Combine Bullets from Bologna, a bunch of passionate people, perfect weather and some of the most scenic roads in the country, for a sure-fire recipe for a really good time.

And so it was. The previous Mystery tour, at the end of 2020, was plagued by some really grotty weather. Cold, rain, mist and all. It was still so epic that even more Ducati owners signed up for this tour. Personally, I was really looking forward to the tour, given that I would be riding and not in a backup vehicle as a “sick, lame and lazy”, this time around. We arrived at World of Motorcycles to be greeted by the spectacular sight of 40 odd Ducati’s lined up and ready to roll.

The Ducati truck had already departed with our main luggage, dropped off the previous day, so it was just odds and sods in the top box of the red (it’s a Ducati, hello?) Multistrada 1200 S, that was going to be Irene and my ride for the tour. Croissants and coffee were quaffed whilst meeting and greeting all the old cronies and a few new ones to boot, followed by a quick briefing with a prayer, asking the Lord’s protection over the group, then the familiar Mystery Tour cry from Ducati bossman, Jos Matthysen, of “vyf minute”. Kit up, hop on the bikes and away we went, to only Jos knew where.

That is why it is called a “Mystery Tour”. Participants need to guess each days destination, thereby qualifying for a cool prize for being the closest. Jos posted the distance of each days ride on the group, letting us pore over our maps and check for possible destinations linking a sweet route together. Suffice to say, that by the time we departed, we had the compass covered with guesses in every possible direction and then some. So, different to last year, we rode out in perfect, cool and comfortable riding weather, under a big blue sky. My guess was Lephalale. I was pretty sure we wouldn’t follow last years route and 367 k’s would take us right there. Also to consider was where you can accommodate a large group of people. Riders, pillions and support crew. It is huge fun plotting and scheming as you go. We rode towards Sun City, then hooked a right, re-fuelled and just out of a settlement, pulled off the road to where the Ducati truck was parked with braai fires going and ice-cold drinks aplenty. We assembled and downed some awesome burgers, enjoying a great brunch.

Back on the road, we followed signs to Lephalale and just as I was doing a mental fist pump and savouring my anticipated prize, horror of horrors, Jos turned off towards Brits! It was then left to Bela-Bela and our stop for the night, the beautiful Klein-Kariba resort. Traditionally, this facility has never allowed motorcycles, but we know Jos to be a particularly persuasive fellow. After a chill and clean-up, we gathered together for dinner at a private facility where we could do our own thing, enjoying some cold ones and a tasty braai. With hunger and thirst sorted and after some really good ‘kuiering’, it was some weary bikers that made their way off to their chalets and beds. Where to tomorrow, we all wondered?

Breakfast done and rolling by 8 am, we headed north on ‘B’ roads. Did I mention that Jos detests highways? The bushveld is beautiful after the good seasonal rains, making for some great riding on generally good roads. It was an interesting assortment of Ducati’s that rolled across the countryside. Mostly super versatile, all road-friendly Multistrada’s, 1260 Enduros, S’s and a few new magnificent V4’s.

Then we had a few Diavel’s, characterised by their distinctive brutal staccato exhaust note and visually dominant, massive gumball back tyres. I took a mental hat off to their riders, who tackled a ride that was always going to be challenging on a power cruiser. These Ducati pilots are a resilient lot, driven by an enduring passion for their magnificent machines. We even had a Panigale, showing that it can tour as well as tear.

Refuelling in Potgietersrus, my mate Joop asked if I would like to sample his new Multistrada V4 S. Needless to say, I didn’t need much time to ponder that one! Faster than you can say ‘you betcha’, I had swopped key fobs and planted my butt in the plush seat of the V4 S. Now I accept that the 1200 S Multi I was on is a few years old and perhaps even old tech when compared to the latest 1260s, but it remains an impressive motorcycle. Until you ride the new V4, that is. All of a sudden the 1200 S feels rather agricultural. I rode the V4 S on a sweeping and undulating road towards Burgersfort. What a revelation this bike is! It is super plush, with the electronic suspension set to ‘Auto’. It makes a mockery of road imperfections, cosseting the rider and pillion on a stable and comfortable platform, all the more able to make the most of the magnificent motor.

I have always loved V4 motors, having owned Honda V4’s of both 800 and 1200 cc’s. The Ducati, typical of the brand, manages to inject an air of exotica into the experience. The motor is powerful, smooth and flexible. Accelerate from low speed in 6th gear and there is no chuntering, but rather just smooth progressive shove, which builds in intensity as the revs rise. The gearbox is the best I have experienced on a Ducati. Light and precise and endowed with a superb up and down Quickshifter. The bike runs particularly cool, too. Even when trolling through the end of the month Burgersfort traffic, the bike remained balanced and unruffled.

The way the bodywork vents any heat away from the rider is particularly impressive. It was a real test of our friendship when I had to hand the magnificent V4 back to Joop. I was tempted to do a runner, until I realised that whilst I could run and would probably get away, considering the Multistrada V4 S’s prowess, I could not hide…. so I grudgingly gave Joop his bike back. Thank you, my friend, sincerely, for trusting me with your magnificent bike!

We stopped at a cool pub in a backstreet of Burgersfort, for a very welcome cold one, before proceeding down the mountain to Ohrigstad, then down Robber’s Pass to Pilgrims Rest. After a long hot day, we trundled into a superb game Lodge between White River and Nelspruit, for an evening of splendid pampering, in truly World Class surroundings. Jos never fails to amaze and surprise on these Mystery Tours. Surrounded by mountainous roads, we just knew that the next days riding would be spectacular. And so it proved to be.

With daytime temperatures in the mid-’20s, it was wonderful riding weather. We descended the tight twisties to Barberton before turning to Badplaas and up the mountain towards Swaziland. Ermelo, Paulpietersburg and beyond. Crossing into Kwa-Zulu Natal, we made our way through Ladysmith, then turned towards Winterton and the magnificent Drakensburg. Just outside town, we turned right and literally followed a road that became progressively tighter and narrower, with increasingly spectacular mountain vistas, before culminating at the wonderful Cathedral Peak hotel. We got settled in and cleaned up, before gathering for pre-dinner drinks and the legendary Cathedral Peak buffet dinner. Being the last night on tour, there was some business to attend to. Jos introduced the Judge Presiding, one Joop Groeneveld, resplendent in his regalia, which, to be honest, was more reminiscent of an Arab Sheik than a judge. Not that I was going to chirp, knowing the powers of liquid retribution which he wielded.

First lambs to the slaughter, were those foolish enough to not wear their cool Ducati shirts. The sentence was a single shot. Rob Portman was lashed with three, for re-naming Robber’s Pass, “Rob’s Pass”. Still feeling aggrieved, I asked the Judge what sentence he would pass on someone who allowed his mate to ride his V4 S and then callously, without due regard for the irreparable damage that it could cause, demand it back. To his eternal credit, he uttered an unrepeatable expletive before sentencing himself to a shot. SA needs more Judges of his ilk, that’s for sure! Prosecutors did their job and Judge Joop meted out justice with unwavering resolve. It was thus a well-fed, well ‘watered’ and suitably chastised bunch of Ducatisti, that wobbled off to bed at the end of a special day’s riding and festivities.

Sunrise at Cathedral Peak is really something special to behold. You know that something is particularly unique, when people, up early to see the sunrise over the mountains, pass each other on the pathways and speak in hushed tones, aware that they are witnessing something amazing. The rising sun streaks the wisps of cloud a wonderful orange and the mountainsides are bathed in a fresh morning glow. You find yourself emotional from the sheer glory of it all. What a splendid way to ease into the last day of our tour.

The end of tour day is always bittersweet. Thoughts do turn to home, whilst also being upset that good times are coming to an end. Jos led us over Oliviershoek Pass, past the Dam and then through Golden Gate, including the beautiful Oribi loop and then on to Clarens for some final refreshments, before heading to Bethlehem, Warden and a final squirt down the only piece of highway of the whole trip, to home. In total, 2,237 kays flew by, under the predominantly red bunch of Bologna Bullets. Reflecting on another Ducati Mystery Tour and soaking up the comments posted by the participants on the group, it is evident that Jos, assisted wholeheartedly by his special wife Lida, is doing something incredibly special with Ducati.

He seems absolutely intent and spares no expense, on ensuring that his customers and friends really enjoy themselves. He is fostering a camaraderie and brand loyalty that is unique and enduring. Huge thanks go out to Jos and the team for a really epic event. When is the next one? Just asking and……Joop, all will be forgiven, if you can’t make it, I would be prepared to keep your V4’s battery charged and oil circulated…..

This weekend marked the 15th annual International Female Ride Day (IFRD)—a day that has been shining a light on women motorcyclists, and inspiring up and coming riders, for the last 14 years. Since its inception, the IFRD has sparked a significant increase in female ridership, and we truly believe that this event’s positive momentum is necessary to keep advancing the future of motorcycling.

Thousands of female riders in over 120 countries united for a mass ride, to create awareness for women in the motorcycling industry. Biker’s Warehouse, along with many other dealers and importers, joined this initiative by hosting the Johannesburg leg of the event.

Our good friends Motul SA always seems to be at the forefront of such events that encourage a new generation of lady bikers. They have a planned 2021 Learn to Ride Day coming up soon, which is an event specifically for ladies. We will keep you posted on this, as and when the dates are announced.

In the initial planning, Biker’s Warehouse expected to host just over 150 women riders—but on the day they were looking at close to double that. This just indicates how many female riders there are out there, and how valuable events like these are.

The riders had four meeting spots to choose from on the day, as well as selected riding groups. They could start their ride from Biker’s Warehouse, Triumph Motorcycles South Africa, ROC Harley-Davidson/Fast KTM or Fire It Up.

From these locations they would ride as a band of sisters, visiting each dealer taking part, before returning from the various rides for a High Tea at Biker’s Warehouse. With great live entertainment, and support from nearly the whole motorcycle industry, it was an event not to be missed.

As many riders took to the roads most travelled, a select group of 53 dirt enthusiasts and adventurers decided to get their rides dirty. Morag Campbell from OpenRider, had two awesome routes planned for her crusty adventure ladies, the easier Jalapeno ride and the more technical Habanero ride.

From what Morag explained to me, certain section of the ride turned into a gnarly mudfest. From my experience of riding offroad, the most memorable days usually end with the most dirtiest gear. The riders were divided into five groups with plenty of support at hand, with a lead rider and sweep riders per group, an overall co-ordinating medic and supportive Think Bike Marshalls. At the end of the day, all 53 riders had a blast on these two routes, returning with muddy smiles, muddy bikes (the Powasol free wash-and-go had their work cut out for them) and life long memories.

It’s no secret that our industry has a way to go when it comes to being a safe and inclusive space for women on motorcycles. But visiting different motorcycle dealers on our group rides gave me hope. I found shops that are dedicated to changing for the better, and leaving outdated stereotypes of where women fit in the motorcycling industry behind.

Accessories and gear sections are starting to look more balanced for both sexes, and male sales staff are engaging more with like-minded women that share the same passion: bikes!

After our group rides, we pulled into an action-packed Biker’s Warehouse, where good chow, great music, stunning bikes and a High Tea was prepared for the women.

IFRD is all about having fun, empowerment, and getting more women outside to ride. As a male, consider bringing your daughter along next time, or a female friend that hasn’t been introduced to motorcycling yet… and get their wheels turning.

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Milestone and Dorna Sports S.L. are proud to announce the release of MotoGP™21, the next chapter of the famous two-wheeled racing simulation games that are ready to arrive on next-generation consoles. The game is now available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.

Featuring the 2021 Official Season and enriched by the power of next-generation consoles, MotoGP™21 will deliver a more real than ever experience, boosted by several new features, like Long Lap Penalty, Bike Retrieval, and Brake Temperature. Real-life gameplay improvements will enhance simulation vibes, along with the Managerial Career, this year featuring the Junior Team path.

The gameplay’s iconic new features have the goal to create an unbelievable racing simulation that players have never experienced before. Bike Retrieval will delete respawn from your mind. If you fall you’ll have to get back to the bike as soon as possible, like in the real races; Brake Temperature means monitoring the temperature of brakes to always have the situation under control; with Long Lap Penalty you won’t be forgiven anymore, if you break the rules you’ll have to ride on a longer part of the race as a penalty.

Players who play the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will enjoy Dynamic Resolution up to 4K, along with 60FPS. The quality has improved and the enhanced lighting creates an atmosphere that transmits the feeling of a true race. Loading times are faster and for the competition addicts, multiplayer is now up to 22 riders. PlayStation™ Players will also enjoy the amazing PS5 DualSense™, including Haptic Feedback and Adaptive triggers.

Finally, Managerial Career is the fifth essence of the managing experience, featuring in-depth strategic tools, Junior Team path, and the treasured editor. Thanks to this, personalization will remain a key pillar of the global gameplay experience, and for the first time, MotoGP™ 21 will have a selection of Creators Sticker to make your livery* unique and personalized like your preferred web icon!

Join the KOODOO community and follow them on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to get the latest news and get your copy of the best motorcycle racing game out at – www.koodoo.co.za

With the 2021 Extreme XL Lagares finally kicking off from the 7th – 9th of May, Red Bull Athlete & Hard Enduro Phenom Wade Young will be flying off to Portugal again to take part in the XL Lagares which saw him cement a strong runner up finish in 2019. The KwaZulu born enduro racer first burst onto the scene in November 2012, when he became the youngest ever winner of the Roof of Africa in Lesotho.

We caught up with Wade ahead of his race in Portugal, here’s what he had to say…

How did the cancellation of the 2020 competition affect you?

“2020 was a strange year, strange for everyone, it was nice in the beginning to have a bit of a break but then if affected the whole season, it’s just getting a bit long now, it would be nice to get back racing.”

Did you have any injuries?

“I did have one or two injuries, my shoulder kept popping out, I had some time to heal that up”

What is a typical day of training?

“Sometimes I do an 80 km cycle, when I go riding in the bush, I’ll go for 3 hours and just play around. I’ll find one step or one splat and I’ll do it like 10 times and think about how I can do it better. I mix it up, I also do a bit of running, I just try to keep it fresh and not just the same repetitive things.”

Do you do any mental training?

“There are so many things that can wrong go wrong, just planning on how to adapt to all these things. Being at a race also helps because you learn the ropes, some of the races have the same hard sections”

What are your goals for the year?

“Every race I go in, I go in with the vision to win. Some of them suit me a bit better than others but the goals are always the same.”

Does nutrition play a role?

“I try to eat healthy, my biggest downfall is sweets! I have a very big sweet tooth! Before a race and during a race I eat beetroot, potatoes and a little bit of tuna, I’ll have a Red Bull 10 minutes before a high-intensity prologue race.”

We’re so happy to see this iconic Hard Enduro take place, especially after having to see it be postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. We can’t wait to see Wade take to the mountainous hills of Penafiel and make South Africa proud, in what’s to be a true test for all competitors, with numerous new twists and trails added in for good measure.

Following up his season-opening MotoAmerica Superbike race win on Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, West Racing’s Mathew Scholtz finished as runner-up in Sunday’s round-one-concluding race. On the strength of his first- and second-place finishes, Mathew is currently leading the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.

Starting from the pole based on his number-one finishing position in race one, Mathew got off the line well, but he had to slot into second place going into turn one. He held the position for the first four laps and then moved into the lead on lap five, which he maintained until he was passed on lap seven. The race leader had to pit in order to serve a penalty for jumping the start, and then, fellow Yamaha Superbike rider Jake Gagne overtook Mathew, which kept him in second place where he stayed all the way to the checkered flag. Josh Herrin ultimately finished third behind Mathew, which completed the all-Yamaha Superbike podium.

“When Gagne passed me, I tried to hang onto him for about three or four laps afterwards and I was pushing super-hard,” Mathew said. “I nearly tucked the front in a couple of corners. He was stronger in some of the corners, I was stronger in some of the other sections. But, we were just going backwards and forwards, and it seemed to just wear my tires out pretty quickly. It helped me to see where his bike is better than ours. We need to just work on getting off the corner, but otherwise, I’m just happy to be back up here. Well done to Jake. Well done to Josh. It’s really awesome to have a Yamaha sweep. VIR is the next round for us, and it’s one of my strongest tracks, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Next up for Westby Racing is round two of the MotoAmerica Championship, which will take place at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on May 21 through 23.

This weekend riders made their way up from Portugal and into Spain for the Red Bull Grand Prix. For the last 40 years, the circuit of Jerez has staged some spectacular MotoGP races, it also draws the ‘GP’ fans with its iconic VIP box (known as ‘the UFO’), its amazing rear-wheel slow-motion slides, through the carpet of yellow flowers at Sito Pons (turn 5) and lastly its final corner dives at Lorenzo (turn 13). With a mix of short, fast and tight corners Jerez was definitely going to make round 4 an intense challenge for the MotoGP grid.

Darryn Binder

Darryn started off his qualifying already in Q2, after an impressive performance on Friday’s free practice, claiming fifth in the combined times. Q2 saw the Petronas Sprinta rider cross the line with a 1’45.662, which put him into fourth. Unfortunately, at the halfway mark, a turn 7 high-side brought his session to an early end, but Darryn’s time was still good enough for seventh.

Race day saw a very focused and determined Darryn Binder line up on the third row of the grid. Our fellow South African let go of his clutch faster than anyone could off the line, gaining three places and claim fourth before braking into the opening corner. With some good pace, he overtook rider for rider before momentarily taking the lead on lap nine.

