THE LOW SEASON

Exactly a year ago I was traveling home from a shoot in Sri Lanka, and decided to have a stopover in India. I had a ticket booked into Delhi and plans to travel by train to the surrounding areas, but the region I really wanted to check out was Ladakh, an isolated mountain region in the most northern tip of India, between Pakistan and China. Just one problem: It was early April, the end of winter, and still very much so the Low Season.

Despite this, I changed my plans and booked a last minute flight into Leh, the largest city in the region. Half the town was still shut down for the winter, but I was able to find a shop to rent a 350cc Royal Enfield. The guest house I was staying at lent me some extra warm clothes and I was on my way. I spent the next week exploring the region, although due to it being the Low Season, many roads were closed, restaurants boarded up and mountain passes snowed over (including the famous Khardung La Pass, one of the highest road passes in the world at an altitude of nearly 18,000 ft, the apex can be seen at 1:32, taken right before I had to turn around due to ice). Despite all of that, or maybe because of the sleepiness, this ended up being one of the best trips I have ever taken.

I wasn't planning to make a short film. I only had my 5d, a few lenses, a still photo tripod and myself. (a far cry from the average crew size and gear list I usually have) Yet the beauty, isolation and impression of the mountains of Ladakh didn't let that happen.

Whether your passion is motorcycles, snowboarding, surfing or just traveling, hopefully you will agree that this short sums up the beauty of the Low Season. But HURRY! Summer is right around the corner. Get out there now, while the roads are empty, the beaches are deserted and the trails are quiet. Get out there while it is still The Low Season!

THE LOW SEASON from Andrew David Watson on Vimeo.

Directed by Andrew David Watson andrewdavidwatson.com
Voice Over by Mark O'Neil
Sound Mix & Design by Julienne Guffain

Guzzi V50 Monza by Revival Cycles

At the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show in Texas last week, Revival Cycles unveiled its new custom café racer, the Moto Guzzi V50 Monza…

Designer Alan Stulberg and his Austin-based team at Revival Cycles created this beautiful custom motorcycle, based on a classic Moto Guzzi V50 and, allegedly, completed on a shoe-string budget. The original bike came from a friend of Stulberg’s, while the parts were mostly off the shelf – the fuel tank, for example, is taken straight from a Yamaha RD400. Fortunately, everything fitted together perfectly and, thanks to that beefier fuel tank, the battery and electronics are all tucked away underneath and out of view, so as not to clutter the V50’s simple design.

Raw metal and patination

Add in a new exhaust system, forks and a headlight, all raided from Stulberg’s Honda parts bin, and the result is really quite impressive. That raw metal bodywork is begging for some patination, as is the hand-stitched, brown leather seat, which we're sure will age brilliantly. Simply put, we really do envy the Monza V50's lucky new owner.

Numerous classic motorcycles can be found in the Classic Driver Market. 

The Golden Years of Kyalami

There was something very special about the original Kyalami circuit, used for Grands Prix from 1967 to 1985. Not that today’s replacement track (built in the early 1990s) is disappointing, exactly, but those who’ve known both say it isn’t a patch on the fast, sweeping and much longer circuit of old.

Perhaps part of it is that the guys who raced there recall the off-track activities, and the particular attractions of the Kyalami Ranch where so many of the drivers would stay when racing in South Africa. Many chose to stay on afterwards, rather than sprinting off to the next country and the next race, charmed by the laid-back atmosphere (and, just maybe, by the bikini-clad air-hostesses so often referred to in the drivers’ reminiscences). No wonder Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart and the rest of them have such huge grins on their faces in our lead picture at the very top of the page, taken in 1973.

High jinks, high speeds

There's no shortage of rumours regarding what the drivers got up to at the Ranch, from the rubber snakes that were used to scare the life out of Fittipaldi (who has a real phobia where snakes are concerned, apparently), to James Hunt running naked round the gardens, terrifying (or thrilling?) the female guests. Plus there's the story about covering Niki Lauda's rental car in honey or - on a very hot day - pouring milk into Jacky Ickx's bed.

But when it came to the Kyalami circuit and the very high speeds that Formula One cars could reach on the wide, sweeping curves and ultra-long straight, there was tragedy as well as laughter. Famously, the very promising young Welsh driver, Tom Pryce, was killed there in the 1977 South African Grand Prix, when he crested an undulation on that long, fast main straight and collided with a marshal crossing the track. They were both killed instantly - Pryce by the fire extinguisher that the marshal had been carrying.

But what race circuit doesn’t have its own history of lost lives? Perhaps it’s better to remember the sunnier side of Kyalami, as it was in the 1960s and ’70s, which is so beautifully captured in these archive images. 

Photos: Getty Images / Rex Features

TOP 5 KAWASAKI KZ750S

from 

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

I’ll admit it, I didn’t know that Kawasaki made a twin-cylinder ‘Z’ until I came across the bikes we’ve selected below. It seems illogical that Kawasaki would release a twin when they had a great four-cylinder engine in their line-up, but they wanted a piece of the vertical twin pie. It meant going up against Triumph’s Bonneville and Yamaha’s XS650—so the Kawasaki KZ750 was born.

