[CrAzY dRiVeR]

I've been staying in Kerala for the past few months - and noticed an interesting trend in the automotive scene here. Restored old scooters (Chetak especially) are the latest craze amongst the youth and it isn't difficult to spot these around - vibrant colours, two stroke glory and mostly piloted by youngsters wearing proper riding jackets and upmarket helmets.

Purists won't like the restorations though - as originality has mostly been thrown out of the window, in favour of vibrant personalizations.

A quick search on social media shows the real deal - (Number plates not masked as the pics are already from public domain)





















We have a couple of examples on the forum, but didn't think the trend would be as popular.

BHPian ACMohan's Bajaj Classic Cafe Racer -

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...d-scooter.html (Resto-modification of a '96 Bajaj Classic into a Café Racer styled scooter)

BHPian ashwinprakas's Chetak-

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...ml#post4849544 (Bajaj CT100B - Utilitarianism Redefined!)

Very interesting trend IMHO. Good to see these old beauties sharing the lime light with KTMs and R15s.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the 2-wheels forum. Thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Purists won't like the restorations though - as originality has mostly been thrown out of the window, in favour of vibrant personalizations.

Whether modern vehicles or vintages / classics, I care two hoots about "originality". If something makes my car better in terms of performance or aesthetics, I'll go for it .

Beautiful scooters, man! Am not surprised they are wearing "KL" plates. With few exceptions, I love the modifications rolling in that state.

[Ashley Nair]

Sure, this is the present trend in Kerala. And many of these scooters are being restored by men post their 50's. Bajaj Chethaks, which fetched Rs 2000/- two years before, are now sold for more than 15000/-. Even Rx series and Bullets have now come secondary to scooter restorations in Kerala.

[rajushank84]

Lovely thread and gorgeous scooters. I wish Tamil Nadu had half the passion Kerala has for vehicles. I'm not a wrench-head myself, but would love to buy a fully restored piece of art like one of those scooters.

[ninjatalli]

Thank you for sharing - this is a lovely bit of news, especially for someone like me who has spent all his childhood on one of these scooters back in the 80s & 90s. Great to see such trend - hopefully it catches up a lot more!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

A quick search on social media shows the real deal - (Number plates not masked as the pics are already from public domain)

Also most of the pics seem to be taken by professionals (or atleast the enthusiasts). Is it a specific city based trend or spread across the state?

Edit:

Originally Posted by Ashley Nair

Sure, this is the present trend in Kerala. And many of these scooters are being restored by men post their 50's. Bajaj Chethaks, which fetched Rs 2000/- two years before, are now sold for more than 15000/-. Even Rx series and Bullets have now come secondary to scooter restorations in Kerala.

Those are still not bad prices at all! What do you get for 2000 I wonder - even a depilated rusty old Hercules cycle might not fetch you 2000 Rs these days

I'd gladly pay 15,000 for a restorated scooter like one of the above (but I guess that price would go without the paint job).

[dhanushs]

This trend has been there since a long time now in Kerala. Atleast a decade back.

My fathers rusty old chetak, without papers was taken away for 2,000 rupees and was restored into a shiny blue scoot!.. How I wish, I was the one that did it!

[Viju]

Thank you for sharing, CrAzY dRiVeR!

Being a fellow mallu, I fully understand our love for all things automotive. I always felt that these old scoots deserved more love than they got, and hence delighted to see these restomods! Hope this helps in saving many more of them from going to the junkyard, which was all too often the case in the past.

It's amazing how these 'Italian' scoots can carry off the bright colours, and even the go-faster stripes! Lovely!

[saisree]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I've been staying in Kerala for the past few months - and noticed an interesting trend in the automotive scene here. Restored old scooters (Chetak especially) are the latest craze amongst the youth and it isn't difficult to spot these around - vibrant colours, two stroke glory and mostly piloted by youngsters wearing proper riding jackets and upmarket helmets. :thumbs

Oh man!! Absolutely gorgeous. Looks like yester year Sridevi is back. Those eye candy colours WOW!! The passion for these restorations at Gods own land is amazing and they always come up with some new trend.

Shared this thread to my friend who did exactly the same with his Bajaj CUB back in late 90’s. It was In Tangy Orange colour with a Bad Boyz sticker.

Originally Posted by GTO

Whether modern vehicles or vintages / classics, I care two hoots about "originality". If something makes my car better in terms of performance or aesthetics, I'll go for

I second that.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

I'd gladly pay 15,000 for a restorated scooter like one of the above (but I guess that price would go without the paint job).

The customised ones have an asking rate of around 40k on OLX (not sure if they finally find takers at such rates though!) - restored stock ones with RTO papers can be seen listed for 25k-30k.

Below 15k - most listings are for scooters with pending RTO tests and missing papers, etc.

[rajushank84]

15K does sound really low for a work of art (assuming it indeed is a work of art). I'd prolly go for a well-restored Lamby and maybe a bike (Yezdi or RX135 or Shogun), with something like a combined budget of 1.2 lakhs between the two.

Another scooter I love and would buy restored is the M80. Highly underrated, I think - except by the vegetable vendors. The large wheels and the manual gears are a lot more fun to ride than most other scooters of its time - and needless to say, even more fun that scooters of today.

[Jeroen]

Absolutely gorgeous, love these! I never owned one, because I think they are even more lethal than motor bikes. But still, these scooters look fantastic and you can see how they appeal to many (young ) folks.

thanks for sharing

Jeroen

[SnS_12]

Going retro always becomes a trend with most items in life be it lifestyle or automotive.

Had recently seen this liquid cooled RD350 engine been plonked in a Lambretta (an overkill) with a tastefully executed paint job

Pictures from boiscooterclub Instagram page (can check them out more interesting scooter content)





Also some before and after pictures of my Dad’s Chetak post restoration





You can read on the restoration on the below link:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...back-life.html (Restored: Dad's Bajaj Chetak comes back to life)

[kamilharis]

Legends should never die, we must keep them running like this!

This is the reason why I hate the 15 year rule or upcoming scrapping policy.

We won't be able to see art works like this once such laws are made. Sad truth!

[Radar]

Wow! Those look good, whether it's original or not.

Tastefully done, the paint job looks awesome and you can feel the love for the machines oozing through the pics.

[Cessna182]

Kinetic Hondas should be a part of this trend! In 1991,they launched the first CVT vehicles in India. First scooter with an electric start.
If only Kinetic had the will to innovate upon the body style and improve the mileage, Honda Activa would not have been so popular today.
Honda Eterno is another possible candidate for this. It is the best geared scooter India has seen, and even today many owners refuse to sell it because it is so good. Many milkmen and newspaper delivery folks still use it.