Throughout the entirety of the race, Darryn fought for podium positions and even started to look like a prime contender for the overall win. The second last lap saw Pedro Acosta nearly high-side in front of Darryn, forcing him to get off the gas and lose three positions, placing him in seventh. The last lap saw Darryn close down the gap and take his final lunge into the last corner. He dived down the outside and unfortunately, through no fault of his own, was caught up in another rider’s crash at the final corner. Darryn Binder was able to get his bike across the line in 22nd and now sits 6th in the world standings with 36 points.

DB: “This morning I still wasn’t feeling the best after my crash yesterday, but I had good speed and rhythm so I was feeling positive for the race. It got off to a good start and I was sitting in the lead group, but then I was struggling in the middle part. Physically I was feeling a little uncomfortable, but I was able to regroup towards the end and move towards the front again. As always with Moto3, there were some close calls around me, which interfered a bit with my plan and meant I was further back on the last lap than I would have liked to have been. In the final corner, I just had nowhere to go and was cleaned out by another rider who crashed. I’m so disappointed and there was nothing that I could have done, but at least we have shown that even on rough days we can be strong. Roll on Le Mans”.

Brad Binder

Like his brother, Brad Binder suffered a gnarly crash this weekend in the entry to Turn 5 during FP3 on Saturday morning. This all meant Brad couldn’t improve his time, leaving him with a short 15-min Q1 qualifying session to try and jump into the top 12 of Q2. Warm and wildly windy conditions didn’t stop Brad from setting a 1’37.3 on his third attempt, clinching him a Q2 qualifying. Binder ended Saturday’s action with 11th, meaning the fourth row and five positions ahead of Oliveira in 16th.

If you guys and girls remember anything about last years race, you’d remember Marc Marquez’s nasty fall and some seriously hot conditions. Sunday’s GP began with some sunny and warm conditions but in significantly lower temperatures compared to the 40 degrees ‘burner’ of 2020. With the heat rays rising, Brad rolled onto the fourth row of the grid on his stunning, Factory Red Bull KTM.

Brad made a good start and held his position well on the first lap around, slowly making his way into the leading group. Brad shocked us all, with a low-side crash into turn 2 on the second lap. He was able to remount and tried to catch the pack in the effort to salvage some points but another slow speed tumble at turn 13 ended his race weekend.

BB: “I felt great in warm-up this morning and then made a good start in the race but unfortunately going into Turn 2 on the second lap it looks like I was a bit too relaxed, got on the brakes at the wrong moment and when I tipped into the corner the front just washed out. It’s a good lesson for the future to ignore where you are in the pack and keep your marks. It’s also disappointing because I had good pace all weekend and I felt good. We could have done a decent job today. Sorry to the team because they worked well all through the GP and they deserved a result.”

A rather strange and frustrating weekend for the Binders in Jerez, with a weekend full of ‘could-have-beens’, rather than what should have been. On the upside, we saw Marc finish the race that nearly ended his career a year ago and we saw Fabio’s winning streak come to an end, due to some arm pump. Miller took his first dry race win and Rossi starting to realise GP just isn’t fun anymore, after rolling across the line in 17th.

After this eventful weekend, we just want to fast forward to the 16th of May, for the French GP in Le Mans.

Since its birth, the International Female Ride Day has shone a light on all women riders and has inspired the up and coming. Over the last few years, female ridership have increased significantly, and the momentum generated by this one day, is needed to continue advancing the future of motorcycling.

Biker’s Warehouse will be joining this initiative, where thousands of female riders in over 120 countries unit for a mass ride to create awareness for women in the motorcycling industry. ‘BW’ will be hosting a High Tea for the ladies on their return from the various rides. With great live entertainment, it will be an event not to miss.

Thanks to their generous sponsors, there will be great prizes up for grabs on the day and various motorcycle manufacturers have come together to display the latest and greatest on offer in S.A.

Ride Information

Adventure Outride – Open Rider (Morag) departures Biker’s Warehouse:

Jalapeno ride (Easy) Departure 8h00
Habanero ride (Intermediate) Departure 8h00
For more information contact Morag – 082 633 8641

Timing for arrivals and departures Triumph:

The Litas will arrive at Triumph at 8h00 and depart 9h00
Harley will arrive +- 9h30 and depart 10h15
Fire It Up – Kim will arrive +- 10h45 and depart 11h30

Timing for arrivals and departures Fire It Up:
Kim will arrive at Fire It Up at 8h00 and depart 9h00
The Litas will arrive +- 9h30 and depart 10h15
Harley will arrive +- 10h45 and depart 11h30

Timing for arrivals and departures ROC HARLEY DAVIDSON / FAST KTM:

Harley will arrive at ROC / FAST at 8h00 and depart 9h00
Kim will arrive +- 9h30 and depart 10h15
The Litas will arrive +- 10h45 and depart 11h30

Routes are as follows and attached for ease of reference

The Litas Map
Harley Map
Kim Map

For more information regarding the ride please visit: IFRD Johannesburg 

Cape Town is one of the best motorcycling destinations in the world. It’s true: any Capetonian will confirm it, and even visitors from up north will lament having to leave after a ride on the Cape’s best routes.

Jörg Vogel knows it too. He’s originally from Germany, but has lived in Cape Town for 20 years. For the last 16 of those, he’s been running his own motorcycle and rental tour company, Cape Bike Travel. And Since August last year, he’s been the dealer principal of the relatively fresh Triumph Cape Town dealership.

When the Triumph brand in South Africa changed hands in 2018, new CEO Bruce Allen had a mammoth task ahead of him in re-establishing the British marque’s local presence. His focus was on Triumph’s Johannesburg operation, but opening a new dealership in Cape Town was always on the cards.

So last year, when the time finally came to scratch that itch, Jörg’s industry experience and the prime location of his shop were the perfect fit.

Triumph Cape Town officially opened its doors on the first of August 2020, smack bang in the middle of South Africa’s pandemic-related lockdown. Fans of the brand in Cape Town were clearly hungry, because over a hundred people showed up on the first day alone. (Jörg’s workshop team ended up having to do crowd control, just to limit the numbers inside the shop at any given time.)

The shop’s easy to find: it’s at 125c Buitengracht Street, a few blocks from Wale Street and a stone’s throw from where you begin the gradual ascent towards Signal Hill. Despite being a modestly-sized location it feels spacious inside—and it’s beautifully fitted too, with wall-to-wall Triumph branding, motorcycles, clothing and accessories.

Staffed by a friendly and passionate crew, it operates as a fully functioning dealership; sales, apparel, rider gear, parts, accessories and a workshop, all under one roof.

Jörg’s made the most of the space by loading the floor with demo units of Triumph’s latest models. (More stock is held upcountry, and shipped down upon purchase within days.) He and Bruce believe that the best way to convince a prospective customer to buy a Triumph, is for them to ride one.

It’s a philosophy we can get behind. So, to get to know Triumph Cape Town and their bikes a little better, we twisted Jörg’s arm to open the shop on a Sunday so that we could go riding.

Our crew for the day included myself, my friends Devin Paisley and Jonathan Tee, Jörg, and Triumph Cape Town’s sales manager, Michael Romeo.

Jörg and Michael had laid out a smorgasbord of two-wheeled treats for us. We’d be taking turns on the Triumph Speed Triple RS, Tiger 900 Rally Pro, Bonneville T120, Scrambler 1200 XE and Street Scrambler.

Heading out from Triumph Cape Town after a coffee, and a surprisingly brief debate over who would ride which bike first, we started our ride with a massive slog down the N1. We tackled Du Toitskloof Pass first, gingerly making our way through a heavy mist before emerging into clear air and fast corners. After winding our way down the other side, it was a short blast towards Rawsonville, for breakfast at Ou Meul Bakkery.

From there, it was miles of backcountry riding to and through Villiersdorp, before hanging a right and sashaying our way over Franschhoek Pass. One last coffee stop at Ou Meul Bakkery in Simondium (they didn’t pay for this report, I swear) punctuated our ride, before we made our way back into the city.

Just like any breakfast run with friends, each stop was an opportunity to compare notes—mainly about the motorcycles we were swapping all day. Our individual thoughts on each bike were pretty aligned: the Speed Triple RS is a surprisingly comfortable beast that corners on rails; the Tiger 900 Rally Pro is an adventure riding tour-de-force; the Scrambler 1200’s retro looks belie just how capable it is.

The Bonneville T120 and Street Scrambler don’t quite have the flagship status of their stablemates, but we found each one charming in its own way. Both combine easy-going ride characteristics with looks that are impossible to turn away from.

Getting to sample a cross-section of Triumph motorcycles across multiple categories confirmed something that the entire ZA Bikers team has been thinking about for a while: the British marque is on one heck of a roll. From their naked roadsters, to their modern classics and adventure bikes—every model’s been carefully considered, and does what it does well.

As we parked the bikes back at the shop, our thoughts inevitably turned to the next ride. Jörg is raring to go, too—the pandemic’s made it hard for Triumph Cape Town to host big events, but monthly outrides are back on the calendar, as well as off-road training days. And there’s a lot more percolating for when restrictions lift.

In the meantime, if you’re in Cape Town, pop down the shop for a test ride and tell ’em we sent you.

For more information visit: www.triumph-motorcycles.co.za

As bikers, we never really need to convince ourselves to get on our bikes and head for a ride—we just do it. But, with our daily lives slowly getting back into full swing and time needing to be prioritised between work and our families, that leaves us very little time to ride. This is where ROC Harley-Davidson and Fast KTM make life so much easier, with their early-bird group meet and ride, called ‘The Coffee Club’.

The Coffee Club is an event created by ‘ROC’, where a group of riders meet every Saturday morning, for a social and a ride. For those that want to ride in a group, you can meet at ROC at 6:30 and have a steady cruise as a band of brothers and sisters, riding through the urban jungle and on the open road before pulling in, for the good stuff. You are also welcome to ride in your own group or solo to the venue itself from wherever you’re situated.

On Saturday 24th April, we pulled into Motherland Coffee Co, in the urban surrounds of Bedfordview. I tell you what, listening to a group of V-twins at full rumble, after having been riding solo for nearly a year now, is quite an awesome experience. With a warm cappuccino in hand and a line of mechanical beauty to stare at, a Saturday morning just doesn’t get any better.

What I like about the coffee club, is that it doesn’t matter what you ride, who you are, or what age group you’re in. The ride is for all riders, from all walks of life. It’s almost like, once you’re a biker you become one massive family, where everyone shares the same family tree and the same love. Bikes!

We were ever so lucky to catch ROC Harley-Davidson’s ambassador DJ Fresh at the Coffee Club and boy was he fresh, rolling in on his Harley-Davidson Fat Bob. I’m pretty sure, ‘Fresh’ has lost track of how many thumbs up, approving nods and selfies he’s had to take with his Fat Bob. Muscle bike aesthetics, fat tyres, comfort and a 1 868 cc V-twin motor, the Fat Bob chews up kay’s like a muscle bike should.

Time passes surprisingly quickly when talking to like-minded petrolheads, hearing stories from the good old days and having a debate or two on the up and coming bikes. But, that’s what gives you the excuse, to do it all over again the following weekend. The Coffee Club is all about building friendships based on two wheels, riding your bike and still having an entire day open to spending time with the family. So, diarise this weekly event and keep those wheels turning with ROC Harley-Davidson and FAST KTM.

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After being forced to retire from the first round due to an illness, Brett Swanepoel was out for redemption as he lined-up for the second round of the National Enduro Championship this weekend. The event was hosted at Roodeberg Enduro Farm, Western Cape, and had everything from rocky riverbeds to unforgiving mountain climbs in store.

Undaunted by his less-than-ideal starting position, a determined Swanepoel set off to start clawing his way back up the leader board. On a route that demanded technical skills, immense fitness and a strong sense of grit, the rider wasted no time as he moved into the lead in the early stages of the race. Ahead of Bradley Cox and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna teammate Heinrich Aust, Swanepoel looked untouchable as he widened his gap on the rest of the field to snatch a comfortable victory.

“I know that my chances of winning the championship are very slim after I pulled out of the first round, but that doesn’t make me any less determined to win. I felt so confident out there on my TE 300i – I really needed a race like this this after the way the season started,” said an elated Swanepoel.

Teammate Aust put on an eye-catching performance this weekend as he secured yet another podium position for the season. The rider set off with a blistering pace and entered an intense bar-to-bar battle with E1 Championship rival Bradley Cox. Aust painstakingly pushed the pace up front for most of the event and was overtaken by Cox in the final race to the finish line. Pleased with a second position in his class and third place overall, the rider commented:

“I’m really happy with the way this season is unfolding. I knew it would be tight between Brad and I before the race even began. It’s always fun to have such a close championship – it makes things interesting! I really enjoyed how technical the terrain was today and I’m really looking forward to racing the Extreme event too,” said Aust.

After his team’s successful day in the saddle, Husqvarna South Africa’s Fred Fensham commented: “It was an awesome event – thanks and compliments go to the Roodeberg Farm owners and Graham and his team for a great track! On the team side, I am so proud of both our riders. Brett was outstanding as was Heinrich. Thanks to Anthony, our mechanic, for the bike prep as they did not miss a beat! Now we look forward to the first round of the Extreme series.”

Brother Leader Tread KTM walked away with top honours at the second round of the National Enduro Championship. In an epic battle for Enduro glory, Bradley Cox stormed to his second National E1 Enduro victory of the season and second overall.

The event was hosted by Roodeberg Enduro Farm – a venue in the heart of the Western Cape renowned for its unforgiving terrain and scenic mountain trails. After his blistering start the season, Cox lined-up with a fresh sense of confidence and strong determination to defend his championship lead.

It was once again Cox and championship rival Heinrich Aust that went head-to-head in a battle for the top step in the E1 Class. After a game of cat and mouse for most of the route, Cox describes “digging deep” to overtake his competitor in the final push to the finish line.

“The last time I tried to defend the red plate in an Enduro race I was recovering from a broken ankle, so I was a lot fitter this time around. I had to dig really deep to push for the victory and I couldn’t be happier with how everything came together,” said Cox.

Brother Leader Tread KTM teammate Kirsten Landman also experienced a race of redemption this weekend. The rider made her comeback at the start of the season after a lengthy time off due to injury. She described the first round as a “wake-up call” and spent the last few weeks conditioning her body for the second round.

In what was an eye-catching performance, Landman managed to finish 8th in the highly competitive E2 Class and 15thoverall. She commented: “It was a tough day in the saddle, but I couldn’t be happier with the way I finished. I worked hard to condition myself for the physical demands that come with racing at this level, and I could feel that it really paid off today.”

A cherry on top of what was a successful day of racing for the team was a solid finish from new Enduro recruit Charan Moore. The multi-disciplined rider suffered an unfortunate crash at the last round of the National Cross Country Championship and was determined to put consistent laps together at this event. With a respectable fifth place in the E2 Class and eighth place overall, the rider said: “My preparation and setup were a bit off for the conditions, but I’m happy with the improvements and direction we’re moving in. It was an awesome weekend with the entire time!”

2021 marks Suzuki’s 10th Annual Weekend Away, in what’s usually a sunny and action-packed weekend in mountainous Mpumalanga. The whole idea behind this event is to bring Suzuki’s “Way of Life” quote into full effect, inviting Suzuki owners, family members, clients and even people that aren’t part of the Suzuki family yet.

This year’s Suzuki Weekend Away will be taking place between the 2nd to the 4th of July at Hotel Numbi & Garden Suites in Mpumalanga. Don’t feel left out, all bikes are welcome and if you’ve got a four wheelied vehicle in your garage, you are most welcome to join too. Riding on sweeping roads, playing games, bonding as a Suzuki family and becoming united as one—this is the Suzuki Way of Life!

Cost:

• Early Bird Rate: R795 per person sharing per night (special ends at the end of May, thereafter R895 per person sharing).
• R995 per single occupancy room per night.

Rate includes:

• • • Dinner, bed & breakfast, activities.

Bookings:

• • • For bookings contact Hotel Numbi & Garden Suites at (013) 737 7301 or e-mail [email protected] quote reservation number – 254820.

Once you have made your booking please e-mail: [email protected] with your name, t-shirt size and reservation number.

Here is a taste of what’s to come:

There’s a 25 year age gap in King Price Xtreme’s 2021 motorcycle race team. At one end is 39-year-old Sfiso Themba—at the other, 12-year-old Cayden Robert and 16-year-old Leungo Gaorekwe. And somewhere in the middle is team leader and seven-time national champion, Clint Seller, with more race experience than the rest of his team combined.

In a country where rugby, cricket and soccer reign supreme, motorcycle racing is an extremely niche endeavour. But King Price Xtreme are passionate about the sport, which is exactly why they signed Cayden and Leungo to the team—because for them, developing young riders is an absolute must.

“For us backing passionate riders that we know will make an impact to the next set of riders is why we are in this sport specifically,” says King Price brand development manager, Siyamthanda Williams.

Clint echoes that sentiment, recalling how previous King Price Xtreme rider, Dino Iozzo, developed his skills within the team. Dino’s now racing overseas, but rode for King Price Xtreme for two years, ending his 2020 season on a high.

“Before he left, he was the best rider on a Supersport bike, winning every race that he entered,” says Clint. “But in his first race in 2019, our goal for him was sixth place. That was a realistic goal at the time for him.”

“Then two years down the line, at his last race, Dino was the most dominant rider in his class by a long way. I mean, I’ve even seen him riding superbikes the last few months before he went overseas… it sort of worries me how fast he’s going.”

With Dino moving on, Clint was hungry to find fresh young talent for his 2021 team. Then he found it while training on his 150 at the Formula K short circuit: “About 2 seconds down this road was this kid. I didn’t know what he looked like or anything, but he was on a bike with no fairings (I’m assuming he crashed a helluva lot) and I thought ‘let me quickly just chase down this youngster and show him how good I am’.”

