Accomplished at 18: Shan Roy Builds His Own Motorcycles
Elon University student, Shan Roy, 18, started creating his own motorcycles after being told “no” by his parents because the dirt bike he wanted was “too dangerous”.
(Image: Mooresville Tribune)
Roy designed his first electric motorcycle in tenth grade at Mooresville High School in the U.S., which is Secondary Four in Singapore’s education system. He told the Mooresville Tribune that it took him a year to learn how to build a bike and that “it was quite a process”. His bike designs were rendered on CAD before teaching himself how to bend metal tubes, weld, and install other parts such as the motor and battery from watching Youtube videos.
“There are angles and features that riders are accustomed to on the bike,” he said. “I wanted to hit them spot on.”
Additionally, he has also taught himself how to convert existing dirt bikes to electric bikes.
He didn’t come from a motorcycle-loving family. Far from it, in fact. With his father in the fashion industry and his mother a nurse, he has no available parental guidance from his two parents with no knowledge of bike building. Apart from their support, Roy was left to his own devices as he pursued his passion.
His bike building followed him to Pine Lake Preparatory where he built his next motorcycle for his senior project that took him three to four months to finish. He said, “Sometimes I stayed up all night because if something went wrong, I had to fix it fast before the deadline.”
He doesn’t mind the late hours, though, saying that he actually “loved the late nights” and the process of “getting lost in his work”.
Roy, however impressive his motorcycles, does not sell his creations even though he will be able to make serious cash. Reportedly, his original creations cost up to US$2,500 to create while his conversions would cost starting from US$800. Not bad for an 18-year-old kid!