Some bikes have been around for such a long time that we tend to gloss over them when considering our next bike. With the latest version of their venerable V-Strom that would be a huge blunder. The XT spoked wheel version of Suzuki’s latest 650 V-Strom is, without a doubt, the best small Strom yet. The styling is a trifle quirky, but it has grown on me over the year we have spent together and I think it is quite a handsome beast. The silver and blue colour scheme of my bike, with its blue anodised wheels look, to my mind, particularly good.

To best understand the strengths of the V-Strom, I need to explain how it fits into my stable of bikes. I ride motorcycles daily as my primary and preferred means of transport. Bikes that may be incredible recreational, weekend rides, may not be as enjoyable when pressed into daily duty. The DL650 XT V-Strom fills the daily driver slot in my bike stable. That means it must be multi-talented without any seemingly benign irritations that may become festering sores over time. So, how has the mid-sized Strom stacked up over the last year and 8000k’s?

Let me start by saying that the Strom replaced two bikes. I was finding the sheer bulk of my BMW R 1200 GS Adventure a bit intimidating after losing some strength in my left shoulder after a dislocation. I was using Yamaha’s excellent MT-07 Tracer as my daily runabout. The Strom replaced these two bikes. It gave me the dirt road ability which my Tracer lacked yet still allowed the off-road touring that my GS offered. Let me just say that I still believe the big GS to be one of the best long-distance all-road motorcycles that money can buy. Shaft drive, brilliant weather protection, comfort, and the unburstable boxer motor is an incredible recipe for enjoyment. There was also an obvious financial benefit to consolidating the two bikes into one.

The Strom endeared itself to me from the word go. It is an absolutely unpretentious motorcycle. It has all the road ability of the MT-07 Tracer and then some. The label on the beak reads ‘Sports Adventure Tourer’ and that is exactly what it is. I have way too much sympathy for my bikes (and way too little money to waste) to take a large Adventure bike and destroy it by trying to ride where ‘plastic bikes’ are intended to ride. I do get it as to why there are those that want to pit their skill against nature’s obstacles, irrespective of the cost, I am just not that guy.

Having said that, I want to go to out-of-the-way places, which does necessitate some off-road ability. The DL650 XT will get you there, no problem, just not at a race pace. The suspension is perfectly adequate, albeit with less travel than its more aggressive peers, to allow you to cross the Makgadikgadi Pans, traverse Namibia’s Khomashochland or visit Die Hel (Gamkaskloof), Swartberg Pass, tour the Tankwa, or wherever else a dirt road may take you. But here is the thing. It will do it in a practical and utterly reliable way that is both enjoyable and reassuring.

The Strom is really comfortable for long days in the saddle, ace up, or carrying a passenger. The 20-litre tank gives a decent range, negating the need to pack extra fuel. Riding conservatively at the speed limit, has given me up to 500 k’s on a tank. I routinely get over 440 k’s in my town and around commute. It is perfectly geared too. You can catch a hurry-up and cruise at 150 kph and still be 3,000 rpm from the redline. A level of vibration is apparent at high revs when accelerating hard through the gears, however, when cruising at a constant rpm the motor is wonderfully smooth. The V-Twin 645 cc motor is torque-rich at low revs, meaning that I seldom exceed 5,000 rpm in general riding. The seat is spacious and comfy and allied to a decent windscreen making the bike properly comfortable for distance travel.

Contemplating using the DL on a recent Botswana trip, I actually measured and found that the seat is marginally longer than that on my BMW R 1200 R, a boon when two up. Wide handguards keep all the wind off your hands, so I have not really missed heated grips. Decent gloves and you are sorted. A twist-assist on the throttle makes long days painless, and I really don’t miss cruise control. I don’t generally know where to put my hand anyway after engaging cruise control.

The engine of a bike can really make or break a long-term relationship. Granted, I have other bikes which satiate my occasional need for speed, however, I have never, using the DL as I do, ever felt that I should have bought the bigger Strom. It delivers totally, for me anyhow, satisfying performance, even when two up. It is a beautifully quiet, smooth, and pleasant engine which endears itself to you more and more over time.

After 8000 k’s and a year of riding this bike, I still look forward to riding it! I have tweaked the comfort, especially when standing, with handle-bar risers and a screen deflector that works wonders on the windshield.

