THE RAILWAY ENGINEER

Valen Zhou on the ER, his second custom build on a 1986 Kawasaki 125cc

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 Valens hands.  Im happy to share his second custom motorcycle, which he calls the ER, which is an homage to hi s grandfather, a railway engineer, who helped raise Valen.  His absorption of the tools of his grandfathers trade into the very body of his latest motorcycle is a beautiful statement of Valens sincerity as a moto-artisan.

Valen Zhous ER on the freeways of Chengdu, China

Heres the story in his words (all photos courtesy Valen Zhou 2014):

"In October 2013, Valen Zhou from Chengdu, China, built his first custom motorcycle. The story of his motorcycle was published in The Vintagent shortly 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”â€"the engineer of the railway.

The fuel tank is handmade, and used a piston for a filler cap, with an external fuel level gauge, very much in the spirit of steam engines

Valen lost his grandfather (who was 86 years old) in 201 2; 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.

The secondary chain connects to a kickstart lever.  The rear subframe has been refabricated, although it retains a swingarm for comfort

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.

On of Valens grandfathers open-end wrenches serves as a brake lever

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 .

From the side, the steep front forks and high handlebars look almost Speedway

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 m ore skills about how to rebuild motorcycles so that he will make his work better."