Owner of two vintage bikes, Upendra Shakya feels that his bikes are an extension of his personality. The 1962 BSA C-15 and the 1980 Yamaha are his most prized possessions.
The BSA was bought at an auction at Singh Durbar and was not in the best of conditions. It took Shakya quite a hefty sum to restore the bike since the parts were unavailable in Nepal and he had to order it from London. [break]
He paid more at customs than for the bike itself. But Shakya feels that the end result has been worth the effort. And anyone who has had a glimpse of the bike will vouch for that.
“The bike gives me a sense of pride mainly because I feel like I own a bit of history,” says Shakya. His bike is a more powerful version of the BSA Super Bantam and was designed to meet the needs of the Second World War better. It looks and feels much sturdier than the Super Bantam and Shakya had it painted red to give it a classic touch.
“I don’t use it as regularly as I wish to because the parts are so hard to find and I don’t want to go through the pain of ordering the parts once again,” shares Shakya. “But whenever I’ve taken trips on it, I’ve had the most amazing experience. These bikes are so much smoother than the latest model ones.”
Shakya wishes parts were easily available so he did not have to worry about damages and repairs and he muses that it would give him and vintage bike riders like him the liberty and freedom to enjoy their possessions to the fullest.
Vintage bikes like Shakya’s are a treasure and should be conserved not only for their classic looks but for their historical values. (CK)
The Royal Bike
The fact that it was once owned by King Mahendra is enough to get any bike lover excited about the 1959 BSA Super Bantam. This model was actually made for the purpose of serving soldiers during the Second World War, and for that reason comes with carriers for arms and guns.
This particular bike was owned by King Mahendra and used by his escorts.
The 175cc two-stroke bike, like most vintage bikes, was in a pathetic condition. But for Julian B Shrestha, it was a bike with endless possibilities. So he bade higher than what most people were ready to spend on it at an auction at Singh Durbar, and acquired it a little over a year ago.
It took Shrestha six months and twice the amount he paid for the bike to restore it and get it up and working. The BSA Super Bantam now finally looks like the classic bike it was meant to be.
Shrestha even got an artist to paint pictures of guns on the front of the arms carrier to reveal their purpose, and that makes the bike more awesome.
The shiny bright blue color adds to the classic look, and the texture of the seats and the handlebars give a very rustic feeling, adding to the old-world charm of the motorcycle.
“I have a passion for classic bikes and bought this one on a whim,” says Shrestha who rides the bike on trips to Bhaktapur, Dhulikhel and other nearby places. For longer trips though, he prefers his Enfield Bullet.
“I’d like to ride my Super Bantam farther away but the engine parts are impossible to find here. You have to order from London and then face a lot of customs problems when it eventually arrives. So I prefer not to take the risk of using it for long journeys,” he shares.
Shrestha is passionate about vintage bikes and owns five classic ones. He runs the Vintage Motorcycle Club which is a focal point for vintage bike lovers like him to gather for trips and tours, and the club also restores and refurbishes old bikes according to the owners’ needs.
He has turned his passion into his career, and that speaks volumes of his love for vintage bikes. (CK)
Bikes for inheritance
After four years in the workshop, Vicky Shrestha finally renovated the Honda CM200T. Inherited from his dad, the spare parts for the bike was the major fret for rebuilding it. He also has a Honda Trail 110 passed on from his dad.
“When I passed SLC exams, I bought a new bike. But as I started riding Honda Trail, I knew I loved old bikes,” says Shrestha.
He uses these bikes regularly though he thinks that the traffic on the roads of Kathmandu spoils the fun. So he takes long rides to the outskirts on his vintage bikes. He has traveled to many parts of the country on Honda CM200T. However, he boasts more about his Honda Trail.
“When I went on a ride with my friends some years back, the landslide made it very difficult on the new fancy bikes but no road was difficult for my bike. This is pretty powerful,” he says, pointing at his Honda Trail.
When he first started to renovate the Honda CM200T in 1995, he had no idea about old bikes or spare parts but now he is very passionate about these. Another bike, a BSA, bought from a Canadian, is in the workshop. Its renovation is stalled due to lack of spare parts and he is ordering them from Thailand.
He says a Triumph is also in his wish list.(AM)
The bike that wooed his wife
Gabriel Campbell first came to Nepal in 1964 on his dad’s Lambretta scooter from India. Later in 1968, he drove a BMW R60/2 all the way from the BMW factory in Germany till here. He later sold the bike to his friend Thomas Schrom.
Now he owns a 1964 BMW R50/2, which he bought from “Motorcycle” Mark and shares a BMW R80 with his friend Charles Gay. However, he has fond memories of the BMW R60/2.
“When I was in India for my Masters’ degree, I courted my wife on that bike,” he says with a smile, adding, “and she said it impressed her.”
Campbell does not believe in keeping these bikes just as a fad, rather he loves to use them. “I just went for a haircut this morning on my R50/2,” he says.
The ride he took from Germany to India and eventually to Nepal proves his profound love for long rides on his bikes. He says he still goes for rides, “not as I used to in my younger days but I still do.”
He is an avid collector of vintage vehicles and he owns other such vehicles in his homeland. But in Nepal, the government imposing higher taxes to older vehicles has been a major spoiler for owning a vintage. He thinks that the idea of paying more for older vehicles is ridiculous.
