The custom motorcycle world is booming around too highly since ages, and to meet by the definition of a custom motorcycle, specialized to meet one person’s needs and tastes, it also tends to be expensive. But if you want a truly custom machine at a price normal humans can swallow, you’ve only got one choice: Do it yourself. Just like that, in our today’s bucket, here’s one of the best amateur cafe racer builds we’ve seen in a long while – based on a 2011 Honda Karizma Cafe Racer, call them Ballard Custom from Mumbai.

Dylan D’silva, the key person behind this neat elegant Café Racer, shared his hearty building experience with us, “I’m not really a builder..more of a hobbyist. I don’t claim to be a professional and it is definitely not a profession. This was just a fun project as i enjoy working with two wheelers. I am based in Colaba and the bike was built at Karfule, my friends art deco petrol pump (1930’s) at Ballard estate of Mumbai, which meant we were surrounded by old classy British architecture which probably influenced the build in the first place. Probably explains why we liked the name ‘Ballard Customs’ for no reason other than a connect with that historically rich section of town.

I work at a media house as an editor so i have no links with ‘bike world’ as such.Just a little dream and the determination to struggle and see it through. But I always dreamt of making my own caferacer. Something simple, light and elegant. This is the outcome. I got a 2011 karizma as the base bike for the build and started from there. I tried to leave the engine and chassis relatively untouched in fear of registration and paperwork. So im currently keeping my fingers crossed in the hope that the papers go through and she becomes a perfectly usable street legal motorcycle rather than just a showpiece. A dream realized.