Valdetorres del Jarama is a small village in Spain, half an hour from the center of Madrid. It’s also home to a sculptor’s foundry called Valtoron, named after the local river.
The foundry is run by two brothers with a passion for traditional metalwork. In their free time Carlos and Pablo live and breathe motorcycles, and occasionally, their two worlds collide. Over the years they’ve been quietly using their skills to create some remarkably original motorcycles, which were revealed in public for the first time at the 2012 Mulafest show in Madrid.
The reaction of the audience at the show convinced Carlos and Pablo to disclose more of their two-wheeled work—which includes this 1977 Kawasaki KZ750, repurposed into a vintage dual-sport machine. (If you haven’t heard of the KZ750, that’s understandable: it was designed to compete with twins like the Triumph Bonneville and Yamaha XS650, but despite having the requisite simplicity and character, it never really took off.)
Valtoron started by modifying the KZ750 chassis for strength, and grafting on uprated components better suited to offroad use—including 41mm Husqvarna forks slotted into Suzuki triple trees, and Betor shocks from an Ossa Desert Fuego. The footrests are now from a vintage KTM GS 250, and the bars from a Bultaco Pursang—now fitted with Renthal grips. The front brake is from a Yamaha SR250.
Valtoron used their casting know-how to produce the bodywork, creating a look we haven’t seen before. All the panels were cast in aluminum in the foundry, from the fenders to the side covers to the tank, which was designed and shaped using clay. The gas cap has been cast in bronze.
It’s an unusual approach, as befits an isolated workshop operating outside the mainstream of custom motorcycle builders. But it ‘works’, to put it bluntly, and Valtoron is a name worth keeping an eye out for. You can follow Carlos and Pablo’s progress via their website and Facebook page: they don’t speak English, but the pictures speak a thousand words.
Images courtesy of Kristina Fender. Thanks to David Borras of El Solitario MC for the tip.
