It's Advantage Vintage in Jaipur

It���s not just vintage cars, Jaipur seems to be passionate about vintage bikes as well. JT met up with some passionate youngsters who like these old rides
Jaipur has just seen a range of vintage and classic cars on display recently. But, it���s not just vintage cars but also vintage bikes that have captured the fancy of young Jaipurites. In fact, a group of vintage bike lovers have come together to form a club.And it���s the passion to own a piece of history that apparently motivates most of them to buy and preserve these bikes. ���It is a kind of history that I ride every day and it is something that makes me stand apart from my peers,��� says Deepak Parek, who owns six vintage bikes. In fact, much like the passion for vintage cars, which drives owners to cough up big sums to buy and maintain the pieces, these youngsters too are coaxing their parents to buy them these power machines. ���I have a bike that is totally redesigned by me. I have given it a complete makeover ��� chassis to rear wheels. In fact, the bike is a combination of a vintage and modern bike,��� says 23-year-old Rishi Grover.
Many agree that it���s the attitude attached to biking around on a vintage or classic piece that draws them to own these bikes. ���Actually the life of a biker is very different. And it is the sense of adventure that one gets while riding these bikes that keeps me happy and high,��� explains 22-year-old Naresh Pathak. Adding to it Vanik Bajaj a 20-year-old biker says, ���Every Sunday we go for long rides. Some of our trips are to Pushkar or Pandupol to test these power machines and to have an adrenal rush.���
And while new and hi-tech bikes in electrifying colours have become a style quotient, but vintage bikes are fast gaining popularity because of their stylish features. ���The unique features like hand operated gears, advanced retiring functions and handle dampers are a few things that draw youngsters to these decade-old machines,��� says Ajit Soni, a passionate biker who owns a 1946 single suspension BSA, made in England. And like in any journey, while maintaining these bikes too, the youngsters are facing some hurdles. ���If we talk in terms of performance, vintage bikes give us good mileage. But, we land in trouble when we don���t get spare parts of these bikes, which are not manufactured any longer, and we have to look for other alternatives,��� says Upendra Shastri, another biker.
Interestingly, since members of the vintage bikers��� club are from teenagers to men who are more than 70 years of age, vintage bikes seem to be bridging the generation gap. ���There are some senior members who own bikes like Paratroop (used in First World War) and which are not manufactured any more. But it���s fun to go on a ride with them because one can learn a lot about these vintage bikes from them, and also take some lessons of life,��� says Bajaj.
sunit.roy@timesgroup.com