An interview with Anupam Singh Parihar – Dochaki Customs

Founded in the year of 2014, Dochaki Designs is a very well-known name in the fraternity of custom biking for the unique builds that they have produced over the past couple of years, few of them being Lokhand, Draga 750, and Daksh. We had the opportunity of interacting one on one with Anupam, the founder of Dochaki Designs and got the Glimpse of his story and journey as a customizer. To find out more about it, read below…

How Did your journey start in the field of customization?

I completed my degree of automotive design in the year of 2010 & soon I was joined in Force motors as a Head Designer in the design department. Force Gurkha was one of the main projects that I was working back then. 

As time passed by, a new opportunity came up abroad in Germany in the year of 2013. And I did not miss a chance to grab it. My application went through and everything fell into place piece by piece. I tendered my resignation in my current company and was serving a notice period, it was then that the new employer had some internal issue and my application had to be cancelled by my new employer.

My Turning Point came when my application abroad had to be cancelled due to issues from the employer’s side. It was then that I decided to set out on a different path.

Since I had already served my notice period and had no surety of a job, it was a very tough period. It was during this time, a friend and a mechanic in Pune asked if I would be interested in helping him out in customization of a bike, to which I did not deny being a designer. This is where the idea of Dochaki started taking place.

When and how was your venture started?

It was when I had completed my first Customization project with the help of a friend in 2013 end, I realized that this hobby and passion can also be a full-time profession. So in 2014, Dochaki was founded with a mission to make unique, and handcrafted customized bikes for passionate clients.

Which was your first project?

“Daksh” was the first project and was for an exhibition in Bhopal. As we started working on the project together, the bike started taking shape and was finally complete. Once the project was complete, we started our operations in Pune, which continued to be our base till 2019.

It was nearly the end of 2013, and this was the first time I was working on a vehicle and not designing it. The project was christened as “Daksh”, meaning capable, vigorous, and also the Son of Bramha.

Any Twists and turns in the project?

I would be lying if I deny this, and yes there were many. Since this being the first project, I was new to a lot of things.

Designing vehicles in a cubicle and getting your hands dirty and creating a vehicle are at the two different ends of the spectrum.

I had to start from scratch as to how metal sheets are moulded, how welding takes place, what are the factors that one needs to consider while handling the chassis etc. which I had to learn from scratch and only with experience.

What would be your dream project and why?

I’ve never thought of any dream project, but yes, if I get a chance, I would love to work on Confederate motorcycles, being very raw in nature it would be a perfect canvas for a customizer to work upon.

What were the roadblocks that you have encountered, and something that you would like to address the upcoming customizers?

There will always be a lot of roadblocks and problems that one will face. But to start off with I would like to address certain points to the upcoming builders:

1. It’s very important to decide between what you want, and what you can do.
2. One needs to know and have a basic idea of metal works for eg. fabrication, moulding, bending, these are the hard part to name a few.
3. Always try to understand your customer and their needs. Generally, they will come up with a photograph and ask for exact similar modifications and most of the time their budget will be a constraint. It is important to understand why they want a certain type of mod and customization.
4. And most important of all, always keep learning.

What is the roadmap ahead for Dochaki, would we get to see a branch in Pune and Mumbai?

Though we have recenty shifted from Pune to Bhopal in the start of 2020, I am not quite sure about branching out, since I am deep into customization, I prefer to handle all my projects personally. Also, branching out means I will have to shuffle between places and that would sort of hinder my purpose of customization.

We are also foraying into the E-Cycles sector soon, be sure to stay tuned for updates…

What are the catering zones for Dochaki?

We function pan India though we are based in Bhopal. We currently have orders panning across all parts of the country and are successfully customizing them and have satisfied customers across India.