Pertemuan Pertama (The First Meeting)

Told you that I heavily rely on Internet. I browsed a blog about a builder. He presents lot of pictures showing his works. I walked thru reading page by page, seeing picture by picture. I quickly got impression that a serious passion is there. His works proved that he is a modif master, e.g. doing various bike types, working in details, showing different character for each bike. An artist whom shows artisan work!.

The problem is that he lives in a city that 1 hour flying from Cengkareng (CGK) airport. Since this gonna be my first modif bike,  a lot of question about communication and controlling problem by arise due distance between us. After discussion with my lovely wife, she suggested “you’re looking for the best right?”.

In mid December 2013, I had a business trip to the city. Prior the trip, I send an email introducing myself and plan to pay a visit to him. No reply. I called him then, and had a good short discussion despite bad cellular connection. He said that the email being managed by his brother, better call him rather than drop emails. My 2^nd impression was he was a calm and humble guy. I told him about the trip, and welcome me to visit his workshop.

I can not focus during business meeting. Can not wait to meet the builder. Alhamdulillah (praise the Lord) it was a good and useful meeting. When it was over, I walk quickly to my rental car, ask the driver to pick my wife at hotel. Along the way I discussed with her, I personally his strength on two types: (i) (I call it) WW II, bobber style, and (ii) dirt bike, simple, light, bicycle like. WW II bobber style is his best.

In the car I called the builder again, his wife told me that he was in the mosque for afternoon pray. Wow … a religious builder!! As a moslem who regularly to mosque as well, a lever arm automatically works in my head.

He’s not a tall guy, long hair, the smiling builder. Let’s call him “Mas A”. Standard chitchat between us, where do I came from, Jakarta? No a suburb town of it. How do you know me? Laptop survey I replied. He then told us about bikes he’s currently working at. Explain everything, and a very nice talk smoothly happened.

Let me show you, my works. He shows design sketches (“render” probably the right word) of various bikes, all hand drawing. Told me various customer, yet never tell a name of them. This bike is a repeat order from a happy customer.

The discussion deeper and deeper, I explained considering two types: He analyzes both options. I asked my wife, she strengthen my conclusion WW II bobber style.

How about engine? My knowledge on engine is limited. He recommends Scorpio. But bikes that you’re working now using Binter Kawasaki right? I am working on 1 Scorpio engine,  let’s see inside. That was the 1^st time I saw Scorpio engine! Pretty big. Yes hes said. You may use Honda Tiger engine (200 cc) for bobber style, but create difficulty because the dimension is pretty small. Empty space appears under seat. Scorpio is bigger, easier to draw. Larger engine than Tiger, suggest bore up to 250 cc for larger power.

How about Binter Kawasaki? Finding spare part is more difficult. Coincidentally during my Internet survey bikes, somehow those bikes powered by Scorpio engine (See Choosing Preferred Builder). If I build a bike here, I’ll choose Scorpio engine. My 3^rd impression, smooth communication easy to achieve.

We bring my old time close friend, call him “Kang AB”. He was an industrial designer by education. Kang AB pointed an interesting design, spring beneath gas tank! I am a MTB rider, every Saturday cycling uo to mountaineous area. The position of MTB spring is horizontally front-rear. A very nice custom head lamp. I made it using CB 100 piston waste, Mas A replied while smiling. Kang AB said, man this gonna be add a story to the bike. My 4^th impression: he pays lot of attention in details. Kang AB supported my conclusion, and analyze other examples on sketches as well as on the bike he’s working on. Kang AB also made an important comment on boring and welding equipments. The facility is supported with adequate equipments, he whispered to me.

The discussion continues on frame structure, tank, metal chroming, rim, tire etc. He suggested domestic brand tires, bigger size, good quality. My daily job, among other, is about promoting domestic industries. I nodded quickly responding to his suggestion.

Last thing, Mas A admitted that he was a painter. Even joined painting exhibitions. All of his painting is about … bikes off course! He shows his painting hanging on the wall inside the house. The he became an airbrush artist, later on started a modif workshop. My 5^th impression, he is an artist!!

Say if we build here, with characters as we discussed during in the last hour, how much it cost? He said a number, excluded the donor bike. From the donor, we likely only need Scorpio machine. Cost may be decrease depends on our final design sketch. That the maximum number based on the discussion. Higher cost is likely possible if I preferred imported items. He recalled one case, the process delay due to late delivery of imported tires. Not only higher cost, but longer time. He proposed payment mechanism. I raised approval and monitoring issues.

