RIDER PROFILE | JUN SONG

By the time he was twenty, Jun Song, better known as @nostalgia_memoir, had lived in five different countries. With his surroundings constantly changing, he quickly developed a keen eye for details. You pick up on this as soon as you begin to peruse his collection on Instagram. The man his skills behind the lens. It didn’t hurt that his father was a pro photographer. Learning to shoot on film “taught me a lot about composition and how to set up a shot because, with my dad, you didn’t want to waste film. I try to carry the same method over to shooting digitally — to think about each shot before snapping away”.

It might surprise you to know that Jun has only been riding for a short while. Around four to five years ago, the bug finally bit. A friend who makes an annual pilgrimage to Big Sur invited Jun along for the trip. They were filming a short at the time and the combination of bikes, people and scenery — all captured by a lens — blew Jun’s mind. Licensed in 2010, another international move, this time to South Korea for three years, would delay motorcycle ownership. We think he made the right choice when he finally pulled the trigger. Jun rides a 2014 Triumph Thruxton, black with gold striping, and admits now “I will never not own a Triumph”. “The first upgrade I made was a British Customs performance kit, after that I swapped over to Clubman bars.

We met up with Jun on our recent trip to Oregon. While we appreciated his work on capturing some incredible moments for us, the best part was getting him on some of our bikes through Tillamook State Forest. “I didn’t ride on the beach. Sand isn’t my thing, yet. But riding through Oregon is absolutely gorgeous. The landscape is completely different from Utah. Everything is green — it was an incredible experience”.

 

Jun split his time in Tillamook on Back 2 Basics, our murdered out, low and lean Bonnie and Re/Deux, our cafe scrambler. “I thought I’d like Back 2 Basics more, because its similar to my Thruxton, but the cafe scrambler was incredible fun. It felt more aggressive, the throttle response was amazing”.

“It was awesome to ride with all of these personalities that I’ve met through social media. Sure we’d all met online but to have something like this ride and adventure come together is a very unique experience. No offense to the One Show — it was great — but meeting, connecting and then riding with all of these personalities were the best part of the trip”.

Jun rides his Thruxton everyday he can, weather permitting. Daily commutes to work are quick and easy, while a side trip through the canyons on the way home is a way to unwind. Look for Jun’s incredible work, behind the lens and behind bars, here.

Behind the Scenes images by @nostalgia_memoir