In 2017, a popular moto blog that I was running at the time was invited to participate in a group ride across the Rajasthan desert in India. There was an official photographer on the odyssey, too. Being an old hat at moto blogging by that point, I made a bunch of assumptions about the photos the shooter would take. But boy oh boy, how wrong was I?
Without breaking a sweat (except where the desert heat was concerned), the photographer rewired my brain as to what was possible when shooting motorcycles. I was expecting a bunch of shots showing Westerners riding on Indian dirt roads. What I got (including the amazing shot below) was a National Geographic-grade photo essay that not only made me feel like I was there, but also made me feel that I had missed out on something that was bucket list special. That photographer was Jason Lau.
Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Jason Lau. I have been a photographer for over 15 years and my interests are broad and occasionally nerdy. I have a deep love of art and I used to be an art teacher for seven years. I’m now a full time photographer and love shooting everything from fashion, to lifestyle, and adventure.
Where are you right now?
I am living in Melbourne, Australia, where I’ve been most of my life. I used to live in the eastern suburbs. Now I’m a lot closer to the city, but my work takes me to all sorts of places.
What is it about motorcycle photography that inspires you?
I love the aesthetic of the motorcycle as it’s instantly evocative and carries so much history in terms of character portrayal and narrative. Motorcycles, especially custom builds, have so much personality, which creates an instant excitement for me.
What makes for a great motorcycle photo?
Great motorcycle photography connects strongly with the environment. I’ve often said that a great motorcycle photo is actually a great landscape photograph – with great light – that happens to contain a motorcycle in it.
Digital and film. Which one do you prefer?
I started my photography on film. It’s basically how I learnt photography. I have done a lot of travel photography on film and I was kind of late in adopting digital. I now shoot digital all the time as editing software has such great ability to create filmic looks. I try not to get too bogged down with gear as that’s not what makes a good image.
What’s your current go-to camera and lens combo?
A lot of my motorcycle photography was done with my Fujifilm X-Pro2 as I loved the handling of that camera and the portability of their lenses, which was helpful when you’re travelling. The Fujifilm 56mm f1.2 lens produces gorgeous results in terms of isolating the subject and creating a sense of grandiosity with it.
Describe your dream outdoor shoot location
I’ve always wanted to shoot somewhere like the Mojave desert as I love a baron and epic landscape. I’d pick a custom Harley scrambler with a brutal aesthetic and I’d shoot it all day long in all sorts of ridiculous situations.
What bikes do you own personally?
I currently own a customised Harley Davidson Iron 883 Sportster. It took me a while to adjust to it, coming from a Triumph Bonneville. Harleys have a completely different feel to almost any bike and I’ve spent a lot of time making this Harley feel like my bike.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?
The best advice I can give to someone starting out in the adventure photography industry is to really strive for a great shot. Don’t make excuses for why you can’t do something. Find solutions. Go make the contacts, take the journey, make the moment happen. The photography should be the easy part.
Social media and photography. Match made in heaven or hell?
Photography on social media is a great source of inspiration but it hides the work that goes into making that shot. Seeing a photograph a couple of inches in size is a very different experience from seeing something in print or on a wall. It’s great to enjoy photography on social media but it’s not the whole story.
What do you do when you’re not taking photos?
When I’m not shooting I’m normally editing. Such is the life of a photographer. Other than that, I skate on my longboard and draw pictures of Batman. True story.
See more of Jason’s work (sans Batman) on his Instagram Page.
Daryl Villanueva is a guy that’s very hard to pin down. Just when you think you have him figured out, he’ll tell you about a new project that will totally change your preconceptions and assumptions. You think he’s a custom bike builder? Now he’s writing a book. You think he’s an author? Now he’s opening an artspace. You think he’s a gallery owner? Now he’s hiring automotive engineers.
After being surprised more than a few times, what I think now is that Daryl is always pushing ahead at full steam which – for a guy who has bikes sitting alongside Max Hazan and Craig Rodsmith in art galleries across the world – isn’t all that surprising. What you see in terms of his output and ‘new’ bikes is where he was 12 months ago. We recently caught up with him to see where he’s been heading lately.
Can you introduce yourself?