A factory bashplate keeps things tidy offroad and a Givi Top box adds huge practicality to what is essentially my utility bike. I never tire of its lightweight manoeuvrability as compared to the ‘big’ Adventure bikes which South Africans seem to find so compulsory. Everything on the Strom is just so effortless.

The dash on the Strom is absolutely brilliant. A big analogue Tachometer on the left and a digital information screen on the right gives you clear access to all the bike’s vitals in any light via a toggle switch on the left-hand handlebar. Brilliant! It irritates the living poo out of me when I ride TFT-equipped bikes that require scrolling between screens and various menus to do what the DL does at the press of one button.

The bike is ABS equipped and comes under scathing attack for not being able to switch it off when on dirt roads. Why? Modern ABS is so well modulated that you are riding like a kluts if you need it to save your bacon. This is not a bike that encourages you to race off-road anyway, so the ABS is really just fine for how and where you ride this bike. The brakes are adequate, but nothing more. The double front discs require a lot of lever pressure to generate strong braking power. This is great on the dirt but could be better for panic stops on tar. The feel is good, unlike the wooden feel on some bikes, but could be more powerful.

Handling is excellent, making the bike both fun and fast in the twisties. Its relatively lightweight aids it. The bars, which may be less ‘trick’ than the fat bars on some other bikes, fall naturally to hand and work effectively to steer the bike without effort. The front forks are not adjustable, but the factory has got a good overall setting on preload and damping. Progressive springs and playing with oil viscosity could improve things further if you feel the need. Used as intended, the forks are just fine.

The rear shock has a handy remote knob by which to easily adjust the preload. This is great for when you have a passenger or want to attack some bends with gusto and want to quicken the steering. I have dialled in more preload and the general demeanour of the DL is all the better for it, giving a firm and controlled ride over all surfaces.

The Suzuki has impressed me with the low cost of ownership. Firstly, at a purchase price of just over R150,000, you get a huge amount of reliable, competent, and sorted bike for your money. Secondly, middleweight bikes without mega weight, power, and torque do not destroy their tyres. After 8000 k’s the tyres are still looking really good, probably ok for another 8k at least. The fuel economy is consistently around 22 km/L, a blessing given the current punitive petrol prices. The simplicity of the bike makes it so easy to live with. The chain has never required adjustment. The rims are tubeless, so plug, bomb and go if you get a puncture. It is just such a sound and enduring recipe.

People who know me well and say “OK Dave, when is the Suzie going?”, and given that I have owned around 350 bikes over the years, I can’t really blame them. I generally don’t marry bikes. This Suzuki is, for now, a keeper. I have ordered GIVI luggage racks and panniers (Suzuki has factory panniers too) to make touring two up easier. Soft luggage and a passenger are always a difficult combo, with the straps across the seat compromising passenger comfort. I also found on my Botswana trip with my wife Irene, that being able to secure all your luggage when the bike is unattended is a huge benefit in these dodgy days that we find ourselves. Soft luggage is probably better for extended off-road travel, however.

So there you have the full story. A lot of our motorcycle-related decisions are influenced more by the heart than by the head. A bit (or a lot) of ego often gets thrown into the mix. We buy a bike that we believe will be considered cool or hardcore by our peers, which, by association elevates our perceived image, status, or standing. This often results in buying the wrong bike for the wrong reasons. For me, that ship sailed many years ago! I buy the bikes that are going to do what I need to be done, irrespective of all that other ‘BS’.

The Suzuki V-Strom has evolved into a bike that you can go to war with. It will always exceed your expectations and more than deliver on its promises. That is rare praise in this day and age. God willing, there will still be many more Strom stories written by my ever so trusty Strom and me…

Suzuki DL650 XT V-Strom

For more information on the bike featured in this article, click on the link below…

2025

Suzuki V-Strom DL650XA

Pricing From R166,650 (RRP)

Brand: Suzuki

It’s almost time for the second edition of The Lightning Bolt—Africa’s only winner-takes-all custom bike build-off. So we thought it would be prudent to take a closer look at the bike that beat out the competition to bag gold at the inaugural event.

Meet Marnitz Venter and his Lightning Bolt-winning vintage Triumph bobber. Based in Pretoria, Marnitz earns his keep as an estate agent—but he also runs the parts and apparel store, Old Skool Trading, on the side. He’s a classic and custom motorcycle nut too, and a helluva nice guy to boot.

It took literal years for Marnitz to piece this Triumph together. That’s partly because finding parts was hard, but also because he also got married and renovated a house during the build. But in the end, it all came together beautifully.

