Alappuzha: Ride down memory lane on the bike of yesteryear

Alappuzha: T.V. Boban  is the proud owner of  a rare Yezdi Colt 60, the rage of  1980s,  which is still making its presence felt on the roads in Kayamkulam here. Whenever Boban, 33, a vintage bike collector from Krishanapuram near Kayamkulam, takes a ride on it to the nearby shops or parks it, the area trembles with the clatter of Colt.

Boban, Akshaya Centre owner and the only ‘Colt rider’ in the state,  had acquired it from Mysore for Rs 43,000 in June 2013.  He started the antique bike collection a decade ago and says he is afraid  whether anybody will take it away from the porch since it weighs only 40-50 kg. Hence, he locks it up inside the house  and carries  it  like his own child.  He owns at least 16 other Yezdi and Jawa models apart from the  Colt.

The Colt was bought from Gavin Jude Wilson, a Mysorean  antique bike collector,  and the ownership has been transferred to his name, he claimed.  The mileage had never been checked. “When I want to ride it, I buy petrol and use it. For me, mileage doesn’t matter,”  he says.

It was in the 1980s that Enfield India and Ideal Jawa started offering fuel-efficient, lightweight bikes in response to the arrival of foreign automobile companies.   While the Enfield India breathed fresh life into the German motorcycle maker’s lightweight bikes, the Ideal Jawa pinned its hope on the 60CC Yezdi Colt-a feature that appealed to most women bikers of those days. According to Boban, there is another Colt 60 in Thiruvananthapuram, but  it is  not in a running condition.    

“I’ll never sell off the bike even if someone offers me a million dollars,” Boban said.