I made the final comment, thank you for accepting us. A very nice experience for us. This is my 1^st visit to a modif workshop on may life. I am fully satisfied. Allow me to think pls, and inform him about my decision accordingly. Flew back to CGK.

A very nice trip!! Peace.

Choosing the Preferred Builder

Having browse the internet, I do realize that motorcycles modification is a growing area in Indonesia. Bear in mind that Indonesia, is the 3^rd motorcycles producer in the world after China and India. Motorbikes are no 1 transportation mode around this great nation. Millions of them crawling on Indonesia roads everyday, mainly Japanese bikes, domestic manufactured.

We have a large base for modification market then. Not the expensive modif bikes, but the affordable ones. In economics category, Indonesia is newly middle income country.

A growing number of modification events. Kustom Fest 2013 in Yogyakarta for example.  Roland Sands were here attending Kustom Fest last year. Notice his comment on the Fest “The range was drastic, from super rat mini 50 cc scooters to AJS choppers, hand built Honda Triples and full blown custom baggers. I’ve never seen so much diversity at a show.”

In short, there are a lot of modificators, or to be precisely, builders. This is my summary of potential builders, a result of a week laptop survey during my free time of course.

Let’s start with my town. I live in a suburb town of Jakarta, after spending teens minutes of browsing, can’t find one here. In Bintaro, the adjacent town, there  is Studio Motor Custom Bike (SMCB). They build a large variety bikes, nice ones. Baby sportster, bobber, street tracker for instance.

SMCB bikes

 Source: Jackbiker.com

 Source: Studio Motor.com

Going forward, I found Awiwiwww Art Work at Carburator Springs complex, Tanah Kusir, South Jakarta. Not quite clear their exact location are, I know a Café called Carburator Springs there. Found a picture of a nice and simple yet beautiful air brush on the tank. Nice composition and good artwork.

Awiwiwww Art Work bike

Source: otomotif.com

In Southern Jakarta, a builder worth to be mentioned here. Tauco Custom located in Jagakarsa. See their black Hellcat combat. Nice tank and rear frame. She looks strong and ready to accelerate.

Tauco Custom bike

Source: Dapurpacu.com

In Cinere, a town in Depok Municipality in Greater Jakarta Area, I found Gandul 2Wheels Custom (G2C). Quite extreme modification, turning a Yamaha Scorpio to chopper. Cool tank. Notice the slope. Nice chopper guys. It's a chopper, isn't it?

G2C chopper

Source: Maniakmotor.com

In Cileduk, Tangerang Municipality another adjacent town, I found MD Motor. A beautiful all black, eye catching, popping up in my screen. 

MD Motor bike

Source: http://motor.otomotifnet.com

Going east, Psycho Custom Garage (or just Psycho Custom?) in Bekasi, eastern part of Greater Jakarta. Saw their pictures about good looking green chopper. See their Jap style, love it! Both ape hanger handlebars.

 Psycho Custom bikes

source: motorplus-online.com

 Source: Otomotif.org

Going forward east, to Cirebon and detected APE Motorcycle (AM). A nice bobber old school with flat chair appears on my MacBook Air’s screen. In Chalopy website, I found their all blue underbone bike, pretty nice isn’t it. For those who don’t know, Cirebon is an old sea port city at the edge of West Java. Quite surprising for me, there’s a good builder there. I’ll pay a visit to AM sometime in the future, and … enjoying Cirebon’s famous local foods.

APE Motorcycles bikes

 Source: Motorplus-online.com

Source: Chalopy.com

I heard several times that Bandung, the capital of West Java Province, also have good builders. I just can’t find them. I also found limited information in Surabaya and Jogjakarta (simply Jogja). Not blank at all mate, key potentials are there!.

To the east, go on to Bali. A big name in Bali, the well known Deus Ex Machina, an international and Australia based builder. Man, lot of good stuffs! At expensive price, I presume. Seems to me they focusing on scrambler, somewhere among Japs, bobber, street tracker, at least for Deus Indonesia. In my opinion, they are very good working on Yamaha Scorpio. These are examples of Deus works. Amazing works!

Deus Ex Machina bikes

Source: Maniakmotor.com

Source: Kingoffuel.com

Source: Ngobrolmotor.files.wordpress.com

Source: Gambar,otomotifnet.com

At this point, I personally attracted to Yamaha Scorpio, a 225 cc street fighter type in Indonesia market.