“I always wanted to build a custom bobber using a pre-unit Triumph motor,” says Marnitz. “But finding old, and close to vintage parts, is almost impossible. I came across a set of old engine casings and started to look for the rest of the parts.”

“Then I found an old BSA M20 gearbox, a Japanese 2LS front wheel, and bits and pieces of a BSA rear wheel. I was looking for a hardtail Triumph frame and girder front end to tie all the parts together, and learned that collectors do not like to part with vintage parts!”

Marnitz then serendipitously stumbled across an incomplete 1935 BSA Bluestar, which he could use to bargain for a frame and assorted girder fork parts.

He ended up with a 1940’s Triumph hardtail frame, which was then stretched by an additional four inches. The girder setup mostly consists of 1930’s parts, matched together by a host of scavenged and machined bits.

Next, Marnitz stripped the 2LS front wheel down to its hub—then drilled that out, and laced it to a wider rim with new stainless steel spokes. The BSA rear wheel was refurbished too and took a little fettling to fit. It’s covered by a slim bobbed rear fender.

Powering the build is an early 1950s Triumph ‘ironhead’ engine, mated to the 1940’s BSA M20 ‘box. Everything had to be rebuilt, and there were a lot of parts missing. Marnitz filled in the blanks by sourcing parts from friends and the local classic motorcycle community, or by fabricating stuff from scratch.

The Triumph mill is surrounded by tasty little details. An Amal carb is fed by twin yellow lines, with the petrol tank’s petcocks on full display. Marnitz opted for an open primary design, then drilled out the various guards and mounting plates for effect. V Custom Cycles in Centurion were responsible for the raucous twin exhausts.

Perched atop the Triumph is a repurposed Yamaha tank, modified to fit the frame and adorned with custom-made badges. It’s complemented by a long list of bespoke parts—from the oil tank and the seat, to the engine and gearbox plates and the handlebars.

Other neat touches include the vintage headlight, and ‘suicide’ brake and clutch levers. The taillight, grips, and vintage-style Allstate tyres are among the few off-the-shelf parts on this build.

Marnitz is quick to add that he couldn’t have pulled this build off himself. Rudi Stark handled the glossy black paint job, while Dion Korkie did the leatherwork on the seat. He’s also grateful to Louwrens Miller, Justin Waddington, Reginald Walddeck, Kyle Harvey, Dirk Coetzee, and a bunch of friends that he’s probably forgotten, for their help—which ranged from doing actual work to drinking beer and offering ‘helpful’ advice while he was getting his hands dirty.

This Triumph was a deeply personal project for Marnitz too, and not just because it won The Lightning Bolt. The bike is dedicated to a handful of friends who also helped out but sadly passed away before it was completed. This one is for Matthew Morgan, Peter Moody, Piet Maas and Matthew Pape.

The memory of these friends certainly made the win all the more special for Marnitz. That, and the fact that he had to ‘repurpose’ funds from elsewhere in his budget to make it to Cape Town for the competition in the first place.

So what is it that pushed his bike to the top of the pile? “We judged every bike in the contest across a variety of criteria,” says Lightning Bolt judge and ZA Bikers contributor, Wes Reyneke. “To win, you had to score high in not just creativity, but the quality of fabrication and finishes too. And Marnitz’s bike ticked all those boxes.”

Marnitz’s triumph (see what we did there) at the BMW Motorrad-sponsored Lightning Bolt is also proof that even though BMW sponsors the contest, it’s open to all marques—and all have an equal chance of winning. So Marnitz has entered again, this time with another hardtail bobber, based on a Kawasaki W650.

We have it on good authority that the competition will be stiff this year, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on proceedings.

For more information visit: www.thelightningbolt.co.za

Follow the journey of The Lightning Bolt Africa on @thehouseofmachines_cpt and @thelightningbolt_africa.

As motorcyclists, we all share the same passion, the passion for hitting the open road. It’s on the open road where the bond between man and machine is made. Love, at first sight, is an often occurrence at a Harley-Davidson dealership, but it’s what happens after the first touch that matters the most.

We love our machines and after putting up with all the blood, sweat and tears in order to obtain one, it’s always worth it. In motorcycle ownership, the romance needs to flow both ways and this means you need to keep your hog in tip-top shape, so it can not only look good but perform at its peak.

