Gavin Walton of Springs is strongly favoured to score a seventh win in the iTOO VVC DJ (Durban-Johannesburg) Rally for classic motorcycles when he takes the start of the 2025 event in Hillcrest, outside Durban, on 14 March. Not only has he won this prestigious event in 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2024, but he also put up a phenomenal performance in the recent Pre-DJ Rally, scoring a total of only 52 seconds error at 11 control points. Mike Venables was second with 106 penalty points.

This year’s event, which commemorates the road race held between Durban and Johannesburg from 1913-1936, is the 53rd of these regularity rallies, which began in 1970 and have been held annually except for 1974 (fuel restrictions) and 2021 (Covid). In keeping with the historic nature of this event, the competing motorcycles must have been made before 1936.

Clerk of the Course Gwyneth Cronje has received entries from riders of 76 motorcycles and two sidecar combinations for the 2025 DJ Rally. “We are delighted at the support because we know how costs have risen, which ruled out many of the previous competitors who came from the Western Cape,” commented Gwyneth, whose late husband, Pierre, had been both an enthusiastic DJ competitor and Clerk of the Course.

The field this year includes nine first-timers – Lloyd Weber from Zimbabwe, Robert Cantwell, Candice Truda, Helen Nicolau, Brian Bontekoning, Michael Buchan (the youngest rider at the age of 21), Justin Langley, Jason le Roux, and Claude Oberholzer. The oldest rider is Neville Smith, aged 89.

There are also five woman riders this year – Helen Nicolau, Tamarin Skead, Candice Truda, Benita Palmer, and Bev Jacobs – while Camilla Hyson will be the passenger in Hans Coertse’s 1921 Harley-Davidson sidecar combination. The other sidecar entrant is Brian Lange, who will have Patrick Dacey as the sidecar passenger in his 1928 AJS Big Twin combination.

Martin Davies, a former DJ winner, is Route Director this year, and he says he has tried to stick close to the R103 road route that was used for the race more than 100 years ago.

From the start at 06:00 on Friday, the route takes competitors to refuels in Pietermaritzburg and Mooi River and a lunch stop in Estcourt before an overnight stop in Newcastle. The restart is at 07:00, with the route taking the riders over the Majuba and Laingsnek passes to Volksrust for a refuel. The next refuel is in Standerton, and then there is a lunch stop and final refuel in Balfour. The first competitor is expected to arrive finish at the finish at the Benoni Northerns Sports Club at 14:00.

This year, there are only three previous DJ winners in the field, which is fewer than in recent years. Besides Gavin Walton, there is Mike Ward (1936 Velocette) and Adrian Hollis (1935 Sunbeam Lion sidecar combination). Ward won in 2004 and 2023, while Hollis took first place in 2000.

Gavin Walton has a long and distinguished history in the DJ Rally, beginning in 2005 when he was invited to ride Hugh Hollard’s 1929 Ariel. The DJ bug bit, and he soon bought a 1936 Model 9 side valve 500 cc AJS, which he continues to ride to this day.

He won his first DJ in 2009, and then tragedy struck in 2013 when he was involved in a nasty accident on the way home from that year’s Pre-DJ Rally. He had 11 fractures in his leg and could not ride for a year. He repaired the AJS and rode the 2014 event with a crutch strapped to the motorcycle. He still managed to finish as runner-up.

Gavin Walton had his only DNF (did not finish) in 2015, and then won again in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and last year.

Another enthusiastic DJ Rally competitor is Jaycee van Rooyen, who comes from a motorcycle racing background. His grandfather on his mother’s side was Boet Fereira, a South African champion in the late 1940s and early ’50s riding Norton’s and Velocette, while Jaycee’s dad, Jack, enjoyed speedway racing and later got involved with classic motorcycles and cars.

Jaycee began his involvement in the DJ in 2014 when he rode the 1936 350 cc Ariel Red Hunter his father had ridden in previous DJ Rallies. Jaycee and the Ariel completed eight out of the last 10 DJs, but this year, he has loaned that motorcycle to his friend, Jason le Roux, and will ride a 1929 500 cc Sunbeam.

Another regular DJ competitor who rides a motorcycle previously ridden by his father is Mark Palmer, who uses the 1936 350 cc Royal Enfield his father, Geoff, rode to win the first DJ Commemorative Regularity Rally in 1970. Mark has ridden it in the last four DJ Rallies, with his best placing being 16th in 2023.

The 2025 DJ Rally is organised by a group of people from several Gauteng motorcycle clubs on behalf of the Vintage and Veteran Club of South Africa.

The year started off so good. In January, we had the AMID expo that showed promise of a motorcycle market on the up. And then some orange-haired man made some statements which flooded my social media feed with vitriol. I needed to get away—away to a place that has wild horses, peace and tranquillity. Of course, I am referring to Kaapsehoop in Mpumalanga. I phoned my friend, Maarten, to find out if he felt the same. He did, and so a weekend was planned at Angels Mist Guest House with our host, Abrie Visser. The beauty of booking with Abrie is that the entire booking was done on WhatsApp with only three thumbs-up emojis. It was settled then, but I needed transport. Another quick mail to the good folks at Suzuki South Africa, and I fetched one of their latest models: the Suzuki GSX-S1000 GX.

One more item on my agenda was to finish the last challenge of the Turkana Safari Challenge. For those who don’t know what this is about: the Turkana Safari Challenge is the brainchild of Elsebie and Michnus Olivier. They are the people behind the Turkana range of luggage and off-road gear. The entire range is manufactured locally, and even the material used is mostly sourced right here in South Africa. The Turkana Safari Challenge is a list of 15 tasks that you need to complete within a year, in order to be entered into the draw for some amazing prizes. Challenges include things like “Photograph your bike at Gariep Dam” or “Visit and support a local farm stall”. I had one more challenge to do, and that was: “Photograph your bike at a roadside braai.” Now, apparently, a roadside braai is a common thing in the Western Cape, but not so much here in Gauteng. So, Maarten and I made plans to do this together.

As I was strapping my overnight bag to the sturdy metal rack of the GX, I had a good look at the bike, and I must say, it is very pleasing to the eye. I was a bit confused when I saw this is being touted as a sports tourer, as Suzuki already has the GT model, which is supposed to do just that. Even though the GT puts the rider in a more upright position, the GX takes that even further. Not only does it put you even more upright, but it also provides more suspension travel than on the GT. That makes the GX a tall bike, with the seat measuring 845 mm from the ground. But what sets this bike apart is the fact that it’s fitted with Suzuki’s first-ever semi-active suspension. Something that I found quite useful riding up the Kaapsehoop Pass.

As we navigated the boring N4 towards Kaapsehoop, I had plenty of time to appreciate the GX. In hindsight, I was sorry I did not read Howard’s article about not riding the N4 earlier. It would have made the trip more exciting! What I have to commend Suzuki for is the quick-shifter. It is incredibly smooth and precise. In my book, it ranks amongst the best. The other huge bonus is the cruise control. You can set it and forget it. The engine has enough grunt to flatten any uphill, but should you find yourself with a particularly steep uphill, you can shift down or up without disengaging the cruise control. This makes for such a smooth ride.

You smell the Sappi paper mill long before you reach it, and the smell means only one thing: Kaapsehoop Pass is close. We stopped at the Ngodwana filling station, and then it was time for a blast up the pass. There are some spectacular corners on this road, albeit a bit bumpy. For that reason, I set the GX’s suspension to its “Soft” setting, and it just soaked up the bumps. The area also had a lot of rain the last couple of weeks, so the lush green scenery was quite a distraction. We unloaded at Angels Mist and then set off again in the direction of Nelspruit for some photos. As the sun was making its way to the horizon, we found a nice spot overlooking the escarpment, and all thoughts of the ills of our world just vanished. I revelled in the silence and was reluctant to head back, but by now, my stomach was in charge, complaining about the lack of attention it was getting. After a nice dinner, we settled in. A group of adventure riders also pulled in. Abrie was going to take them on a spectacular route to a secluded waterfall the next morning. I vowed to return with a suitable bike and ask Abrie for the guided tour! It looked epic!