“I couldn’t catch him. And 20 laps later I was so tired I pulled in, and he did about another 20 laps after that. I walked down the pit, and there was Craig Roberts [Cayden’s father], and he had Leungo and Cayden sitting at his trailer, with no fairings on the bikes, because as I said I’m pretty sure they crashed them all the time.”

“But I could see how much passion there was, and that there was talent. And to me that was something special that I could see—that these youngsters were fast, they’re talented, and they’ve got good family structure and support behind them.”

“Clint discovered the two guys,” adds Siya, “and when he spoke to me about their characters, I immediately knew they would be a great fit for KPX. I’ve worked with and seen many riders but it’s rare to find riders that are passionate and driven. Couple that with their ages and how I completely understood what the sponsorship would mean for their futures as well as futures of aspiring riders, I was sold on them.”

King Price Xtreme sponsor, Liqui Moly South Africa, is on board with the team’s rider development too. “There is no sustainability in anything, unless you are willing to invest in new life and talent,” says managing director, Melicia Labuschagne.

“I love the investment of King Price into the young guns. The more this happens, the bigger the inspiration to other youngsters to see it is possible, to learn, to look up to and to inspire more and more to follow their dreams and always know—with hard work, good habits and dedication, anything is possible!”

Sitting on a call with the King Price Xtreme team, it’s clear that Cayden and Leungo have their heads screwed on straight. Cayden comes from a motorcycle racing family, and grew up accompanying his brother to the track. “I always wanted to get on the bike,” he says. “Sometimes you’d be looking for me, and I’d be at the track sitting on the bike, pretending to go around.”

“It’s awesome to be part of such a successful team. Growing up in a racing family really feels like I have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to be a rider in the KPX team. I have watched Uncle Clint ever since I can remember, and to be his teammate is special for me.”

Leungo’s love affair with wheels started when his dad put him on the back of a quad as a toddler. Soon he had his own quad, then an off-road bike before eventually switching to road racing. Watching local hero Brad Binder set the global stage on fire is a huge motivation for him. “Brad is such an amazing character,” he says. “If I had to pick a person that I’d like to be like in terms of riding, I’d want to be like Brad.”

“I am thrilled to be part of the King Price Xtreme Race team. I have been with the team for only a few months and I am super excited about the future as I embark on this journey. To be very honest, I still feel the same as before because my coach and other dad (Uncle Craig) works very hard to be as professional as we possibly can.”

For 2021 Cayden will be racing two different classes in the Superbike Magazine Short Circuit series. He’s piloting the Honda NSF100 and the Honda CBR150, thanks to King Price Xtreme’s new motorcycle sponsor, Honda South Africa. (Clint and Sfiso are on board the all-new Honda CBR 1000RR.)

Leungo’s racing in the Short Circuit series on a Honda too, but also in the RSR series on a KTM RC390. And he’s planning to race in the upcoming Africa Cup on a Yamaha R3, but is already itching to get onto bigger bikes.

With two rookies to mentor, and an older, yet still developing (and very much hungry) rider in Sfiso, Clint has his hands full. But he has help, in the form of Cayden’s dad, Craig, who runs the junior team in its entirety, from managing the machines to coaching the riders.

Together, they’re expecting big things for the future—not just for their riders, but for the sport. “A lot of people, at least when we started, didn’t know much about racing and motorsports,” says Siya. “With the likes of Leungo and Cayden, I’m hoping that they will come into a platform and sphere where that spotlight is shone on the local riders from a very early age, so that they can be able to reach further heights than Brad Binder or anybody has thus far.”

Huge thanks go out to all the sponsors:

King Price Xtreme, Honda SA, Dragon Energy, Liqui Moly, Fire It Up, RACE SA, Rapid Bike SA, Super Signs, ImageBuild and PS Branded. You make all of this possible.

Riders made their way to Portugal this weekend for the first daylight race of 2021 and the opening fixture in Europe. Sunny and warm conditions in southern Portugal, invited the riders to dive straight into some hot laps around the 4.6 km layout of climbs, drops and diverse corners at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve circuit. With the track itself being a relatively new circuit on the GP calendar, and a host of newcomers on new machinery, this race weekend was surely going to be an exciting one.

Darryn Binder

Saturday’s qualifying started out great for Darryn Binder, with a fast time in Q1 securing him a spot in Q2. Darryn waited until the final moments of Q2 to make his final qualifying time attack run. Now, here is where it gets rather confusing. Darryn clinched eighth in qualifying, but with the two riders ahead of him starting from the pit lane, Darryn moved up into sixth. Soon after qualifying, Darryn gets handed a pitlane start for irresponsible riding during qualifying.

With a swarm of roaring Moto3 bikes all lined up, the lights went out, but for Darryn, his ten-second wait had just begun. Around the first corner they went and off the line Darryn leapt on his Petronas Sprinta Racing Honda, beginning his chase. Despite this curveball of a start, our fellow South African battled hard to try and close the gap to the main pack.

Although he made good progress at the beginning and was able to join the tail end of the pack, Darryn was unable to maintain the speed and suffered from grip issues. With the camera’s focusing upfront, a steady eye was constantly seeing Darryn floating in the top 20. With the chequered flag out, Binder crossed the line in 20th and now sits third in the championship with 36 pts.

DB: “I had an alright weekend and felt strong in all the practice sessions and qualifying wasn’t too bad, I would have started from the second row. I feel like I’ve been handed a really hard penalty from qualifying yesterday, which meant I had to start from the pitlane. It is what it is, but unfortunately in the race, I didn’t have the pace. We need to look over everything and see what we can do to improve. I’m really sorry to the team for picking up the penalty and for the result today. Hopefully, in Jerez, we can be back to how we were in the first two races of the year.”

Brad Binder

Saturday’s qualifying session saw, Brad Binder ride really well in Q2 and nearly push through into Q1 but unfortunately, a small mistake ruined his best flying lap effort. Our ‘Sunday Rider’ also bagged the quickest time through the first sector. Brad would eye the start lights from 15th and have Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Danilo Petrucci (18th) and Iker Lecuona (19th) behind him. Although Brad struggled to make a quick lap in qualifying, he was positive for Sunday due to his KTM RC16 set-up and pace in Free Practice 4.

Brad made an excellent start, leaping from 15th on the grid to 8th on the first lap and then started to hunt down the front-runners. Binder, kept his composure in the leading group, battling with the likes of Marc Marquez, Pecco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro for 7th. With the leading group starting to pull away, Brad slid into the lead of the following group and started to make inroads on the front runners.

Brad would eventually take profit of both Alex Rins and Johann Zarco’s low side crashes, bumping him up into 5th. Binder laid it all out on the final two laps and was beginning to close in on the battle for the podium. A little too late, as the chequered flag came out and Binder crossed the line in 5th.

BB: “Happy to get our first top-five of the season. I really wanted to be on the podium today and thought we had the potential to be there with about five laps to go. I pushed as hard as I could but I couldn’t put the key clean laps together at the end as much as I wanted. Overall, I gave my absolute best today and didn’t leave anything on the table. A massive thanks to the team because we did a great job getting the bike ready for the race and we’ll go again in Jerez.”

A crazy weekend of racing is followed by a well-deserved weekend off. A close look at the GP calendar says, the next race will be a Spanish GP at the end of April/start of May, and already the title race is twisting and turning. After all, this is MotoGP.

Our good friends at Henderson Racing Products, home to the METALIZE range of riding gear, tasked us with testing their ‘shorty’ glove range. If you are not familiar with the brand, METALIZE is a South African-designed brand that is dedicated to the development of a range of rider gear to suit local conditions. The brand oozes a passion for riding, forever fine-tuning and tweaking their line with the feedback received from test riders.

Like a helmet, good motorcycle gloves aren’t a nice-to-have, but a must-have. The most common mistakes made when buying a pair of gloves are going for the cheapest set you can find, or deciding on a pair purely because they look cool, instead of being functional. What you should rather do is match the gloves to your riding style, the weather you ride in, and ultimately the safety they will provide your hands in the case of an accident.

Here’s a look at five new short-cuff METALIZE gloves, all incorporating goatskin leather, SuperFabric, stretch fabric, durable mesh and touchscreen compatible fingertips.

METALIZE 359 Shorty Glove

The 359 is for the type of rider that’s looking for an urban summer riding glove, that provides more than just good ventilation. What sets the 359 up for more than just the city commute is its added palm protection, making ventures in and out of the city as safe as possible. Although a summer glove, the 359 has an elegant and almost retro look, with white highlights on the fingers to break the otherwise blacked-out look.

It’s a given that the 359 is going to be good on a hot day, but as the sun goes down and the winds pick up, the leather that wraps itself around your knuckles and palm will keep your hands somewhat warm. The stretch fabric around the neck of the glove makes it easy to put on, and also allows for wider wrists.

Besides being a very versatile glove, the 359’s unique styling means it’ll suit almost any type of bike. Ride a café racer to your local meet or ride your adventure bike to your secret bush pub, either way, the 359 will fit in just fine.

METALIZE 368 Shorty Glove

The 368 is an extremely lightweight road riding glove, designed for city and urban use. The look is a little louder than the 359, with a graffiti-inspired logo treatment. The 368 is the kind of glove that you just grab and put on—super-light and very aero, almost like a motocross glove.

When it comes to cooling, you’ll find three mesh finger sleeves (two in the middle and one on the thumb) and another mesh patch behind the knuckle protector. Touchscreen-compatible fingertips are usually a gimmick on most gloves and sometimes don’t work the greatest, but on the 368 they work perfectly every time.

The 368 is the perfect companion for urban riding with great throttle grip, and at times it feels like a second skin. However, if you’re looking to do some outer city rides where speeds start to increase, I would opt for the 359, as it offers added palm protection.

METALIZE 377 Shorty Glove

At first glance, the 377 looks rather sporty, with flashy stitching, vast leather coverage and extra palm grips. But it offers way more than just sportiness. Clad in goatskin leather and SuperFabric, the 377 makes riding lighter, cooler and less cramped. The ventilation is what makes the 377 different from a standard sports glove; you’ve got vents on your fingers, and breathable mesh on your wrist and thumb.

A feature that I find really cool is the scoop behind the knuckle protector. When riding with my jacket sleeves over the neck of the glove, I could feel the air passing into the scoop and into my jacket, cooling me down in the process. With a tight-fitting neck, palm protection, and added SuperFabric, I felt most comfortable in these gloves—and comfort plus protection equals confidence.

With safety, great ventilation, and stretchable fabric, the 377 gloves can accommodate sports touring, adventure riding, and even your daily commute. If versatility doesn’t make you buy this glove, looks will.

METALIZE 386 Shorty Glove

With the 386 glove, METALIZE may just have the perfect companion for all summer timetables, and then some. When it comes to looks, METALIZE have somehow made it possible for an adventure/touring glove to be both functional and good-looking.

When you’re on the road for extended time periods, you want comfort and breathability. The 386 comes with breathable mesh fingertips wrapped in leather, with a roomy neck and a soft inner padding.

With winter just around the corner and the weather already starting to change, having a wide neck on the 386 helped keep the cold at bay, letting me tuck my sleeves in on cooler rides. All in all, if hitting the wide-open road is your thing, then having a pair of these might do you some good.

METALIZE 395 Shorty Glove

Although nearly 90% made of goatskin leather, the 395 still offers a sufficient amount of airflow through the perforated leather fingertips, and ease of fitment with stretch fabric around the wrist. The 395 glove gives off a sporty yet stealthy look, with a faux carbon knuckle protector, a simple graphic on the index finger, and an all-black finish.

I’ve personally owned a pair of these for 20,000 km now, and they have outlasted my previous set of dailies, which cost R600 more and had to be binned after a similar time period. The leather is very durable, but its durability doesn’t restrict movement inside of the glove. On the palm is a SuperFabric palm protector and soft material stitched around the leather, which makes moving your bike around in the garage a scratch-free affair.

If you’re a daily commuter and just fancy leather gloves over the rest, then these will last you all four seasons. For the sport bike rider on the road, these will suit you just as well, and even save you a few bucks down the road.

So there you have it—gloves that offer protection, comfort, practicality, reliability, and great styling. Apart from the excellent and affordable product, the METALIZE team are both enthusiastic and committed to bringing the best to their clients. All featured gloves are currently retailing for R850, so get down to your nearest dealer and get a grip.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to call the CRF250L one of Honda’s biggest success stories. The pint-sized dual-sport is approachable, capable and wildly popular… and now Honda have made it bigger in a bid to make it better, with the release of the 2021 CRF300L.

The CRF300L is now available in South Africa, so we’re taking a closer look at what’s changed. For 2021, Big Red has bumped the CRF’s capacity by 36 cc, by increasing the single-cylinder motor’s stroke. It now makes 10% more peak power and 18% more peak torque, landing at 20.1 kW (26.9 hp) at 8,500 rpm and 26.6 Nm at 6,500 rpm.

Honda have thrown a host of other upgrades at the engine too. The inlet cam timing’s been revised, and the intake and exhaust systems have been fettled for more mid-range power and torque. The ignition timing’s been fettled too, and the CRF uses a new iridium spark plug too. And the motor is now EURO5 compliant. That all means that the CRF300L should have a little more poke than its predecessor, without losing any of its friendly nature.

The gear ratios have been tightened up from one through five for better response, with a taller sixth gear for open road stuff, and a new slip/assist clutch lifts 20% off the load on the lever. Honda list an increase in top speed from 129 km/h to 132 km/h. Combined with the taller sixth gear, the new CRF should feel less strained on the highway.

Moving to the CRF’s chassis, Honda have shaved a total of four kilos off the bike’s weight, with a new frame and swingarm. It now clocks in at 142 kg wet, with a semi-double cradle steel frame and a cast aluminium swingarm.

The frame and swingarm are not only lighter, but have been redesigned to offer more compliance, with reductions in lateral rigidity. Honda say this should improve handling, feel and the balance between front and rear traction. Weight savings are everywhere, right down to the bottom triple clamp that’s now aluminium instead of steel.

The stroke of the 43 mm inverted Showa forks has been bumped by 10 mm to 260 mm, with updates to the spring weight and damping settings. The rear Pro-Link suspension systems been bumped from 240 mm to 260 mm, and uses a Showa shock.

All these changes translate to an increase in ground clearance (255 to 285 mm), an 880 mm seat height (5 mm higher) and a 10 mm longer wheelbase at 1455 mm.

Just like Honda’s pure off-road machines, the CRF rolls on 21F/18R wheels, with lightweight aluminium rims for 2021, polished to a gloss black finish. There’s more weight saving here, by way of hollowed out axles, a lighter rear sprocket and lighter fasteners.

Braking’s provided by a single 256 mm front disc and two-piston caliper, and a 220 mm rear disc and single-piston caliper. Honda have borrowed a couple of features from their competition machines here; a lightweight integrated rear master cylinder design, and wave discs. ABS is standard issue.

The CRF’s slim bodywork and graphics take inspiration from the competition bikes too. But the changes are more than just skin deep—Honda have revised the ergonomics slightly too, by slimming the 7.8 l fuel tank and the front of the seat. Smaller bits like the front mudguard and rear license plate bracket are new (and lighter) too.

Up top, the handlebars have been pulled back a little, and further down, the foot pegs have been lowered and moved back. There’s a redesigned LCD display in the cockpit, with extra info like a gear position indicator, fuel mileage and consumption, average speed, a stopwatch and a rev counter.

Even the side stand hasn’t been left alone—it has a folding footplate with a 10% bigger surface area, which should make parking it in sketchy terrain marginally less tricky. Honda’s aftermarket list for the CRF300L is small though, limited to a top box and a sump guard.

The other thing that’s bigger on the 2021 CRF300L is the price: it now costs R84,999. Given the rising prices of motorcycles these days, that’s still palatable—especially when you consider just how much Honda have upgraded this beloved little street legal enduro. And given the CRF-L’s near-cult status, expect it to be a top seller.

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

Motul has extended their popular online Know Your Oil campaign to Mix FM. The twice-weekly feature is a key part of Motul’s mission to increase awareness of the vital role that oil plays in every driving and riding experience and to help vehicle owners choose the right oil for their vehicle.

Hippocrates (Taki) Bogiages, Technical Manager for Motul SA and Mercia Jansen, Motul Area Manager for Southern and Eastern Africa, join popular Mix FM DJ Al Your Pal during his Power Mix shows every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at 14h20, where they get to share their extensive knowledge about the best oils to use in every kind of vehicle. From two to four wheels, and for every activity from everyday driving or riding to racing and even heavy-duty vehicles, marine and gardening applications.

“Following the success of our Know Your Oil Facebook segments, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to work with Mix FM and Al Your Pal to bring the latest oil knowledge to more South African vehicle owners,” commented Mercia. “Choosing the right oil can make a real difference in terms of the performance of your vehicle, the longevity of your engine and parts and what it costs you in services and spares,” she added.

“We’ll be covering a range of oil-related topics and themes,” explained Taki, “including the basics of oils and why they’re important and going on to look at how to choose the right oil, and other vital consumables including transmission and brake fluids. The show on Thursday 8 April will be with amazing Women in Racing where we get to chat about our 300V legacy products and the awesome MC Care range,” he added.

Mix FM listeners can now look forward to gaining a wealth of knowledge about oils and lubricants. By tuning in to Al Your Pal’s Power Mix during April, they’ll discover that – with expert guidance – it’s easier than ever to Know Your Oil, save money, and enjoy optimum vehicle performance.

