Motorcycle Explorer November 2016 Issue 14 | Page 46

Feature: norman magowan
banksy, malysian style - ernest zacharevic - george town
All of the above observations relate to the
utilitarian employment of the ‘wee bike’ but, just
like home, some people go that little bit further and
feel the need to personalise their ride and create
some amazing and rather special custom bikes.
Witness the photograph of the jet-black Hond a C70
in Penang, Malaysia or the little 125 Jawa we
snapped in Turkey; both things of great beauty,
where a lot of thought and attention has gone in to
create what certainly amounts to little works of art.
In fact it was in George Town in Penang that we
witnessed a stunning piece of street art by
Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic, showing a
painting of a young boy merged with a real ‘wee-
bike’ all rendered on an old red-door. It is at once a
beautiful and very moving piece of work.
There are so many of these ‘wee-bikes’ around that
for the most part we have borne simple witness to
their endeavours and efforts, snapping the odd-
picture of some of the more outlandish specimens
and usages along the way. They power industry in
these parts of the world. To an Alien, viewing a city
like Mumbai, Phnom Penh or Siem Reap from outer
space, they must look like vast electrical circuit
boards with the ‘wee bikes’ moving like charged
electrons through the grid, enlivening and powering
each metropolis.
If you are wondering what on earth an article on
‘wee bikes’ is doing in an esteemed adventure
motorcycling publication then I propose to you that
every journey on a bike can be an adventure; try
taking that fifteen-foot ladder with you next time
you nip down to the shops on your GS and you’ll see
what I mean. We are all the same; riders are riders,
no matter what size the engine’s cc or the badge on
the tank says (something both BMW 1200 GS and
Harley riders should note) and they are generally a
very friendly bunch. From broad smiles, enthusiastic
waves and massive ‘thumbs-up’ to our larger
machines when we are all lined up at the traffic
lights waiting for ‘green’, to folk pulling over to help
when we’ve had a puncture. Or even when we just
look lost at the side of the road; suddenly there is a
flash of brake-light as a ‘wee bike’ makes a U-turn,
grinds to a wobbly halt, followed by an immediate
offer to help find the hotel that isn’t where the
stupid GPS said it was supposed to be… We love
these encounters with the ‘wee bikes’ and our
journey east has certainly been enlivened by their
everyday presence.