MALAYSIANS KINI There are those who believe that unlike cars, which transport bodies, motorcycles move the soul. To them, it is experiencing liberation on two wheels, where worries fade with the twist of the throttle.

Faizal Reza is one such person. Falling in love with motorcycles as a teenager, the 43-year of father of two continues to be seduced by the open roads and caresses of the wind.

It is this passion for combustion that led him to quit his previous job as a creative director with an international advertising firm, and trade his design software tools for screwdrivers and wrenches to become a bike builder and customiser.

On a sun-baked Saturday afternoon, Malaysiakini met Faizal, whose brother Fahmi made headlines with his clown-face depiction of the prime minister, at his ‘Gimme Shelter’ chop shop nestled in a back-lane in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, to find out what fires his pistons.

Inspired by the choppers made popular by the ‘Hells Angels’ in the 1960s, Faizal’s designs often emulate the stripped-down look from that era.

For those who wish to flirt with danger, there is also the option of tearing down the asphalt without a front brake and a suicide clutch, or ‘jockey shifter’.

For the uninitiated, the suicide clutch refers to a foot-operated clutch and hand-shifter to change gears.

“It is a way of life,” responded Faizal when asked what the word ‘motorcycle’ meant to him.

“When I ride my bike to work, back home or wherever... You forget all your problems. You are on your own, with the wind in your face. Everything disappears.”