The next morning, after breakfast, we headed towards Sabie, again taking the scenic and twisty route. We stopped at the local Spar for some rolls, some drinks, and two pieces of boerewors. We headed up Long Tom pass to the Long Tom canon, found a nice rocky outcrop and prepared to do the final Turkana challenge. We saw quite a few motorcycle clubs meandering by, but this was our moment. Our little braai next to the road. The rolls went down so well, and unlike most visitors here, we put all our rubbish in a bag and put it in the bin. I wonder why this is such a difficult concept for people to grasp. With the challenge now done, we headed back to Kaapsehoop, parked the bikes, and explored the town on foot. There is just so much to see and do here, but a stop at the local pub, Die Nagkantoor, is a must. You meet the most interesting people there.

The next morning, we were up early again, making our way back to Pretoria. Helmet time is healing time. Time spent with your own thoughts, and to clear your head a bit. The Suzuki GSX-S1000 GX is a superb motorcycle for a weekend like this. You can go either very fast or very slow. Either way, the GX will oblige. The Turkana challenge was also the motivation I needed to explore our country.

Now I can face my social media feed again! 

Was anyone really surprised? Pre-season testing didn’t show anything conclusively, but – and maybe it was just me – there seemed to be a sense of inevitability about how Marc Marquez would go when it came to lights-out when racing proper resumed.

But surely no-one, least of all Marquez himself, could have predicted such complete and effortless dominance; pole position, Sprint and Main race victories; maximum points from the opening round. I’m not sure who took the fastest lap, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it was Marquez.

It all looked so easy. Even when Marquez M abruptly slowed and allowed his brother and rival Marquez A through, it quickly became clear that at worst it had been a missed gear and nothing more serious, given the way that he then shadowed every move Alex made, before taking the lead again and setting off into the distance without ever looking as if he was on the ragged edge.

As we now know, Marquez had been sent to the line with too low a front tyre pressure, an odd situation given that it was highly likely that he would lead from the front as he had in the Sprint race. Running in clear air, and riding well within his limit, he was in danger of incurring a penalty for too long with too low a pressure, so he let his brother through so he could run in his dirty air and get temperature into his front tyre. With that achieved, he calmly took the lead again, and that was that.

There are a lot of whingers who, for whatever reason, don’t like Marquez M; they had better find a way of liking him because this isn’t going to be his last victory this year so, if they’re going to enjoy the 2025 season, they’d better learn to accept it!

Meanwhile, Bagnaia had nothing to offer to counter the pace of the Marquez brothers ahead of him and even, in the Sprint race, had to defend against an incredible performance from rookie Ai Ogura on the satellite Trackhouse Aprilia. Bagnaia has every right to be worried for the rest of the season if this is how Marquez M can perform straight out of the box. Let’s not forget, also, that the next two races, in Argentina and the USA, are two of Marc’s favourite tracks.

Alex Marquez could be forgiven for being despondent at coming so close to his maiden GP victory and realising that his lead in the Main race was not through his own talent but because Marc needed it to be that way, but second on the grid and two second places in the races is nothing to be ashamed of (and what he predicted for himself at the beginning of the weekend). Look at it this way, he was an honest second – not gained through the misfortune of others – and managed to keep Bagnaia at bay for every racing lap. There’s no lack of skill there, just bad luck at having the best rider of his generation on the best bike of the moment as an opponent. Even if it’s your brother, it will still be hard for Alex to (potentially) see him lifting yet another title trophy. Of course, it’s going to be a long season and, as we know all too well, anything can and probably will happen, but right now, the signs aren’t good for anyone who’s not named Marc Marquez.

Bagnaia, by his own admission, was not riding at his best this weekend, and that is simply something you can’t do when Marquez M is your teammate. Bagnaia’s calm and kindly demeanour can’t entirely hide the extremely tough fighter underneath, and it is inconceivable that he won’t take the fight to Marquez more convincingly in the coming races. He proved in 2022 that he can overcome a large points deficit, but that’s not going to work every time, and he just can’t afford to fall any further behind Marquez if he is to be a title challenger this year.

So much for the podium finishers but, with this being the first race of a new season, there was plenty to talk about all the way down the field and you can’t start anywhere other than with yet another brilliant rookie performance, following on from Pedro Acosta last year (second place in only his second race). The protagonist this year was Ai Ogura on a satellite Aprilia RS-GP, run by Trackhouse racing and sporting one of the best liveries in recent memory – the light blue and orange colours of the Gulf Oil company.

Even with Bagnaia admitting he was riding below his best, he wasn’t left for dead by the Marquez brothers, but neither was he getting away from Ogura, who claimed a remarkable fourth place in the Sprint race and fifth in the Main race; that’s the best rookie performance since Marc Marquez in 2013. He was by far the best of the Aprilias and, if that is an indication of how good the Aprilia is, then we can’t wait for Jorge Martin to return in America, even if it’s by no means guaranteed that the RS-GP will suit the reigning champion.

Marco Bezzecchi on the factory Aprilia might have been beaten in both races by the rookie Ogura, but he messed up his weekend by crashing in qualifying, meaning he had to battle his way through both races, rather than having the clear air in which to demonstrate his speed. His wild start in the Sprint race with excessive wheelspin didn’t help his cause. The Aprilia clearly has the speed to run with the Ducatis so, if Bezzecchi can qualify cleanly, then he could spring a surprise or two.

Enea Bastiannini won the Sprint race here last year, which will make it all the more galling that his Sprint race time this year, albeit on a different bike – the KTM RC16 against the Ducati GP24 – was a full 27 seconds slower! 12^th in the Sprint and ninth in the Main race show that there is a lot of work to be done for the ex-factory Ducati rider. His teammate in the Tech3 team, Maverick Viñales, had an even worse weekend, finishing 14^th and 16^th, battling in the Main race with the Thai rookie, Somkiat Chantra on the LCR Honda.

Regarding the factory KTMs, it wasn’t the most encouraging start for the Austrian manufacturer, even taking away all the pre-season confusion about the very existence of the brand, which can’t have been a calm environment in which to prepare. Brad Binder managed eighth place in both races, while Pedro Acosta finished sixth in the Sprint and second last in the Main race after sliding out, and it’s an uncomfortable fact that the midfield might be the RC16’s natural place in the pecking order. Buriram offers completely different conditions to many of the races on the calendar, however, so maybe it’s premature to condemn the KTMs to underperformance all year; they might well spring a surprise or two, but as for running consistently at the front with the Ducatis, it looks a tall order.

In practice and qualifying, it looked as if progress had been made by Yamaha but the races belied that impression, for all Jack Miller’s efforts, which ended with a crash in the Sprint race while running sixth and 11^th in the Main race. Quartararo finished seventh in the Sprint but could only manage 15^th in the Main, while Alex Rins could only manage two 17^th-place finishes. About the only thing Yamaha can take away from Thailand, is the fact that top speed is no longer an embarrassment.

It was another weekend to forget for Honda, neither Joan Mir, Luca Marini, Johann Zarco nor Chantra looking at all competitive. For both Yamaha and Honda, 2027’s new rules can’t come soon enough.

So, the long wait is over and we’re back in business, even if that business looks to be largely similar to 2024 and 2023, with Ducati on top, Aprilia second best and the rest messing around behind. The least we can hope for is an intra-team battle between Marquez M and Bagnaia, with the satellite Ducati riders causing an upset or three and, hopefully, Aprilia getting stuck in. Quite how quickly Jorge Martin will be able to get up to speed will be an interesting storyline from America onwards, but it’s hard to envisage, even at this early point in the season, any plot other than a factory Ducati walkover in 2025.

