Danny Sangma (Fourth from Left) seen here at his Bike Barn along with his team of mechanics and well wishers.
Akangchila Longchar
Dimapur | October 6
A man who turned his passion to hobby and then living it. Meet Danny Sangma, proud owner of Bike Barn. Walk into Bike Barn and the buzz of bike talk is everywhere. You hear words from ‘Barners’ (as Danny’s friends and customers are affectionately called) like an 84’ bike, a 75’ etc… coupled with the soft strains of Bob Marley tracks playing in the background. The place is a classic bike lover’s haven.
From metal scrap to shining power monsters, Danny has long been customizing classic motorcycles. Launched in February 2012, Danny has amazingly restored 15 bikes so far, and has interesting stories to tell. He shares that a guy brought in a classic bike which was unused for 25 years, and which had belonged to his father. The bike is now restored and ready to roll. Danny and his team are also currently restoring an old bullet bike which belonged to the Nagaland Police and was lying decrepit and unused for years. Someone had bought it from a Kabadiwala and brought it to the Bike Barn. The bike patiently waits to be turned into a mean machine once again.
Danny feels that people who ride classic motorcycles are hard core riders. “Bullets are hard to maintain because the machines are very old and made of cast iron. It is also not just repairing something broken but totally restoring the bike”, Danny says. An interesting observation also is that turning an old, unused classic bike cost somewhere around 25,000 to 45,000 to bring it back to life. Whereas new models costs anywhere from a lakh and above. But of course, like Danny says, a bullet fan is…a bullet fan.
Inspiration to set up Bike Barn??? Danny said that people here want to ride bikes so much but it’s so difficult to source classic bike parts. Also, in Dimapur out of the hundreds of mechanics around, there is barely two to three good mechanics of classic bikes.
A passionate bike rider and builder, Danny remembers being in love with classic bikes since his childhood. He says he was influenced by his Dad who also owned a Bullet bike, adding “so the love has always been there”. This passion carried on to his College days where he was always riding his bike. Danny says he loves the riding balance he gets from bullet bikes and its feel and sound. He has been customizing bikes for ten years now, which initially started out restoring his friends’ old bikes. Today, he receives calls from as far as Tuensang, Zunheboto telling him that they have an old model bullet bike lying around which they want restored.
Beyond riding, Danny feels that bikes bring people together. “Through my love for bikes, I have made genuine friends, and we do a lot of things together. We plan day trips expeditions etc”. A good example of this is the Nagaland Motorcycle Club which was launched recently. The Club members have planned to host the North East Riders Meet (NERM 2012) at the annual Hornbill Festival from December 4 to 8 and later take part in Rider Mania 2013 to be held at Shillong.
Danny is not selfish with his Bike Barn. Besides an experienced classic bike mechanic working alongside him, he has also recruited young rockstar, Wapang Jamir who is the drummer for Nu-Melodic Metal band Melodrama and an obsessed bike enthusiast. One of the first customers of Bike Barn, today Wapang is a bike builder himself under the tutelage of Danny. “There is an age gap of 16 years or so between Wapang and I, but the love of classic bikes has brought us together. Whatever knowledge I have, I want to pass on to Wapang because I want the younger generation to carry on the love for classic bikes”.
Danny wishes for the love of classic motycles to live on. His passion is clearly evident. What started out tinkering with friends bikes has now become a business. You have to take your hat off for a man whose passion, his dedication, and skill for motorcyles not only creates something amazing, but also brings together people.
Bike Barn is located at Fellowship Colony, Dimapur.