Talking about hitting the open road, earlier in the year I attended the Harley-Davidson Gold Rand 1903 Rally in Clarens, where I got chatting with a few Harley folk. The feedback from most of the H-D owners was good, but some had formed their own opinions. The most commonly talked about topics, were that Harley-Davidson has a shortage of parts in the country and servicing your hog comes at an extortionate price. To find out if these myths were indeed true, I decided to do some of my own research.

Is it more expensive to service at a Harley-Davidson dealership?

From our findings, the hourly rate at an authorised Harley-Davidson workshop is a fraction more expensive than your average motorcycle workshop. However, at a Harley-Davidson dealership, your bike is serviced by technicians that eat, sleep and ride Harleys. What this means is that the ‘techs’ that work on your bike are specially trained to understand Harley motorcycles and this shortens the time spent wrenching on your bike.

H-D techs are also equipped with the correct tools and diagnostic systems for the job, unlike most of the staff at an independent service provider—no work needs to be outsourced. So, therefore, the so-called “hourly rate” isn’t a true reflection of the overall job.

Another benefit, of taking your HOG to an authorised Harley-Davidson workshop, is that they are willing to go the extra mile without adding additional costs or fuss. For instance, something as simple as an oil change is never just an oil change. Every time you roll into a H-D dealer, they complete more than a 20-checkpoint service to make sure your bike is operating at its best. Then there’s the oil… Harley uses their own premium oil which is exclusively developed for Harley-Davidsons—this gives you peace of mind every time you roll out of the workshop. An American machine, running on American oil.

Is there a parts shortage?

After asking the main Harley-Davidson importers about the supposed parts shortage, they stopped me in my tracks and took me for a walk through just one of their warehouses. Packed to the brim it was, as far as the eye could see with parts and accessories—the rumours are just a laughing matter.

For sure many importers have had issues with getting parts into the country during the pandemic, but they cannot be the ones to blame. We can report that this is definitely not the case now, especially not with Harley-Davidson.

After doing this research, it’s clear that maintaining your Harley-Davidson at an authorised H-D dealer just makes sense.

For more information contact Harley-Davidson Gold Rand here – www.hdgoldrand.co.za

How do you justify continuing with an event when so many competitors have been killed in pursuit of glory, even if that glory is purely personal and there is no chance of standing on the top step of the podium?

In its 115-year history, 265 riders have been killed on the Isle of Man Mountain Course, in either the TT races, the Manx Grand Prix, or the Clubman’s Races. That number includes five riders/sidecar riders and passengers in 2022, a pretty horrific statistic by any reckoning.

How is the continuous running of the event justified? While every year there are calls for the races to be banned, there is never any shortage of riders who come forward to pit themselves against the 37.75-mile mountain course.

23-time winner John McGuinness – at 50, the elder statesman among riders – put it succinctly when he said that no one holds a gun to anyone’s head to compete. The TT remains one of the great challenges and is the last bastion of freedom of choice and should be celebrated as such.

Peter Hickman, the star rider of 2022, said: “It’s a difficult sport, we’ve had a difficult couple of weeks. Not everyone understands that, and I get that. But we’re all here for our own choice.

“We want to be here and not one of us would want to see it stopped if we don’t make it home, should we not make it home. I get people don’t understand that, but that’s the way we are. If you’re here and you’re racing, you accept the risks before you start.”

Yes, it’s tragic when a rider is killed but they enter the event knowing the statistics. And yet they still choose to throw themselves down the terrifying opening drop of Bray Hill at speeds well in excess of 170mph, with a full tank of fuel and on unscrubbed and cold tyres, going on to average over 130mph for the entire lap.

Glenn Irwin, competing in his first TT (and coming away with the fastest-ever newcomer record), was clearly awed by the whole thing but aware of, and unafraid to talk about, the consequences:

“The grid stuff [immediately before the start of the race], I nearly f***ing couldn’t talk up there,” he said after Saturday’s Superbike TT, his first race. “It’s weird.”

“There’s a lot of emotion, you’re about to do something that, let’s face it, people don’t [tell you] the reality. But people shake your hand and they f***ing look at you when they say good luck: you see your brothers and – I don’t care what anyone says, I’m not going to bottle that up – they look at you like they don’t know if that’s the last time [they will see you].

“People don’t say that. But I’m a real person and when you get that before you ride your motorbike, obviously part of your brain is going to go ‘what are you doing, why the f*** are you doing this?’ And the other part is going ‘f***ing shut up, I want to do it.’ So, there was a lot of emotion on the grid.”