The Red Bull KTM team made a statement at the Wetherd MX Race Track this past weekend, delivering a dominant performance across multiple classes. With Cameron Durow, Luke Grundy, and Trey Cox all stepping onto the podium, the team’s return to East London was nothing short of spectacular.

Fresh off a challenging off-season, Cameron Durow proved why he’s one of the top riders in the country. Despite undergoing ACL reconstruction in late October, Durow fought through adversity to secure overall wins in both MX1 and MX2.

“It was a tough day yesterday. I had to dig deep to bring home both overalls. I came into this round with no expectations after the off-season I’ve had. In late October, I had an ACL reconstruction that set me back. Moto 1 felt like I had been thrown in the deep end—so many big mistakes, and my riding was so tense. I regrouped for Moto 2, started to relax, and finally found my flow,” he shared.

It was a day of mixed emotions for Luke Grundy, who claimed his first-ever MX2 moto win before a brutal crash in the second heat forced him to fight his way back through the pack. Despite the setback, he still secured P2 overall.

“A day to remember but also one to forget. Claiming my first-ever MX2 moto win has left me hungry for more. Moto 2 was really late in the day, and the glare was brutal. I got a fourth-place start, but on lap one, I dragged my footpegs up one of the jump ruts, sending me over the bars. I got up quickly, nearly last, and fought my way back to fifth, which was enough to secure second overall,” said Grundy.

Rising star Trey Cox put on a clinic in the High School class, going 1-1 for the overall win. Taking on MX2 for the first time, he put in a strong ride to finish P5, proving he’s ready to take on the next level.

“What a day! Super stoked to walk away with the 1-1. Just have to work on my starts, coming from 15th, every start is hard work,” Cox said with a grin.

With podiums across all three classes and standout performances from the entire team, Red Bull KTM has set the tone for the season ahead. The team now turns their focus to the next round, where they’ll be looking to build on their momentum and continue their winning ways.

If Honda is your best motorcycle brand, or if you are merely curious about what they have to offer, then you need to head to Honda Wing Centurion on the 1 st March for their open day, where you can ride a selection of Honda models and take a good look at the new and very exciting Hornet 1000SP naked sports bike (sadly not available for a demo ride!)

Between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m., you can chat to the knowledgeable staff about anything Honda, while munching on a boerie roll and quenching your thirst with a cold drink.

There will be prizes given out on the day so why not get a bunch of mates together and head out for a ride to Honda Wing Centurion, c/o Heuwel and Lenchen South.

1 of 8

For more information, contact Honda Wing Centurion on 012 663 8718.

The 2025 SA SuperEnduroX Championship kicks off this weekend on Saturday 1 March, at Monte Casino, Johannesburg. Organised by BPM (Beats Per Minute) Events Co. in partnership with Tsogo Sun, this thrilling new series offers a closed-course format that is set to deliver high-octane entertainment in a stadium environment.

The championship will feature six exhilarating rounds across various venues in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State, and Natal. The inaugural round this Saturday is sure to delight fans with a carefully designed 320-metre track loaded with challenges for the riders.

Event Details:

• Date: Saturday, 1 March 2025
• Venue: Monte Casino, Fourways, Johannesburg
• Time: Gates open for spectators at 2 PM
• Tickets: R300 for adults and R150 for kids under 14. Tickets can be purchased online at BPB Events.

What to Expect:

To prepare for this exciting event, the organisers are bringing in over 40 tons of rocks, dirt, tyres, concrete, and logs to design a challenging course. More than 60 riders are set to compete, including Wade Young, who finished 2nd in the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship Series in 2024 and has had an incredible nine victories at the legendary Roof of Africa. The roster also features notable riders like Branden Swanepoel and Dylan Jones from the Trademore Racing Team, as well as talents such as Matt Stevens, Armand Fourie, Matthew Wilson, and Heinrich Aust. Female competitors, including Charisse Piazza Musso and Maddi Goudie, are also part of the impressive line-up.

“We’re pumped to bring the SuperEnduroX experience to South Africa,” said Brett Stevens, co-organiser at BPM Events Co. “Our goal is to create a vibrant family-friendly carnival atmosphere where fans can enjoy exciting racing, great food and refreshments, and an overall fun day out!”

Ockie Fourie, also a co-organiser, added, “As BPM we’re committed to ensuring a memorable experience for the whole family and believe this championship will be a milestone for motorsports in the country. We can’t wait for everyone to enjoy the action, from riders to spectators!”

The 2025 SA SuperEnduroX Championship event would not be possible without the support of valued sponsors and partners including Tsogo Sun, Yamaha, Raceworx, KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas, Grass Factory, Oxygen Tyres and Motul.

For more information and to secure your tickets, please visit BPM Events Website. Stay connected for updates on confirmed riders, track progress, and behind-the-scenes content by following SuperEnduroCross on Instagram.

Join us on Saturday as we launch an exciting chapter in South African motorsport!

While there may be many stories floating around about the state of the motorcycle industry in South Africa, that hasn’t prevented local importers from committing time, effort and money to supporting local motorcycle sport, particularly in the Cross Country off-road and MX fields.

Yamaha South Africa is particularly active in these fields and two notable beneficiaries are the Everest Wealth Ridgeway Racing Yamaha Team and Out of Africa Monster Energy Yamaha, competing in Cross Country and MX racing respectively.

Harry Grobler is the team principal for the Everest Wealth Ridgeway Yamaha team and, after many years competing on Honda machinery, he was bullish about the prospects for the season ahead.

“After a couple of years riding in red, we were keen on a change and Yamaha was looking for a way back into both National Cross Country Racing. We’d like to thank Honda for two great seasons together, but the Everest Wealth Ridgeway Yamaha is now ready to race. All that’s left, on behalf of the entire team, is to thank Yamaha for the tremendous effort it has put in to get back into Cross Country as we look forward to a really true blue season ahead.

The feeling is obviously mutual, as Yamaha spokesperson Adrian Bac had this to say; ‘Yamaha Motor South Africa is most excited about our new partnership with the Everest Wealth Ridgeway Racing Yamaha Team. We couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead together in a dynamic new force in both off-road racing and Motocross as the Blu Cru prepares to compete across several championships. We know that there are great results on the horizon.’

The team has an extensive and strong line-up of riders, all of whom are ready to race at the season opener at Bronkhorstspruit towards the end of February. Maddy Malan and Hayden Louw lead the attack for the team, riding factory OR 1 Yamaha YZ450 FXs, ably backed by Tyron Beverley and Bryce Peterson riding OR 3 Yamaha YZ250 FXs.

Gerhard Vorster will ride in the Seniors and Warrick van Schalkwyk will ride in the Masters class, both on YZ450 FXs. In the 125cc High School class, Murray Smith and Tyler Peterson will do battle, while Ruald Potgieter will race 85cc Seniors and Ryan Wichmann is in the 65cc class.

Displaying no less effort or ambition and a similarly impressive line-up of talent, is the Out Of Africa Monster Energy Yamaha Racing Team, racing in the MX class events. After a strong 2024 season, the team’s 2025 line-up is an intriguing mix of seasoned riders and emerging talent.

Jayden Proctor will be competing in both MX1 and MX2, bringing versatility and championship experience to the team. Mark Carty, will also be tackling MX1 and MX2, showcasing his consistent drive and relentless competitiveness. Garrick Henley, representing the team in MX2, will be eager to make his mark in one of the toughest classes. Aiden Henley, stepping into the MX High School class, promises to continue his rise through the ranks, and Thor Johnson, also racing in MX High School, will bring fierce dedication and determination to the team.

With such strength in depth of talent, the Out Of Africa Monster Energy Yamaha Racing Team will be a tough proposition for rival manufacturers to beat and the on-track action is certain to be fiercely competitive. It looks as if 2025 is going to be a vintage year for the South African MX scene.