“I’m delighted to have Mercia and Taki on the show, giving them the chance to share this information with our Mix FM listeners,” commented Al Your Pal. “As a DJ, I know that music is vital to keeping our country moving, which means that quality radio and quality oils have a lot in common. I’ve enjoyed the engagement from our listeners and of course, getting their feedback to our weekly competition to win Motul products and limited-edition merchandise. I’m a big motorbike fan myself, and I’ve been picking up some great tips from the Motul team,” added the veteran DJ.

With 168 years of oil heritage, Motul has built up a vast library of knowledge on oil performance and specifications. Allied to this history is Motul’s spirit of innovation, which has kept them at the forefront of the motor oil business, providing the lifeblood that flows through millions of vehicles worldwide.

For more information on the specs of individual Motul products, visit www.motul.com or download the Motul App from the App Store or Google Play.

We caught up with Taki Bogiages to chat about all things oily and Motul’s ‘Know your Oil‘ initiative. Taki’s journey with Motul started way back in 2013 as a sponsored off-road racing athlete and Motul Ambassador. This long term relationship grew to the next level when Taki, a B.Sc Chemistry graduate, was appointed as Motul’s Business Technical Manager in August 2019. He graduated top of his course in Tribology. In case, like me, you don’t know what the hell ‘Tribology’ is, it is the study of lubricants. Well, now we know! As soon as he starts talking oils and lubricants his enthusiasm is palpable. Here is a guy living his dream.

I asked him about Motul’s race oil, 300V (The ‘V’ is for victories). Under development since 1971, it is Motul’s first 100% synthetic race oil. They brought the first semi-synthetic oil, Century 2100, to market way back in 1963. 1953 saw Motul develop the first multigrade oil. I asked Taki if it is a good idea to run a race oil like 300V in our road bikes. His answer was really insightful. Whilst there is no doubt that it will provide superb lubrication, one must understand that it is a specific race oil and, as such, does not contain additives like antioxidants normally found in regular road oils. It also has no specs as such. Motul is not likely to share their race oil recipe with all and sundry! This can be a problem in that bike manufacturers specify certain specs for their recommended oil. This could be a problem in the event of a warranty claim. 300 V will certainly offer the best protection and performance for your engine. If you do use 300V, then it is advisable to change the oil more often than with a regular road spec oil.

Why is a premier oil essential? Taki points out that reduced fiction results in more power, better fuel efficiency and lower running temperatures. Incredibly, tests on his race bike showed an 8% power gain just by changing the oil, whilst bolting on an R20,000 aftermarket race exhaust, only gave a 6% gain. Go figure! If you run neck and neck with your mate, perhaps you need to do an oil change and smoke him! You can do a lot of oil changes for R20k!

We chatted about Motul’s race Lab deployed at big race events such as Dakar. They serve all the competitors, irrespective of what oil they are using. By analysing all these oils they can give feedback on engine health to the racers and also, if analysing another brand, see if any competitor has any advantage over their own oil, which then allows further development to maintain their competitive advantage. They simply never rest on their laurels, but always strive to reach greater heights.

The current 100% synthetic offering from Motul, their 7100 4T, matches and exceeds every manufacturer’s specification for engine lubricants. This is the sort of information that Taki is trying to get across to users with Motul’s Know your Oil campaign currently running on Facebook and on Mix FM. Motul have an Oil Selection App which once downloaded to your smartphone can give their recommendation for your specific vehicle. For example, bikes with wet clutches require JASO MA2 spec oils which are compatible with wet clutches.

Taki stresses that as users, we should consider the cost of lubrication, rather than just the cost of the lubricant. For example, by just buying the cheapest oil we often end up with inferior lubrication, less engine power, shorter engine life and increased fuel consumption. Our saving is thus very costly in the long run. As the old South African saying goes, “goedkoop is duurkoop” (cheap is ultimately expensive).

Being an offroad fundi, Taki also mentioned that a problem that he has encountered is guys with fuel-injected 2-strokes using their old faithful oils, which are not great for injected 2-strokes, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Motul 710 2T is the right oil to use for injected 2-strokes. Wow! I thought that it was all just brown slippery stuff! Taki welcomes technical questions which give him the opportunity to share his expertise to the benefit of all. He told us about a test conducted on a diesel Toyota bakkie over 40,000 k’s of typical driving. Half the distance was done using a top mineral oil and the second half was done on 100% synthetic Motul. The average fuel consumption on the mineral oil was 10,1 km/L, versus 10,9 km/L on the synthetic. The fuel-saving totally negated the extra cost of the synthetic oil and then some.

So guys and gals, a lot of food for thought. When you think about the cost of bikes today, it really does not make sense to cut corners when it comes to lubrication. Pony up that little extra and you will more than recoup the cost in the long run. In the meantime, you know that your baby is more than likely going to keep running sweet as a nut!

For more information on Motul visit their profile on ZA Bikers.

Since the reveal of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R prototype (back in 2012), KTM and many hooligans just knew the Super Duke R was going to tick all the right boxes. A bonkers naked bike, a bike that KTM themselves nicknamed ‘The Beast’, it was a no-rules super naked that was mad, badass and very, very wild. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better than the latest Super Duke R, KTM drops an extra R behind The Beast.

The ultra-hooligan is the first bike in KTM’s line-up to bear the ‘RR’ badge, it sits proudly at the top of KTM’s street ranges throne, as a limited-edition flagship motorcycle, developed solely around pure performance. Limited-edition? Jip, only 500 of these ultra-rare Austrian naked’s will be built.

So, what’s so RR about the new Super Duke? The RR is lighter, stiffer, it comes with a new electronics package, Carbon fibre parts, a new quick-turn throttle twist grip, super cool brake calliper cooling ducts and an improved power-to-weight ratio of 1:1. The RR is what happens when KTM’s R&D department is allowed free reign, creating a true ‘Ready to Race’ motorcycle, with added exclusivity, exotic componentry, and premium workmanship.

The heart and soul of the beast still pumps out 180 hp and 140 Nm, but with a 9 kg weight loss, this translates into a power-to-weight ratio of 1:1—enough power to tear the roof off your house. Unlike the R, the RR is all about track-ripping performance, with its new quick-turn throttle twist grip, further improving throttle response and reducing the rider’s wrist angle and elbow drop. You could probably do some light shopping, but it will all be a smoothie by the time you get home.

Where most of the extra R comes in, is in the form of WP’s finest components. Upfront, you’ve got fully adjustable WP APEX PRO forks, together with an adjustable WP APEX PRO steering damper. At the rear, an APEX PRO shock takes charge, which has been custom-made to the specification of the RR. Working with the great suspension you’ll find lighter wheels (1.5 kg less) and sticky Michelin Power Cup2 tyres—dramatically upping the track readiness.

To round it all off, KTM have clothed the RR in Carbon fibre, with the subframe also receiving the lightweight carbon treatment. A redesigned tail unit creates a unique single-seat setup, with redesigned LED taillights incorporated into new LED turn signals. The BEAST wouldn’t be complete without Akrapovic’s lightweight Slip-On exhaust system—no need to browse the power parts catalogue.

For those who want to personalise or increase the already nutty performance of the RR, KTM have a full range of never before seen components and bodywork, a full range of KTM PowerParts has also been developed.

In the right hands, the KTM 1290 Super Duke RR may just be the ultimate backstreet weapon or track day superbike slayer. So, get your electronic devices out and contact your nearest KTM dealer.

Mpumalanga, or ‘ET’, as it is affectionately known by motorcyclists, is an area endowed with spectacular scenery and sweeping mountain roads, the best of which is the legendary ‘22’, between Sabie and Hazyview. Over the years that I have ridden out east, I have been way too destination focussed. The fact that the roads favour spirited riding hasn’t helped much. If like me, you tend to focus on the road rather than on the scenery, you end up missing out on a lot of interesting historically significant sites. This Easter I decided to cruise east and take in some fascinating Anglo-Boer War sites which I have researched and which really got me thinking about what went down in this area in the early 1900s.

I packed the GS and rode east under an azure sky, with occasional clouds like tufts of candyfloss. The first stop was adjacent to the Balmoral off-ramp, about 30 kays before Witbank. There is an old, overgrown cemetery, next door to a recently opened Anglo/Boer Restaurant, which sports some great Boer war murals. The dilapidated state of the graveyard is exacerbated by the immaculately trimmed lawns around the eatery. I grabbed my camera and strolled through the cemetery, allowing my mind to wander and contemplate the events that had caused the death of the almost 200 souls buried there.

Flyback with me in time. When the old Transvaal Republic was forced into declaring war on Britain on the 11th October 1899, the British public expected it to be all over by Christmas. There was no way, they mused, that a bunch of peasant farmers could take on the might of the most powerful empire in the world at that time. By the end of January 1900, a scant four months later, instead of celebrating victory, the Empire was drenched in mourning. Battles fought in Natal at Nicholson’s Nek, Talana, Colenso and Spionkop and in the Northern Cape at Belmont, Graspan, Modder River, Stormberg and Magersfontein saw 5,575 British troops killed, wounded or captured. The dream of a quick victory evaporated like mist under the harsh African sun. The ‘peasant farmers’, by contrast, had suffered a loss of 1156 men. The Empirical greed was being paid for with the blood of its fine young men.

By the end of 1901, Lord Kitchener had determined that the only way to defeat the Boers, who were now waging a guerrilla war against the ponderous British military with great success, was by employing the now-infamous “Scorched Earth Policy”. By herding the Boer women and children into concentration camps and burning their farms and killing their livestock, they would prevent the re-supply of the roving Boer Commandos. The unsanitary camp conditions decimated the imprisoned women and children. By the end of the war, 26251 souls, of which 80% were children, had succumbed to disease. Boer combatants who were killed or died on active service numbered less than 7000.

Reading the names on the memorial at Balmoral is really moving. The number of young and infant children buried there is heart-rending. The peaceful, serene environment was totally at odds with the tears shed at this site. In some cases, the whole family was eradicated. The menfolk who survived the war returned to devastated lives where everything that they held dear was ripped from them, both materially and emotionally. I got a glimpse into the psyche of this proud, headstrong nation that has always paid a huge price for its freedom. They have suffered unspeakable misery, yet have shown the resilience that can only be born out of a deep faith in their God. Who knows how the current chapter in the history of these people will unfold?

It was with more than a hint of melancholy that I climbed back on the Bee Emm and headed off to the quaint little historic town of Chrissiesmeer, where I was to witness evidence of an enduring story of devotion. Travel to Carolina and beyond, on the road to Swaziland and just outside of town, you will hang a right to Chrissiesmeer, some 24 k’s down a beautifully scenic road traversing undulating hills. There were many skirmishes around this area, as well as a pitched battle fought in February of 1901. This tale had its origin in a fierce skirmish in the October of 1900. A certain Lt. Arthur William Swanston, of the Inniskilling Dragoons, was killed whilst trying to save the lives of some of his men, and in particular, a Private J. Garlick. A private memorial was erected by Swanston’s parents and brother officers. The cemetery is on a gentle hillside overlooking the lake from which Chrissiesmeer gets, in part, its name.

Every year from 1901, a small box arrived in late September, containing a sprig of heather, bound in alternate years with pink and blue ribbon and addressed to The Postmaster, Chrissiesmeer. A brief note asked that the heather be placed on the grave of Lieutenant Swanston. Every year, without fail, the little box arrived, to be faithfully placed on Arthur’s grave by the current Postmaster. It was only in 1957 that a little light was shed on the matter. The then Postmistress, Tannie ‘Rensie’ Kruger, received a letter which she read with some difficulty. The sender revealed that she was Lt. Swanston’s fiance’ and that he was her one true love. She never married and in 1957 was in poor health, so was not sure how long she could keep sending the annual sprigs of heather. Two years later, 60 years after the Lieutenants death, the last box arrived. Tannie Rensie attested to the fact that, to the best of her knowledge, every box arrived undamaged and found its way onto the grave of Lt. Swanston. Quite remarkable, considering the bad feeling resulting from the Scorched Earth policy, which resulted in enduring Boer bitterness. I guess there is truth in the statement, that love does indeed, conquer all!

My mood was somewhat lighter when I rode out of town, back to the N4 and past the turn-off to Belfast, to the impressive Bergendal Memorial on the right-hand side of the road. This was the scene of the last pitched battle of the Boer war. General Redvers Buller, bringing his army up from Natal, joined forces with the main British army under Lord Roberts, or ‘Bobs’, as he was referred to by his men, advancing along the railway line between Pretoria and Portuguese East Africa. The Boer commander, Commandant General Louis Botha, holding a line along the escarpment, chose this site to impede their progress. With a combined Empire force of around 22000 and almost 100 cannon, against, at best, 5000 Boers with a couple of cannon, the outcome of the battle was pretty certain.

Some distance to the rear of the Boer force, a solitary Long Tom cannon, from which the pass gets its name, hurled a few shells at the advancing Brits. The Boer marksmen wreaked some havoc on the enemy, resulting in the Brits withdrawing and simply shelling the unfortunate Boers into submission. The Boers retreated down the hill, hopped on their horses and lived to fight another day. This did give rise to another tale.

By this stage of the war, the Boers had been in the field for so long, without any means of re-supply, that many were barefoot and literally clothed in sacks. An enterprising Boer whipped the boots off of a fallen foe and rode off appropriately ‘reshod’. Later that night, when stopping for a quick forty winks, he took off the boots. This surprised his mates, who always slept in their shoes to facilitate a quick escape if necessary. Asked why he hadn’t kept them on, he rather superstitiously said that he was just a bit concerned that the previous owner may come to claim them back while he slept!

As you enter the town of Machadodorp, just after the popular stop at Milly’s, you will find an old cemetery where most of the British fallen were interred. Taking some photos of the metal crosses, it was disturbing to see a number without names, but rather the inscription “Unknown soldier of the British Forces”. The full horror of war gets driven home. Some soldiers being marred beyond recognition by shelling, ending up in an unknown soldiers grave, their families informed that they were “Missing in action, presumed dead”. The lack of certainty allowing the flame of hope to flicker uncertainly for a while… It was then back on the bike to Dullstroom, and the end of my first day of ghost hunting. I booked into the Dullstroom Inn. After what had turned out to be a long and strangely emotional day, I shelved my camping plans in favour of an ice-cold beer and a soft bed. Getting soft, Dave, getting soft!

I sat on the veranda, sipping a bitterly cold one and watching the setting sun bathe the old sandstone church on the opposite side of the road in a beautiful, golden glow. Come to think of it, there is a story that concerns that old church too. The church fell into disrepair and the Boers caught wind of some alleged Boer traitors that were living in the partial ruin and passing information concerning the location of Boer commandos in the area to the British. A Boer officer, curiously named ‘Roksak’ Redelinghuys, dressed in a British officers uniform, infiltrated the town and visited the church posing as a ‘Colonel Bullock’, in order to expose the traitors. Redelinghuys got the nickname when his comrades learnt that he carried one of his wife’s dresses in his pack, as a reminder of home and family. He was accompanied by a fellow named Bester, who posed as a ‘Colonel Blood’. The ploy was a huge success, as the ‘Veraaiers’ gave the two ‘British Officers’ their valuables for safekeeping. Three men were subsequently arrested and sentenced to three months of hard labour by a Boer military court on 13th July 1901, which they largely dodged, by escaping from custody during an attack on the commando by the British, on the 29th July. This stage of the war saw a number of Boers changing sides as they began to realise the inevitable outcome of an unwinnable war. These ‘Veraaiers’ were despised by the ‘Bittereienders’ remaining in the field.

Early the next morning, in the deliciously fresh autumn air, I rolled out of town towards Lydenburg. Literally on the hill going out of town, on the left-hand side, there is a tiny cemetery against the hillside, just below a rebuilt stone fortification. You can open the farm gate at the bottom of the hill and then follow a jeep track right up to the gravesite. The view from the graves is spectacular. It reminded me very much of the Scottish Highlands, bedecked with a sort of vegetation which seems common to cool, misty climates. The rocky outcrop at the crest of the hill is covered with tufts of hardy grass, interspersed here and there with some magnificent Protea bushes. Like at Balmoral, in fact even more so, there was an almost eerie serenity about the graveyard. The sort of place where you find yourself talking in whispers. An ever so gentle cool breeze played over the hill, which was now saturated in the bright early morning sunshine. I set my bike on the side stand, took off my helmet and gloves and drank in the tranquillity of it all.

The little clump of graves is dominated by the marble headstone on the grave of Captain Angus Menzies, of the 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment. The inscription reads: “Who was wounded in action near this spot on the 21st January 1902, and died on the following day”. Just behind him, with an equally impressive headstone lies a Major ATP Hudson, who “Was wounded in action at Elandspruit on the night of the 19th December 1901, and died on the following morning”. Around 14 men are buried there. Some of the final words of the famous ballade, The Scottish Soldier, came to mind as I surveyed the poignant scene.

“And now this soldier, this Scottish soldier,
Who wandered far away and soldiered far away,
Sees leaves are falling and death is calling
And he will fade away in that far land.
Because these green hills are not my Land’s hills
And as far as these green foreign hills may be,
They are not the hills of home”.

Communication being sketchy back in 1901, I would imagine that when Major Hudson’s family sat down to Christmas dinner that year, they surely wondered where their valiant soldier son was, no doubt praying that he was well. Little did they know that their precious boy had bled and died on an obscure piece of African veld, less than a week before Christmas.

“And on a hillside, a Scottish hillside
You’ll see a piper play his soldier home”.

The bugles cease now, he is at peace now……….on a hillside near Dullstroom, far away from home.

