KOCHI: Mithun Mohan Vettath is a regular youth but for his hobby otherwise translated as a passionate craze for bikes.
Automobiles were a part of Mithun ever since he can remember. “Ever since I was a teenager I was in the habit of working on the bikes, assembling them, mending them and the like,” Mithun says.
So soon after college he put up a shop in his home town in Kochi that sells automotive body panels of carbon fibre material.
If you are wondering what is so unusual about a guy and his craze for bikes, well Mithun’s craze is not for the high-end latest models that hit the market. On the other hand this lad is bent on finding vintage bikes from across the country and adding it to his collection at any cost.
“Most of the bikes that I set my eyes on will not even be in working condition. I get the bike from the owner and restore it from the scratch. Once, a friend asked me if I could restore a bike that everybody else gave up on. I successfully restored it and since then I started getting plenty of offers, and thus I gained confidence,” adds Mithun. This young lad is the proud owner of a Norton 633 cc, of 4 horse power, the last known bikes in the model 1 series of big 4 bikes in India that he procured at 4.5 lakhs.
“At the time that I got the bike I was not aware of the fact that this was the only one left in India. Nobody knew where this was and it is by sheer luck that I got hold of it. Now I have people offering me up to 25 lakhs for the bike,” says the 23-year-old.
Some of the other bikes in his possession are Triumph 3 HW, 350 cc (1938 model), BSA, 500 cc, WM 20(1938 model), British Postal Service Vehicle called James 125(1935 model), Matchless G88 (1936 model), Rajdooth rd 350, Lambi and French Luna to name a few.
Mithun gets to know about the bikes through various agents who connect him to the owners.
Most of the bikes in Mithun’s possession are World War disposal bikes. And every single one in his possession has all the necessary papers and documents.
Though initially Mithun had ideas about selling the bikes that he restored, after realizing the value of each of the bikes on the rarity scale in his possession he dropped the idea.
Mithun does not just restore bikes and keep it in his garage for show, but this proud owner occasionally takes his beauties out on a ride on Sundays when there is considerably less traffic on the roads.
Apart from bike collection and running his own shop Mithun is also into bike racing in the 1000 cc super bikes category. He was also the national champion from 2009-12 in the drag racing category. Though he gave a break to his racing for a year, this spirited lad is looking to make a come back this year in full form.