To watch, either in person at the event or on television, is to endure up to two hours of terrifying speed along bucolic country roads, with trees in full leaf and lichen-covered, ancient stone walls to punish the mistakes. There is beauty alongside the terror: watching a rider thread his or her way around the course is to witness skill and judgment that is just not visible in any other form of motorcycle sport and which has an aesthetic all of its own. If you love motorcycles, then you can’t fail to be hypnotised and humbled by the sheer speed. What the riders – and the machines – do shouldn’t be possible, but it is.

As good as MotoGP is, it is a sanitary play school next to the TT. Several MotoGP stars have visited – Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi to name but two – and, despite their undoubted skill and familiarity with speed and danger, even they are left open-mouthed at the challenge. If they know they can’t do what the likes of Dunlop, Hickman, and McGuinness do, then what chance do mere mortals like you and I have?

Of course, up to 1976, the TT was part of the motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship. To the likes of Duke, Surtees, Hailwood, Agostini, Read and Grant, it was just another round of the championship to be contested and won.

By 1976, however, Barry Sheene and others were calling out the race as an anachronism and simply too dangerous and it was dropped from the calendar. Even 10-time winner Giacomo Agostini boycotted the races after his good friend was killed there in 1972. For many years, the TT suffered in terms of public perception, even though those who knew, knew it was still the ultimate test of man and machine.

Into the 2000s, however, a new era of TV coverage was ushered in to make it what it is today: an event that is watched worldwide and attracts tens of thousands of people to the small island in the Irish Sea.

This year, 2022, saw an important new development: live streaming of the whole two weeks – practice week and race week. For the first time, it was possible to watch every second of the action live, rather than wait for edited race highlights later on in the evening of each race.

There are compromises to such an approach: in the live feed, there is no onboard footage, for example, which does detract a little from the experience. But, as a way of being there as it happened, it was brilliant, even if it was detrimental to a day’s work..!

The racing was as mind-blowing as ever. Lap records weren’t broken but no one cared – they were just happy to be back after two years away. 2022 was the year of Peter Hickman, who took four victories – Superbike, Superstock, Super Twin and Senior TT, and made it all look so easy. He is only the third rider in the event’s history to achieve the feat: Phil McCallen won four in 1996 and Michael Dunlop did the same in 2013 and 2014, while only Ian Hutchinson has won five races in one week (in 2010).

Michael Dunlop excelled in the two 600cc Supersport races to bring his victory tally to 21, and he’s only 33 years old. His uncle, Joey Dunlop is regarded as the greatest-ever TT protagonist and won 26 TTs by the time he was killed in 2000, aged 48.

For a time, it looked as if John McGuinness was the rider most likely to match, if not beat, that record but it seems that his personal tally of 23 victories won’t be added to; the young guns are no longer snapping at his heels but devouring his carcass. Michael Dunlop, however, is as certain as it is ever possible to be to beat his uncle’s record and there’s a nice symmetry to that.

Racing has been a cruel mistress to the Dunlop clan: Joey was killed in 2000 in a minor race in Estonia, mere weeks after winning a hat-trick of TT wins, while his brother Robert – Michael’s father – was killed in 2008 while competing in the North West 200, another road race, this time held in Northern Ireland. Then, in 2018, Michael’s brother, William, was killed in the Skerries 100 road race, also in Northern Ireland.

Michael Dunlop is fearsomely fast and is completely aware of the dangers, commenting in the TT: Closer to the Edge movie, that, on the start line, “my mind goes completely blank and descends into madness.” That line alone describes the mentality needed to compete at the TT: if you think of the danger, if you can’t blank it out of your mind and concentrate solely on the job at hand, then you have no place being there.

Watching the TT is completely different from watching a short-circuit race. Riders set off at ten-second intervals and it is rare for those fighting for podium positions to ever see each other on the race track unless they happen to start one after the other and the second rider is catching the first. They are all essentially racing against the clock and the track but, for all that, it is often very exciting.

There are various points around the track where sector times are taken and it is not unusual for the gap between first, second and third to be in tenths of a second. Waiting for the next sector line to be crossed by both riders, sometimes as much as a minute apart, to see what the new gap is, who is leading who, it is tense.

On a course such as this, anything can happen and, despite the casualty rate, more often it is the machinery that fails, which is hardly surprising given the merciless thrashing they take. To fail through no fault of your own while leading or in being in the leading group, must be galling.