You can follow both teams on their social media pages and, of course, at the venues for the races. Any effort made to get to the events will be richly rewarded by watching some of SA’s brightest new hopefuls as well as seasoned veterans challenging for championship honours.

For more information visit: Everest Wealth Ridgeway Racing Yamaha Team – Out of Africa Monster Energy Yamaha.

Excitement is rapidly building for the South African Safari Rally, with the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) set to touch down on Southern African soil for the first time. As the third round of the premier international rally-raid series, taking place from 18 to 24 May 2025 at the Sun City Resort, the South African event represents the mid-way point in this fiercely competitive motorcycle championship.

Accordingly, the South African Safari Rally, brought to you by Toyota Gazoo Racing, will play a vital role in determining who tops the points table when the season draws to a close at Rallye du Maroc in October this year. Therefore, it’s no surprise that it had already attracted some of the biggest names in the sport by the close of early bird entries on 14 February.

“We are thrilled that amongst the first entries for our inaugural event, we can confirm that our local hero from Botswana and reigning FIM W2RC champion, Ross Branch, will be competing on what is effectively home soil for him,” said Archie Rutherford, CEO of the South African Safari Rally. “Ross, who many people refer to as the “Kalahari Ferrari”, has elevated motorcycle rally-raid to new heights in Southern Africa, and he is a fantastic ambassador for the sport.”

Branch competes in the top-tier Rally GP category in the Hero Motorsports Team Rally squad, and will be joined by team-mates Jose Cornejo (Chile) and Sebastian Bühler (Germany). Proving the impressive calibre of riders in the Hero team, Cornejo finished seventh at the 2025 Dakar Rally, while Bühler was seventh overall in the 2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship.

“We’re also delighted that the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team has confirmed that 2025 Dakar Rally winner Daniel Sanders will be competing at our event, which further raises the level of competition and excitement for rally-raid fans,” Rutherford added.

The factory KTM team is expected to confirm other riders for the SA Safari Rally after the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (21-27 February), but Sanders will certainly be a rider that everyone will be watching after the Australian claimed impressive five-stage victories on his way to winning his first Dakar title at this year’s event in Saudi Arabia.

The HRC Honda team has provisionally submitted five entries, but none of the riders have been confirmed yet.

Rally 2

In the Rally 2 category, a total of 24 entries were received by the early bird closing date on 14 February. This includes three BAS World KTM entrants, led by South African rider Michael Docherty who performed exceptionally well at the 2025 Dakar, finishing fifth in Rally 2 and an impressive 14th overall in the Bikes category. Docherty will be joined by teammates Nathan Rafferty (Sweden) and Filip Grot from Poland.

The HT Rally team will be fielding no less than five riders on Husqvarna FR450 Rally machines, comprising Massimo Camurri, Gustavo Milutin, Deen Munsters, Julian Sanchez, and Robert Przebylowski.

They will be joined by four XRaids Experience team riders on the KTM 450 Rally, made up of Andro Korlaet (Chile), Dominique Cizeau (Spain), and Argentinian riders Santiago Rostan and Sebastian Urquia.

There’s also a strong contingent of South African privateer competitors, including Martin Camp and Alex Torrao, along with Martin Lourens and Anthony Raynard.

Malle Moto

Many people consider the Malle Moto riders the true heroes of rally-raid, as these are amateur riders who compete without any form of assistance. Aside from enduring long and tough hours in the race, they perform all the servicing and maintenance of the motorcycles themselves at the bivouac between stages with limited tools and resources at their disposal – making this an especially tough challenge.

Thus far, of the 24 riders competing in Rally 2, six riders have confirmed that they will be taking on the South African Safari Rally in the Malle Moto class: Jasti Yugandhar Prasad (India), French riders Benjamin Pousset and Matthieu Jauffraud, Italians Nicola Quinto and Andrea Gava, as well as South African Ruan Burger.

Quads

The quad category always delivers spectacular action as the riders battle the tough conditions on their compact four-wheel machines. Six early bird quad entries have been received, featuring two CFMoto Thunder Racing riders, Antanas Kanopkinas (Lithuania) and Gaëtan Martinez (France). They will be going head-to-head with the Can-Am Dakar Team duo of Bolivians Leonardo Martinez and Suany Martinez, and the privateer entries of Marcin Wilkolek (Poland), and South African rider Carien Teessen.

It is a huge feather in the cap of South African motorsport to host a round of the World Rally Raid Championship and reflects both the importance and also the influence of South African riders and manufacturing specialists on the international motorsport scene. This is an event that is sure to grow in stature in the coming years and every South African should be proud to support it, in whatever way they can.

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

KTM is providing a reassuring boost to all incoming customers and passionate ‘orange bleeders’ with an upgraded warranty program. The PREMIUM MANUFACTURER’s WARRANTY, which is completely free, will ensure up to four years of coverage for certain KTM street and travel motorcycles.

KTM continues to be fully focused on adventure, excitement, and adrenaline through a comprehensive and diverse product portfolio. Reassurance and peace of mind to deal with all situations underpins the strong emotions felt through the bars, saddle and pegs of a KTM. Every new KTM comes with a standard manufacturer’s warranty but the concept of the PREMIUM MANUFACTURER’s WARRANTY is a fresh way for the company to reassure customers.

The PREMIUM MANUFACTURER’s WARRANTY applies to all new 2023, 2024, and 2025 STREET and TRAVEL motorcycles with the LC8 or LC8c engine platform. This ranges from the KTM 790 DUKE and KTM 790 ADVENTURE up to the KTM 1390 SUPER DUKE R EVO.

KTM’s PREMIUM MANUFACTURER’s WARRANTY is a no-fuss provision that stretches all the way to 4 years. This warranty scheme is a worldwide policy so KTM owners can roam the globe without a thought. The PREMIUM MANUFACTURER’s WARRANTY is attached to the motorcycle and not the rider and therefore can also help sustain value in the event of a resale. Customers simply have to book a regular service according to the service schedule of their motorcycle through their authorized KTM dealer to keep the PREMIUM MANUFACTURER’s WARRANTY valid for up to 4 years.

“Every KTM motorcycle that leaves our factory comes with the promise of quality and excitement for both new and regular customers. To offer extra protection against any-and-all eventualities, we’ve added a PREMIUM MANUFACTURER’s WARRANTY, ramping up the value for our customers,” says Spela Kovacic, VP Global Customer Service. “This warranty is designed to be hassle-free, with all paperwork handled by us. Simply bring your bike to an authorized dealer for regular service. We believe riders will appreciate the benefits of this scheme and continue to enjoy their KTM experience on the road.”

For more details about the PREMIUM MANUFACTURER’s WARRANTY visit the warranty section of KTM.com or click HERE.

* Please note that some motorcycles, such as track-only models, are not covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Additionally, adhering to the service schedule outlined in the owner’s manual is essential for maintaining all types of warranties – standard and premium. The extensive authorized KTM dealer network is always on hand, ready to provide expert maintenance and regular servicing to keep all KTM motorcycles running like new.

**The warranty kicks in for models in stock purchased from 3 February 2025.

DISCLAIMER

KTM Sportmotorcycle GmbH reserves the right – without prior notice and without specifying reasons – to change the Premium Manufacturer’s Warranty campaign for the LC8c models as well as LC8 Street and Travel models including the services offered and provided therein, as well as any requirements, etc., or to discontinue them without replacement. Before ordering or purchasing any of the products or models mentioned, please obtain information regarding the respective scope of the possible existence of a Premium Manufacturer’s Warranty as well as the respective requirements and services from any KTM Sportmotorcycle GmbH authorized dealer. All details are non-binding and specified with the proviso that errors, for instance in printing, setting and/or typing, may occur; such information is subject to change without notice at any time.

Issued by: KTM South Africa

With less than two weeks to go to the season’s first race and the two main pre-season tests behind us, things are not as clear as you might have expected.

