Remodelled bikes are a rage in the capital. Picture by Prasant Mitra.

Ranchi, Dec. 9: Mallika stopped in her tracks when a snazzy sports bike zoomed past her the other day. Just as she was beginning to wonder which country it was imported from, her friend Sachin brought her down to earth. That was no sports bike, he told the wide-eyed teenager ? only a humble two-wheeler that had been given a brilliant makeover. He could spot the difference, because his elder brother?s old bike had had a similar rebirth.

Evidently, the gleaming sports bikes that Abhishek Bachchan rode full-throttle on in the movie Dhoom has caught the capital?s imagination. More and more youngsters have been taking their bikes for what is probably the mechanical equivalent of a nose job.

After remodelling, staid Yamahas and Pulsars get transformed into mean machines that can dazzle an untrained eye ? that too, at little cost.

The remodelling boom had started a long time ago in Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi, and the capital is following suit. Bikers who cannot afford the Real McCoy ? which cost between Rs 2 and Rs 3 lakh ? have two options.

They can go in for a complete re-modelling by fitting ?modified kits?, which have to be brought from other cities. The kits cost around Rs 60,000 if brought from Mumbai and Rs 20,000 if brought from New Delhi.

A kit contains fibre bodies fittings, petrol tanks, silencers, alloy rims and other bike parts. Those unwilling to shell out that much money, can tinker with the machine with locally made bike parts to get a new look. In this case, bikers increase the height of shock-absorbers, change the handle, slant the silencers, paste stickers, change the tyres and lift the mudguards. The entire process is also kinder on the pocket, as it costs between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000.

Rahul, who recently gave a facelift to his CBZ bike, said, ?It cost me around Rs 20,000. I have lifted the shock-absorbers, opened up the silencers to make it louder, changed the handle and pasted bright stickers on the bike. One year after I purchased the bike, it was kind of getting old. So I thought of giving it a new look. And now, my bike turns quite a few heads on the road. Most think I am riding a sports bike. ?

Vishal Poddar, proprietor of Maruti Home, which remodels bikes, said maximum number of bikers prefer to make cosmetic changes rather than go in for a complete overhaul. However, many of the younger people are willing to completely remodel their bikes.

?We have remodelled at least 10-12 bikes till now, most of which are bikes like CBZ, Pulsar, Yamaha and Honda. Some customers have a clear idea of how they want their bikes to look after the job. Some leave it to us. If a modified kit is used, we change the petrol tank which comes in various sizes ? vertical, horizontal and cowboy (model of a cruiser bike) ? and fit it in the frame of the old bike . We even change the handle according to the likes of the customers. If the customer wants, we also fit two silencers by channelling the exhausts in two different streams.?

Poddar describes his job as ?selling a concept.? ?The better your concept, the better it sells. The bike remodelling is definitely catching up in Ranchi and movies like Dhoom have added to the popularity,? said Poddar.

Small-time mechanics are also doing brisk business. Irfan, a mechanic, said, ?We generally get around 15-20 assignments every month. That includes changing silencers, handles, lifting the rear shock-absorbers and pasting stickers ,? he added.