Hello! My name is Daryl Villanueva, Chief at Bandit9 Motorcycles out of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Where are you right now?
Locked down in my place. Unfortunately, Saigon’s latest COVID wave is out of control. Since the pandemic broke out, Vietnam had been one of the success stories; besides wearing a mask, life was normal for the past year. We were the lucky few.
Tell us about your childhood
I was born in the Philippines to two wonderful, caring parents and I have a brother anyone would be proud to look up to. I’ve been raised, studied and worked in nine countries and I’ve made friendships that have lasted decades in all corners of the globe.
I started riding when I was 24; I’m a late bloomer. It was my first tour in Vietnam and since everyone was commuting on one, I thought I may as well do it, too. When in Rome, right?
What’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done on a bike? Made it my business. Fortunately, I’ve been able to make it work for 10 years. Now, that is crazy.
What projects have you got on?
We are in the midst of a reinvention. We have to. Not just to survive but to thrive. I don’t want Bandit9 to improve its game; I want to play an entirely different one. We can’t do that if we’re structured like any old custom motorcycle garage.
So I brought on three engineers with aerospace, chemical, and robotics & mechatronics backgrounds. This move alone has changed the course of Bandit9 – from the way we think to the way we produce things. Imagine a motorcycle designed and built with the same precision you’d find in a spaceship. These guys, and gal, blow my mind every single day. I’m sure our customers are going to feel the same way when they see our new ‘Supermarine’ project.
I’ve also brought onboard two gifted designers from the automotive industry. The products we’re developing now are going to make the big boys wonder how a tiny shop on the other side of the planet challenged the status quo.
What’s an average day of yours look like?
With the new structure, I’ve gone from the micro to the macro. The engineers and designers know what they’re doing and are (obviously) much better at designing bikes than me, so I’m there to support them with whatever they need, orchestrate the different moving parts and guide them to the finish line. Hopefully, in first place.
What’s this art gallery project about?
There were a few omens I read into, which sent me down this path; pandemic rental prices, Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way,” visions of sculptures in my head that wouldn’t let me sleep, and artistic friends who deserved a well-designed forum to exhibit their work. So I opened my art gallery, VAN DARYL. But the biggest motivator of all was to threaten snobby art galleries that size you up before you even set foot inside.
Art galleries shouldn’t be intimidating. Yes, artists deserve to be paid but I don’t believe that art should be reserved only for the wealthy. I see VAN DARYL as more of an educational tool than an art gallery. One that’s essential for a developing city like Saigon. It’s free, and judgment-free.
What’s your daily ride?
I’m on a first generation Ducati Diavel for no particular reason. There are folks who are brand loyalists but I’ve never felt that kind of allegiance towards any maker. I’m drawn to products and ideas, not brands.
If there’s a pattern to the choices I make. I tend to pick the ones whose designs have a clear message; from one look, you understand what it’s going for. Honda Cub – charming and fun. Vespa – unmistakably Italian. Harley 48 – old school Americana. With the Diavel, I get “beast.” And it delivers. It’s definitely not for everyone; I think it’s an acquired taste.
Electric bikes – yes or no?
Why not? I never understood this climate change “debate.” Let’s just pretend we’re not burning the planet; what’s wrong with going green? If you have the ability to do good, what is there to discuss? While politicians bicker, China’s quietly building solar energy farms. And people wonder how they caught up with the West in every single race from tech to space.
Back to motorcycles: electric’s clean. Power delivery is linear. We need to solve a few things like range, style, cost and infrastructure but time will take care of this.
Whatever happens with our electric future, I do have one hope: leave the past where it belongs. Enough with the retro, vintage or heritage look or we’ll be stuck in an infinite loop. I’ve seen a resurgence of 90’s graphics of loud purples and pinks. What? Why? It’s like we’re actively trying to de-volve. That or we’re really out of ideas.
What will Bandit9 look like in ten year’s time?
That’s a difficult question. I know CEOs are supposed to have a clear vision of the future but I don’t. I’m only two or three motorcycles ahead of what the public sees.
I just had a long discussion with my designers about how they should think of Bandit9 as an artist, not a motorcycle company. Our approach is not about creating bikes that fit into categories. It’s not about market research or tapping into trends.