Of course, testing ultimately reveals nothing, as every team and rider concentrates on different things while developing the bike. So lap times might tell a story, but they’re not necessarily a clear picture. Having said that, the cream inevitably rises to the top, and, predictably, Ducati was the bike everyone was chasing.

But it’s not as simple as that. Despite the Ducati GP25 being in existence, both Marquez and Bagnaia looked to be favouring last year’s GP24 engine and chassis during testing, which is not entirely surprising given its level of performance and superiority over the rest of the field in 2024.

Don’t forget also, that whatever engine is homologated for 2025 will also have to be used in 2026 as well, with no development allowed, so Ducati’s decision to stick with a known quantity of an engine is hardly surprising. What this means, of course, is that Marc Marquez had only to get to grips with an already-developed chassis and engine, rather than trying to sort out whole new designs, which can only help his confidence for the season.

The prospect of another Ducati-dominated season shouldn’t necessarily fill us with enthusiasm but when has MotoGP been any different? Also, if the fight between Bagnaia and Marquez is anything like that between Bagnaia and Jorge Martin in 2024, then we should be in for another vintage year of racing, especially as Marquez is not one to sit back and defer to a teammate who has been with the team a long time and had great success.

It would just be nice to have a couple of other manufacturers getting a sniff of a podium or race win, although, on the sketchy evidence of testing, neither Yamaha nor Honda are in a position to challenge at the front and KTM might be able to if the conditions are right, but consistently challenge, even with Acosta on board? As much as I’d like to see it, I’m not sure.

Talking of Martin, he was unfortunate enough to suffer a nasty, bone-fracturing high side after only 13 laps on the Aprilia in the first test of 2025, meaning that he missed the second test and will therefore enter the 2025 season rather unprepared, on a bike that is completely different to the Ducati GP24. The Aprilia RS-GP is a proven race winner but it hasn’t been as consistent as the Ducati. Could Martin be that magical and elusive “right rider on the right bike at the right time,” that brings success to Aprilia? Aprilia team manager Paolo Bonora admitted that the first four races of the season will be extended tests for Martin, having missed so much of the pre-season testing. That means he’ll be playing catch-up for the first two or three races but we know he’s got the pace if the Aprilia can match his talent.

There are a lot of new rider/team combinations this year, even if some teams have remained stable. The factory Yamaha and Honda teams retain the same rider line-up as in 2024 but elsewhere, it is all changed.

After being snubbed by Ducati, Enea Bastiannini moved to Tech3 KTM but he’s been struggling to adapt to the KTM whilst trying to unlearn how he rode the Ducati. Maverick Viñales, Bastiannini’s teammate, is also citing a completely different braking style to get the best out of the front end of the KTM. In the factory KTM squad, Pedro Acosta was again working his magic and was the fastest of the four KTMs, ending the test fourth overall.

Jack Miller definitely likes the front-end grip of the Yamaha, confirming what Quartararo has been saying all along. The Yamaha, like the Honda, just needs more power, although would that upset the balance of the chassis? It’s not a case of simply bolting in the rumoured V4 as that will necessitate a whole new chassis, designed around the power and torque characteristics of a V4 configuration. With the engine freeze, is it likely that Yamaha will take a chance on the new V4 for 2025, as untried as it is, or will the team wait until 2027 to bring it in? That could mean a further two years of pain and non-results at a time when they can least afford it.

Yamaha will at least have four bikes on the grid this year, with Pramac making the shock transfer to the Japanese team from Ducati at the end of 2024, despite having won the title on the Italian machine. This added rider input will likely only have an effect from 2027 when the new rules are introduced, but who knows how it will pan out through 2025 and 2026? The engine development freeze will negate some of the advantages of having four riders but the chassis might benefit.

Elsewhere, Franco Morbidelli has headed to the Pertamina Enduro VR46 squad, although he remains on Ducati machinery. Miguel Oliveira joins Miller at Pramac Yamaha, Marco Bezzecchi joins Martin at the factory Aprilia squad, and rookies Fermin Aldeguer, Ai Ogura and Somkiat Chantra make their MotoGP debut at Gresini (Ducati), Trackhouse (Aprilia) and LCR Honda respectively.

Let’s face it, though: for all the flurry of news and conjecture around pre-season testing, the season really begins when the pit lane lights turn green for the first practice session at the first GP which, this year, is set to be in Thailand on the 28th February. Only then will we have a proper idea of the pecking order and, even if the odds favour Bagnaia and Marquez being at the front, it is by no means a foregone conclusion.

The Dakar Rally is the ultimate test of endurance, skill, and mental fortitude. Every competitor lining up at the start dreams of making it to the finish line, but the odds of survival diminish drastically for those who fall behind early in the race. Once you slip into the back of the pack, making up time is nearly impossible. Statistics show that riders who fall behind tend to exit the rally within the next day or two. The reason? A brutal combination of terrain conditions, vehicle traffic, and an unforgiving race structure that turns the back of the Dakar into a battlefield where survival is the only goal.

The Hell at the Back

The further back you start, the worse the conditions become. Unlike the leading riders who experience the dunes and trails in their relatively untouched form, those in the back face a course that has been completely destroyed by the passage of hundreds of vehicles before them. What was once smooth sand is now a relentless labyrinth of deep ruts, massive holes, and churned-up fesh-fesh (fine, powdery sand that swallows bikes whole). Rocks that were buried in the morning are fully exposed, turning sections into treacherous minefields. Every turn, every crest, and every kilometre presents a new battle to stay upright.

The Dust, the Cars, and the Trucks

Falling to the back means riding in perpetual dust clouds that reduce visibility to nearly zero. The trucks and cars that started later in the day catch up quickly, and when they do, the real danger begins. Unlike a motorcycle, a car or truck driver has limited visibility and often relies on their Sentinel warning system to alert slower riders. But in the chaos of the Dakar, that beep might come too late. Being passed by a truck in the dust is a harrowing experience—several tons of metal moving at high speed, unable to see you, leaving you choking in a cloud so thick it blots out the sun. Every moment in this environment is a gamble, and the more time you spend here, the higher the risk of a catastrophic crash.

The Time Spiral: No Way Forward

When you start late, you lose daylight. And in the Dakar, daylight is everything. The early starters have the advantage of racing in full visibility, with clearer trails and less fatigue. The further back you are, the more likely it is that you’ll be racing against the clock, literally, as the sun sets and darkness sets in. Riding at night in the Dakar is a nightmare—navigation becomes infinitely harder, shadows distort the terrain, and exhaustion sets in faster. The later you finish, the less rest you get before the next brutal stage.

The numbers don’t lie: The more time you spend on the bike each day, the worse your chances of finishing. Riders in the back spend significantly longer in the saddle than the leaders, increasing their physical and mental fatigue.

A prime example—my total riding time for Dakar was 116 hours on the bike (Specials only, if you include liaisons it is 160 hours), compared to 53 hours for the winner. That’s more than double the time in brutal conditions. My average? 9 hours per day of non-stop riding. Compare that to 4 hours per day for Daniel Sanders. The longer you ride, the more drained you become, making mistakes more likely. Fatigue leads to crashes, crashes lead to injury, and injury leads to withdrawal.

The Emotional Toll: Losing Friends Every Day

Historically, depending on the year, weather, difficulty, and terrain, only 50-60% of riders finish the Dakar each year. For me, emotionally, the hardest part was “losing friends” every day. Just as I made friends with a rider in the back and got to know him, the next day or the day after, he was gone. The mental anguish, stress, and fatigue of losing my riding partner every second day was incredibly difficult. It was inevitable—given the statistics, every time a riding partner did not show up to the start line, I knew I was one position closer to being in the same boat. Consistently being in the back and staying in the race, given the physical and mental challenges each day, is one of the hardest things to do. The loneliness of seeing those you bond with disappear from the rally makes the fight for survival even harder.