Behind the established stars – McGuinness, Hickman, Dunlop, Cummins, Harrison, Johnston, Hillier, et al – are around fifty amateur racers, all competing on a shoestring, a wing, and a prayer, there for their own personal glory. Sadly, it is from this group that the majority of the fatalities come, although it has been known for top riders to pay the ultimate price. This year, two solo riders died and three sidecar riders/passengers. None of them could be considered front-line competitors but it is a measure of how important the TT was to all of them that they considered the risks worth taking.

An oft-quoted line comes from American author Leo Buscaglia: “The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing.” Sentimental, maybe, and it certainly doesn’t justify the deaths at the TT, but who are we to tell another how to live their lives? If they consider it worth the risk, is it for us to impose our own morals and principles on them? Many riders claim that they live more during one lap of the TT course than most people live in their entire lives.

That, of course, is a matter of personal opinion and, for everyone who watches and enjoys the TT, there are ten thousand who are not even aware of it and only hear about it when a rider is killed. In the UK, the BBC only mentioned the races when there was a fatality and there will be many who heard the news and would have been outraged that it was allowed to continue.

And yet, there have been fatalities in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3, Formula One, NASCAR, Indycar, Rallying, etc. in recent years and yet the voices clamouring for banning those sports have been strangely silent. What’s the difference? It could be argued that the level of risk at the TT is so high that it can never be justified, while short-circuit tracks have undergone huge changes to make them safer. But this is motorsport: it can never be completely safe. As Stirling Moss once said, “take away the risk completely and you take away the challenge.”

The great pre-war Italian motor racing driver Tazio Nuvolari was once asked if he was afraid he would die in a racing car. He replied by asking a question: “Do you think you will die in your bed? If so, how do you find the courage to get into it every night?”

And that is the crux of the matter: no one who races thinks they will pay the ultimate price for their passion. Yes, it happens, but do you forsake life and living, just to be safe?

Racing riders – and drivers – don’t do what they do for our entertainment: they do it because they have a skill that those of us who don’t have it will never understand. But that doesn’t mean that it is unimportant. To them, it is the most important thing in the world.

If you, for some strange reason, have no idea of what the TT is all about, take 17 minutes out of your day and watch this lap of the course by Guy Martin back in 2015 as he leaves the pits behind Michael Dunlop and stays behind him for the whole lap. Mesmerising!

“May you live in interesting times”

(Ancient Chinese curse).

We are indeed living in “interesting times”. Coming out of a Covid ravaged economy we are facing escalating prices which are playing havoc with family financial resources. At the core of these soaring prices is a fuel price which has absolutely blown out in recent times. The reasons are plentiful, the Russia/Ukraine conflict, taxes euphemistically called “fuel levies” and heaven knows what else. Add to that the stress of returning to offices in a post-Covid environment. It seems as if the urban snarl is worse than ever. The fact is the urban commuter is under duress never experienced before. So do we just grimace and take the hit and carry on as best we can, or is there a viable, and dare I say fun, alternative?

When will we wise up and learn from folks in Europe who already had to contend with these issues years ago? We should be ‘Scooting’ around our cities. Realistically e-bikes are not yet viable. Slow, limited range, and prohibitively expensive, they also exist under the spectre of unreliable power delivery.

With these challenges in mind, at SYM South Africa, we believe that ‘Scooters’ (such as our Jet 14) are fit for purpose & right for the dynamic world we’re living in today—a means to sustainability.

The SYM Jet 14 is inexpensive, runs on the sniff of an oil rag, and is perfectly suited to traversing the greater urban sprawl of the typical South African city. 14-inch wheels and decent suspension deal with ruts, bumps, and manhole covers, whilst the fuel-efficient peppy engine keeps you ahead of city traffic.

Twist and go riding ease makes the Jet 14 accessible to just about anyone, with excellent weather protection and storage space under the seat for all your odds and ends. The saving realised at the pumps will literally pay for the SYM and save you money over your current commuting spend.

In our frenetic world, time is at a premium. You will literally save hours a week, which are currently spent stuck in traffic jams. Not to mention the frustration and stress that this creates. The Jet 14, is not just another scooter.

It’s your Urban Mobility weapon of choice. Be wise, Scooterise!

SYM… RIDE FOR THE TIMES!

In the rush of modern life, it’s easy to forget that riding a motorcycle should be an occasion. We have made a conscious decision to ride a bike rather than follow the herd and climb into a car for every journey and that is something to celebrate every time we swing a leg over our ride of choice.