With a lump in my throat, I bid the brave men goodbye and rode slowly back down the hill and on towards Lydenburg, for my last haunting visit to some long-departed brave hearts. Travel on another few k’s and you will see another clump of war graves, also on the left-hand side, beside the road. At this scene, there was a short sharp skirmish on the night of the 9th December 1901. Again it was the 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment in the thick of things. The night was very dark and misty. Three Boer commandos attacked the 1st Battalion (a mounted Infantry unit) simultaneously. In the ensuing confusion, 9 men of the Heidelberg Commando died, together with a similar number of troopers from the Manchesters. As you look diagonally across the road from the British graves, you can make out the monument to the fallen Boers. This action was recorded as The Battle of Ouhoutbossie.

Maybe it is just me, but when I spend time at these sites and immerse myself in the rich history and consider how it must have been all that time ago, it is profoundly moving. It gets you thinking of the unspeakable misery that we have visited upon ourselves with countless wars fought over the ages. An example of the collateral damage that always happens in war is the equine devastation during what became essentially a ‘mounted’ war. The Boer horseman were arguably the finest mounted infantry that the world had seen. To counter their mobility, the Imperial Forces imported hundreds of thousands of horses from all over the world. The Boers mounts were hardy and could live off the land, whereas the Imperial horses died in their hundreds of thousands. Literally over half a million horses lost to war and disease. To what end? We rabbit on about the current pandemic, yet sacrificed over 22 million young men, in the prime of their lives, in the First World War. Supposed to be “the war to end all wars”, they were at it again just over 20 years later.

The Anglo/Boer war touched the furthest reaches of our land and had consequences that reverberate even today. When you ride your bike far and wide across our spectacular land, you will see constant reminders, if you know what to look for, of the small band of peasant farmers who defied an Empire for three years and were never defeated in the field. It was the carnage of the concentration camps that brought them in from the battlefield.

Do yourself, and your children, a favour and get a copy of a book that was invaluable in my research, called Anecdotes of the Anglo-Boer War: Tales from the ‘Last of the Gentlemen’s Wars’ by Rob Milne. It is an incredible and insightful read into a war that echoes throughout South African history even to this day. Your life is a blank tapestry and it is up to you to embroider it with a lifetime of rich experiences. Get to it, your bike is the needle and the road is the thread. For me, Rob Milne’s book provided the roadmap and inspiration.

Red Bull KTM dominated the second round of the National Motocross Championship that took place in Gqeberha this weekend. Claiming his second consecutive double victory of the season, star rider Tristan Purdon snatched the win in both the MX1 and MX2 Class respectively.

The highly anticipated event was hosted by Rover, a track infamous for its unforgiving sand and deep ruts. Fully aware of the physical challenge in store, Purdon mentioned paying extra attention to his fitness levels in the weeks leading up to the race.

He commented: “It was such an awesome feeling to win both classes again. The track got super rough and demanding on the body, but that’s what I’d expected. I felt like the fitness training I’d been doing leading up to this made a really big difference. Our mechanic, Kevin, also setup my KTM 250 SX-F and KTM 450 SX-F perfectly – they couldn’t have felt better.”

With a strong determination to hold onto the red plates throughout the season, Purdon executed a perfect 1-1 in MX1 to take the victory overall. After finishing in a close second in the first moto of MX2, Purdon described feeling particularly fired up to win the second moto. He explained; “When I came that close to winning the first moto, I was even more determined to get out there and win the second moto. I was a little stressed for MX2 – it’s stacked with talent and I usually perform better in MX1. I’m really proud of the results and happy to have extended my points lead in both classes.”

Red Bull KTM teammate Cameron Durow added to the celebrations at the orange camp. As the fastest qualifier, the youngster managed to get up front for a large portion of the first heat in MX2. Durow described making a few small mistakes that cost him the lead, but he managed to finish the moto in a solid third place.

The rider made the decision to switch back to his practise suspension for the second heat and set off with a blistering place to take the holeshot. After a bar-to-bar battle up front with Purdon and Camden Mc Lellan, Durow finished both third in the heat and ultimately third overall.

“This race taught me a lot about the kind of suspension setup I need to perform at my best and gave me good experience racing upfront with Tristan and Camden. I learnt a lot from this weekend and have a good idea of the things I need to work on going forward, but I’m also really happy with the end result,” said Durow.

The event proved to be a challenging one for Red Bull KTM’s Jonathan Mlimi. The High School Class hero had an unfortunate crash that kept him from earning any points in the first moto. With a track record of making epic comebacks, however, Mlimi drew on his past experiences to enter the second moto swinging. Undaunted by the challenging start to the day, the rider tapped into new gears as he raced to the secure victory and a top ten finish overall.

A cherry on the top of what was a highly successful day of racing for the team was yet another podium finish from rising Pro Mini star Trey Cox. Despite a slow start in the first moto, Cox remained consistent and finished 3-2 to take third overall. The rider has now secured the points lead in the 85cc Class. He commented, “What I’m happy about most is that for the first time I managed to get the red plate! I’m going to hold onto it for as long as I can.”

It’s safe to say MotoGP has returned with an almighty bang this season, and long may we continue to witness some of the closest motorcycle racing, if not the closest racing in general on the planet. With the opening race already being just as unpredictable as many were last season and with the Tissot GP being a doubleheader, this race weekend was set to excite.

Darryn Binder

Last weekend’s pole setter Darryn Binder, had a challenging qualifying session as track conditions took a turn for the worst. With a sandy track and high winds, Darryn pushed hard on his final laps to clinch 7th at the chequered flag. Due to Pedro Acosta’s (Red Bull KTM Ajo) irresponsible riding during Friday’s FP2 session, Darryn got bumped up into 6th for Sunday’s race and Pedro was looking at a pitlane start.

A second sunset for the second time in seven days at Losail, saw the lining up of 21 riders on the grid, as 7 riders start from the pitlane. It was déjà vu off the line, as Darryn blitzed the start and took the lead on the opening lap. With dogfights between the riders and positions changing lap for lap, due to the slipstream effect, Darryn stayed upfront with the leading pack, constantly challenging for the lead.

After leading across the line, our fellow South African was squeezed out at turn 1 as he and teammate John McPhee got a bit close for comfort. Darryn suddenly found himself down in 13th, with Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) now the new race leader. More drama unfolded after Alcoba tagged the back of Darryn and left McPhee with nowhere to go, the latter got a face full of Honda and both were out of the race.

A dramatic last few laps ended with a battle for first, between Darryn Binder and pitlane starter Pedro Acosta. Pitch-perfect last laps from both riders meant it was all down to the final run to the line. Darryn was in touch and had a chance of snatching the 25 points at the death, but Acosta held on by just 0.039s. Darryn took his second consecutive podium, which also puts him second in the championship standings.

DB: “It was a really crazy race with some seriously close calls! At the beginning, I was quite comfortable at the front and later on, I thought that the leading group was smaller, but I soon realised it wasn’t. On the last lap, I tried to get the hammer down to launch an attack on Pedro Acosta, but I just couldn’t quite do it. I’m so stoked to make it two podiums in a row though! My bike was insanely good and I just can’t thank the team enough. I’ve never felt this good in this class before. I feel strong in every session and feel like I can just go out and do what I need to do. I can’t wait to get to Portugal and get the next race underway.”

Brad Binder

Brad Binder rode his way around Qatar’s many elements during free practise and qualifying, getting his RC16 set up for the high wind situations come Sunday. Q2 was just out of reach for Brad during Saturday’s qualifying, consolidating an 18th starting position on the grid. Saturday’s qualifying wasn’t going to get Brad down, he was going to push as hard as he could for a good result to leave Qatar on a good note.

The ‘Sunday Rider’ flipped his HJC’s tinted visor down, warmed up his medium compound tyres, engaged launch control and was ready to climb up the chart. Last weekend Ducati filled their bikes with some sort of rocket fuel, but this weekend it was KTM who rocketed off the line. Miguel Oliveira launched from 12th into the top five and Brad Binder sprung away from 18th into a comfortable 10th after the first lap.

Brad planted himself into the leading group and battled it out with the likes of Pol Espargaró and Maverick Viñales for 9th. Just after the half race distance, two groups started to form, Brad leading the following group in 10th, just under 2 seconds behind Viñales in the leading group.

With under eight laps to go, Brad’s medium compound tyre choice started to make more sense. Brad closed down the gap to the leading group and started eyeing in Joan Mir (2020 MotoGP World Champion) and Aleix Espargaro. With some fantastic overtaking moves on the final lap, Brad crossed the line in 8th position; beating KTM’s previously set record in 2019.

BB: “Much happier, especially to have finished in the top ten today at least. Things were really difficult for us here in Qatar. When I arrived at the track this morning I said to myself ‘whatever the situation, I don’t care, I am just going to give my best every single lap’ and instead of trying to chase something that was a little bit out of reach I just tried to do what I could each lap and in the race it seemed to pay off. I’m really happy to have made up ten spots today.”

The Losail International Circuit has always delivered close finishes and exciting racing, but this time around was on a different scale. 8.928 seconds, is all it took for the top 15 riders to cross the line. How wild is that! To make it even more unbelievable, every manufacturer was inside the top 15. It just shows you how competitive and how closely matched the machinery has become.

It was that time of the year again, where the itch to travel had to be scratched. Nothing clears the head like a long ride, and no ride does it as well as the journey from Pretoria to Sabie. With one Yamaha in the garage already and a deep love for the brand, I called our friends at Yamaha South Africa to see if they had something with long legs for the 1000 km trip.

Yamaha have enough bikes in their stable to cure any form of rider’s block. From elbow down track bikes and one-wheel-up hooligans, to dirt, adventure, commuter and touring bikes, you’ll find just about anything.

Yamaha South Africa also have some sweet deals on their MT Range right now. While stocks last, you can get your hands on the Tracer 900 for R159,950, the Tracer 700 for R124,950, and the MT-03 for the bargain price of R84,950. With lightweight nakeds usually approaching six figures and sports touring bikes fetching prices well over 250k these days, these limited specials are not to be missed.

As the owner of a tricked-out MT-09, I was interested to see how the long-legged MT-09 Tracer would be on the open road. With its characterful CP3 inline-triple motor, plush ride, comfy ergos, sexy styling and dynamic ride characteristics, it was a no-brainer. Thankfully, Yamaha South Africa were kind enough to set me up with a Tracer 900 loaner for the trip.

With the Tracer’s 18-litre tank filled, the adjustable screen on its highest setting and my preferred riding modes engaged, I was off to mountainous Mpumalanga. Carving up Mpumalanga is a joy, but you’ve got a 200-odd km highway ride to smash before you lean past 10 degrees. The highway was a breeze, with the Tracer sitting at a comfy 130 km/h at a mere 5,000 rpm, with another 6,300 rpm to spare.

By the time we passed the Belfast turnoff and parked off at Milly’s for breakfast, I was already satisfied with the Tracer’s overall comfort and lack of vibrations on the long open road. Although not equipped with cruise control like the Tracer GT, I didn’t feel the need, as the smooth throttle response, narrow bars, handlebar risers and handguards helped it cut through the wind effortlessly. The Tracer’s adjustable, soft seat (860 mm seat height, adjustable to 845 mm) took care of the rest.

With breakfast digested and the straight roads behind us, I was excited to baptize the Tracer on the holy tarred twisties around Sabie. With a longer wheelbase, KYB suspension and a 20 kg increase of weight over the MT-09, the Tracer is less twitchy and more stable through the fast sweepers. Chasing down my colleague, Dave, on his KTM 1290 Super Duke GT, made me realise there isn’t much in it when it comes to real-world performance.

The electronics package on the Tracer is super easy to use and understand on the display, but I think Yamaha could have simplified it even more. There are three throttle maps, two traction control settings and fixed ABS. The two main maps are too aggressive and too mild, so I prefer to put the bike in the third, ‘Standard’ setting, and play with the traction control levels.

We rolled into Sabie to enjoy the last few hours of sunlight, and to carve the once billiard table smooth ‘22.’ With tighter corners on the 22, I decided to leave the Tracer in fourth gear, relying on the 115 hp @ 10,000 rpm and 88 Nm @ 8,900 rpm to shoot out of turns, and using the triple’s engine braking to slow me down. Although not equipped with a quick-shifter like the GT, the light pull of the slipper clutch and smooth gearbox made it a single-finger exercise.

At the end of a less than economical ride, I was surprised to see a return of 20 km/l, giving you a sports touring range of over 360 kays between fill-ups.

There are some standout features that make this bike super appealing at its low price. For starters, I love the angular design and the ‘armour grey’ colour, adjustable low and high beams, charging port and centre stand—not commonly available on a base model.

You don’t get as much touring-worthiness as the GT, but the standard Tracer is a winner with its current R20,000 discount, which equals a R40,000 total saving compared to the GT. But the GT does come with a TFT display, panniers, a quick-shifter, upgraded suspension and cruise control.

When there’s so much to like, you really start to nitpick—but the Tracer’s only downer is a fixable one. I never seemed to gel with the screen, which caused horrible buffeting on both its high and low settings.

Thankfully there are some aftermarket ways around this: buy a larger touring screen, or a small fly screen. I’ve even seen some owners hack their standard screens down, allowing the air to flow evenly onto your helmet and chest.

For someone looking for a do-it-all bike, that rides on the road 90% of the time and maybe does the odd mellow dirt road, the Tracer 900 is a great option. I’ll go one further and say that anything with this motor would be loads of fun. But is it more fun than my Yamaha MT-09? Yes, and then some.

Yamaha MT range promotion

Getting back to Yamaha’s current MT range deals, here’s a little more info on the bikes on offer…

Yamaha MT-09 Tracer

The Yamaha MT-09 Tracer is a fantastic all-rounder, blessed with one of the greatest engines in all of motorcycledom. The gruff triple never fails to deliver and excite—it’s as comfortable being short shifted or using its torquey midrange, as it is bouncing off the rev limiter. This makes the bike appeal to all riders, especially given its capable chassis and suspension. Tour with a passenger in comfort, or hang with sport bikes in the twisties… the choice is yours.

At R159,950 while stocks last (R20,000 off the usual price), you’ll struggle to find more bike for the money.

For more information on the Yamaha MT-09 Tracer visit – www.yamaha.co.za

Yamaha MT-07 Tracer

Our colleague Dave Cilliers was so enamoured with the MT-07 Tracer, he actually bought one. Here are his thoughts:

“I went into Linex Yamaha Lynnwood to ride the spanking new Ténéré 700, having long been a fan of Yamaha’s brilliant parallel twin motor, that powers the MT-07, Tracer and T7. On the showroom floor stood a MT-07 Tracer, on a promotion that priced it at a very attractive offering compared to its adventure sibling, the T7.

“If like me, you ride your bike daily, you probably ride your adventure bike on the tar 90% of the time. Here was an opportunity to buy the Tracer, with superior tar road ability to the T7, for an absolute steal!

“Admittedly I do still own an adventure bike as well, but the MT-07 Tracer has become my daily ride. It is fast, comfortable, and with its 17-litre tank, allied to sub 4l/100 kilometre consumption, a brilliant middleweight tourer too.

“I must be honest though, the more I ride and enjoy my Tracer, the more the T7 is on my radar as my adventure go-to bike. I may just end up with two MT-07 engined bikes in my garage. Yamaha deserves to have these bikes flying off dealership floors!”

The Tracer 700 will inject a little character into your daily commute for a mere R124,950 )(R20,000 off the usual price), so get it while it’s hot!

For more information on the Yamaha MT-07 Tracer visit – www.yamaha.co.za

Yamaha MT-03

If you’ve read our review of the Yamaha MT-03, you’ll know that it deserves a seat at the ‘MT’ table. It lives up to the family name by bringing the torquey yet high-revving ‘Masters of Torque’ personality to the lightweight naked segment. Overall, the little MT is a well-rounded package that hits the spot, with great build quality, exceptional riding dynamics and a peachy motor to round it all off.

The MT-03 used to set you back R94,950, but while stocks last you can enter the MT family for the bargain price of R84,950.

For more information on the Yamaha MT-03 visit – www.yamaha.co.za

Yamaha Tracer 900

For more information on the bike that we tested in this article, click on the link below…

After nearly 4 months of race-less weekends, the wait was finally over. The 2021 MotoGP season kicked off this weekend in windy and dusty Qatar, with some new track records and three killer races. So, on with the GP supporter apparel, a quick stretch of the vocal cords and here the race weekend begins.

Darryn Binder

Saturday saw Darryn Binder set Losail alight during qualifying, with new Moto3 Petronas Sprinta Racing leathers and a newly mastered Honda NSF250RW. Darryn made mincemeat of Q1 and soon carried the same pace into Q2, where he broke the track record twice, and claimed pole, with a 2’04.075 lap.

Sundays Sunset in Losail, saw the lining up of 28 roaring Moto3 bikes and the first of three races. With every four-stroke single-cylinder hitting 14,000 rpm, the lights went out. Darryn launched off the line and led into turn one, where he maintained his lead throughout the opening lap.

The first couple of laps saw some dogfights out front, where bumping and having to ride on a bit of grass became the norm—Darryn blindly nudging Sergio Garcia onto the grass at 200 km/h. Lap by lap, the slipstream effect on the start-finish, caused the lead to change hands almost every lap. Darryn battled hard to be upfront throughout the race, and began plotting his final laps.

Darryn found himself a few bike lengths apart from the leading pair leaning into turn 16, but gave it his all on the final drag to the line. At the chequered flag young Binder claimed his first podium in Petronas Sprinta Racing colours after crossing the line in third. What a banger! Super awesome to see Darryn performing so well, right off the bat and already making a name for himself within the Moto3 class.