Defying the Odds

If you find yourself in the back and somehow manage to stay in the rally, you are fighting against every statistic. The withdrawal list tells a clear story: once a rider drops back, the likelihood of finishing drops with each passing stage. Every day spent at the back of the pack is a day spent defying the numbers, pushing through exhaustion, dodging trucks, and fighting through terrain that has become nearly unrideable. The Dakar is already the toughest race on earth, but for those stuck in the back, it transforms into a relentless war of attrition.

To survive here is to embrace suffering on a level most riders will never understand. It’s not just about speed; it’s about pure, unfiltered willpower. Because at the back of the Dakar, you’re not racing to win—you’re racing just to see another sunrise.

After sharing his preparation and insights through the Decoding Dakar series, Willem Avenant successfully completed the Dakar Rally. Drawing from the invaluable experience gained there—alongside years of rally racing across the globe, race director roles, training camps, and expert roadbook writing—his passion is to grow the rally community and help others succeed. Whether you’re looking to tackle your first rally, compete in Dakar, master navigation, or need a seasoned race director or team manager, Willem is here to help.

Reach out at [email protected] or connect via social media: @willemavenantracing.

Husqvarna Racing is set to charge into the 2025 racing season with a dominant line-up of championship-winning riders. Every rider on the roster is a proven titleholder, ready to defend their crowns and chase even greater success.

Leading the charge is Davin Cocker (#1), who dominated the 2024 season by clinching both the Overall and Open Cross Country championships. A fierce competitor known for his relentless drive and aggressive racing style, Cocker will once again take on the Open class aboard his Husqvarna FX 350. With a target on his back as the reigning champion, all eyes will be on him as he aims to defend his title.

Returning for his second year in the OR3 class is Luke Walker (#312), who had a standout 2024 season, securing the OR3 championship while also finishing third overall in the series. Armed with his Husqvarna FE 250, Walker is determined to hold onto his title and build on last year’s success. Not one to be confined to a single discipline, Walker also made waves in the Enduro scene, showing remarkable consistency by finishing second in the final three rounds of the season in the E1 class. This year, he will continue to push the limits in Enduro aboard his Husqvarna FE 250.

Completing the trio is Travis Teasdale (#1), an undisputed force in the Enduro world. Teasdale had a phenomenal 2024 season, securing both the Overall and E2 Traditional Enduro titles, while also dominating the National Hard Enduro Gold Class. His expert technical skill, coupled with unmatched endurance, makes him a formidable opponent in every race he enters. For 2025, Teasdale will be back on his Husqvarna TE 300, determined to maintain his hold on the top spot.

The action kicks off this coming weekend in Bronkhorstspruit, where Cocker and Walker will line up to defend their Cross Country titles in the season opener. With a rider lineup stacked with talent and commitment to excellence, Husqvarna Racing is primed for another season of high-octane success.

I don’t like riding the N4 from Gauteng to the Lowveld. It’s 350km of mostly uninspiring riding. The East Rand is a happy hunting ground for Gauteng traffic cops and shortly after crossing the provincial border, Mpumalanga cops are keen to give you a warm, expensive welcome. The road is infested with 26 and 34-wheel behemoths which usually stay in the left lane but have an irritating habit of overtaking each other on steep uphills and then battling it out for last place while a queue of cars builds up behind them. The Middelburg toll fee is R79.00 for a bike. It’s also R79.00 for a taxi carrying 18 passengers and towing an overloaded trailer. Clearly, this is unjust and therefore it behooves us bikers to sashay through without disturbing the moths breeding in our wallets. From Middelburg, it’s 100km to the Machadodorp toll plaza where the fee is an eye-watering R118.00, the country’s most expensive Class 1 toll fee. Total toll fees for a return trip are R394.00! Eina! After Machadodorp things get better. There’s a choice between riding Schoemanskloof or the Elands River Valley road past the gargantuan Sappi mill at Ngodwana. Both are excellent riding roads characterised by fast-flowing sweepers. But they hardly compensate for the tedium of the N4 and the outrageous toll fees.

On the infrequent occasions when I ride to Joburg I make a point of riding alternative routes. The destination is important but the journey is where adventure awaits. There’s real Africa out there and it’s easy to discover away from the N routes. In the immortal words of Lou Reed:

“Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side”
I said, “Hey Joe, take a walk on the wild side”

1 of 2

On Tuesday morning I collected a Suzuki GSX-S1000GX from Freedom Motorcycles in Nelspruit. The GX is a razor-sharp sport touring bike, a crossover motorcycle that combines the precision and performance of the legendary GSX-R1000 with the upright seating position and long-distance comfort of a touring machine. It weighs 232kg full of fuel. The GX is characterised by sharp lines, aggressive styling and rakish good looks. The vertically stacked pair of LED headlights is flanked by upswept LED position lights, the menacing eyes in the GX’s predatory lupine face. The GX is a wolf in wolf’s clothing.

I spent time with Dewald, the Sales Manager, so he could explain the myriad electronic settings of the Suzuki Intelligent Ride System (SIRS). For long-distance, high-speed riding, I chose medium settings for Power Mode, Traction Control, and Suspension Damping. Over more than 1000km on roads that varied from excellent blacktops to patched, potholed deathtraps, the settings suited me perfectly.

With my minimalist travelling kit strapped to the GX, I rode south on the R40. Nelspruit to Barberton is 40km of high speed, excellent condition tarmac which features the extremely tricksy Hilltop Pass. Hilltop has eight vicious corners that will give you big eyes if you run in too hot. But if you get them right, you’ll grind the hero blobs and erase every vestige of chicken strips on your rear tyre. It’s a brilliant pass. From the foot of the pass, the road runs through the valley of the Noordkaap River where the never-ending sweepers tempt you to hang off further and further and give your tyres a good scrubbing.

At the junction with the R38, I rode east into the mountains. The first of two passes is Botha’s Nek which winds up rugged mountainsides cloaked in pine and eucalyptus plantations. The corners are fast and flowing and overtaking slow-moving vehicles is easy. From the summit the views over the Lowveld are spectacular. The second pass is Nelshoogte which drops steeply to undulating grasslands. Over the three passes, I discovered that the GX is a finely crafted weapon for dealing with challenging roads. Handling is precise and predictable, brakes are potent and progressive, and the bi-directional quick shifter is uncannily smooth and seamless. The GX was fitted with new Michelin Road 6 tyres which are developing a reputation as the best all-round tyre on the market. With all these factors in my favour and on roads that I know well I was riding like a maniac with his hair on fire, loving the speed and the confidence instilled by the Suzuki.

After the recent good rains, the Vygeboog Dam overflowed into the Komati River, which rushed like a torrent under the road bridge. On the flatlands approaching Badplaas, I bombed along at 180km/h, enjoying the soulful aural accompaniment of the 999cc mill spinning easily at 8000rpm. Despite the slim dimensions of the windscreen, the wind protection was remarkably good, and I was becoming increasingly impressed with the bike’s blitzing long-distance capabilities. This was going to be an exceptional ride.

I could have continued straight on to Carolina but I like the deserted R541 that runs southeast to Lochiel across vast savannahs. On one of the long straights, I tucked in and wound the GX to 230km/h with the engine howling sweetly at 10000 rpm. I’m sure I would have seen 260 if I tried but sometimes enough is enough. At the intersection with the N17, I stopped for a photo of the sign that declares this to be the Grasslands and Wetlands route. The N17 to Chrissiesmeer and thence to Ermelo is 100km of bucolic verdant meadows scattered with sparkling pans like sapphires strewn on a billiard table. It’s one of the most beautiful roads in the land but on this day I had no eyes for the scenery. I was focused on the ominous darkening sky on the eastern horizon. In the metropolis of Warburton, I stopped and donned a jacket that was gifted to me on a Harley launch many years ago. I had never worn the jacket and always assumed it was a rain jacket. Short before long, I discovered how wrong I was.

