The Indian automotive customisation scene is a one of the most optimistic fields for budding automotive designers and technicians. With the growth in the overall car and motorcycle segments, the need to stand out from the crowd has given a boost to most designers and technicians who can bring their skills together to create a masterpiece on wheels. One such young designer is Anoop Nishanth who understands this specific need of the market and has started his own firm Maxx Speed Designs (MSD) based in Chennai.
Anoop has been credited of building for his maiden project, a custom body for the CBZ Extreme called the Honda MS01 that won him lots of appreciation and accolades for his well crafted work. The next offering of MSD is the IC 350, a cafe racer built with the thought of incorporating modern and classic retro theme as the motorcycle’s design language. The terms IC stands for “Indian Cafe”, while 350 is the engine displacement of 350cc. The motorcycle has been developed on a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350cc platform. The IC 350 was unveiled by the biking legend Mr. Subhash Chandra Bose (aka Bullet Bose) in Chennai.
The IC 350 has been designed for riding conditions on different terrains and has been completely handcrafted. Leaving the mechanical bits untouched, the IC 350 sports a new monoshock suspension, upside down forks, front and rear petal discs and sits on an extended wheelbase. The motorcycle features 110/18 tyre with 40 spokes up front and 130/17 tyre with 36 spokes at the rear that should make it capable of handling most terrains.
Other features include HID projector lamps with dual white and red rings, automatic headlamp controller that has been developed by MSD itself with LED tail lamps at the rear. The IC 350 sports adjustable handlebars for sports mode as well as cruiser mode. A nice touch is the creatively designed pillion seat that stays hidden by a detachable cowl, thus can be converted from a single seater to a dual-seater in no time. The motorcycle also sports height adjustable foot rests. The best touches are the engraving on the gas tank cap and handwork on the front light unit. The instrument cluster used is Smith’s replica speedometer. An added attention to detail is the jute rope wrap-around on the exhaust which gives the bike a unique and rustic feel.
The motorcycle has been given a dual colour paint job of matte red and black and has a fuel tank capacity of over 15 litres. It also features circular bar end mirrors giving a nice retro touch true to the cafe racer concept. MSD is taking orders for the IC 350 and the cost for the one of a kind design starts at Rs. 1 lakh going up to Rs. 3 lakhs for upgradable features. We wish Anoop and his team all the very best for his work, and hope to see more creative designs come out of his garage. Checkout the images of the IC 350 below and tell us what you think of the design.
