Meet Amrith Raj - Creator of Style Statement on Wheels

Pics - Dayanand Kukkaje

Remember the 'American Badass' avatar of the Undertaker in the late 90s? Apart from the short hair and the typical bandanna that the dead man would sport, there was one striking aspect of that persona which gave him a different identity altogether in the WWE arena. Yes, you guessed it right - his Harley Davidson cruiser that he would ride all the way down to the ring.

The big biking machines off late have been having a tremendous influence on Gen X. We saw the impact in India as well, with various motor companies launching their own versions of a cruiser – Kawasaki Bajaj's Eliminator, Avenger, Kinetic's Aquila, Yamaha's Enticer are a few names. 

Meet Amrith Raj, a Mangalorean who 'creates' big bikes with his own designs. If you have an old Bullet or an old Royal Enfield, and if you're dreaming of riding a bike a la Harley, then he is the person to go to. The guy will alter your old stuff into a trendy biking machine. 

Amrith has been running his own garage 'Vega Choppers' for a year and a half now. He specializes in creating 'choppers'. Well, chopper is a technical term used to refer to a man-made big bike that is not quite a cruiser. Confused? Let's put it in his own words – "A chopper is a 'low, lean, and lengthy' bike.  In a chopper we try to limit the bike to as less number of accessories as possible and as lean as possible. You can say that a cruiser is heavier than a chopper".

Some of the accessories that are significant about choppers that Amrith designs, such as the big 15-inch tyres, are imported. Trendy gas tanks and petrol tanks, fenders, 'chassis' or frames, little headlights, long handle bars, custom built tubes are some of the features of the choppers that he designs. In order to increase sound, he does 'tuning' and sometimes even makes use of the muffler. 

Amrith first designs the bike on paper before translating it into the actual road-hitting machine. He reveals that the design of the bike basically depends on the taste of the customer. He will make your bike a one-seater or a detachable two-seater if you want. Besides, he designs the bike on the basis of the personality of the customers. "Its all about looks, isn't it? I look at the customer and suggest to him what sort of design will look good on him. Some people are strong and well built and some are lean. Accordingly, I design the bikes of their choice, which will suit them the best". 

His job basically is to alter a formerly used bike. Performance wise, he says that the bikes designed by him give a mileage of around 35-40 kms per liter. Regarding the maintenance of the vehicle, he says that such bikes are not meant for racing on tracks. Defining the bike as 'neat and clean', he suggests that the bikes should be rode on good smooth roads and one must avoid riding on potholed roads for it may cause problems to both the vehicle as well as the rider because the seating is low. "The present condition of Mangalorean roads is not all that good and it is not advisable to ride these bikes on them at present. But in a couple of years' time, I believe Mangalorean roads will be the sexiest roads around and these bikes are sure to rock then!" reveals Amrith. Regular servicing is also provided at his garage. 

A die-hard fan of the metal band Metallica, Amrith reveals that his inspiration for creating choppers came when he found out about Billy Lane, a popular chopper maker in the US, through the internet. "I used to watch the Motocross and Moto GP a lot. But it is when I read about Billy Lane, that I really thought of working on the lines of making chopper bikes. He is my guru, my inspiration" discloses Amrith. 

Coming to the price factor, Amrith says the bikes that he designs cost from Rs 1.5 lacs to a maximum of Rs. 2.5 lacs. "When you look at the choppers designed at the US that cost around 15 lacs, coupled by the fact that such bikes are not easily available here, I think this is a reasonable cost" he says. 

The guy provides you with varieties of designs for the chopper as well. "Choppers come in various designs. Some of the designs that I make are 'Pre-School', 'Old School', 'Old-New School, 'Bobbers', 'East Coast', 'West Coast', and the like. 