“In USA, the older the vehicles get, the less we pay. But here it’s the opposite, and paying excess taxes is a pain,” says Campbell. (AM)
Mechanic’s pet project
Prem Maharjan and his Honda CD RoadMaster are inseparable. Owner of two vintage pieces, he favors the RoadMaster and takes the 200cc bike everywhere he goes. He refuses to spend a minute without it and takes great pains to ensure it is always under his supervision.
It’s been three and half years since Maharjan has been riding his RoadMaster, and it still looks and feels brand new. The pickup of this classic bike is in better form than the newer versions of the bike.
A mechanic at Naikap, Kathmandu, Maharjan keeps working on his own bike whenever he has a minute to spare, and the result is a very well-kept motorcycle that vintage bike lovers envy, and a select few have even tried to buy it from him.
The special features of this bike are a choke which is tucked in behind the handle bars and s chrome-plated fuel tank with the Honda logo.
Maharjan recently added two hefty leather saddlebags on the rear end of the bike and these swanky bags give the bike an even more classic appeal.
“I’m very passionate about riding. I love taking trips on my RoadMaster and the fuel economy of the bike is so good that I don’t even mind taking long trips,” says Maharjan who carries his own set of tools while on the road.
“Not every workshop fixes up bikes like mine. So I have no option but to carry tools everywhere,” he shares. It’s not only about being the mechanic he is but also about not trusting anybody else with his most prized possession.
“My bike is my obsession and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it well maintained. It’s a work in progress and it’s a project that I’m always looking forward to,” he says.
While it is evident that Maharjan loves his bike, he is also saddened by the condition of some of the classic bikes that come to his workshop and wishes people would treat these heritage pieces with a little more respect. (CK)
The tattoo artist’s fixation
Three years ago when Ujjwal Mathema made up his mind to come back to his homeland after having stayed away for 14 years, the first thing he decided he had to do was to restore one of his grandfather’s four antique motorcycles.
The BSA C-15 that had been his grandfather’s pride was in a pitiful state, rusted and torn apart. It took him nearly six months and a lot of haggling at the customs to get the bike back to its once-pristine condition.
The 1959 model sports bike was done up and painted in bright blue and is now quite an eye catcher. A lot of people stop and stare and a few even whip out their cell phones and cameras to take pictures of this classic bike.
The mileage and pickup of this vintage piece is brilliant and makes it every rider’s fantasy.
“When I first rode this bike after it was restored, I realized why people say old is gold,” shares Mathema with a laugh. “It was so smooth and the feeling was so exhilarating that I instantly made up my mind to restore the other bikes as well.”
Mathema is planning on restoring two more bikes and is awaiting the arrival of parts he has ordered for them.
“I want the bikes restored before my very own eyes. I don’t want to just hand it over to a mechanic but I want to play an active role in its restoration,” says Mathema who treats his C-15 like a baby and trusts no one with it.
Mathema is a tattoo artist by profession but given a choice, he would probably take up restoring bikes as well. The passion he has for classic bikes is largely evident by the amount of time and hard work he has put into restoring the C-15.
“I’m saddened by the sight of a lot of old bikes gathering dust and mold in garages. Eventually, they will be sold off as metal scraps,” says Mathema. He wishes people would see their true potential as vintage classic pieces and give them their dues. (CK)
His special vintage
Thomas Schrom owns a BMW R60/2 that was driven by Gabriel Campbell from the BMW factory in Germany to Nepal in 1968. The bike had been stored in the garage for more than 10 years before Schrom decided to rebuild it. He rode the bike for a couple of years when Campbell was away and eventually bought it.
The bike has been his only ride in Nepal since he sold his VW Convertible a year back. Though he says that his wife had not quite liked the idea, he feels that the bike has served him well.
“I had not paid the tax for the car when I was away and when I came back, I had to get rid off the car due to high tax,” he says.
Like many vintage owners, Schrom also expresses dissatisfaction over the government imposing high taxes on older vehicles.
“In Europe and USA, you pay much less insurance for the old ones,” he says, adding, “You love them and would less likely get them into any accident.”
Schrom came to Nepal in 1979 in a 1959 Beetle. It took him eight months. Back then, foreigners would sell their vehicles here and fly back but his Beetle was such a wreck that nobody would buy it.
“I had to depot it at the airport and it must’ve been dismantled and thrown in as junk,” he shrugged.
He is a lover of antiques. He owns a vintage Citroen in Europe and loves to travel with his wife in that car.
“People take pictures and they often wave at us. It makes us feel special,” he says. (AM)
Loving the old
After being neglected inside the garage for 10 years, Sanjit Tuladhar renovated his dad’s Honda CB200. And thus he inherited the bike used by his father in his early twenties when he himself was 23.
Since then, he has been riding the same bike despite the high taxes for old bikes.
“I can’t buy a bike like this one now,” says Tuladhar as he dabs off dust from his bike. He adds, “People can buy expensive cars and bikes but nothing beats the vintage.”
His mom wanted him to sell the bike. Also, he has had hard time looking for spare parts of the bike. Sometimes it had to be shipped through ebay. But he has no thoughts of abandoning the bike. “I’d rather not buy a new bike but I’ll never sell this one,” he says firmly.
He loves the sound of his bike and says that it is far more comfortable than the new ones. He thinks that it is very impressive to own such a bike. He has not seen any other bike of the same model around him. “Probably this is the only bike of its kind,” he says with a proud smile.
He finds vintage vehicles more interesting than new ones. His eyes spark as he talks about his plan to collect some of the stuffs, including a VW Beetle. (AM)
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