheel is sheltered by a short custom rear fender. The Engine was thoroughly gone over before receiving a coat of black and a shining chrome exhaust and muffler.
They all decided that the perfect name for this first Bambukaat bike was “Porus”, after the King who ruled the Paurava region of ancient India, now Punjab, and fought against Alexander the Great. So despite their aim of a simple aesthetic, the gents wished to advance all of our historical knowledge a touch!
The understated paint scheme of a khaki green/grey with gold detail is embellished with brass highlights including the brake arm, fuel cap and a small crown which adorns the bar mount. The brown leather custom seat with matching roll is most certainly fit for a kings backside.
The build took one month, with Pritpal working almost every day and night. “In the end it was all worth it. The bike has been showcased at many places and everywhere it has been getting a great response. The appreciation we have received makes us even more confident about the future of the custom motorcycle culture in India.”
Great work Gentlemen. We look froward to seeing more builds form your workshop and others around India. In the meantime we will endeavour to make sure the ideas born out of our next “Gedi” receive the same commitment and passion as yours.
Keep and eye on their Facebook page for future builds.
via The Bike Shed
