Praveen with his motorcycle scale model collectionPraveen's tryst with scale models began when he received his first toy car at the age of 9. Since then he has been actively collecting scale models, cars, bikes, aeroplanes, commercial vehicle et al. Initially getting them as gifts and prizes for birthdays and other occasions as well as for performing well in school and later on using his hard earned pocket money to add to his collection. The collection activity got serious with time and with the advent of proper scale models of motorcycles into India. Ever since these models have been launched in India Praveen has been painstakingly putting together his collection hunting for these models all over the country, sometimes taking help of his friends and family to acquire some of them. The collection today has more than 125 Bikes ranging from old vintage Harley Davidsons to the latest state of the art big superbikes too.
What he has been able to put together is a collection that would draw gasps of envy from any avid biker and that's why he keeps it pretty closely guarded in his house. The collection is broadly categorised as per continents and eras. His largest collection however is of the Japanese motorcycles, coming from the big FOUR Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki. The beauties from the far east also include a vintage Yamaha TZ racer , the burly V-max, Roadstars, TDM 800, to the latest R 1, and the small Kawasaki 600 ninja all through the family of zx 7, zx9, zx 12 to the ZX 14 heavyweight. This also includes the Nicest Bike manufacturer with Honda contributing in the form of a Blackbird, 3 versions of the CBR 600, 2 versions of the CBR 1000 RR and couple of low slung Valkyrie cruisers.
He also has the big four Japanese dirt bikes in the traditional motocross colours, Yamaha with blue, Honda in red , Suzuki in Yellow and Kawasaki in it trademark Kawasaki green.
The Ducatis
Last but not least, How would a bike collection be deemed complete if it doesnt have the BIG FAT Cruisers. Yes, there are Harleys and tons of them. Starting from the 1940's Panheads to the 2005 Screaming eagle flagship model Road king. The fully loaded and massive Ultra glide to the fast drag racing inspired V-Rod. he has immense admiration for the Milwaukee manufacturer and definitely does dream of perhaps riding one such beast in metal n chrome at least once in his lifetime.
The Cruisers
Does he play with them or simulate a biking environment? Definitely yes, till some time back. he remembers many an occasion embarrassingly when he has been caught moving the bike on the floor making revving sounds while his parents have just stood there wondering what may have gone wrong with their grown up boy, a management graduate and a responsible family man. Yes Praveen is married and his better half has been responsible for a huge amount of his collection too. Not only does she permit him from diverting some amount of his earnings into the model collection but sometimes even goes out and buys the same for him.
Police Bikes
The way he has procured some of his models is also as exceptional perhaps as his collection. he picked up a scale model of the India Chief as he saw it in a shopping window on his way for a business meeting and landed up late for the same. Of course when he explained the reason and showed glimpses of his collection to his client, things took a different turn altogether. he also picked up the model of the Bajaj M 80 at a village fair on the outskirts of Mumbai, pretty strange place for such a thing as a detailed and authentic scale model.Not Just bikes he also has paid attention to scooters too, be it the vintage Vespa from the 1950's, starring in the Gregory Peck movie Roman Holiday to the Yamaha T Max or Honda Silver Wing large scooters. he also has managed to land himself a LML Vespa Select, which he picked up from some narrow alley in pune. Concept Bikes also form a part of his collection, be it some designer stuff from Arlen Ness or orange County choppers or simple the Dodge Tomahawk, the largest displacement motorcycle concept.Some of the model bikes also come along with their tiny designer helmets also, which are on display alongside the bike. This Collection however is by no means just a random selection of motorcycles. Every bike that makes it to his collection has a legendary value. Take for instance the BMW R 1200 from the James Bond Movies, or the Hayabusa and Suzuki Bandit from the Indian Blockbuster Dhoom.
Hyperbikes!
An ardent fan of motorcycling racing, he has his own Moto GP lineup.The Bikes lined up at the grid include the bikes of the likes of Valentino Rossi, Marco Melandri, Casy Stoner, Carlos Checa, Sete Gibernau, Dani Pedrosa et al.A personal visit to his home is what would reveal the massive scale of the collection, as one only notices cars and bikes neatly arranged all over the house. “I’m running out of space now, so I have to keep some stuff in boxes,” he says. Although his collection is absolutely priceless, his favourite is a small wooden bike model gifted to him by his 7 year old niece, who too identifies her uncle with model bikes. This entire collection is carefully marked out, maintained through a detailed excel sheet containing particulars of each bike. The records contain such details such as the year of purchase, the model, the model maker, place of purchase and so on. “I can remember exactly where any particular bike is kept, and can locate it within minutes' states says Sathaye, a management professional Praveen who otherwise pursues a career in management with an with an e-learning company.
The Yamahas
Even as he is aiming to complete a 1000 scale models in the near future, what does Praveen have in mind afterwards. Does he plan to exhibit these collectibles. Well, his plan is to open a Motorcycling Hall Of Fame with inspiration from his late father, (who was himself an enthusiastic biker), where in all these models shall be displayed each with a one pager detailing their history and significant contribution to the world of motorcycling.He also has a collection of all motorcycle movies, whether it is the legendary Che Guerra in Motorcycle Diaries or the rebellious biker gangs in Biker Boys or Torque.The proposed Hall of Fame shall also have a small theatre, alongside where car and bike related movies will be screened.
