Meet Mumbai's owners of the Bobby

Starring Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia the 1973 flick Bobby drew attention to its energetic actors but a little motorcycle inserted as a carriage for young love in the film witnessed a spike in sales The Rajdoot GTS was launched by Escorts Limited with a 175 cc twostroke engine Its cult following is perhaps not as evident as it was in the 70s But its legacy is being sustained by bikers in the city who continue to treasure it with all their heart We speak to three such owners to find out whyYouthful appealAs soon as he graduated college in the late 90s at a party with friends in Alibaug Bhavin Solanki 39 spotted the Rajdoot GTS at a home in the area After approaching the owner he bought the bike with his pocket money savings of Rs 3000 There was a guy in college who had a Bobby and whenever he rode in girls would notice him he recalls But the bike was nonfunctional and he ended up shelling out Rs 35000 in repairs But Solanki an automobile engineer maintains that its value is increasing as current prices range from Rs 75000 to one lakh Because of its height controlling it is easy and its also suitable for a short person he saysEmotional attachmentWhen Rohit Yadav 35 purchased the Bobby over a decade ago it came in the grey colour which wasnt one of its original shades The bike usually comes in red black blue and golden Five years back I got the chance to restore it and got it painted golden he shares The owner a senior citizen based in Vile Parle had passed away and so Yadav visited his family with the redone bike which brought happy tears to their faces Talking about what riders ought to keep in mind while taking the bike for a spin Yadav says You need a proper rhythm to start it or it can give you a serious backache You need to know when to kick it tooCuteness factorVasai resident Chris Dias 46 had his eye on the Rajdoot GTS when Bobby released Then six years back he finally got his hands on it But four years later a friend convinced him to sell it to him and he gave in I felt like something was missing from my life I tried to buy it back from him but he refused So a couple of years back I managed to buy a new one Then I bought another one So now I have two Bobbys he tells us Dias who owns over 10 bikes has now passed the mantle of riding the Bobby to his son Kevin Its just so cute that even if you dont want to ride it you can just look at it for mental peace just like a fish tank which is pleasant to look at he saysCollectors valueKyle Pereira a citybased writer and restorer of vintage bikes who also owned the Rajdoot model says that it was a clone of the Polish SHL M11 RampD was very limited in India in the early 60s so technology was brought in from overseas and the manufacturing took place in India he states Pereira also adds that the model was more of an eccentric object it didnt help mankind in any significant way It wasnt known for its speed as much as its torque In fact its quite dangerous to ride it at a high speed he informs Although the model is one of the most collectible Rajdoots around the challenge to its longterm utility is the paucity of mechanics who can fix itCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news