DB: “It was a difficult race with the wind, which was a lot stronger than I expected. Every time I got to the front I just felt like I was waiting for someone to come past, because if you were leading when you got to the main straight it was crazy. If you were second or third you could get a really good draft into the last corner. I rolled on a bit too much in the final corner and got caught by the wind, it was insane how much slower I was when the wind got me. To be on the podium in the first race of the season was exactly what I needed though. What a great first weekend with the team and the Honda, I’m super happy and can’t thank the team enough!”

Brad Binder

Brad Binder had a different build-up to race day, with cold track temperatures and gusts of wind causing stability issues on the KTM during qualifying. Brad wasn’t the only KTM rider battling, Danilo Petrucci, Iker Lecuona and Miguel Oliveira all found themselves in Q1, with the same battle on their hands. At the end of Q1, Brad had to consolidate a 19th starting position for Sunday’s race.

With the sun gone and with all 3600 floodlights turn on at the Losail circuit, it was MotoGP time. It was four Bologna bullets that took launching into a whole new level and into turn one. However, behind the scenes, Brad was charging from 19th and quickly making inroads towards the mid-pack battles.

Brad soon got into a group battle with Pol Espargaro, Stefan Bradl, Miguel Oliveira and Valentino Rossi. Binder was beginning to making his way up towards the top ten, until he started having front tyre grip problems, making him slow his pace down drastically. After having a few scraps with Rossi, Brad soon settled behind his teammate Miguel and crossed the line in 14th.

Overall, I think Brad rode well, considering everything he had to ride around, and I think we are seeing a more mature rider this year. Brad stuck it out and brought the bike home in one piece, while scoring his first and much needed MotoGP points for the 2021 season.

BB: “It’s good to have the first race of the season under our belts but we didn’t finish close to where we wanted. For sure the whole team and I expected much more. We have to accept reality and there is work to be done at this circuit. In the first part of the race I thought we could be competitive but at half race distance, I completely finished my front tyre. It was a case of either bring the bike home safely at the pace I was doing or lose the front. It was difficult but now we have data from the first race and we can move on from here.”

Drama, scintillating racing, and ridiculously tight finishes. The best thing? We get to do it all over again next weekend at the Losail International Circuit.

All eyes were on the team as they rolled out their brand-new Honda CBR-RR bikes for the first session. Other riders lined the pit wall to see and hear the new bikes fly past the pitlane, screaming at 15,800rpm.

Despite the raw straight-line speed, both Sfiso Themba and reigning champion Clint Seller knew they had their work cut out for them over the bumpy Killarney track. With limited testing time, the bikes still seem to be in the development stage for both riders.

Clint managed to put the new Honda on P2 in qualifying on Friday, but made significant progress in each session. The King Price xtreme team fell more and more in love with their new bikes as each session went by.

Unfortunately, Sfiso made a slip-up in the first qualifying session and crashed in turn 1. While Sfiso was okay, the same couldn’t be said of his bike. Sadly, this left him on the sidelines for the remainder of the weekend.

Race 1 saw Clint jump straight into P1, leading the first 2 laps. However, with a few set-up items still to be ironed out, Clint had to settle for P2 with ideas on how to make the set-up better for race 2 (which is exactly what the King Price xtreme Honda team did).

After that, Clint had to take it easy on the 2 warm-up laps. He spent a lap or 2 behind race leader David McFadden, easing into the new set-up on his Honda. This made a huge difference to the race and Clint was able to go 0.8 of a second faster than he had all weekend.

Although this still led to a P2 race result, the team was all smiles in the post-race pit. The new Honda is starting to show its teeth and the team can’t wait to get it back on the track for the second round of the championship.

Short Circuit Series 

Leungo Gaorekwe / 93: “This weekend was another fantastic 1 for me on my King Price xtreme KTM. I qualified on pole and won all 3 heats, taking full points in the championship. A huge thank you to my team for preparing the perfect bike for me.

“All the hard work we put in at our tests and training is really paying off, especially with my suspension. We continue to work hard in preparation for the next event and hope to continue the winning streak.”

NSF100 Class

Cayden Robert / 22: “The weekend didn’t go as expected for me… After putting in some very fast lap times during my practice session on Friday, I was confident that I would be able to fight for a win on my Honda NSF100 even though I was still nursing a broken thumb.

The timing system unfortunately wasn’t functioning when I went out in qualifying, so the organisers decided to use the championship standings to set grid positions for race 1. This put me in second place as I was second in the championship.

After a great start, I slotted into second place but unfortunately crashed during race 1 as I tried to attack for the lead. This unfortunately put me at the back of the grid for race 2. I had a brilliant start and managed to fight my way into fourth place after 2 laps.

I was too eager to get to the front and slipped up going into turn 4 and lost the front. I then got the bike going and rejoined the race 1 lap down. I pushed as hard as I could, making many passes and managed ninth place for race 2.

“Starting from ninth in race 3, I gave it my all and managed to finish second after a huge battle to get there. Even though my results weren’t great this weekend, the team and I learned a lot and we’ll work hard to come back stronger the next round.”

Huge thanks go out to all the sponsors:

King Price xtreme, Honda SA, Dragon Energy, Liqui Moly, Fire It Up, RACE SA, Rapid Bike SA, Super Signs, ImageBuild and PS Branded. You make all of this possible.

With a few days to go before the season-opening Grand Prix in Qatar, we caught up with Red Bull KTM rider, Brad Binder to discuss the 2021 MotoGP and this is what he had to say:

Question: How was the offseason considering the impact of covid-19 in your rookie season?

Brad: “The offseason was cool, it was so nice to come home and catch up with my family and friends, as I didn’t get to spend time in South Africa at all last year. But COVID-19 did put a bit of pressure on my Moto GP as it’s a lot more difficult, especially just to live a normal life and try to get to another country and so far this year is looking the same.”

Question: The pre-season surely must have been very different to what you are used to, can you talk us through that?

Brad: “Pre-season has been great as far as the training and preparations go, though we were meant to start our first test in Japan at the beginning of February, but that got cancelled and moved to a date that was only a couple of weeks ago in Qatar, so we missed out on a few days of testing there, unfortunately, but yes it has been tough for us, the start has not been ideal or as we expected. We just need to stay focused and it is now the time where we could either work for 1st place or 15th place, but I am confident that we will get it right just in time.”

Question: Are you happy to have Miguel as part of the team?

Brad: “Definitely! It is really cool to have Miguel as my teammate, he is a really cool guy, we have always got on really well. I think we can really push Red Bull KTM on, I am sure between us we can do a really great job.”

Question: The rookie of the year season is done and dusted. What are the goals for this year for you and the team?

Brad: “The goal for me at the moment is that I really want to fight for a podium, every weekend would be fantastic. If we could be racing for that front battle and keep on pushing, it will give us the opportunity to learn much more and push on a little bit from there. I think we have everything we need to really be there. It’s just we need to try to put all the small things together and go from there.”

Last year KTM did more than just proved themselves, they showed everyone that they have the pace to be seriously competitive. Both Binder and Oliveira are sensational to watch. The Red Bull KTM due have our support and we hope to see wins, podiums, and perhaps even a championship. Go, Brad go!

The battle horn blew for the start of the National Enduro Championship in Hartbeespoort, North West, last weekend. In field of highly ranked riders both locally and internationally, Brother Leader Tread KTM set a blistering pace.

Taking centre stage was the eye-catching performance of Bradley Cox, who stormed to victory in the E1 Class and third place overall – the best overall National Enduro result he’s achieved. Cox described the track as demanding not only because of the rough terrain, but the speed and intensity that each lap required.

He commented, “The main goal is obviously to win the E1 Championship, but to have ranked so highly in such an intense race with guys like Wade Young and Travis Teasdale was really cool. I just kept my focus on ticking off each lap and holding my pace upfront on my KTM 250 EXC-F.”

Adding to the excitement was the long-awaited return of Brother Leader Tread KTM teammate Kirsten Landman. Having come off a year on the side-line due to a shoulder injury, the rider used the event as an opportunity to gauge her fitness levels and technical skills.

“It was a tough start to the season, to say the least! I had no idea how my body would react to that kind of pace. My first four laps were great, my pace was consistent and not far off the leading riders. By lap five, however, I felt like my body just went into shock. I couldn’t take any liquids in and started to cramp from dehydration – I had no choice but to call it a day,” explained Landman.

With a strong determination to complete the next event, she added, “My main focus is to work on my conditioning for this kind of intensity and duration on the bike. I’ve had very few DNF races in my career – it’s not something I take lightly. It was obviously a disappointment, but I’m actually really positive. I know where I need to be and I’m very motivated to narrow the gap that the front guys have on me.”

Rounding out the team was Charan Moore, who made his E2 Class debut in the National Enduro Championship. Having committed to the full championship this season, Moore used the event as an opportunity to see where he stacked up against the rest of the field. Despite a 15-minute penalty for not stamping his card correctly, Moore pulled off 6th place in the E2 Class and 11th overall.

“The pace was so intense! It was so good to race against some of the best riders South Africa has to offer – I now know what to expect going forward. My goal is to get into the top five overall and step onto that podium in the E2 Class,” said Moore.

The team will now move full steam ahead as the next race on the calendar swiftly approaches. This weekend marks the second round of the National Cross Country Championship which is set to take place in Modimolle, Limpopo. Undaunted by a back-to-back weekend of racing, both Cox and Moore will once again be flying the flag for Brother Leader Tread KTM.

Moore, who will certainly be out for redemption after facing multiple setbacks in the opening round, explained: “After the race this weekend I’m feeling really confident. My fitness is there, and my head space is where it needs to be. I think the kind of terrain we’re going to face will open up the victory to anybody. My goal is to just start and finish strong without worrying about what the competition is doing. It’s going to be a reset for me after a really challenging first round.”

Cox will look to continue his winning momentum in the OR2 Class and ultimately chase down the prospect of snatching up both the National Cross Country and National Enduro Championship this season. Having grown well-accustomed to racing across multiple disciplines, Cox commented, “I’ve had four years of racing in multiple disciplines, so I feel ready to get back out there. I’m going in with the same mindset as last weekend – get upfront from the get-go!”

Adding to the orange squad this weekend is Jarryd Coetzee, who will join Moore in the OR1 Class. Having only narrowly missed the podium in his debut OR1 race this season, Coetzee will be more determined than ever to take his place as a frontrunner in the prestigious class.

“I am very excited about heading up North again for a national. I’m hoping that we have some sandy terrain to contend with which will he right up my alley. I have been spending time with Mark from PlushRides and making improvements on my set up, and I’m looking forward to getting out there this weekend and putting myself and my KTM 450 XC-F to the test against the best in the country!” said an excited Coetzee.

We recently had an occasion to re-acquaint ourselves with the all-road ability of Suzuki’s trusty Adventure bike option, the V-Strom. Interestingly we had both the current model, in its nostalgic, yet new and handsome DR Big livery, as well as the old model with its Captain Quirky styling. In my original review of this bike, I commented that I was a little “yellowed out” by the bike with its yellow and black seat over complimenting the general yellow and black colour scheme. I felt that it would look way more fetching and classy with an all-black saddle. Lo and behold, the bike we picked up from Suzuki had an all-black saddle! Cool.

It is always interesting riding an outgoing model with the latest offering, and so it was with the ‘Stroms. Suzuki has effectively, with Dr Big, brought the V-Strom into the modern digital era. A fly by wire throttle allows the fitment of cruise control, a huge plus on a big kilometre killing bike.

Traction control gains another level over Captain Quirky, as does the addition of engine modes, which make the bike easier to ride for a wider range of riders and uses. Hill start assist, an easy start function and automatic idle (stall resistance) are all made possible on the latest model thanks to its Bosch 6 Axis IMU. The new bike also has standard fitment engine protection bars. The digital dash is also upgraded to accommodate the additional features.

It was fascinating to feel how differently the two bikes ride. The suspension on the new bike is decidedly more plush than on the old, despite having lost 30 mm of travel. The new Strom is a super comfy way to smash huge distances. The motor is smooth and flexible and the ergos are good.

The adjustable screen can be set to suit without too much hassle, though not recommended on the fly. Our loan bike was fitted with the optional touring package comprising panniers and a top box. This became the mothership, swallowing three peoples overnight luggage and Bjorn’s camera equipment.

My closing comments in my review of this bike were emphasised on this trip. I said, “As a long-distance, comfortable, all-round mile-muncher, or Round the World trip option, it makes a compelling statement”. Suzuki is running a couple of post lockdown specials, with those of us in mind who have been almost consumed by cabin fever and feel the irresistible pull of the open road. The new ‘Strom, complete with panniers and top box for a reasonable R254,950. Without the luggage, you are in for R221,950. Certainly a hell of a lot of bike for that money. Legendary Suzuki reliability comes as standard.

Enter Captain Quirky. It may be the outgoing model, but it makes a compelling statement. For those of us ‘old school’ dudes, it may be just the ticket. It is a simple, effective, good bike, without any bells or whistles.

Performance is pretty much on par with the new model, as the new model caters for Euro 5, and therefore, not really boosting what was, and still is, solid performance from the 1037cc mill.

I actually think that for the R172,900 for which you can still pick up one of the few remaining ‘old’ models, you cannot get a more ‘value-for-money’ proposition Adventure bike anywhere. Especially since they have gone with an all-black seat! We thoroughly enjoyed our time with the ‘Stroms, revelling in their all-round competence and ability. It remains the thinking man’s choice of Adventure bike.

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

In case you haven’t noticed, you will know that motorcycles, like many other things, tend to have got rather pricey. If you are even vaguely cut from the same cloth that I am, then you will always be looking for ways to take better care of your two-wheeled investment. I have been around bikes for many, many years and have been a stickler for keeping my bikes clean. Fact is, it has not always been easy. In recent years we have been blessed with numerous dedicated motorcycle care products which are mostly quite good, and have helped us in our quest. Recently, however, I have been using something that is quite mind-blowing, both in its effectiveness as well as in its incredibly wide application. Yes, the header would have given it away. Liqui Moly Multi-Spray, as it is called for two-wheeled use, or LM 40 for general purpose. One and the same product!

LM 40 has some industrial ‘superhero’ properties. It displaces water, lifts rust and lubricates with excellent ‘creeping’ properties, which means it penetrates into cracks and crevices. If you think these properties are impressive, you would be spot-on, but you would not even have scratched the surface of what you can use this amazing stuff for. Let’s start first with how I use it on my bike, then I’ll tell you why you must get some for your missus to keep in the home.

Wash your bike as you typically would to remove the main grime, dry it off and now grab your tin of Liqui Moly Multi-Spray. This is what I call ‘detailing’. I have two cloths. An application cloth and a polishing cloth. For surfaces, I spray Multi-Spray on the cloth and literally rub up every part of the bike with the exception of the brake discs. Don’t want those suckers lubed up for obvious reasons! The Spray removes every single foreign object stuck to your bike easily! Bug guts, oil, grease, tar and road grime – gone! What is left behind is a lustre on the bike that you last saw when you rolled it off the showroom floor.

Stubborn chain grease wipes off like magic. Engine cases gleam with a new lustre, road detritus gone. Rust spots disappear, lifted by the spray. I spray my pivot points, ignition switch, switchgear and electrical connections to banish water deposits and keep them operating slickly. Rub the bike up with the clean polishing cloth, then stand back and admire your handiwork. The faded blacks are restored to their former glory and the bike positively glows! Just remember that this stuff is a wicked lubricant, so footpegs and seat can be rather slippery. Tiny scratches either disappear or get really minimised, I kid you not, THIS STUFF IS FRIKKEN AMAZING.

So what else can you use it for? Flip the list is long enough to choke a mule! I will give you some ideas but that will just get you going. When in doubt, try it. It will probably work. Adventure boots. Preserves the leather, cleans the plastic, removes crud and frees up sticky zips and clasps. Zips on all your jackets, bags, pannier locks and clasps. Everything gets cleaned, lubed and left with a water repellent, anti-rust film. Going to, or live at the coast? Go big with Multi-Spray. Your bike will keep looking like new despite the sea air.

Riding your Adventure bike over the pans in Botswana? The salty dust gets in everywhere. If it gets wet you can almost watch your aluminium swingarm and engine cases corroding. No fear, LM 40 is here! Spray it on as a preventative measure. Do you get the picture? Trust me, your bike will thank you.

Now to score brownie points with your gardener and your wife. Spray the mower undersides and voila, the grass no longer clogs up. The blades don’t rust and squeaks are banished. Pruning shears, scissors, pliers, hinges of all types. Kitchen cupboards or doors, can openers, cables, door locks, electric shavers blades. The lot.

If it needs to be cleaned or lubed then this is your spray. You’re laminated wooden floors noisy? no problem spray all the joins. Sorted. Do yourself a favour, spray and wipe all your electrical plugs and sockets. No more wrestling to get plugs in or out. Sounds like a TV add, but really, there is more!

Cleaning. It cleans damn near anything. Ink, permanent marker (not any more), lipstick, wax on carpets or cloths, mildew and hard water stains, tomato sauce, leather chairs, bubblegum in hair or on the sole of your shoe, spattered cooking oil on glass stovetops or floor tiles, toilets, kids bicycles, rollerblades and it even stops lego pieces getting too sticky. If your old vinyl records are skipping just give them a polish and Freddie Mercury’s stutter is instantly cured.

