At 17, I had a chance to sit on a hardtail Triumph T-100 serviced at a workshop. I was astound by the experience, I decided if I ever buy a motorcycle it will be a factory hardtail bobber and for my childhood love for zebras, it will be custom zebra striped. I sat so upright and relaxed with no pressure to my back. My legs were stretched out as if I was on a lazy chair. I could plant my feet plainly flat on the ground. It felt so good, there was no desire to thrash the bobber but cruize with the wind. It had the classic timeless look. My second request approved, the owner started the 350cc engine. It roared loud, I thought it was a 500cc engine. As time passed by, reality sunk in, when I started to work at 24, recondition hardtail bobbers were impossible to find that iowner said he got his purely by chance when he was salvaging parts at a secondhand yard.
A week before I pensioned, I surfed the internet for a Vespa Primevera because I wanted a classic looking motorcycle. Suddenly, the Momos Bobber popped up on the computer monitor. It looked exactly like one I used to see at the back of DC Comics when I was 10. The next day after I pensioned, wifey and me went straight to a showroom and there she was in real life. It was the premium version which came only in black and beautiful long fishtail exhaust pipes. The salesman started the engine and I was blown away how thumpy it was, he clarified JPJ approved. That was it. I told him I'll take it and confirmed sales purchase. It was road ready in a week and I requested the bobber handlebars swapped with 10" ape hangers taken from the Momos Daytona which required a change for longer clutch cable taken from the Momos Spyder.
The bobber was immediately sent to an airbrush specialist I hired earlier to do the zebra stripes. However, he asked me to do the airwork because he didn't know how to design them. I spent a week surfing footage of zebra stripes. It wasbdifficult as no 2 zebra have the same stripe design. To make sure the stripes stood out, I insisted the stripes were at least 2" wide. The actual design had stripe stickers altered live to accommodate the convex tank and fenders so stripes do not overlap. The airbrush specialist did a brilliant job of blending the black and white stripes so one doesn't feel any paint humps when fingers stroke the bodywork.
To me, the concept of my custom bobber is more of a piece of industrial art rather than a motorcycle for cruising highways but rest assured heads turn because the result is so radical. It is very much as a reflection of my personality: unique, bold, non-conformist and wild. I was ready to receive criticisms yet to my surprise received compliments. Taste is so subjective.
My bobber is mainly used to go to the mosque and domestic chores within the neighbourhood but my mechanic from 4 separate workshops said I need to take the bobber for monthly trips for at least 1/2 hr to KL or Putrajaya to help clear the carbs of exhaust soot as the engine hardly gets warmed up. The latest custom job was to blacken the exhaust pipe system because showroom stratches on the pipes were noticeable. It's not HD but I'm very please with what I have.
