Custom Bike Builders To Watch Out For In 2015

Melvin & Sahil, the duo behind YOUNG KID CUSTOM'S 

On most Delhi Bikers Breakfast Run one tends to meet many who dream of doing something more with their motorcycling passion. They would love to “go set up a shack in Goa or a guesthouse in Manali” or “start a tour company and ride for a living” or “build custom motorcycles”

The older they are, the more elaborate their plans and even more extensive the reasons why they cannot do it. “It’s complicated” is usually the final answer before they change the subject.

The younger bikers may have similar dreams but their reasons for not attempting is usually because “I don’t have money” or “family will never agree to it” or “am keeping my options open” or “it won’t work in Delhi”

Then I met Melvin Sehgal and Sahil Kumar on couple of our rides. They were giving no excuses. They wanted to build custom bikes and they were not waiting for permission from the world.

Delhi’s youngest bike builders have launched YOUNG KID CUSTOM'S (YKC) There is something about these two that made me want to know more. So we did a short interview.

Delhi Biker (DB): So how old are you guys?

Melvin: Am twenty

Sahil: Am twenty-two

DB: How did you end up starting YKC?

Melvin: I am a 12^th class drop-out…long story short I got chucked out of school. I was not going back…when my dad asked what will I do…I said anything to do with motorcycles. He said “Drop-out hai tu, ja kahi service station pay kaam pakad lay!” (You’re a school drop out, go work at a bike service station!)

So I did…I went to an Enfield showroom and asked to be a salesman. They politely turned me away…saying I had more potential and should look for a better job. But I needed the money. My friends suggested I work at a call-center.

I worked for eleven days at a call-center only to realize I couldn’t do it. When I told my boss that I was leaving he said, whatever you are running after, just don’t leave that when you find it!

All I wanted was to customize motorcycles. So I started Young Kid Customs. Actually, Gursaurabh bhaiya jokingly said that name when I was talking to him about becoming a custom bike builder…and I liked it.

DB: What was your build after you quit the call-center?

Melvin: After restoring my Dads Yezdi, I built Ikjot Singh’s 1971 Jawa. I poured my heart into it but when I showed the finished bike to him, he instantly pointed out the flaws. I was furious inside...my ego took a beating. He said not to worry but I knew he was right so I took the bike back, spent the entire night fixing it and brought it back the next morning. Ikjot Sir was impressed…and that meant a lot to me. Then I customized the Continental GT and rode it to DBBR ride where I met Sahil.

Sahil: I am doing my final year in architecture. My dad runs a retail store and workshop for all bikes. Fifty years ago, my grandfather used to fix cycle tyre punctures. My dad dropped out of college and started with scooters and then motorcycles. Now I feel the call to build motorcycles and want to take our journey with two wheels further.

I have studied architecture, I design, have done some freelance work, also photography to earn some money…but motorcycles are my passion. I sold my Pulsar 220 and bought the Continental GT 535 and right away I was itching to customize it. My dad said to let it get a bit older and scratched up…at least let the warranty period get over.

But after a month I got it repainted and modified it a bit and it looks beautiful! I took it for the Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride in September and I was impressed by the quality of other customized bikes and the incredible community…

At that point I was collaborating with a friend but two months later he decided building motorcycles was not his thing. I was feeling low after that. Then I saw a post on DBBR about Melvin’s build…I messaged him and asked if he was based in Delhi…and we decided to collaborate since then.

Melvin: My love for motorcycles is tied up with my family. The first bike I built was my dad’s Yezdi. My dad had to sell it to for my grandfather’s funeral expenses. But soon after, he desperately wanted it back. He searched for his old bike for nearly two years!

My brother and I found it in Ghaziabad in an awful state. My dad went and rode it back home. It was quite an emotional experience, he cried when we met that day. My brother and I used our entire years saving of 80,000/- and built the bike back to its former glory. That was it…I was going to build more bikes after that!

Sahil: My friends were surprised with my constant talk about motorbikes…but something had changed in me…I am the guy who can’t even wake up at noon on a normal day. But for a ride I cannot even sleep the night before and am on my bike by 5:30am!

Melvin: My dad is my inspiration for building bikes. The other person I am grateful to is Inderjit Singh-ji from Yezdi Jawa Club. He took me for the first time on a ride with his group. I was only 17 years old! That was it, I was hooked!

Sahil: But for both of us Vijay Singh of Rajputana Customs is hands down the best and greatest inspiration. I have watched all his videos…I can quote you what he has said in every video!

Melvin: We are going to visit him in Jaipur, get his blessings and show him the bikes we have built. He is our hero!

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A visibly happy Sahil on one of the DBBR rides
Photo: KD Singh Chauhan, Oct 2014

We drink some more chai and keep talking. They know that in order to succeed it’s going to take more than potential, personality or the backing of their families. They need to build not just good bikes but great bikes. Not once, or twice but again and again. They know that and that is why we need to watch them. They are the YOUNG KID CUSTOMS!