ELIAS BLACK
1981 KAWASAKI ZEPHYR
THE FULL WORKS
DNA Customs cut out the dual shocks and put a single shock through the centre. A Zephyr 1000 tank was put on for a nice clean line. Then there’s the front forks - it’s got an upside down dirt bike front end. The engine’s been bored out to roughly 850….aftermarket carbis…the works. Brembo brakes. Wheels. Basically everything.
Oh…and then I’ve simplified things on the dial. A milled in moto-gauge set-up so it doesn’t look like it’s got a speedo until you start it up. That’s neat.
Side mounted bullet-blinkers front and back. Upgraded led headlight and inset rear.
I painted the whole thing silver. Then I had the seat re-upholstered and had a rear cowl crafted to pop on and off (in case I ever decide to take a second passenger).
PLACE AMONG THE PINES
I’ve always loved Café Racer style and enduro and I’ll admit a lot of my love of bikes comes from the movies. But ‘Place Among the Pines’ pushed me over the edge. Luke (Ryan Gosling) riding his Suzuki DR-Z400 through the woods with the Mike Patton soundtrack. It’s such a powerful, inspiring vision. Then there’s the final scene where Jason rides off into the Adirondack Mountains with Bon Iver’s ‘The Wolves’ playing. When I first saw that I was just frothin’ at the bikes. Literally a few days later I bought my CB500 project – the bike out of the very last scene. It’s still in pieces in the garage by the way.
GREENLIGHTS FOR MILES
I recently did a long trip listening to Matthew McConaughey’s book ‘Greenlights’ and I reckon he’d make an ideal road trip partner. He’s a great storyteller. So goddamn funny. So I’d be pretty quiet on that trip - “Just keep talking Matt. Tell me another story.” Maybe we’d be heading back to Big Bear which I loved. So yes, with Matt to Big Bear. I can’t wait.
COOPERS SHOOT OVERSHOT
All the back country roads through the hinterland round here in Byron are my go-to right now. Friday Hut Road is one of my favourites. It’s such a short way from home to just kind of whip around and get a bit of a thrill. There’s rarely cars and the bends are sweet so you can get some real joy. There’s some real rough spots though and I have actually lost it before. Right where we went today around Coopers Shoot. Hit a pot-hole at pace where the road dips off.
MOTO CO ON THE GO
I’ve got my own passion project not unlike Moto Amoro. It’s rolled out from a custom bike build business I’d started - @byronmotorco We were exporting bikes and there were so many rules and regulations in each country it made it a real challenge. It’s now evolved into a way to share my interest more than anything. Old bikes. Old cars. I’m signing on with Suzuki for six months and will be driving a couple of their cars around and then it’ll grow into a space for shoot and TVC rentals over time.
BRONCHO RUNNING WILD
For long trips I like a bit of pump-up music. ‘Easy Way Out’ by Broncho is a fucking great road song. They’re from Tulsa, Oklahoma and produce some driving rhythms that make you want to open the throttle (not that I would ride
with headphones on).
MOTO AMORO
The Zephyr’s got a sweet look but she has another side.
A lot of her ‘beast’ is only revealed in the ride.
She’s an “evil glamour” - fully sexy, but bad at the same time. Who doesn’t love that?