It is an irony of riding that, even though it is a solo pursuit (for the large part), there is often nothing better than riding with a group of like-minded people. Somehow that forces us to recognise the occasion more: riding amongst a bunch of different bikes prompts us to reflect on the diversity of design and purpose and the diversity of riders and brings home the sense of community that is such a strong part of riding.

Since 2012, The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) has brought together the motorcycling community in order to raise both awareness of and money for men’s mental and physical health. In the intervening years, millions of dollars have been raised and subjects that were previously hidden under the surface have been brought out into the open, enabling more men to talk about and deal with personal mental and health problems.

This has been achieved through the simple expedient of providing a fun and stylish environment for people to gather and ride their bikes together. A mass ride is one thing – and spectacular to be a part of – but the genius twist of the DGR is to get everyone to really make an effort and dress up. It doesn’t matter if it’s your best three-piece suit or fancy dress, the process of making the effort somehow makes the message stick in the mind. Simply jumping on your bike in your regular riding gear would not have been half as effective.

One would have thought that late spring in Gauteng would provide the perfect weather for a day out with friends, on bikes. As we are all only too aware, however, this summer hasn’t blessed us with stable weather patterns and, looking at the weather on Saturday (the ride is always on a Sunday) it was doubtful that anyone would turn up to the starting point at the Mall of Africa the following day, so foul was it: wet and freezing cold.

Whoever is in charge of the weather obviously rides a bike, however, as Sunday dawned bright and sunny and, whilst not exactly hot, at least it was warm and dry. It still wasn’t certain how many would believe what they were seeing as they opened their eyes on Sunday morning and peered out of the window, or how long it would last but, arriving at the start point, it was obvious that Gauteng motorcyclists are a hardy and optimistic bunch: there were literally hundreds of bikes and riders, all revelling in the sunshine and good company.

Going back to where this article started, it was important to me that the DGR should not simply be an occasion in terms of what clothes to wear, but also what bike to ride.

From the outset, the emphasis of the DGR has been on classic, ‘modern classic’, custom and simply ‘interesting’ bikes. Inevitably, a small element of modern machinery has crept in as not everyone has access to an appropriate ride. However, they all dressed up for the occasion—supporting what is a very important initiative.

Now, I could have happily attended on my old Vespa, had a great ride and gone home happy. But where is the occasion in that? After all the shit of the last two years, the DGR this year deserved something special – a real statement that no matter what has happened, there will always be a reason to smile and to bring a smile to other peoples’ faces.

Casting my mind back a bit, I recalled with pleasure the brief time I had spent on a fantastic custom bike built by Pat Draper of V-Customs in Centurion. To say it was a life-changing moment would be an understatement and I wondered if I would ever get the chance to ride it again.

With the thought that I might be overstepping the mark, I steeled myself and asked the owner, Paul, if he would be riding the bike himself on the DGR. As he is in Durban and the bike in Pretoria, the answer was no and, happily, the answer to my question was just what I wanted to hear: Captain America was mine for the ride!

Full black leather, open face helmet with shades and the most iconic Harley custom bike of all time in amongst 500 other beautiful bikes and their riders all riding for a good cause: now, that’s an occasion!

From the Mall of Africa, we meandered our way through Waterfall, Morningside, Sandton, Dunkeld, Rosebank, past Zoo Lake, across Empire Road and into town, over Mandela Bridge and to the midway point in Newtown.

From there, we thundered along Market Street right through the heart of the CBD, out through Kensington, Gillooleys, Sandringham, Greenstone and finally to Modderfontein and the Fourways Farmers Market. Coming through Sandringham, it started to rain and was freezing cold and it was difficult to look Peter Fonda-cool with a drip hanging off the end of my nose. The rain soon cleared, however, and, while the sun refused to make a reappearance, at least it stayed dry, if not too warm.

And so ended another DGR and the prospect of another twelve months of undistinguished riding stretches out ahead. Riding Captain America alongside 500 other dapper riders might not be an everyday possibility but that just serves to make the occasion when I was able to do just that all the more memorable.

Special thanks must go to the organisers of the Johannesburg DGR, the JMPD who did such a good job of marshalling the ride, global sponsors Triumph Motorcycles and Elf lubricants and all participants who entered fully and unreservedly into the spirit of the ride. It really was a special occasion.

It is possible to make donations to the DGR all year-round. For more details, visit: www.gentlemansride.com