Our goal should be about creating an art movement, developing a distinctive style that will define an era, and it should be something that can be studied and taught. But most of all, have fun. People can feel that.
What job would you be doing if you weren’t doing Bandit9?
I think I’d do short stints all over the place: Rolls Royce, Boeing, Dyson, Nike, Studio Ghibli, Tom Ford. Though I’m not sure anyone would take me. I’m a new Dad and I want to give my kid the same opportunity to live all over the world that I got. That is going to be tricky with Bandit9.
Even for Aussies, Tasmania is pretty much the end of the earth for a multitude of reasons. It’s far enough south to make it seriously cold in winter and it’s wild as all get-out once you leave the cities and it’s the least populous state in the entire country. Also, it quite literally is the end of the earth. Sail south from its southernmost tip and you’ll quite literally be in Antarctica before you can say, ‘frostbite-inducing snowstorm’.
So surely most sane people on this icy island would be more interested in just staying warm and indoors rather than, say, racing around in the open air on unfaired motorcycles hoping their extremities don’t turn black and drop off, yes? Well, if Tasmania’s Katie Abdilla is anything to go buy, then the whole place is totally nuts.
Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi, my name is Katie Abdilla. I live in the South of Tasmania, Hobart, and I ride motorcycles. I was a picture framer but have now been undertaking full time study into graphic design.
Tell us about growing up in Tasmania
I grew up in the north of the state on a cattle farm. My interest in motorcycles really began from the desire of wanting to go fast, faster than I could bomb a push bike down a gravel hill. A friend from primary school told me he raced dirt bikes. I decided that I too wanted to do this, so my parents bought me a little 1980s Honda QR50 to begin with from there, it all kind of snowballed for the better.
What bikes do you own?
I currently have: a 1967 Honda SS125, 1968 Honda CL175, 1972 Honda SL175, 1976 Honda XL175, 1976 Honda CB400F, 1992 Honda VFR400R (NC30), 2016 Honda CRF150RB and a 1972 Triumph Daytona 500 (T100R). I have had more small Hondas but sold them several years ago.
There are many reasons as to why and how these bikes came to be a part of my life. My favourite being my ‘76 CB400f. I first saw this bike at a motorcycle show back in 2014 and intuitively knew I was meant to have this model of motorcycle. The bike was completely stock at that point, and it was the sweeping headers that drew me in. Fortunately for me, she happened to have a for sale sign placed next to her. Not long later, I ended up with that same bike in my garage.
What’s Tasmania like for riding?
I love Tasmania for a multitude of reasons, but mainly for its abundance of winding roads and scenic landscape. Even though it gets chilly here in winter, the snow does not often settle at sea level, so riding all year around is an option. It is actually really hard to pick a favourite road here as there are so many, and they are all so different. I do like the roads in the Northwest of the State though.
And you’re into motocross racing?
I did a few motocross races as a child and a couple grass track races in 2020, but wouldn’t say I race motocross. I really enjoy riding motocross though as I am forever learning rider technique and enjoying the challenge. I also enjoy road racing out at Baskerville Raceway in the warmer months.
What other projects are you working on?
I’m not currently working on any moto projects, just riding and having fun! I am however itching to build another bike; I’d love to build a Triumph chop or knucklehead.
A few friends came down to Tassie to film a motorcycle journey documentary in February 2020. They needed a motocross track for filming content at, and just to have a good time. So my partner James offered them a ride at his track in Surveyors Bay. That was a really fun day we all had. Especially doing time trials around the sand track on the little XR100.
Who are some of your heroes?
I don’t really have any heroes. But I do admire riders like Ken Roczen (the German professional motocross and supercross racer), Barry Sheene, and Beryl Swain (the London-born motorcycle road racer and the first woman to compete solo in the Isle of Man TT race).
What are your thoughts on electric bikes?
I actually love the approach of electric motorcycles. It’s wild how much speed and torque they carry. It is really cool seeing what companies and independents are bringing out as of late. The engineering side of things is fascinating.
Name your fantasy road and bike combo.