With guys like Amrith bringing a new transition in biking arena of Mangalore, the city is bound to see more number of people making a style statement on wheels. 'Hit the road, folks!'

by Abrar Khan
To submit your article / poem / short story to Daijiworld, please email it to news@daijiworld.com mentioning 'Article/poem submission for daijiworld' in the subject line. Please note the following:

  • The article / poem / short story should be original and previously unpublished in other websites except in the personal blog of the author. We will cross-check the originality of the article, and if found to be copied from another source in whole or in parts without appropriate acknowledgment, the submission will be rejected.
  • The author of the poem / article / short story should include a brief self-introduction limited to 500 characters and his/her recent picture (optional). Pictures relevant to the article may also be sent (optional), provided they are not bound by copyright. Travelogues should be sent along with relevant pictures not sourced from the Internet. Travelogues without relevant pictures will be rejected.
  • In case of a short story / article, the write-up should be at least one-and-a-half pages in word document in Times New Roman font 12 (or, about 700-800 words). Contributors are requested to keep their write-ups limited to a maximum of four pages. Longer write-ups may be sent in parts to publish in installments. Each installment should be sent within a week of the previous installment. A single poem sent for publication should be at least 3/4th of a page in length. Multiple short poems may be submitted for single publication.
  • All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format or text file. Pictures should not be larger than 1000 pixels in width, and of good resolution. Pictures should be attached separately in the mail and may be numbered if the author wants them to be placed in order.
  • Submission of the article / poem / short story does not automatically entail that it would be published. Daijiworld editors will examine each submission and decide on its acceptance/rejection purely based on merit.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to edit the submission if necessary for grammar and spelling, without compromising on the author's tone and message.
  • Daijiworld reserves the right to reject submissions without prior notice. Mails/calls on the status of the submission will not be entertained. Contributors are requested to be patient.
  • The article / poem / short story should not be targeted directly or indirectly at any individual/group/community. Daijiworld will not assume responsibility for factual errors in the submission.
  • Once accepted, the article / poem / short story will be published as and when we have space. Publication may take up to four weeks from the date of submission of the write-up, depending on the number of submissions we receive. No author will be published twice in succession or twice within a fortnight.
  • Time-bound articles (example, on Mother's Day) should be sent at least a week in advance. Please specify the occasion as well as the date on which you would like it published while sending the write-up.

Comment on this article

  • GAURAV, DELHI

    Mon, Aug 02 2010

    your bikes are amazing

  • srinivas kolya, kuwait

    Sun, May 03 2009

    It is good work to new generations keep it up and luck take care

  • Yathiraj, Mangalore

    Fri, Oct 10 2008

    Dude good job...... You need to work on the Ground clearence.

  • Mahammad ba, Abu Dhabi

    Sun, Aug 17 2008

    Very excellent! all the best Amrith

  • Jesse, Long Beach, CA

    Wed, Jul 30 2008

    LOOKING GOOD! KEEP UP THE HARD WORK.

  • Sundeep das nayak, Mangalore, dongerkery

    Tue, Jul 29 2008

    Well done dude let Mangalore stand next to USA in building chopper bikes

  • Sharon D'souza, Mangalore / USA

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    Hi Amrith..its excellent dear, you have good future. keep going like this God Bless you.

  • yasir, mangalore,dammam,ksa

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    Excellent Raj I like it keep it up

  • Naveen.AD, THOKKOTTU, MANGALORE

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    very inspiring, keep up the zeal Mr.Amrith...............

  • Prakash shenoy, bejai mangalore

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    hai amrith, keep it up man.give me one ride at bejai.congrats.

  • Arpita, mangalore

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    Fantabulous bike, You will further have a bright future ahead . good luck and keep it up.

  • Preetham, Mangalore/Kudla

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    Great show..Good..Keep it up... All in all I have one question...silencer wont touch your leg..when its too hot ??

  • Bronson Pereira, Mangalore/Dubai

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    Dear Amrith, the designs of the bikes are really awesome, all the best to you and keep up the good work.

  • amrith raj, bejai ,mangalore

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    Well thanks a lot for reading my article and for the compliments.  From my childhood I was very fond of bikes. Like dirtbikes,superbikes,and some huge big bikes like Harleys.  I always wanted to live my life in a different style. 

    Hmm well it all got started when my brother gifted me a motorbike in my college days.  That was the most memorable day in my life.  I always had one theme in my life"speed is name of the game".those days I i had a Yamaha's rx135 4 speed transmission.  I used to take my bike to the mechanic for porting the engine bores which produces greater power for the bike and always I used to sit and watch the way they work on it.  

