 HEADRUSH
INC.
Zubinn Ponnappa is the man behind the superbikes that
first wowed Indian audiences in Dhoom. And guess what
- John Abraham trusts only Zubinn to take care
of his precious superbikes. But there's much more to the guy
than his Bollywood connections, as JAM found out...
The Beginnings:
He rode his first bike - the insane RD350 - at the
age of 12. Bike art and modifications began as a hobby, which
was endorsed whole-heartedly by his artist-engineer father.
Initially he'd paint bikes for free, just to gain experience.
While the art is self-taught, Zubinn has formally studied
automobile
engineering at Father Agnel's, Bandra.
Dhoom Machale!
" I was one of the riders for Dhoom. We did the
'riding through flames' stunt (the scenes just after the Dhoom
Machale number), mainly because the stunt guys had backed
out. The ' 8-ft controlled flames' were actually touching
40 ft, and we weren't even given fireproof gels. Our gloves
caught fire, as did the bikes, which brought about the risk
of explosion. But when you're in the middle of such a stunt,
and you can't see the person ahead of you, stopping midway
is not an option. So we finished it, burns and all. "
Weird Customer Briefs:
" You do what you want because whatever you do is nice."
(Writer's words of wisdom: Open briefs can be weird, especially
if you're wearing them.)
" I like red, I like yellow, I like blue , I like this-n-that...blah
blah blah. So I want all that BUT...try and
keep it black."
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apart, there are 'too-busy-to-ride' customers who leave their
bikes with Zubinn, saying "You ride it. Here's a full tank.
Keep it running." There was a client who'd fly his bike
down from Delhi, get it tuned and fly it back, without even
setting foot in Mumbai. And then there are the rich noobs, who
want to go straight from a Kinetic Honda, to a Hayabusa. He
mostly refrains from entertaining such customers, simply for
the sake of rider (and public) safety.
So this is the place to come to, for everything from custom
paintjobs to performance tuning and engine
overhauls. Bikes are treated like royalty at Zubinn Design.
And the bikes...man the godawesomesupertastic bikes! GSXs,
Hayabusas, Vulcans...ME WANTS! *goes off to rob a bank*
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