I would love to ride the Isle of Man TT or the Manx GP course on either a Honda NC30 or on some vintage British steel.
What would you say to other women who might be interested in riding?
What I would say to anyone, whether it be women or men who might be interested in riding a motorcycle would be to just do it! You do not know if you will fall in love with the sport or lifestyle unless you give it a hot crack. I would suggest for anyone who wants to take up riding of any kind, focus on technique first as controlled speed will come later with experience.
Seat time is everything. The more you ride in different conditions, the more experience and knowledge you gain. If you are new to riding, then ride with more experienced riders, ask them if you can follow their lines or have them tail you to give you pointers. The great thing with the motorcycle community is, generally we are a friendly bunch.
It was my Dad’s birthday a few days ago. I was on the phone to him from my ‘home office’ (think garage full of bikes, second-hand rugs and music gear) in Sydney’s inner west wishing him all the best. ‘What are you up to?’ he asked. ‘Well, if you really want to know, I’m chatting on Facebook Messenger to the guy who designed my main bike,’ I bragged, looking over at my beloved BMW RnineT in the corner.
Instantly feeling embarrassed and regretting the silly fan boy comment, I changed the subject to something else birthday-related. But I can’t deny, I had done it despite my best intentions. I had just named-dropped to my own father; someone who has never ridden a bike in his life and who would rather discuss tomato-growing tips than talk about motorcycles. The name of the designer that reduced me to a silly, bragging little boy? Meet Ola Stenegärd, Motorcycle Designer, horsepower aficionado and reluctant hero to grown-ass men and women right across the globe.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Ola Stenegärd and I’m the Director of Design for Indian Motorcycles. I’m currently home officing from our farm in Sweden. Normally, I split my time between our studio in Minneapolis, Switzerland and my home office in Sweden. And weirdly enough, I was just greeting one of our ponies that made a surprise visit in my office. No, I’m not joking. It’s country living galore here.
One of Ola and his team’s smash hits – the BMW S1000R
Can you tell us about your childhood?
I was born in 1970 and grew up on a farm with a good garage, angle grinder, and a welder. My older brother was into choppers and hot rods; there were V-twins and V8s all around. Sweden has a very old custom culture and he also played guitar in a rock ‘n’ roll band. Him and his friends were literally my babysitters. I was hanging out with them every evening when they had smokey band practices, and they translated Sabbath lyrics to me. They told me, “If you wanna be into bikes, there are only choppers.” So that was it. I basically grew up in the garage, fed on Zeppelin, Sabbath and Easy Riders. I tried to build up every bicycle, moped and 125 I had to look like some sort of chopper or bobber.
About age six or seven, my dad taught me how to weld; he was fed up having me on his back begging him to weld all the extended forks on my bicycles. So I built several choppers and bobbers up until 1992. I went to many shows like the Norrtalje Custom Bike Show. I even got some awards. Then I decided to get my shit together and enter Preparatory Art School; I had always loved to draw. My mother was also painting and drawing as a hobby. I slowly realized that if I drew the stuff I wanted to build, I didn’t have to rebuild it so many times. And at art school, I was finally introduced to Industrial Design. I was hooked. This is what I wanted to do for a living. Still, becoming a motorcycle designer was as far away as becoming an astronaut, but I figured even if I couldn’t go to the moon, maybe I could work on the rocket.
An Ola Stenegard design sketch of a Indian Dirt Tracker from 2002
When I was 15, I entered my first big Hot Rod show in Stockholm with a Bay Area-Style moped that I had built. I organized the whole trip myself, including booking ferries and renting a VW pick-up to transport the bike. All so my busy Dad could not stop me from going there. And finally, I actually won first prize. And I kept that little chopper. It’s the only bike I never sold.
What vehicles do you currently have?
Too many! And too many projects; my two sons race motocross and my daughter does horse jumping, so there is a lot of horsepower all around. I think, all in all, there are at least 15 motorcycles in various stages in the garage, motocross bikes included. And a ’71 Plymouth Road Runner, too. We have the luxury of living on an old farm where me and the kids converted the old pig stables into a 300 square metre motorcycle garage with a full machine shop including a mill, lathe, drill press, welder and some personal workspaces.
