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Custom-built motorbikes is a old phe-nomenon. It is about individuality and an extension of one's personality. Ask Akshai Varde, whose Mumbai-based company specialises in the making of custom-built motorcycles, and he says, "It is total customisation". Varde's company, Vardenchi Motorcycles, may not boast a huge production plant nor collaborations with any of the leading two-wheeler brands from around the world. His balance sheet does not even show any external funding except for what he has invested on his own. Yet the company can claim to have as its competitors such global heavyweights as Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Harley Davidson.
Custom motorbike builder, Varde does one vehicle at a time. Says Akshai, "A customer can walk into my workshop and get into a lengthy discussion with me about what exactly he or she wants the bike to look and perform like. Once the image is frozen, there begins the process of mix and match that first crystallises the design and shape and then moves on to choosing the right components to make the bike as comfortable as possible for the user. So, for example, if the biker is tall, I may suggest foot pedals at a certain distance or if he or she is of a higher than average body mass, I may work out a particular weight balance ratio. The idea is to create a perfect bike for the user that matches his or her personality and attitude," Varde states.
Aiming at a market comprising the affluent in the age group 28-49 who are passionate about motorcycling and owning a lifestyle object, Varde has so far designed and manufactured 71 individual bikes over the past four years.  Prior to setting up this enterprise, Varde was working as a flight attendant with Jet Airways where, as he says, making a career out of serving tea, coffee, snacks and meals on flights didn't seem to be too appealing. "I have always been passionate about bikes, especially choppers. And so I studied the market and realised that custom-built mobikes catered only to a very niche user segment, the kind who could afford to buy a bike for about Rs 10-15 lakhs. There was nothing for the mid-size segment and that is where I have tried to position myself," he says, while presenting two of his latest models at the proto.in event held at Pune on July 25, 2009.
Varde's bikes, depending on the design and accessories, work out to around Rs 4-5 lakhs. "The engine used is that of an Enfield motorcycle and this makes it easier to get a bike registered with the RTO," he says. Among the bikes he has so far designed, there is the Sting Ray which has tall boy front end with a V-shaped handle bar and a short classic fender at the rear, the Silver Smoke that has been built on a Kinetic Aquilla engine and has a double exhaust with a twin carburettor system, the Stealth built around a 500 cc machismo LB with dual lamps and a matte paint effect to give it the 'killer' look, and many others. As a company, Vardenchi has already established itself but what Varde is now looking for is an angel investor to take it further.
"We are a team of only 12 people, mostly technicians, who put in long hours to build a customised bike that is unique in all ways. So far the revenue situation has been profitable but considering the fact that there are many bikers who would love to own choppers designed according to their individual specifications, there is certainly a need to expand," Varde states. But at the end of the day, it's not just about commerce. For Varde, it means putting passion into practice. "These bikes make statements," he states. The pride in his voice of creating something on his own says it all.
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