Unveiling ‘The Freedom Bike’: motorcycle art installation made from collectible and vintage items

It all began in the month of May 2014, when a 10,000 km motorcycle journey, ‘The Great India Collectors’ Ride’, was kicked off by OLX.in with a team of super bike riders setting out in search of the most unique vintage artifacts from across the country. Traveling for 50 days across 45 cities and towns, the riders met many collectors and picked out the most unique items from their collections that they had put up for sale on OLX. Back in Delhi, they handed them over to the very talented design duo Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth of Klove Design Studio who were commissioned to convert the items into an art installation project.

The young designers then put each of these items together in an ingenious way to give life to the first-of-its-kind motorcycle art installation called the OLX ‘Freedom Bike’. This extraordinary 12-feet-long and 7-feet high piece of art made entirely of collectible and vintage items was unveiled on Sunday September 14th in the presence of leading motorcycle communities, artists, media and celebrity bike enthusiasts Rajiv Khandelwal and Rohit Roy. Popular music band Indian Ocean also performed and dedicated a special song to the occasion.

“The intent of this journey was to explore the diversity of India, celebrate the spirit of freedom that lies at the heart of OLX and motorcycling, and demonstrate the hidden value of used goods. OLX has given people freedom from middlemen, and the freedom to sell and buy at the price, place and time of their choice. The OLX Freedom Bike is symbolic of this freedom, and of the value of used goods. OLX is the largest marketplace for used motorcycles in India, and the default destination for those who want to sell and buy collectible and vintage items. Through this initiative we have shared the extraordinary stories and collections of these ordinary people.” said Amarjit Batra, CEO, OLX.in.

From a sixth-generation antique collector who sold a 60-year-old railway lamp to a two-time Guinness Book of Records holder who sold a camera from his collection, ‘The Great India Collectors’ Ride’ picked out the most inimitable items, brushing the dust off them to reveal their stories.

The Great India Collectors Ride was done in association with xBhp, India’s largest motorcycling community.

The ‘Freedom Bike’ installation has used the collectible and vintage items in the most imaginative ways. For instance, a railway lamp as the headlight, a gramophone as the silencer, a lamp as the break light, a Charkha and voice recorder as the engine, and a typewriter in tricolor with ‘Freedom’ inscribed in it as a number plate.

Some interesting collectible items bought during The Great India Collectors’ Ride were:
• A 100-year-old royal Paan Daan from Lucknow
• A 70-year-old Esraj musical instrument from a 90-year-old collector in Kolkata
• A 60-year-old railway lamp from Udaipur from a sixth generation antique collector
• A 26-year-old saddle from a royal family in Jaipur
• A Sexant and compass from Bhavnagar
• A Hermes portable typewriter from a collector in Hyderabad
• An old gramophone from a collector in Kolkata
• A model car from an auto-engineer in Chennai who has a collection of 200 cars
• A 1942 Triumph Motorcycle fuel tank from Krishnagiri
• A wheel clock from an actress in Bangalore

The inspiring one-of-its-kind initiative bought bikers, collectors and the art world together. The complete journey was also documented and converted into a TV series by The History Channel.