Former marketing professional quit his job to build an eight-foot-long motorbike from the parts of a Maruti 800
At first glance, 25-year-old Nilesh Sarode’s eight-foot-long motorcycle, recreated using parts of a Maruti 800, looks like a monstrous chopper. The car’s engine is outfitted snugly inside its flat chassis that’s supported by a huge rear tyre, which once belonged to a BMW lying in a scrapyard.
But on closer inspection, the bike even looks like a bobber. “The motorcycle was built from scratch, using parts of my sister’s Maruti 800 that was lying around at our backyard. We didn’t want to sell it because of sentimental reasons,” said Sarode, a mechanical engineer. He then decided to create a motorcycle out of the car, despite having no prior experience in automotive engineering.
The task was a challenge. So much so that Sarode quit his plum marketing job to work on the project last year in November. He has spent over Rs 2 lakh so far in making the motorcycle roadworthy.
Now that his dream bike is ready to be tested, we got Baljeet Singh Kochhar, a veteran 40-year-old biker and restorer of motorcycles, to assess Sarode’s creation. After examining the two-wheeler, Kochhar said, “There are others who have tried this sort of modification before, but none have managed to outfit a motorcycle with the gearbox of a Maruti 800. Added to that, it’s shaft-driven — it’s really not so difficult to fix motorcycles with different kinds of engines if they are chain-driven, but this machine has the differential of a four-wheeler.”
Kochhar was also impressed by the rustic frame. “I love the homemade feel. As far as I see, she’s not built for a long cruise, but she’s perfect for short rides around the city. And the average of 35 km/litre is indeed impressive,” explained Kochhar.
According to Sarode, the process of outfitting his machine with the gearbox of a Maruti 800 was his biggest challenge. “You operate the gears of your car with your hand, but as we all know, it’s the opposite with two-wheelers. Adapting the dynamics of this gear system to suit the design of the motorcycle was quite a task,” he recollected.
Kochhar was quite pleased with the results, except for a few minor glitches. “The motorcycle is clearly designed to handle Sarode’s 6-foot frame. However, a shorter man like me will find it difficult to reach the ground. This isn’t a problem when you are cruising, but it can get a little difficult while managing heavy traffic,” said Kochhar.
Kochhar also pointed out other design flaws which he feels can be finetuned. “The setting of the chassis is not that smooth. When I was shifting gears, I could feel some jerks,” said the biker. However, as a seasoned rider, Kochhar is proud of what the youngster has created. “Even in India, indigenously customising motorcycles is a painstaking and expensive hobby. Such projects usually can cost lakhs. I am quite impressed by how he managed to keep his budget so low. And the fact he built a roadworthy motorcycle literally out of scrap is amazing,” Kochhar concluded with a smile.
Two new wheels from four old ones
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