So it’s a bit of a dream garage, but it took 10 years of hard work to realize since me and the kiddos did most of the work ourselves. But right now what I really long for is getting my hands on one of the new Chiefs! Covid messed up a lot of parts supply in the industry, so we all just have to be very patient. But hey, the new Chiefs are worth waiting for, I can promise that.
My daily ride and another one of BMW’s master stokes under Ola’s reign – the R nineT
What skills do you need in your job?
It’s always a matter of possessing a mature balance between creative vision, keeping your ear to the ground for future trends and sober business discipline. And you gotta ride. You gotta live and breathe the stuff you work on.
Can you talk us through the process to design a production bike?
Ideas can come from different places in a company: some very strategically, some spontaneous. Either way, you have to build a solid case and review it with the leadership team to see if it makes sense. If it does, you go to work in order to prove your concept and build a business case. Mules, early concept sketches and vision models all help.
If you pass through with flying colors, you then move into the real development process which can take two to five years, depending on how big the project is and if it’s a single bike or a whole platform. And here you deploy the traditional design and engineering process which is a mix of old school sculpted clay and high tech CAD, virtual reality, rapid prototyping and several loops of testing and validation before finally going into industrialization.
The new 2022 Indian Chief, influenced by ’70s and ’80s drag-style performance customs
What projects are you currently working on?
I can tell you, but then I have to kill you! No seriously, we are working on – oops, sorry – the message has self-destructed. Ha!
Who’s your design hero?
My inspiration comes from many moto-places. However, I am not the kind of guy who goes to fine art galleries or finds inspiration in fashion or architecture. All my inspiration is soaked up in the motorcycle scene and from the peeps who make up this moto universe. Motorcycling has so many sides to it and it just never ceases to fascinate me!
Racing, adventure riding, customizing (where my roots are), motorcycle fashion, motorcycle art, clubs, custom culture; it’s a bottomless well to draw inspiration from! When it comes to heroes, it’s hard to single out names just like that. There are so many talents out there, but if I had to say two names today, it would be two equally legendary Johns: Britten and Buttera.
This is one of the most inspiring and equally challenging questions of today. The motorcycle world is changing; we’ve gotta adjust and adapt with it. Legislation, markets and customer demand is changing and it’s an amazing time for us at Indian Motorcycle to be part of this moto culture paradigm shift. The bottom line is, two wheels are still the key to the moto experience.
The new 2022 Indian Superchief, influenced by ‘early ‘Hollister’ bobbers of the late ’40’s and early ’50’s
Name your fantasy road and bike ride combo.
Oh man! Where do I even start? Well, guess I would have to divide it into different eras. Imagine flying around the Beverly Hills board track in 1921 on a prewar Powerplus while letting Shrimp Burns lead the way. Also, I would give anything to dragrace a bobjob Chief up and down mainstreet in Hollister on the night of the 4th of July riots in 1947. And riding a Britten around the Isle of Man! Odin’s beard, that would totally trip my trigger. ’Nuff said.
Indian’s new 2022 Chief in red
What would you say to someone looking to follow in your footsteps?
Follow your dreams, don’t ever give up no, matter what anyone tells you. I wasn’t exceptionally gifted or talented or anything. I sucked at math; I could draw and I could weld but nothing really good. However, I was hellbent on working with motorcycles and the right education is important. I sold every motorcycle I owned in order to afford design school. I only had one goal and no plan B. You just gotta commit because you only live once.
Working with motorcycles means you never really have to go to work. And living your life on the “industry side” actually means that you can spend every dang day enriching the lives of all the weird and wonderful people that makes up this amazing fabric of the motorcycle universe.
One of Bultaco’s rarer models was the Streaker, with only 750 odd examples of this 119 cc two-stroke single produced between 1977-1979 in the black model and 1979-1984 in the white A model.
The Bultaco Streaker weighed just 85 kg dry and was good for 116 km/h
Obviously aimed at the racing mad youth market the Streaker was quite a competent machine. Output was an advertised 13.3 hp at 9000 rpm (in reality closer to 10 hp) with a 85 kg dry weight, enabling a real world top speed of 116 km/h.
