This iconic bike reigns supreme in Mohan Janardan’s heart. RAGHUNATH RISHIKESH reports

More than fifteen years since Yezdi shut its operations in India, you would be hard to spot one on the roads today. But for a select band of Yezdi lovers, the motorbike is very much alive, thanks to their painstaking efforts in restoring and driving one. Equity and Technical Analyst Mohan Janardan is one such. A resident of Chromepet, he can often be spotted on his yellow Yezdi Classic in the bylanes of the suburb.

“For me, no motorbike can match the thrill of a Yezdi. There are several new brands in the market today, but it is the only bike that has captured my imagination. After all, it was on a Yezdi that I learnt how to ride a bike,” says Mohan. He adds, “It’s a magnificent machine, driven only by a few enthusiasts now.”

Mohan has taken his love for Yezdi one step further: he restores old models to give them a shiny new look.“It’s very difficult to restore a Yezdi. It’s a long process and requires a lot of time,” he says. First up, one has to hunt for appropriate spare parts. Mohan says there are some dedicated spare part shops and has spent hours in Pudupet, trying to locate suitable accessories for Yezdi. “Finding the clutch, standard bore and chain assembly are the most difficult,” says Mohan. He, along with his trusted mechanic ‘Yezdi’ Selvam, leaves no stone unturned in trying to procure them. “Selvam has been a great partner. His knowledge of the bike is outstanding,” he says.

“One unique thing about the bike is that it has got a single bore with double silencer and the kicker acts as the gear shaft. No other bike has it,” says Mohan. Every time he takes his yellow Classic out on the roads, he makes heads turn. Youngsters, for instance, have a hard time identifying the model from the engine sound as he whizzes past them. For Mohan, that is ample proof of the ‘Yezdi effect’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Down Town / May 26th, 2013