THE RAILWAY ENGINEER BY VALEN CUSTOM
Last year I had the pleasure of introducing the work of photographer and custom bike builder Valen Zhou of Chengdu, China to a global audience; his work on the 'Monstub' soon appeared in BikeExif and subsequently all over the Internet. The Monstub was his first customized motorcycle, and indicated considerable talent in Valen's hands. I'm happy to share his second custom motorcycle, which he calls the 'ER', which is an homage to his grandfather, a railway engineer, who helped raise Valen. His absorption of the tools of his grandfather's trade into the very body of his latest motorcycle is a beautiful statement of Valen's sincerity as a moto-artisan. "In October 2013, Valen Zhou from Chengdu, China, built his first custom motorcycle. The story of his motorcycle was published in The Vintagentshortly after; a lot of people wanted to know what he would do next. Valen has finally finished his second motorcycle, which is to honor his grandfather, which he calls “ER”—the engineer of the railway.Valen lost his grandfather (who was 86 years old) in 2012; he grew up with him, and was proud he had such a cool grandfather, who was a railway and mechanical fuel technology engineer, working in the early 1950s, forming a new nation of Chinese industry. In those hard times, he was the one of engineers who built the four important railways in China. When he retired in 1986, Valen liked to sit next to his grandfather and watched him make toys. Valen says: “I still remember that time.” Valen liked bicycles so much, his grandfather said: “If you want one, just build it yourself,” and perhaps that’s why Valen likes doing things all by himself.After Valen’s grandfather passed away, his grandmother gave him a box, and she told him it was his grandfather’s treasure. His grandfather treated that box just like his own life. Valen opened the box; there were so many tools in it, some of them he was familiar with, but some of them he had never seen before. All of those tools were used by his grandfather when he worked on railways. Valen used these tools on his new motorcycle to show his respect to his grandfather. He felt his grandfather would be there with him when he rode his new motorcycle.Valen totally rebuilt a 1987 Kawasaki 250 in a totally different manner from his previous machine, to be more efficient and practical and used his grandfather’s tools to make the motorcycle special. He used one of his grandfather’s screwdrivers instead of a gear lever, and he bent a wrench to use for the kickstand. He cut two fire extinguishers apart and put them together in another way to make an oil box. The handlebars were made at an angle so that he would feel more comfortable riding it. Valen was obsessed with these details, and spent whole nights sewing his seat and polishing his back drum. A motorcycle in the spirit of the railway.Valen thought his second hand-made motorcycle would take three or four weeks to build, but there were many situations and inspirations he couldn’t figure out. He is so new to the world of motorcycles. Nevertheless, he finished it. After the Chinese New Year he will go to Italy, which is like a paradise to him. There are a lot of classic motorcycles from Italy, and he can find any type of motorcycle that he wants there. He will learn more skills about how to rebuild motorcycles so that he will make his work better."
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MONSTUB CUSTOM CYCLE
HONDA CB125 BY VALEN ZHOU
With a population of over 1.3 billion, there are bound to be some interesting custom motorcycles being built in China. There’s the occasional Chinese builder who cultivates links to the western scene, but the majority seem to stay within the confines of the world’s most populous country. This Honda CB125 custom has come to light by accident, via the motorcycle historian Paul d’Orléans. And it’s an absolute cracker. It was built by photographer Valen Zhou of Chengdu and he’s called it ‘Monstub’—a mix of monster and cub—“because it looks weird and has a small engine.”But has it really come to light by accident? The backstory is almost too good to be true. I interviewed Paul as part of my journalism class, and when Paul asked how I’d found him, I mentioned that my boyfriend was working on a custom bike. His suspicions were aroused—too many coincidences going on. But whatever the circumstances, let’s focus on this very interesting Honda. This is my boyfriend’s first handmade motorcycle. This Honda CB125 is from the first generation, made in cooperation with a Chinese motorcycle company c.1975. He spent about three months rebuilding this awesome thing, and he thinks this is still not good enough. When Valen was a small child, his father apparently gave him a toy motorcycle, and an obsession started. He bought a Chinese Honda on his 16th birthday: “I still can remember the feeling of freedom when I got on that bike for first time,” his says. “I likes old things, because they always have a lot of stories to tell … I has an anxiety disorder, and building the motorcycle helped make me feel calm. The motorcycle helps me deal with anxiety, and I can fall asleep at night.”There’s no list of bolt-on parts to catalog with this build. It’s mostly hand-fabricated, with a raw finish and an amazing stance. It’s like an apocalyptic ‘Samurai Chopper.’ Valen is apparently working on a second bike right now, and it’ll be interesting to see what he comes up with. For the full story on his first build, head over to the Vintagentwebsite. |