I concluded that a bulk of builders are in Indonesia, no doubt about it.

What type of a builder that I am looking for? One thing for sure, since this gonna be my first modif bike, I don’t know much about it. He or she should take a major part in developing ideas. Typical question asking to me by a builder like “what bike do you want”, or “We can build your dream bike, please explain the details”, won’t work in my case. I am a rookie guy in this new world.

Motorbike modification is an art work. I’ve watching Counting Cars, West Coast Custom, Car SOS, American Chopper etc. to increase my learning curve. Learn from them about exploring ideas, imagining the end shape, doing mechanical jobs precisely, and paying attention on details.

His works should cover enough variety of types, showing a wide range of capability while provide a clue on their main strength. Then I can short of measure his art and engineering capacity. Uniqueness of their works is a key evaluation component. Even I hypotheses that a good builder, in some sense, also be an artist.

Due to my limited time, I rely on internet information. However I do believe, a good builder nowadays should put their works in internet. Carefully pick pictures of their bikes, showing their creativity and ability clearly. Stock pictures become critical in developing my judgment.

I have limited engine knowhow. The builder should use widely available engines in Indonesia market. If they modify i.e. bore up, again assuring availability of parts. The common engine with continuous supply of parts is preferable. Honda or Yamaha, two largest manufacturer here, are the workable option.

I want a customized bike, no just an array or configuration of after market parts. The main observable elements such as tank, handlebar, chasis, forks are customized. Hand battered if necessary. I assume handmade is no strange at all.  Workshops in Indonesia usually lack of equipment, not like large workshops we often see in TV shows namely in History Channel or Discovery Turbo.

At this point, I can’t have cost estimate yet. But I may assess the cost from many articles in the internet. I do expect affordable price to build my dream bike.

Now I can decide my preferred bidder … done with decision making! I wish to start discussion with him soon.

A final note. I exclude big bike builders. Yes they show excellent works. Having a big bike, old or brand new, is just not an option for me. Finally, apology not providing a complete sources of information. You may using their names as keywords, and our friendly uncle Google will bring you to them. This is not academic paper anyway.

Peace.

Memilih Tipe Modifikasi

Modifikasi motor adalah kreasi yang banyak ragamnya. Orang tentu saja bisa sama atau berbeda selera. Satu hal yang pasti, setiap pemilik mesti menentukan tipe motor seperti apa yang akan dia bangun.

Sebagai orang yang awam tapi ingin sekali memiliki motor modif, saya harus meluangkan waktu untuk belajar. Tipe motor modif ternyata banyak. Nampaknya tidak ada batas yang jelas antara satu tipe dengan lainnya.

Ada tipe café racer, seperti motor balap tahun 1950-60an. Posisi duduk condong ke depan. Banyak foto menunjukkan malah pengendara nunduk abis ala posisi pembalap MotoGP. Bentuknya relatif aerodinamis, desainnya minimalis, dan tangki ramping. Sektor mesin dioprek agar kinerja maksimal, terutama untuk menciptakan akselerasi secepat kilat. Kalau akselerasi menjadi prioritas terpenting, pilihlah tipe drag. Model ndak neko-neko tapi … ngueng … tahu-tahu sudah di depan.

Ada chopper, ada bobber. 2 tipe “er” ini unik, karena keduanya punya unsur “terpotong” (chop dan bob). Dulu model rambut pendek cewek disebut model bob. Kalau bobber rangkanya pasti terpangkas, ban gambot pula. Sulit membayangkan bobber dengan ban yang tipis he he he. Soal rangka, chopper umumnya lebih radikal dari bobber. Garpu depan chopper sering panjang. Ban belakang sering lebih gede dibanding depan. Pokoknya moge banget dah.

2 “er” lainnya yaitu street fighter dan street tracker, kira2 untuk menjelajah jalan raya atau jalan yang rada buruk. Ekor sering buntung menggantung. Performa mesinnya mestinya sudah ditingkatkan supaya bisa lebih ngebut. Tambah lagi flat tracker, nampaknya untuk jalan tanah yang rata.

Untuk off road kita kenal trail. Kembang ban harus nonjol, agar mampu mengarungi medan buruk. Knalpot naik ke belakang (under tail). Torsi mesin wajib kuat. Sektor kakinya khas, panjang dan kuat. Pendek kata tahan banting. Varian terakhir di kategori ini yaa tipe supermoto. Mampu jalan tanah, tapi lebih tepat untuk jalan raya. Bannya on road. Saya baru nemu istilah baru yaitu dirt bike.

