All over motorcycle blogs there is a new buzz around a small garage from Indonesia called Hajarbroxx.  Their work speaks more to me that something done in the USA with a huge budget, maybe it is the fact that I grew up in a former communist country where the motorcycle culture evolved differently in comparison to the rest of Europe or the world.  Small cylinder engines with a minimal design trigger a nice reaction inside me in contrast with the Chopper Culture from USA or high speed motorcycles form Japan or Europe – what the fuck we only have 200 km of highway and no racetracks for them.

With this small glimpse into my background it is easy to understand why creations like the last motorcycle from Hajarbroxx, triggered something in me. From one page to another I became friend over Facebook with Gifny Richata one of the masterminds behind the Hajarbroxx garage. After receiving a warm reply for posting their motorcycle on my blog I thought to try a small online interview with Richata.  It is my first take on something like this.

Dark Mill: Where did you find the motorcycle to start with?

Gifny Richata: Indonesia is not the land of motorcycles…we only have small bikes, scooters and mostly cubs, thus we gotta be creative to own a custom or special motorcycles (or very rich that you can buy a harley). The first bike that we build, the KamiKZ, is basically started as a joke, of myself desperately in search of a cool bike that I can ride everyday Then after I posted it on some blogs, my friends started to ask me to customized their bikes. Most common bikes here in Indonesia are under 200cc japanese bikes, and some new chinese and india bikes too.

DM: Did you do some sketches with ideas or did the look of the bike come during work?

GR: It’s definitely have a picture in my head first after I see the donor bike. Usually I ask what the client want for their bike, then I’ll show them some references of custom bikes to see what she/he likes. Then I’ll make a sketch (I will post them on facebook later) and discuss it with the client. But the sketch actually only do about 60% of the designing. The real work must be done with the bike infront of my eyes, usually I take some photos of it and look at them for hours If I get stuck, I browse over the internet for inspirations….

DM: Where do you find inspiration for your work (I love and hate this question, especially in architecture books and magazines)?

GR: Inspirations could actually come from everywhere (hehe I kinda love and hate to say those answer, too….anyway I’m not an architect anymore hehe, now I own a studio that do illustrations and graphic: www.oraystudios.com) . But I usually stick to one big concept for the whole look of the bike, and along the building process, little details could pop out of nowhere or inspired by stuff I see…A theme (like the Darth Vader concept for the Sithlord bike I’m building) could really help, but also could be a boundary, so I have to be careful with it.

DM: What was the budget spent on the motorcycle?

GR: The budget for customizing a bike with our quality could cost you from 500 bucks to 2000 bucks, depending of parts and accesories that you want to use…

DM: What other bikes do you have in making?

GR: Now I’m in the process of building a Darth vader themed Honda GL200, a hillclimber CB175, a trail bike made from whatever we can find in the workshop, a Suzuki EN125, and a Kawasaki KZ1000 cafe racer, and for my own project I’m restoring a 1958 Ducati 98TS and building a chopper out of chinese motorcycle (I have posted some of the pics on Facebook, you can check them out in the Hajarbroxx photo album)

DM: Don`t get me wrong I like the color of the new bike but how did you end up with it?

GR: Well, I like colors that people don’t usually use. Surely plain black, red, and white motorcycles are always beautiful, but it’d be too easy for me I always like to try new colors but I always want to have the ‘raw’ feel for the bikes I build, which could be achieved by applying low-saturation colors. Got the inspiration of this rawness from the Wrenchmonkees and lots of do-it-yourself custom motorcycles.

DM: What would be your top 5 motorcycles at this moment?

GR: At this moment I still love the vintage Indian Scout Racer, always love the Norton Commando, Evel Knievel’s Harley-Davidson XR750, the classic Kawasaki Z1R Turbo, and the Ducati 250 Monza. As you probably have guessed, I’ve never seen, riden, or own these bikes but I think it’s the impossibilty to own these bikes that driven me to build or customize motorcycles…

DM: When did you have your first contact with the passion for motorcycles?

GR: My  first contact with motorcycles  I think was when I had 7 or 8 years , watching a lot of japanese superhero cartoons that showed a lot of motorcycles. My first ride was when I was 13, on my brother’s 110cc honda cub.

DM: Thank you for your time.  More pictures coming in a short time.