There are even some obscure uses. Spray your fridge interior after a defrost and it resists frosting up again. Similarly, your cars windscreen in the winter if it is parked outside. If you have pigeons roosting somewhere and creating a mess, just spray the roosting area liberally. Turns out they are offended by the smell or something. Off they go. Potplants plagued by snails? Wipe the sides with LM 40 and no more snails. Flies don’t dig it either, so polish up your sun-faded outside chairs and restore their lustre. Chances are the flies will head for greener pastures too. Incredible. If a wooden mop handle is getting splintery, give it a blast, let it stand a mo then rub it up. Sorted. Watermarks on wooden surfaces, resulting from missing the coaster with your beer glass, disappear like magic.

The fact is, if we impress our partner with all the party tricks that LM 40/Multi Spray is capable of, it scores us huge favour. Happy wife and all that. Seriously though, you simply have to have a couple of cans handy. If you keep a can in your garage your lady will pillage it, so get her a stash of her own.

In typical thoughtful and fiendishly clever Liqui Moly fashion, there are pocket-size cans available, which can be filled via the nozzle from a big can. How cool is that? No need to lug a huge can along on your trips.

Guys and girls, I know it is a little weird for me to wax so lyrical about a can of kit, but do me a favour. Buy yourself a can. Mail order straight from Liqui Moly for absolute convenience. This spray will do everything that I have claimed, and one more thing to boot. It will blow you away too.

Liqui Moly Multi-Spray

For more information on the product used in this article, click on the link below…

LIQUI MOLY Multi-Spray

R138.00 (RRP)

Brand: LIQUI MOLY

Of the various models in Ducati’s extensive Scrambler range, the Desert Sled is undeniably the most dirt-capable. To prove this, Ducati USA partnered with the apparel brand Fasthouse, to run two race-prepped Desert Sleds in last year’s Mint 400 desert race.

One of their riders, Jordan Graham, took gold in the Hooligan class. So to celebrate, Ducati have teamed up with Fasthouse again, to release a limited edition Desert Sled Fasthouse model.

The race bike that ran in the Mint 400 were prepped to the nines by Spider Grips, with everything from upgraded suspension to 21F/18R wheels. But the limited edition model tones it down for everyday use, borrowing only the race bike’s livery. The bike combines a red frame with a matte black paint job, topped off with Fasthouse tank graphics.

There’s a hint of red stitching on the seat to complement the design, and items like the mudguards, wheels, exhaust cans and headlight grill are all finished in black.

But that’s where the changes end—for the rest, it’s a regular Desert Sled, which, admittedly, is still a fun bike.

Ducati’s 803 cc L-twin is full of character, and the stock bike’s adjustable Kayaba suspension, reinforced chassis, 19” front wheel and Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tyres all spell fun. And it comes with serrated foot pegs and a gripper fabric on the seat.

A few extras on this limited edition wouldn’t have hurt—like an upgraded exhaust, a set of hand guards, or even a red spring instead of the standard issue yellow number. But even as it stands, the Desert Sled looks pretty sweet dressed in these colours.

Ducati will only be producing 800 units of the Desert Sled Fasthouse edition, each with its own numbered plaque. And Fasthouse are releasing a capsule collection of branded apparel to accompany the launch. So even if you can’t get your hands on the bike, you can at least look fast in the parking lot.

WP Suspension is pleased to announce the launch of the new WP XPLOR PRO 7448 Air Fork. The split system, equipped with a combination of WP AER TECHNOLOGY, CONE VALVE TECHNOLOGY and CLOSED CARTRIDGE construction redefines the personal limits of any ambitious enduro fanatic and allows the perfect balance between extremely robust damping performance and the lightness and agility that is crucial for the perfect run to the podium.

To be prepared for even the toughest circumstances, flexibility is the ace up your sleeve. With the new WP XPLOR PRO 7448 Air Fork, short-term changes in the track and other conditions are no problem. The Air Fork enables any adjustment of the air pressure directly at the AER fork leg for even big changes in driving dynamics on the trail or deep in the middle of nowhere. The fine-tuning is performed by using easy and quickly accessible adjusters for compression and rebound. Developed and proven in professional enduro sports, the XPLOR PRO 7448 Air Fork shines with WP CONE VALVE Technology and WP CLOSED CARTRIDGE design, which not only leads to a unique response at high speeds, but also guarantees a constant damping performance with high puncture resistance after strong impacts.

The XPLOR PRO 7448 Air Fork will be available from 5 March for R51 201.00.
(net retail price).

The XPLOR PRO 7448 Air Fork will be available for the following motorcycles:
KTM: EXC (150, 250, 300); EXC-F (250, 350, 450, 500);
Husqvarna: TE (150, 250, 300); FE (250, 350, 450, 501). From 2017-
GASGAS: EC (250, 300); EC-F (250, 350); 2021

For more detailed information visit your nearest WP AUTHORIZED CENTER or go to: www.wp-suspension.com

I have been keen on joining Bonafide Moto Co on one of their Sunrise Scramble events for some time now. Problem is, I dislocated my left shoulder in a run-in with some armed robbers in October last year and the re-hab has been slow. I have not felt confident to go off-road with a full-size Adventure bike, as I would not be able to pick it up in the event of capsizing. The planets aligned for me just prior to the most recent event.

Miguel Lage, boss man at RAD KTM, invited us to ride one of their awesome new creations, a featherlight, Rally inspired, KTM 500 EXC-F. This dual-sport, big-engined KTM, sports a 510.9cc twin-cam single mill, with a six-speed wide-ratio gearbox. It pumps out around 40 rear-wheel horsepower at 8,100 rpm and 35,5 Nm of torque at 5,200.

But, get this, in Rally Lite guise, it weighs only 125 odd kg’s, fully fueled! It is tall, with 300 mm of suspension travel in its USD WP XPLOR forks, with 310 mm travel in its matching XPLORE shock. This gives you a full 355 mm of ground clearance. The seat height is a towering 960 mm, but is easily overcome by using the left peg as a stepping stone to sling a leg over the beast. Once seated, the suspension sag allows you to get your feet down. At 6’3”, I was flat-footed at standstill.

The basic Rally kit consists of a Roadbook tower and screen, with side cowlings integrating into the body panels around a 15 litre Acerbis fuel tank and a comfort seat.

A custom-built stainless steel rack and pannier brackets are fitted with made to measure bags, allowing you to carry essentials with you, but also give you a place to secure a compact travel bag for multi-day trips.

This bike has had the KTM Powerparts catalogue thrown at it as well. Anodized triple clamps and other bits abound, including a steering damper. An FMF Powerbomb full system exhaust completes the picture, adding even more bark and bite to the already manic power. The engine sports upgraded cams and fuel injection as compared to the previous generation 525 (Same 510 cc motor, just different model name).

I asked Miguel what his motivation was for building this bike. His answer was quite thought-provoking: “Dave, the Baby Boomer generation that ride big, expensive Adventure motorcycles, are, in my experience, looking for a more economical, lighter option than that available from your typical Adventure bike. As their skill levels and strength diminish, they start to struggle with huge, heavy bikes offroad. When they fall off, as will happen at some point when you ride more technical offroad, they struggle to pick their bikes up”. This got him thinking. Why not build a bike that is super competent, working with you in the dirt, light and agile, yet able to cruise at 120 without effort. Enter the RAD Advenduro Rally Lite. It is not meant to replace the awesome all-round abilities of a big Adventure bike, but give you a hardcore second option in your garage. So you are no doubt wondering how it works? Read on…

I left home in the dark, to meet up with the Sunrise Scramble crew at a service station in Cyrildene. The headlight low beam is an orange LED and works well as a highly visible day time running light. Hit the high-beam, and it throws a swathe of white light. The lights are mounted in a typical KTM Adventure shaped light, which is integrated into a tower-mounted, KTM factory Rally Screen.

The Acerbis tank is brilliant, carrying the bulk of the 15 litres low, and allowing you to move far forward on the seat, for aggressive cornering. The bike is ridiculously economical. I never did a precise consumption test, but judging by the amount of fuel left in the transparent tank after 250 k’s of riding, it is good for way over 350 kilometres.

I cruised on the R21 at a relaxed 110\120 with huge reserves of power on tap. Pulling in to the gathering point, the bike caused quite a stir. With its Rally look and barking FMF pipe, it is about as subtle as the gonads on a mastiff!

Our route took us on to the Bronkhorstspruit road and then dirt railway service roads almost all the way to Bronkhorstspruit itself. The group comprised some really diverse bikes. Joe Fleming from Bonafide was aboard his beloved Bonneville 1200 Scrambler, leading a contingent of retro bikes. Triumph was particularly well represented with Tiger Rally Pro’s, 800s, Explorer 1200s and modern classic 900 and 1200 Scramblers, as was BMW, with R Nine T’s and GS’s, in both 850, 1200 and 1250 guise. There were three KTM’s. A 950, a 690 and ‘my’ (If only) wicked beast. The route was challenging in places, mainly due to the excessive amounts of water and the resultant mud. There were a few mud induced mishaps, but nothing serious.

The RAD Advenduro Rally Lite was a revelation. The underpinnings are pure dirt bike, with huge suspension travel, so there were no anxious moments, despite my decidedly average ability. The bike is insanely capable and, despite its huge power, easy to manage through any challenge that comes its way. It has an uncanny ability to find traction. The two-stage traction control obviously plays its part too.

I was enthusiastically rear-wheel steering out of some smooth dirt bends where the bike would not slide on the loamy surface, but find grip and start to loft the front wheel. So there you are, laying the bike down and getting on the gas in the corner and the front wheel lazily lofts out of the bend. So damn cool! You short-shift through the sweetest gearbox and let the wall of torque just launch you down the road.

It is obviously insanely fast, but thanks to top-quality Brembo discs, you can keep things tidy. On the open road sections, it runs to crazy speeds for a dirt bike, with the screen doing a fantastic job of keeping you out of the windblast, with no discernible buffeting. That said, as mentioned earlier, I found myself contentedly cruising along at 110, in relative comfort. Deeper padding on the comfort seat definitely made a huge difference too. Being a big single, there is obviously some vibration, but nothing that is a deal-breaker, but rather serves as a reminder that you are on a purpose-built performance machine.

Pondering on what this bike is about I came to the conclusion that it takes Adventure biking to a completely different level. I would call it an ‘Expedition Bike’. A bike that can take you places that you may get to on a big Adventure bike if you have serious skill, but never with the fun that you will have doing it on this bike. Granted, it does have more stringent service requirements, but for the discerning dirt donk, that is a small price to pay for unparalleled off-road ability.

Stick it on a trailer and cruise to Nieu Bethesda. Leave your car there and explore every inch of the Karoo on this bike. Or the Wild Coast. Or Namibia. Oh crap, go just anywhere the fancy takes you, secure in the knowledge that nothing is off-limits for you on this bike. You will have to have your smile surgically removed! For a functional replica of this bike, you will shell out somewhere in the region of R170,000. Speak to Miguel, or the team at RAD KTM, they would love to build you a bike to your specific specifications. I am just wondering whether Irene would notice a radical new Katoom amongst the other bikes in my garage………

A huge thanks to Rad KTM for entrusting me with their special bike. It is hugely appreciated. To Joe and the guys on the Sunrise Scramble, a big shout out. You are all true to Bonafide’s mantra of ‘don’t be a dick’. For me, it was not easy, given the weapon I was riding, but when you read my account, I am sure you will understand.

For more information visit – www.radmoto.co.za

Origins of the Sunset Scramble

Four odd years ago, the two guys behind Bonafide Moto Co, Joe Fleming and Alan Shenton, had this idea of riding to the top of a dirt road to witness the sun rising. The road in mind was Breedt’s Nek, a firm favourite for the Adventure bike fraternity. They bounced the idea off some of their Modern Classic riding buds and it was game on. As Joe remembers it, it was winter, and they left Jozi at around 4 am, together with 8 buds, to ride to, and up Breedt’s Nek, before sunrise. All went according to plan and after witnessing a sunrise together, Joe served up some rolled oats, which he had prepared, and Alan did a bacon and eggs fry up. Such a good time was enjoyed by all that they pledged to do it again.

Life happened, and then along came Covid. Like all of us social animals, they were starved of opportunities to hang with like-minded buddies, so in August last year, the Sunrise Scramble concept was resurrected and fine-tuned. On the last Sunday of every month, with the exception of December, the Bonafide boys host a Sunrise Scramble. The brief is simple. Leave your ego at home. Ride at a pace you are cool with and don’t be a dick, no one gets left behind and numbers are kept down to preserve a degree of comradery and intimacy. Routes are revealed on the day, to preserve a treasure hunt kind of appeal. The route culminates at a brunch venue, where everyone socialises and tells the inevitable war stories, and, at their leisure, mosey off home. This was my first, but definitely not my last, Sunrise Scramble. Good riding and good times, with good company, is a sure-fire recipe for good times. Just a heads up. If you would like to join up for a ride, book early. These events are epic and fill up quickly after info is posted on Facebook. Get on the Bonafide mailing list to get early notifications of upcoming events.

For more information visit – www.bonafidemotoco.com

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Pietermaritzburg hero Travis Teasdale turned the South African Cross Country Motorcycle Championship status quo on its head when he rode his TT Racing Gas Gas to victory in a rough, tough and muddy Jolivet, KwaZulu Natal season opener in his back yard on Saturday. Open class lad Teasdale beat reigning champions Brad Cox’s OR2-winning Brother Leader Tread KTM and OR1 rival Brett Swanepoel’s Rockstar Energy Husqvarna overall.

“What a day!” a delighted Travis admitted. “250 kilometres of racing in five hours with a win in the time trial and overall victory in the main event.” Teasdale beat Cox by three and a half minutes, while Swanepoel was a further 37 seconds adrift. Another OR1 privateer, Scott Bouverie’s Gas Gas was fourth overall from Jarryd Coetzee’s Brother Leader Tread KTM and OR3 winner Davin Cocker on a Rockstar Energy Husqvarna.

Teasdale took OR1 from Swanepoel, Bouverie and Coetzee, with D’art Lobjoit a fine fifth on the Pepson Plastics Kawasaki Motul team’s national debut and Hayden Louw sixth. Cox beat Ian Rall’s MCA Dragon Husqvarna in quarter-litre OR2, where Kerim Fitz-Gerald’s Red Bull KTM and Kyle Eggar on a Roost KTM were third and fourth.

Cocker and Heygate beat Dylan Cox’s RBS Yamaha and KTM Durban duo Haydn Cole and Stefan van Deventer in OR3, with Matthew Wilson’s MCA Husqvarna and Taki Bogaiges’ Pepson Kawasaki next up. KTM Durban rider Dylan Jones took High School honours in a comfortable four and a half minute victory over Damon Cox on an RBS Yamaha and Franchise Co. CIT Husqvarna kid John Botha.

Wade Blaauw picked up where he left off with an emphatic Seniors win aboard his Roost KTM, with Deon du Toit second on his Franchise Co. CIT Husqvarna and a happy Pepson Plastics Kawasaki Motul stand-in Achim Bergman third. Husqvarna rider Greg Naim took the Masters win from Wayne Farmer, who overcame a tummy bug to end second on his Biker’s Warehouse Husqvarna and Carel ‘Mieleies’ Le Roux on an Alfie Cox KTM.

The second round of the 2021 South African Cross Country Championship happens on Saturday 27 March at Modimole. You may remember that as Nylstroom.

The dust has barely settled on the reveal of the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S, and KTM have already followed it up with something even juicier: the 1290 Super Adventure R. Not only is it dressed in a hot new livery, but it’s loaded with dirt worthy upgrades, too.

The Super Adventure R shares the same base as the S model, including its revised chassis, motor and electronics package. So it uses the same Euro-5 compliant V-twin LC8 motor, pumping out 160 hp and 138 Nm of torque. (We’ve covered the updates to the 2021 Super Adventure 1290 in detail, here.)

But park the R and S models back to back, and subtle differences start to show. A shorter screen, one piece seat, spoked wheels, higher seat height and flashy paint job all enhance the sporty and dirt-worthiness of the R.

So if the 1290 Super Adventure S is the ultimate adventure tourer, what does that make the Super Adventure R?

I’m going to start off by saying: this new livery is a banger! The subtle white highlights on the R give it a slimmer look, while the blue on the tank and the orange crash bars remind me of the 990 Adventure R Dakar Edition—a true legend. The new look blows the previous gen’s out off the water, and truly sets the R apart, visually.

Since the R is aimed at hardcore riders, KTM have ditched the semi-active system on the S in favour of fully-adjustable WP Suspension components, reworked for the 2021 model. The fully adjustable 48 mm front forks and PDS rear shock have 220 mm of travel, with the forks featuring split damping functions—allowing you to adjust settings quickly with a twist of a dial.

The R is fitted with Bridgestone rubber, wrapped around ALPINA aluminium spoked wheels, which can be run tubeless. Stopping the beast is made easier by four-piston radial-mounted Brembo callipers, and lean angle sensitive cornering ABS and Off-road ABS.

Just like on the S, the subframe is marginally lower compared to its predecessor to accommodate shorter riders. But the R is slightly taller than the S, with a seat height of 880 mm. The height increase on the R is due to the single piece sporty stepped seat, which is slimmer, but still offers handy storage space underneath.

Another awesome feature for hardcore adventurers is the reworked air box. You can now inspect and change your air filter in no time at all, by simply removing four screws. With 15,000 km service intervals, a 5.7 l / 100 km fuel consumption figure and a 23 l tank, KTM certainly has long hauls in mind.

The R also benefits from the same remodelled optional software package as the S, with the ‘Rally Pack’ offering a RALLY riding mode, MTC slip adjuster and adjustable throttle response. The ‘Tech Pack’ gets you all the features of the ‘Rally’ pack, plus Quickshifter+ shift functionality, motor slip regulation, hill hold control and an adaptive brake light feature.

