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MAN AND MACHINE
Go-ped! Go, Sammo!
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Samuel Suresh's go-ped was born of a joint effort by Lambretta, Yamaha, BSA, Royal Enfield, TVS and Rallis
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UNFUSSY GO-PED Sammo is content with hand-me-downs
During a chat with Schroder, an after-sales marketing representative of Daimler-Chrysler, a faint glimmer of an idea crept into Samuel Suresh's mind. The German told him that in the West go-peds helped racers navigate around the tarmac when they were not racing. Suresh, employed as diagnostic technician at Trans Cars (an authorised sales and service point for Mercedes Benz), decided in that very moment that he would make himself a go-ped and make a pompous display of it at Irungattukotai where he has been racing in the stock bike category since 1998. Tongue in cheek, Suresh justified the decision to friends - "There is a practical side to this. Hoofing it around the sun-scorched track means I consume gallons of water. Wouldn't the go-ped conserve all that water that would otherwise go down my throat?"
He spoke his mind to P D Satyanarayanan and was surprised to learn that he also had a go-ped on his mind. The ace tuner volunteered with a piece information that got Suresh cracking with the project. On PDS' suggestion, he acquired a 30 cc Rallis engine used in sprayers designed with killer insects in mind. For most other parts, he was looking hither and thither. A shopping trolley was the first to fall prey to Suresh's ambition - it was relieved of its fibre wheels. He made central grooves in the wheels, lent them curvature using a tennicoit ring and fixed kids' cycle tyres after lopping off their corners. He understood the great potential lying latent in an automobile scrap yard when a piece of wood that had splintered off from an old bus platform became the base for his go-ped. His father (who runs a two-wheeler garage at his residence) encouraged him to look in his own backyard, which resulted in a TVS 50 being forced to part with its friction and metal plates and a Bullet its pushrod, to make up the clutch assembly. Unscrewing the axle from a Lambretta was like taking candy from a kid. A Yamaha willingly offered the main tube in its fork, making a virtue of necessity. Before breathing its last, a ramshackle BSA donated its engine sprocket.
While these bikes were secretly heaping curses on Suresh, he faced open antagonism at home. As the go-ped was at the forefront of his mind, his conversation was reduced to monosyllables, and when he was on the home stretch they degenerated into disinterested nods.
"It took me 14 months to make this go-ped. After completing it, my patience level has gone up. I now know for a fact that Rome was not built in a day," says Suresh. "This go-ped is distinguished by the fact that its clutch is on the wheels and not the engine."
However, at the end of it, the ride has been far from bumpy for Suresh and his `Sammo', as he calls the go-ped. Cops go by the book and since Sammo thumbs his nose at the system ("Go-peds are not allowed on public roads in our country"), test-drives of the 'ped at Marina used to have unpleasant consequences - on more than one occasion, Sammo was marched off to the station.
"They were just doing their duty and I knew it was my fault not to have gone for a licence." And that is easier said than done. Suresh had to present his case at the Automobile Research Association in Pune. Their response broke his heart - "We need at least five such prototypes to study this vehicle and see if it is fit for the roads".
That explains why Sammo keeps off the thoroughfare and goes for a jog on the Marina once every month after making sure the cops are not watching.
A commuting option?
Even in the United States, the long arm of law comes in the way of the go-ped. These Lilliputian scooters are permitted to use public roads only if they are equipped with a seating arrangement. This requirement has, however, not dampened sales of what is called a foot scooter. It is especially popular among teenagers. The fact that, at 40kph, even the fastest go-ped is still slower than any other vehicle, encourages many a parent to give their children go-peds as gifts. Cases have also been made out for the go-ped as a safe commuting option on the basis of its slow speed, structure - which allows the rider to jump off without any difficulty when the go-ped is headed for a crash - and fuel efficiency.
Sammo specs
Nomenclature: Sammoaka Go-ped
Engine: a 30cc Rallis (originally on a mission to exterminate insects)
Max speed: 20 kph
Drivetrain: Sprocket ratio (check a dogeared BSA manual), clutch assembly (ask Royal Enfield and TVS technicians), chain-drive, rope start (can also be push-started).
Platform: Courtesy Pallavan Transport Corporation!
Wheels: Fibre. Thank a trolley!
Tyres: Makeshift kids' cycle tyres Status: RTO outlaw!
PRINCE FREDERICK
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