Despite receiving the 125 designation the Streaker was a 119 cc single-cylinder
Notable features were a six-speed gearbox and alloy wheels.
Alloy wheels were a standout feature
The 119 cc (advertised as a 125) model was supposed to be mainly for export markets, while a 75 cc version, that used the same chassis, was to be for domestic consumption. The 75 was also used as the basis for a “single class” race series with one notable rider to get his career underway in it being Sito Pons.
The Bultaco Streaker 125 was actually an export model, with a 75 version run for a domestic single-make race series
Following on from the previous column I thought I’d round out the look at Bianchi with some of their post war bikes.
Bianchi Aquilotto
During the 1930s the company started producing trucks but the factory was destroyed by bombing during the war. To re-establish the company, the Aquilotto (Eaglet) clip-on motor was put into production. This 48 cc 2-stroke motor was designed to be attached to a bicycle in much the same way as Ducati’s Cucciolo motor, to provide basic transportation.
Bianchi AquilottoBianchi Aquilotto
A full motorcycle, the 125 cc Bianchina 2T, appeared in 1947 and proved to be a success, also helping the company recover from the destruction of their Milanese factory and the death in 1946 of Edorado Bianchi, the founder of the company.
Bianchi Bianchina
Lino Toni was employed in 1950, and together with Sandro Colombo, designed a 250 cc parallel twin 4-stroke for GP competition, this proved to be too heavy and was subsequently enlarged to a 350 cc then a 500 cc machine – in which guise it did show some promise.
Several were campaigned by privateers and the design formed the basis of the Paton 500 twin racer. The example seen here was photographed outside the Sammy Miller Museum during its restoration in 2015.
Bianchi produced a range of machinery
Back on the street a wide range of models were produced in the ‘50s and ‘60s. This Bernia is from around 1963 and had a 125 cc OHV 4-stroke motor. It and the 173 cc Tonale, also a 4-stroke single but with a chain-driven OHC, were two of the best known of the company’s later models.
The Falco moped used a licence built Puch 50 cc 2-stroke motor. An interesting fact is that many small capacity Bianchi two-stroke bikes were sold in the US as Montgomery Ward Riverside models.
The motorcycle part of the company ceased trading in 1967 leaving the original bicycle concern to keep the Bianchi name at the forefront of a different section of the two-wheeled world.
So, name a motorcycle manufacturer that started producing its trademark product in 1885 and is still producing it to this day?
1936 Bianchi 250cc Super Sport1936 Bianchi 250cc Super Sport
Well that would be Bianchi! Of course the said products are bicycles but the company also turned out a range of highly advanced motorcycles from 1897 to 1967. During its long history trucks and cars were also made.
1936 Bianchi 250cc Super Sport1936 Bianchi 250cc Super Sport
While Edoardo Bianchi’s first, 1897, design was a motorised bicycle, by 1903 leading link forks were fitted and in 1910 a 500 cc single really established the company in the motorcycle field. A variety of designs appeared over the following years including 600, 650 and 741 cc V-twins, side valve and OHV 350 singles and an OHV 175.
1936 Bianchi 250cc Super Sport1936 Bianchi 250cc Super Sport
By 1925 Bianchi was (like almost every other Italian motorcycle manufacturer) racing. Except those other companies didn’t have Tazio Nuvolari as their rider! He won the 1925 350 cc European Championship (which was a single event at the time), won the Nations GP four years running from ’25-’28 and Circuit Lario five years running (’25-’29).
1936 Bianchi 250cc Super Sport
All on the 350 Bianchi. He famously won the very wet 1925 Nations GP after suffering a major crash while testing an Alfa Romeo only six days previously. Wearing a cushion strapped to his stomach he had to be lifted onto the bike by his mechanics for a push start!
1936 Bianchi 250cc Super Sport
The bike Bianchi used for competition was a DOHC 348 cc single designed by Albino Baldi. In the 1930s he followed the 350 up with an OHC 500 single, then in 1938 a 500 cc supercharged DOHC four (which was not fully developed before the war intervened).
1936 Bianchi 250cc Super Sport
The bike seen here is a 1936 250 cc Super Sport which featured the very advanced, for the time, plunger rear suspension.