When it comes to building anything with an R attached to the model name, KTM are in their element, and they’ve outdone themselves here.

The new generation KTM 1290 Super Adventure R and S will be available at KTM dealers internationally from March 2021 and at a base price of R314,999. Trying to pick between the R and S? I’d say pick the S if you do the odd dirt road and enjoy sporty touring, but opt for the R if you’re looking for a big adventure tourer that’s ready to get rowdy.

For more information visit: www.ktm.com

Red Bull KTM couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2021 National Motocross Championship. Star rider Tristan Purdon snatched up three out the four heats he raced in to stamp his authority in both the MX1 and MX2 Class overall.

Having stepped into the season as the 2020 MX1 Champion, Purdon was especially pleased to taste victory in the MX2 Class for a change. He commented, “I usually feel a bit heavier in the MX2 Class than the rest of the guys, so it was really good to prove that I have what it takes to keep the pace upfront on my KTM 250 SX-F.”

Purdon will now prepare for the next round in Port Elizabeth – a track the rider is particularly fond of for its thick sand and deep ruts.

It was an epic start to the season for Red Bull KTM’s newest recruit Cameron Durow, who got off to blistering starts in both MX2 heats, securing the holeshot on each occasion. After battling it out with some of the country’s top riders, the 18-year-old secured a spot on the podium in third overall.

“To be honest, I feel like I got a bit tired in the second heat and made some mistakes that cost me. Overall, I’m really happy with my results but also know what I need to work on for the next round,” said Durow.

Red Bull KTM’s High School Class hero Jonathan Mlimi also ended the day with silverware. As the reigning National Champion, the rider entered the season with a steely determination to defend his 2020 title. After a victory in the first heat and third place in the second heat, Mlimi finished in second overall.

“Something I learnt last year is that the championship isn’t won in the first round – last year I ended sixth in the first round, I’m feeling good about the way I’ve started the season and still have the red plate,” he said.

Rounding out a successful day for Red Bull KTM was Trey Cox, who made his debut race for the orange team in the 85cc Class. The rider had the perfect start to the season with a win in the first heat. Despite an unfortunate crash in the second heat, he managed to finish fifth to take second place overall.

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Triumph’s modern classics around here. The British marque has nailed the formula for combining yesterday’s looks with today’s performance, and has more modern classics in their catalogue than any other style of bike.

So for 2021, Triumph has pushed the Bonneville line forward with a handful of subtle updates, rather than a full redesign. At a glance, the 2021 T120, T100, Street Twin, Speedmaster and Bobber don’t look a whole lot different from before—but under the hood, they’re sporting mild performance boosts and weight savings.

For starters, both of Triumph’s 1,200 cc and 900 cc parallel twins are now Euro 5 compliant, without sacrificing output. The 1,200 cc unit in the T120, T120 Black, Speedmaster and Bobber makes the same power and torque as before, delivering 105 Nm of torque at 3,500 rpm, and 80 PS at 6,550 rpm. But the motor is lighter and more responsive than before, thanks to a lighter crankshaft, and an optimised clutch and balancer shaft.

The T120 and T120 Black get a handling boost via a seven kilo weight saving, and 18F/17R aluminium wheel rims that reduce unsprung weight. The front brake’s been upgraded to a higher spec Brembo, ABS, traction control and two rider modes are still standard issue, and the T120 now has cruise control, too.

The overall look of the T120 hasn’t changed much, barring small details like the speedo and tach faces and the tank badge. As per the norm, the T120 features chrome finishes and comes in three colours, while the T120 Black has blacked-out finishes, and comes in either matt or gloss black.

The Triumph Speedmaster shares the same motor as the T120, but with its own tune. It hits a peak torque figure of 106 Nm at just 3,850rpm, with over 90% of that torque available all the way to 5,750 rpm. And peak power reaches 78 PS at 6,100 rpm.

For 2021, the Speedmaster gets higher spec, bigger diameter 47 mm Showa cartridge forks up front, paired to a preload-adjustable rear mono-shock. That’s matched to twin Brembos, ABS, traction control and two switchable rider modes.

Triumph have improved the Speedmaster’s comfort too. Its low (705 mm) now includes a lumbar support pad, and the pillion pad has a much-needed 11 mm more foam thickness. The pillion seat can also be easily removed to convert the Speedmaster to a solo seat setup.

Like the T120, the Speedmaster gets subtle design tweaks to parts like the speedo, along with LED lighting and new paint schemes: plain black, white and black, and a ‘Red Hopper’ candy paint scheme.

The popular Bobber hasn’t gone untouched either. It’s been given blacked-out finishes, and the chunky 16” front wheel and 47 mm forks from the Bobber Black, leading us to believe that Triumph have now rolled both models into one. (It’s a smart move too, given how similar those two models are.)

Its 1,200 cc motor makes 106 Nm at 4,000 rpm, and 78 PS at 6,100 rpm, with the same weight saving features as the rest of the range. The fuel tank’s been swollen to 12 litres too, for a claimed 33% more range. The Bobber also gets a new LED headlight, tweaks to the speedo face and bezel, and new colour schemes—but for the rest, it’s much the same.

The smaller 900 cc motor in the T100 and Street Twin has also been reworked too, but it gets a numbers boost too. Peak power’s been nudged up by 10 PS, for a total output of 65 PS at 7,400 rpm. Peak torque is 80 Nm at 3,750 rpm, with 80% of that available from 2,000 rpm, and the redline’s been pushed up by 500 rpm, too.

There’s also a low inertia crankshaft, lighter balancer shafts, a thin-walled clutch and a magnesium cam cover, bringing the motor’s overall weight down, and improving responsiveness.

There’s a total weight saving of four kilos on the T100, plus it gets new cartridge forks and higher spec twin Brembo front brakes to improve handling. ABS and switchable traction control are standard issue, and like most of the range, the speedo’s had its design fettled.

The Street Twin makes its numbers ever so slightly differently: 65 PS at 7,500 rpm, and 80Nm at 3,800 rpm. For 2021, it has new cast wheels, a more comfortable bench seat (10 mm thicker with better foam), tweaks to its bodywork, and brushed aluminium headlight brackets.

Its motor is finished mostly in black, with subtle touches like brushed aluminium throttle body covers and contrasting engine fins. Standard equipment include cartridge forks, a single Brembo front disc brake, ABS, switchable traction control and two rider modes.

The Street Twin’s colours haven’t changed much—except that it’s now available in blue. And there’s a special ‘Gold Line’ limited edition version too, of which only 1000 will be sold worldwide.

The Gold Line edition debuts with a black colour scheme, complemented by gold striping that’s been done by hand in Triumph’s paint shop. It also has its own limited edition badging, and comes with a certificate of authenticity—but really it’s just a regular Street Twin that’s had some gold sprinkled on it.

Triumph’s 2021 Bonneville range doesn’t come with any major revelations, and that’s OK: most of these modern classics worked well enough out the box already. We’re expecting these changes to ripple through the rest of the range though. Triumph has promised updates to the Street Scrambler and Scrambler 1200 in April, so watch this space.

Find out more at: www.triumph-motorcycles.co.za

I read somewhere that we’re living in strange times when BMW create a cruiser, and Harley-Davidson create an adventure bike… but here we are. After much teasing and anticipation, the all-new Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 and Pan America 1250 Special adventure tourers have finally broken cover, with some surprising revelations.

While the idea of a Harley dual-sport might seem foreign to some, The Motor Co. would argue that their bikes have been used for adventure riding all through the ages. They’re not entirely wrong—but this is the first time they’ve put dedicated effort into building a pukka adventure bike. And they believe in it too: their global reveal kicked off today with a short clip directed and narrated by superstar Jason Momoa, then cut to footage of their CEO, Jochen Zeitz, and head of design, Brad Richards, riding it.

So how does it stack up? Highlights include an all-new motor and chassis, electronic ride modes and even a suspension lowering feature to aid in mounting the bike. Let’s dive in…

The news-within-the-news here is that the Pan America debuts with it an all-new motor for Harley-Davidson. Called the Revolution Max 1250, it’s a liquid-cooled 1,250 cc V-twin that claims an output of 150 hp across a broad powerband.

That number’s significant, because, until now, Harley haven’t really listed horsepower figures, preferring to focus on torque—and 150 is a ton more than a 1200 Sportster puts out. So as you’d expect, the Revolution Max hits peak torque higher than most Harleys; 94 ft. lbs. (about 127 Nm) at 9,500 rpm.

The motor’s a 60-degree V with four valves per cylinder, double overhead cams and variable valve timing. H-D have given it a 90-degree firing interval, but most notably, it has dual downdraught throttle bodies—eliminating the typical side-mounted Harley air filter in favour of a traditional air box.

The motor’s also a stressed member of the frame, in a bid to save weight. That brings the base model Pan America 1250’s wet weight in at 242 kilos, and the Special’s wet weight at 254 kilos.

It’s worth pausing to note how that holds up against the competition. Its biggest competitor, the BMW R 1250 GS, has an output of 136 hp and 143 Nm, and weighs 249 kg. The Triumph Tiger 1200 comes in at 139 hp, 122 Nm and 246 kg (dry). So the Pan America’s in the ballpark.

Naturally, the Pan America’s chassis is all-new too, and a big departure from anything else in the H-D’s garage currently. It’s a three-piece design, with the front frame, mid frame and tail section all bolting to the engine, reportedly to not only save weight, but add stiffness. The swingarm’s a cast aluminum affair, and the Pan America’s wheelbase measures 158 cm.

Bad news for hardcore off-road types: the Pan America ships with 19F/17R cast aluminum wheels as standard, although tubeless spoked wheels are a factory option on the Special. It ships with road-biased Michelin Scorcher Adventure tyres, but can be specced with Michelin’s Anakee Wild rubber instead.

The Pan America also comes with fully adjustable Showa suspension at both ends, with 190 mm of travel and a progressive linkage out back for maximum compliance on and off-road.

The Pan America Special ups the ante with electronically adjustable semi-active suspension, that adjusts damping based on feedback from the road (or lack thereof). And it has a load control feature too, which senses rider, passenger and luggage weight, then adjusts the rear preload for optimal suspension sag.

‘Adaptive Ride Height’ is a factory option which basically does exactly what its name applies: it alters the Pan America’s ride height when it’s moving and stopped, to make it easier to get on and off. It’s an adjustable system too, with various modes that dictate how and when it intervenes.

Braking is a Brembo affair all-round, with twin 320 mm discs up front and a single 280 mm disc out back, gripped by radial monoblock four-piston calipers.

Cornering ABS comes standard, controlled by an inertial measurement unit (IMU), as has become de facto in modern, large-capacity motorcycles. Other IMU-controlled rider aids include electronically linked braking, traction control and drag-torque slip control, and there’s a hill hold feature too.

The Pan America also features a first for Harley-Davidson’s petrol-powered bikes: rider modes (the electric LiveWire has them already). The base model comes with four pre-programmed and one customisable mode, while the Special gets two additional customisable modes. Standard modes include ‘Road,’ ‘Sport,’ ‘Rain,’ ‘Off-Road’ and ‘Off-Road Plus.’ As you’d expect, they all control the interference levels of the bike’s pre-loaded rider aids. ‘Off-Road’ mode keeps ABS on, but with dirt-specific settings, while ‘Off-Road Plus’ mode disables the rear ABS completely, with minimal intervention on the front.

Everything’s displayed on a 6.8” TFT touchscreen display, complete with an anti-reflective glass cover to maintain clarity in varying light conditions. There’s a nifty safety feature too: the touchscreen functionality is disabled while riding, to prevent you faffing with menus instead of focussing on the road (everything you need to do while riding can be done from the switchgear). The display also has Bluetooth functionality, and can run navigation via Harley’s proprietary iOS and Android apps.

Other notable features on the Pan America include a two-position adjustable seat (868 mm and 894 mm), and a four-position adjustable screen. The fuel tank holds 21 l, all the lighting is LED-equipped, and the front indicators have even been tucked away to keep them safe if you tip over.

Extra features on the Pan America Special include a tyre pressure monitoring system, centre stand, adjustable brake pedal, hand guards, heated grips and a steering damper. And its LED headlight is adaptive, too.

On paper, the Pan America 1250 is a remarkably good showing for a first adventure bike from a cruiser marque. And even better, it looks bananas, and totally unlike any of its competition. Sure, the shark-nose fairing and robotic headlight won’t float everyone’s boat—but I’m into it. It conveys just enough of Harley-Davidson’s typical design language to keep it relevant to the brand, but doesn’t look like a V-twin that’s pretending to be an adventure bike.

You can get the base model in black or grey, while the Special comes in black, metallic grey, a two-tone orange and white, and, in some countries, green.

Naturally, Harley-Davidson have a whole range of accessories available too, from different exhausts and seats, to protection parts and soft and hard luggage pieces (although with H-D’s full set of aluminium panniers, the passenger space looks pretty cramped). And Harley have partnered with the Dutch gear manufacturer, REV’IT!, for a full range of rider gear.

The price could be a sticking point for potential buyers though. According to Harley-Davidson’s South African web listing, the base model starts at R310,900, with the Special starting at R352,900. (We’ve yet to confirm final pricing and availability). That puts it in the same bracket as BMW’s flagship R 1250 GS and GS Adventure—but those are well-established bikes, and the Pan America is a newcomer.

That said, there’s one thing that spec sheets and photos can’t tell us: how it rides. So we’re itching to get the Pan America out onto the trails the second it gets here, to see if it goes as good as it looks—and if it’s worth the money.

Sharp, striking and ready to pounce, the ‘MT’ range of motorcycles demands your attention whether you like it or not. If sporty styling, immaculate build quality and good economy are your thing, then look no further.

For those of us who still managed to hold on to some coin this year, Yamaha has some exciting specials on offer.

Yamaha MT-03

Your entry to the dark side. Built to thrill with a twin‑cylinder engine and aggressive looks, it offers serious street presence. The MT-03 will be limited to the Ice Fluo colour only.

Now at R84 950

LEARN MORE

Yamaha MT-07 Tracer

The Tracer 700 is an accessible and affordable Sport Tourer that is built to take you on an exciting new journey every day. The Yamaha MT-07 Tracer will be limited to the 2018 Blue colour only.

*Now at R124 950

LEARN MORE

Yamaha MT-09 Tracer

All it takes is one ride on the Tracer 900 to appreciate its intoxicating blend of linear torque, outstanding agility and remarkable comfort. The Yamaha MT-09 Tracer will be limited to the 2019 Armor Grey colour only.

*Now at R159 950

LEARN MORE

So make a turn at your local Yamaha dealer and take advantage of these crazy low prices while stocks last.

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

The hills of Jolivet won’t be the only verdant green highlights when that KwaZulu Natal scenery comes alive to the sounds of the 2021 South African Cross Country Moto Championship opener Saturday 27 February. That’s because it’s also a huge day for Kawasaki, when those famous green XC machines return to the national level racing fray for the first time in several decades.

Six all-new Pepson Plastics Kawasaki South Africa racing with Motul entered KX XCs will come under starters orders at Jolivet. And if the past weekend’s Rustenburg, Gauteng regional opener was anything to go by, the green machines can be expected to be right in the thick of the action from the get-go.

Pepson Plastics Kawasaki Motul OR3 class duo Taki Bogiages and Kyle MacKenzie will want to go a couple better following a brilliant debut in Rustenburg last week. The two KX250XC riders came home third and fourth in that super-competitive class. “Our Kawasakis proved a bit of a surprise at the regional,” Bogiages admitted. “Now we’re ready to do the team proud in our first National.” MacKenzie added: “Kawasaki is back in town — watch this space!”

Pepson Plastics Kawasaki Motul open class OR1 riders D’artagnan Lobjoit and Craig Alcock also enjoyed a great outing in the regional and both are champing at the bit to race their KX450XCs at National level. “I had a great run to fourth in Rustenburg,” D’artagnan explained. “We’ve worked hard to get there and we are ready for the national — I can’t wait.”  Alcock added: “I truly love racing my KX450XC — I just can’t wait for Jolivet!”

Circuit car race fans will recognise Pepson Plastics Kawasaki Motul Racing’s Senior rider Lee Thompson’s name. “I had a great run to fourth in Rustenburg and I’m now getting to grips with my KX250XC. “We are ready for Jolivet.” Team principal and Masters rider Iain Pepper will sit Jolivet out with a hurt shoulder, but Senior rider Achim Bergmann will race his machine in KZN. “I am truly thankful for this opportunity — I’m over the moon,” Achim admitted.

“We are delighted to be able to bring Kawasaki Motorcycles South Africa back to National Cross Country racing,” Pepson Plastics Kawasaki Motul Racing team principal Iain Pepper concluded. “We had some great results in our regional dress rehearsal last week, but now the real race begins. “We’d like to once again thank Chris and Kibble from KMSA for putting their faith in us and we look forward to flying that Kawasaki flag high in Cross Country Racing.”

Pepson Plastics Kawasaki Motul races with Bikewise, Pirelli tyres, Arai helmets, Renthal handlebars, Acerbis plastics, DID chains and SBS brakes. Its riders are protected by Fasthouse SA clothing and they are kept in top form by Margie Smith Training. The Green Team races Kawasaki’s brand new bespoke 2021 KX250XC and KX450XCs cross country racers based on its ’21 KX motocross machines.

Pepson Plastics Kawasaki Motul Racing will rekindle Kawasaki’s rich Cross Country Racing history that saw legends, the likes of Alfie Cox, Neil Woolridge, Chris Brand and others riding the green machines to many a race win and championship over the years.