Produced from 1976 to 1983, the KZ750 was (at the time) a fairly modern motorcycle. At its heart was a 745cc vertical twin motor, with double overhead cams and chain-driven counter balancers, good for 55hp, and twin disk brakes. Testers reportedly loved the KZ750—and it was known for being extremely reliable.

These days it’s hard to find a decent condition KZ750 (or Z750B, as it was known in some countries). But, if you do manage to find one, there’s ample potential for using the ‘Z’ as a platform for a show-stopping custom—as proven by the five builders we’ve selected below. Wouldn’t you agree?

Valtorón ‘Vintage scrambler’ isn’t a style you’d normally see applied to the KZ750, but brothers Carlos and Pablo have pulled it off brilliantly. Together they run Valtorón, a foundry based in the Spanish village of Valdetorres del Jarama. Their passion for traditional metalwork is evident: all of the KZ750′s new bodywork was cast in aluminum in the foundry, including the fenders, side covers and tank, with a few bronze pieces acting as accents. The brothers also reinforced the frame, and grafted on a bunch of upgraded components from other bikes. These include 41mm Husqvarna forks, Suzuki triple trees, Betor shocks (from an Ossa Desert Fuego), vintage KTM GS 250 foot pegs, Bultaco Pursang handlebars and a Yamaha SR250 front brake. Valtoron’s unique take on the KZ750 oozes charm and screams fun. [More about this bike | Valtorón]

Photo (and header image) by Kristina Fender.

Chad Hodge’s KZ750 Chad Hodge is an industrial designer by trade, and it shows. This ’78 KZ750B (his first custom build) is loaded with clever features and tasteful design touches, exactly what you’d expect from the man who penned the Bell Bullitt. It’s also the first motorcycle Chad ever owned—he initially bought it when he was 18, couldn’t get it running properly, sold it, then bought it back and began customizing it.

After an engine rebuild, rewire and frame cleanup, Chad upgraded the suspension—with YSS shocks at the rear, and progressive springs and a fork brace up front. The stock tail unit was shortened and sent to New Church Moto for upholstery, and now houses the battery and tail lights behind a hand-made mesh cover. Reverse megaphone mufflers were fitted to the re-routed headers and wrapped in custom heat shields, with a lick of pipewrap for good measure. Chad had a color scheme in mind, but settled on black-and-metal when he stripped the tank’s paint off and saw how good it looked. [More about this bike | Chad Hodge]

Photo by Blaine Davis.

Wrenchmonkees This stunning Z750B was the pet project of Wrenchmonkees founder Per Nielsen, who set out to build “the perfect City-Dirt tracker.” In my opinion, he nailed it. It’s a bit more colorful than most bikes from the Danish workshop, but it still has that unmistakable Wrenchmonkees vibe. Most of the work happened under the hood though: the engine’s been bored out to 970cc, using mostly bespoke parts (aftermarket Z750B tuning parts are non-existent) including 89mm pistons made by Wössner in Germany.

Per also installed SR/XT Mikuni TM36 flatslide carbs and large K&N filters. The exhaust pipes, connected to SuperTrapp mufflers, have been rerouted through the frame to the left of the bike. 19” wheels wrapped in Maxxis dirt track rubber match the rest of the bike perfectly, and the orange, brown and green color scheme is simply inspired. [More about this bike | Wrenchmonkees]

HB Custom You wouldn’t say it looking at this über-clean 1983-model Z750B, but Holger Breuer has a day job—and it’s not building café racers. He’s been doing that in his spare time, racking up a rather decent catalog in the process, including a few Z750Bs—one of which even won a competition run by Kawasaki Germany.

This particular ‘Z’ was built on commission, and had been standing for ten years when Holger got it. So he overhauled the engine, fitting an electronic ignition and Mikuni TM34 carbs. He also fabricated new exhaust headers—adapting aftermarket Triumph mufflers from Classicbike Raisch to fit—shortened the subframe, and fabricated an alloy tail unit. Holger’s aforementioned day job is as an electrician, so he reworked the bike’s wiring, with a Lithium-ion battery hidden inside the tail, and installed Motogadget‘s Motoscope Tiny speedo and m-Switch controls. Other mods included upgraded suspension, plus Tarozzi rear sets and Tomaselli clip-ons for a sportier riding position. The Z750B’s classic lines are complimented by a classy black and brown color scheme. [More about this bike |HB Custom]

Photo by Timo Meinking.

CRD #28 There’s not a lot to say about this KZ750—other than that it’s an archetypal Café Racer Dreams build. And that, in itself, is a huge compliment. The traditional CRD signature touches abound: Renthal’s Ultra-Low bars, lights and fenders from CRD’s own catalog, and an under-seat area devoid of any clutter. The subframe’s been shortened to accommodate a custom bench, and the exhaust headers have been rerouted to the same side with twin, blacked-out reverse cone mufflers.

Two-tone paint on the tank keeps things simple and monochromatic, and the vintage Kawasaki badges are a nice touch. Despite all the work involved (I’ve seen a photo of the donor bike and it’s a far cry from the finished product) the overall effect is understated and sublime, making this one of my all-time favorite KZ750s. [More about this bike]