    Then later I turned my interest on Royal Enfield big, huge,heavy duty machines.  I always used to share things with my brother one day he gave me a idea of building custom bikes and I started working on it. I started surfing for the chopper builders in the internet and I found Billy Lane from Choppers Inc working on a bike.  From that day I decided to build my own customized bike.  I got inspiration from him to build my own. 

    Till today he's my favourite chopper builder.  He is one fine builder with lots of ideas,skill mechanism.  He's my style guru and my bike building icon.today  I run my workshop at Bejai and Ii build bikes like oldschool, newoldschool,newschool,bobbers and customs on Royal Enfield. the people who wanted my email id n my cellphone number here is it.vegachoppers@gmail.com and my cellphone number is:9845135307. I hope u guys come a long with orders.

  • Mohammed, Mangalore

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    Great work.keep it up.

  • prakash, mangalore/israel

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    Excellent.Amrith Raj. Keep It Up.

  • Jaleel, Karanataka

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    I like the way he gave the shape

  • Abdul Rahim Kolnad, Healengady/Khurais KSA

    Mon, Jul 28 2008

    its Mind Blowing Job....Really Good..Keep it up.

  • jimmy fernandes, goa

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Good work keep it up Excellent job.

  • Ramesh Salian, Mangalore / Dubai

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Great,Excellent,You have a bright future.All the best.

  • Riyaz, Mangalore / bangalore/dubai

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Excellent Raj.... keep it up!!

  • Pavan, Mangalore/ dubai

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Hi buddy, good to see you and that bike is mindblowing

  • Gururaj, Mangalore/Kuwait

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Appreciate the creativity, i was actually in search of some one like amrith. proud to be find one in our own place. Please if available provide his contact deatails.

  • Vinson Vaz, Kadri, Mangalore, Kuwait

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Thanks Daijiworld for covering such an interesting news item. Well Hats off to Amrith Raj as well. I am a die hard fan of the Enfield Bullet.I own one too and its a '79 model, where the big hubs for the chain spocket was last made. After the 1980 and the beginning of 1980 the company started manufacturing hubs which could be detached by unscrewing two nuts from either side.

    This made it a lot easier for the tyre tube fixers who always used to go by the question "which model is it" whenever there was a need of his services. If the answer was a '79 or prior he had his excuses saying that he has some urgent work to do and when he finishes it he will make himself available and if the case was 1980 and later he would readily agree to come along.

    The reason was the '79 and prior with the big hubs always had the hub and the chain spoket attached to the wheel and the mechanic had to detach the chain and then remove the whole wheel, along with which came the chain spocket too. But there was one good advantage of this big hub, one could ride on the top gear with a speed of as a low as 10 kmph or lesser without jerking the engine so as to stop.

    In my hey days too I was really crazy of designing it like a harley and off course keeping the budget point in mind and the low finances I had chrome plated the dome of the headlight which is aluminium and also the front shocks too which provided a faint resemblence to the harley.

    In fact I still own my bullet and shall intend to do so as long as I live and shall never sell it, cause once you own a Enfield Bullet you can live life king size, and also there is some nostalgia attached to it. I do hope and pray Armith Raj can be famous soon and a lot of people shall come in his search. I always get the urge to ride the mean machine whenever I watch 'American Chopper" on discovery travel and living. All the best Amrith!

  • IMRAN, JUBAIL

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Mind blowing buddy....!!! all the best....

  • Rizwan, Dubai/Ullal

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Great work!! Amrith, You have very bright future in Automobile sector. I wish you all the best!!!

  • Bharath Shetty , Kateel -USA

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Great Amrith!!! I appreciate your creativity!! keep it up!!!

  • Montie, Mangalore

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Please send his contact details on this web page or to my email

  • A R U Permude, Permude

    Sun, Jul 27 2008

    Excellent ! Amrith Raj, Keep it up.


Leave a Comment

Title: Meet Amrith Raj - Creator of Style Statement on Wheels



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.