1 of 3

20 kilometres from Chrissiesmeer I rode into a maelstrom. On the grasslands, there was no place to hide and I had no choice but to ride on. It was the worst storm I’ve ever ridden in. Swirling torrents of rain and thrashing winds reduced visibility to practically nil. The darkness under the cloud was riven by incandescent lightning bolts and I found myself wondering what it would be like to be struck by lightning. Cars and trucks loomed like spectres out of the gloom and as I passed I imagined them thinking “Why is that fool riding in this weather?” The only upside was the Michelin Road 6 tyres which didn’t twitch once, even when I was navigating rivers running across the road. After twenty minutes of insanity, I stopped at the petrol pumps in Chrissiesmeer chilled to the marrow and dripping. It was still raining heavily so I sat in the garage shop and ate a Russian and Chips washed down with a cleansing lager.

Eventually, the rain slackened. I refuelled the bike and rode onwards to Ermelo. Now I was properly cold as the water evaporated from my sodden apparel. I resigned myself to a long cold afternoon in the saddle. I weaved my way through the chaotic Ermelo traffic and joined the N17 to Bethal. The road from Ermelo to Bethal has existed forever. Now it just happens to be a toll road with no viable alternative route. Therefore I considered toll fees to be optional and I opted to dawdle through with a smile on my face and a song on my lips. If I had stopped to pay I would have occupied an entire lane for at least five minutes. Stop. Switch off the bike. Remove wet gloves. Find a wet wallet. Remove card. Hand card to fee collector. Receive card. Drop card from trembling hand. Get off the bike. Replace card in wallet. Place the wallet back in the wet pocket. Get back on the bike. Struggle to put wet gloves back on while swearing loudly. Wipe mist from the visor. Start bike. Ride away. Just give bikers a dedicated metre-wide bike lane and be done with it. But Nooooooo! Rools is Rools! Bureaucratic idiots.

Just after Bethal, I rode out from under the clouds into bright, warm Highveld sunshine. I started to feel human again as my clothes began to dry. A few clicks past Trichardt I left the N17 and followed the R29 through Kinross, Leandra and Devon. It’s been many years since I rode through those towns. One word to describe them: Shattered. This is what I saw in the main streets: cattle and goats roaming free, piles of rotting garbage, litter everywhere, informal dwellings, shebeens, gutted buildings, wrecked vehicles, tatty spaza shops, broken fences, unemployable people sleeping in doorways. The degradation of once thriving platteland dorps is a microcosm of the destruction taking place on a massive scale across this country.

1 of 2

I continued the ride in a sombre mood and rejoined the N17 on the outskirts of Springs. At 17:00 I parked the GX outside Tonino’s Restaurant in Orange Grove. Tonino’s is a biker-friendly joint specialising in Portuguese cuisine. There were eight of us for dinner. I ordered 15 queen prawns for R225; excellent value for money. We spent a splendid evening swapping stories and talking twak as bikers do. After dinner Jamie and I rode in the rain to his casa in Victory Park. Despite tough conditions, it was an excellent day on the road. 480km of not the N4.

1 of 2

On Wednesday morning I inspected the bike before setting off. The rains of the previous day had washed every hint of lubricant from the chain. I like to think I’m a mechanically sensitive rider and therefore it makes sense to maintain the only exposed mechanical part of the bike. Jamie didn’t have any lube; he rides a shaft-drive GS and a belt-drive Harley. But I had a plan B. My route out of town was the N3 past the Suzuki HQ in Marlboro. I pulled in, Shane lubed the chain and I was back on the road at 11:00. I rode the R21 past the airport and then took the R25 to Bapsfontein and Bronkhorstspruit aka Dronkwordspruit. Riding conditions were ideal, overcast and cool. I set the cruise control at 150km/h and watched the emerald-green countryside fly by. In Bronkhorstspruit I stopped for photos at the magnificent Nan Hua Temple. The R25 crosses over the N4 and on the far side of the bridge, two female traffic cops were sitting on their BMW R1250RTs. Of course, I stopped to chat with them. They were polite enough but declined to talk about their duties so I continued on my merry way.

1 of 4

The road from Bronkhorstspruit to Groblersdal is a special ride. It traverses lush, mountainous bushveld terrain, a delight to the eye. There’s not much traffic but there are a few large settlements along the road with names you might never have heard of: Sokhulumi, Chief Magodongo, Verena and Dennilton. There are good reasons to take it easy when riding through these places. Firstly, there are myriad cattle, sheep, donkeys and goats on the road and the verges, and, secondly, there are bastard unpainted, slab-sided speed humps that launch you out of the saddle if you hit one at speed. North of Verena I stopped for a photo of the weather-beaten, almost illegible signboard at the entrance to Zithabiseni Resort. In 1999 Zithabiseni was the venue for the one and only, the first and last, the legendary Hustler Rally. In the months leading up to the rally, Hustler Magazine promised an extravaganza the likes of which South Africa had never experienced. And they did not lie. I don’t know where Hustler found so many gorgeous women but there they were in all their naked glory, basking in the sunshine, cavorting in the pool and parading their assets on stage. It was a fiesta of unbridled, gratuitous female nudity. I nearly went blind. But that was then and now I needed to gijima because I still had distance to cover.

I stopped in Dennilton for a photo of an old, abandoned Komatsu grader standing forlornly on perished tyres, slowly decaying in its final resting place. That sad machine suggested these lines from Shakespeare:

Fear no more the heat ‘o the sun,
Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou they worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en they wages…

After Dennilton the road runs through the astonishingly fertile valley of the Olifants River, an Eden of citrus orchards, vineyards, maize, and a cornucopia of vegetable crops. The roadsides approaching Groblersdal are a colourful array of stalls selling crops from the valley; oranges, pumpkins, watermelons, mangoes, potatoes, onions and butternuts. It’s a happy scene and the stalls appeared to be doing good business as motorists stopped to stock up on fruit and veggies. It was a quick 60km blitz from Groblersdal to Stofberg through beautiful game-fenced bushveld panoramas and past Rooikraal Dam. I was expecting the R555 from Stofberg to Roossenekal to be a potholed disaster area but it wasn’t too bad. I turned off the R555 and rode the R577 across the plains towards the bulwarks of the Steenkampsberge looming ever larger on the eastern horizon. It was an exhilarating ride up and over De Berg Pass down into the flatlands. If you’ve never ridden De Berg, add it to your bucket list. It’s a magnificent spanking road on a wild, rugged mountain. Just before Jaap se Hoogte chrome ore trucks from Burgersfort join the R577 and for the next 10 kilometres the road is smashed. It’s a very bad section but to put things in context this was the only dodgy tarmac in two days and more than 1000km.

1 of 2

In Lydenburg, I had a decision to make. Long Tom Pass or Robber’s Pass? Robber’s was the longer option and it was only 15:30 so time was on my side. I rode north towards Ohrigstad on the R36. The last time I travelled the R36 was in July 2024. Then it was a potholed deathtrap but it has since been repaired and is in reasonable condition. 30 kilometres from Lydenburg I hooked right onto the R533 and steeked across the grassy plains to the foot of the pass. I have a healthy respect for Robber’s Pass. It never sleeps; it waits! I rode fast on the ascent to Crystal Springs and then took it easy on the steep hairpin descents to the valley of the Sabie River and Pilgrim’s Rest. The road is almost always littered with loose gravel and this day was no different. I love the tight bumpy road from Pilgrim’s up and over the mountain. It’s a good workout for rider and machine. No surprise, the GX bounded up the mountain like a surefooted goat. The R532 to Sabie is an iconic Mpumalanga road characterised by long, balls-to-the-wall sections as well as the butt-clenching corners near Forest Falls and Mac Mac Falls. If you know the road it’s high speed heaven. If you’re not familiar with the road err on the side of caution. And then, like a horse scenting the stable, I left Sabie and rode full tilt on the R537 to White River. That road is 44km of come-to-glory sweepers interspersed with flatstick straights, one of the best +200km/h biking roads in the country guaranteed to have you grinning in your helmet like a demented ape. As the sun set I pulled into my casa in Nelspruit with a very satisfying 560km day on the road behind me.