Ada orang yang ingin membangun motor terinspirasi tipe motor tertentu yang terkenal. Di internet bahkan ada yang membangun motor modif plek seperti motor idamannya.

Ada juga yang menjaga nuansa tipe asli motor tersebut, tapi menguatkan detil pembeda. Motor bebek Honda C-70 misalnya, tetap ketahuan karakter aslinya. Underbone kokoh tetap nyata terlihat. Namun dikuatkan dengan ban gambot, rangka belakang dipotong, lalu ban belakang nongol karena minim atau tidak ada spakbor. Keunikan cat menguatkan perbedaan sekaligus memunculkan karakter, penggunaan air brush misalnya.

Ada lagi Jap style, model Jepang. tapi jok yang lurus sejajar dasar tangki. Rangka belakang kerap dipapas habis. Jok tipis berkesan lancip di belakang. Ringan, simpel, tapi tetap eksotis. Tipe scrambler, mengesankan campur aduk seperti telur orak-arik (scrambler egg). Brat style, yang katanya nama bengkel di Jepang sana. Kalau betul, hebat bengkelnya, jadi trendsetter dunia gitu loh. Foto-foto ketiga tipe ini banyak sekali yang ciamik memikat hati saya.

Banyak ragam lain. Tentukan selera, supaya jejek alias tidak terombang-ambing ide sendiri atau ide orang lain.

Saya sukanya motor yang seperti era PD II. Besar, gagah, mesin kesannya kuat, stang rada melengkung, dan ada unsur army look. Tapi entah mengapa, maaf betul ya, sampai saat ini saya tidak suka Harley Davidson, apapun tipenya. Untuk orang yang jarang naik motor seperti saya, langsung jump ke cc besar, kayaknya kok bukan pilihan logis. Stang tinggi alias hanging monkey, bukan pilihan. Chopper maaf, jap kok simpel banget ya, trail lain kali, supermoto pengin tapi belum dululah.

Buat saya, menyetir motor sambil bungkuk seperti café racer atau drag terbayang sangat tidak nyaman. Posisi tulang punggung dan titik tumpu di selangkangan tidak alamiah. Sebagai disclaimer, mengaku kalau ndak suka ngebut. Menempuh jarak secepat-cepatnya, menurutku bukanlah opsi berkendara yang menarik. Naik motor santai, posisi badan bisa tetap tegak, tengok kiri kanan menikmati perjalanan … alangkah enaknya!

Menurut saya, motor modif idealnya adalah kreasi seni. Ia menggambarkan keinginan pemiliknya, dan kreasi buildernya. It’is art, based on their imagination. Unsur custom harus kuat, jauh dari kesan konfigurasi serangkaian spare parts after market. Keunikan motor yang saya bangun harus terlihat sejak menit pertama dipandang orang.

Last but not least, safe (an obligatory) and road legal (best I can do, balancing practicality goal vs regulatory constraint).

In His Name, mudah-mudahan menjadi motor yang indah. Salaam.

Pernyataan Awal/Beginning Declaration

Blog ini berkisah tentang motor impian saya. Membangun motor idaman, mengikuti selera saya, dibangun oleh ahli pilihan saya, merupakan proses yang mengasyikkan. Proses itu ternyata panjang, dan banyak keputusan yang diambil. Perkara keputusan yang diambil, pengalaman menunjukkan bahwa bukan soal salah atau benar, tapi soal pertimbangan sumberdaya, momentum, dan pengetahuan yang saya miliki.
Pengelolaan sumber daya, terutama waktu dan dana, merupakan hal yang menentukan. Indahnya impian sering melewati batas sumber daya yang alokasikan. Bagaimana mengelola sumber daya yang baik, agar tepat waktu, dengan alokasi tidak berlebihan, tetapi tetap mendapatkan (paling tidak sebagian besar) impian anda, ternyata merupakan hal yang tak kalah menarik.
The blog tells about my dream motor bike. Building a dream bike, according to my taste, built by my expert builder, is an exciting process. That particular process indeed a long one, lot of decision making along the way. Having made a decision, experience shows that it's not about right or wrong, it is about judging resources, momentum, and knowledge that I had.
Managing resources, time and money in particular, is a crucial thing. How i manage my resources, in a timely manner, with no excessive allocation, while still achieving (at least major part of) your dream, it is undoubtely another interesting process.