1 of 2

Allow me to restate the point of this article. If you’re riding from Gauteng to the Lowveld there are magical roads and intriguing places to the north and south of the N4. Challenging roads, amazing vistas, unexpected experiences, friendly people, and weird platteland dorps are yours to discover. Why drone along the N4 when an African adventure awaits you?

KTM South Africa is set to ignite the 2025 racing season with an electrifying line-up across Motocross, Cross Country, and Enduro disciplines. With a strong team of defending champions and rising talents, the Red Bull KTM Motocross team and the Brother Leader Tread KTM Cross Country and Enduro teams are primed to fly the orange flag high for the 2025 season.

The Red Bull KTM Motocross team will be led by Cameron Durow, Luke Grundy, and Trey Cox. Durow returns as a dual defending champion, aiming to retain his MX1 and MX2 titles aboard the KTM 450 SX-F and KTM 250 SX-F, respectively. Grundy enters his second year in the MX2 class, eager to make his mark on his KTM 250 SX-F. Meanwhile, Cox will take on the High School class once again aboard his KTM 125 SX, determined to defend his championship title.

1 of 3

The Brother Leader Tread KTM Cross Country team features a mix of seasoned champions and ambitious contenders. Kerim Fitz-Gerald will return aboard his KTM 350 XC-F, following a strong finish last season. Scott Heygate, aboard his KTM 450 XC-F, is ready to chase the Open Class title after narrowly missing it last year. Matthew Wilson, a two-time OR3 champion, is set to regain his title on the KTM 250 XC-F, aiming to further cement his dominance in the class.

1 of 3

The Brother Leader Tread KTM Enduro team welcomes a blend of fresh energy and experienced talent. James Moore, new to the Brother Leader Tread KTM Enduro team but no stranger to the KTM Group family, will compete in the E2 class aboard his KTM 300 XC-W, bringing his technical expertise and endurance to the forefront. Young talent Matthew Stevens rounds out the team and will step up to the E1 class on his KTM 250 EXC-F, eager to put his skills to the test in the discipline.

1 of 2

The adrenaline-fueled 2025 season kicks off this coming weekend in Bronkhorstspruit, where the Brother Leader Tread KTM Cross Country team will take on the first round of the year. With a powerhouse line-up across all three disciplines, KTM South Africa is set to make an unforgettable impact on the championship territory.

Stay tuned as these riders push the limits, chase podiums, and uphold KTM’s legacy of racing excellence. The orange squad is ready, let the 2025 season begin!

#ReadyToRace

I must have been in a coma for a decade. Until a month ago I had never heard of the Ubuntu Run even though the first run was held in 2015. I’m a member of a WhatsApp group, Moz/Swazi Sun Riders and one of the members posted the Eswatini Ubuntu Run flyer on the group. I spoke to my friend Carlos Paiva, convenor of the Swazi Rally, and we agreed to ride together. Done deal!

The Ubuntu Run was the brainchild of Rod McBride. The intention was to connect diverse groups of bikers who might not usually ride together. Ubuntu means “I am because we are” and embodies virtues like compassion and humanity. The idea caught on and from small beginnings, the Ubuntu Run is celebrated in nineteen African countries, in Portugal and the USA.

On Saturday afternoon I rode from Nelspruit to Eswatini via Barberton, Badplaas, Lochiel and Oshoek Border Post. The border crossing was swift, painless and short before long I was flying down the magnificent sinuous two-lane blacktop that runs from the border to Mbabane. Near Manzini, I rode south and pulled into Riders’ Ranch for the weekend as the guest of Carlos and Sonia.

Sunday was a perfect day for riding. We rode to Matsapha Inn, the starting point for the run. The parking lot started to fill up as the Swazi clubs rode in: King’s Brigade, Hyena, Swazi Boyz, Harley Boyz, and Macs. Many of the Swazi guys were on litre-class superbikes, mainly BMW S1000RR, and all of them were without number plates. Seems the Swazi cops have a very relaxed attitude towards bikers. There was a big contingent of Mozambican bikers who rode in from Maputo. It was good to meet them face to face having only connected with them on WhatsApp before.

1 of 3

The ride began just before 10:00. 111 bikes left Matsapha Inn on a 200km lap. For the first 100km, we followed roads I had never ridden before. Eswatini has had excellent rains. The rivers were flowing strongly and the countryside was a patchwork of lush green meadows and eucalyptus plantations. We regrouped at the crossroads at Gege. Like an idiot, I hadn’t filled up that morning and I wasn’t sure I would make it to Nhlangano. There was a derelict fuel station at the crossroads. Half the roof had collapsed and the other half looked very dodgy. But the fuel pumps were still there. I’m an optimistic fellow so I rode in but it was obvious the pumps hadn’t worked in years. And then Sylvester appeared bearing a five-litre bottle of 95 octane. While he decanted the precious fuel into my bike he gave a well-rehearsed speech about how he was looking for a business partner to invest in re-opening the garage. I politely declined.

1 of 5

Carlos and I left Gege ahead of the pack and rode the brand-new road to Nhlangano. The road had been open for less than a year and was in immaculate condition. From Nhlangano I was back on familiar roads riding north in the valley of the Mkhondvo River. I always stop on a low-level bridge over the river and this ride was no exception. In previous years the river flowed gently through the pipes under the bridge but this time there was a deluge roaring through the pipes. We rode down the valley and ten kilometres from Riders’ Ranch the TFT screen on my GSA went blood red. I had ridden over a roofing screw which made such a big hole that the tyre deflated instantly. I always carry a tubeless tyre puncture repair kit but the tyre was so flat that it was impossible to insert a plug and the hole was so big that a CO2 bomb rushed straight in and straight out. I limped back to Riders’ Ranch. Carlos continued back to Matsapha for lunch at the end of the ride. I stayed behind with my wounded bike. Later that afternoon Carlos’s factotum Nene inflated the tyre with a compressor and plugged the hole but by now it was too late to ride back to Nelspruit which wasn’t a problem. I’m retired so one day is just like any other.

1 of 3

As things turned out it was a good thing I didn’t ride to Oshoek on Sunday afternoon. There was a monumental catastrophe up at the border post. A 26-wheel, 50-ton, coal carrier interlink lost its brakes on the steep downhill to the border post. The juggernaut demolished buildings destroyed sixteen cars and dumped its load of coal before grinding to a halt. Miraculously nobody was killed. On Monday morning the border post was back in action even though all the staff still had startled expressions and big eyes from the drama of the previous afternoon. I retraced my Saturday route and once I was through the border I was home in under two hours.

1 of 3

That was my first Ubuntu Run and it won’t be my last. I met many new friends and travelled new roads. And that’s what biking is all about, the road, the ride and the brothers. Roll on Ubuntu 2026.

Pepson Plastics Racing Kawasaki with Motul and Michelin enjoyed the perfect start to its 2025 Gauteng GXCC Cross Country Series season with a cracking performance at the Rysmierbult season opener on Saturday.

“Now that’s the way to open a new season!” Pepson Plastics Kawasaki team boss Iain Pepper explained. “We won three of the five classes we entered and the lads enjoyed a brilliant day in the saddle all around, our Kawasakis ran like clockwork and the entire team simply clicked back into action after the off-season.”

Fourth overall, Cameron Becker rode his Pepson Plastics Kawasaki KX250X to a compelling OR3 class victory. Pepson Plastics Kawasaki Masters King Pieter Holl kicked off his championship defence with a dominant class victory riding his familiar Pepson Plastics Kawasaki KX450X. And young Jake Pretorius started his 2025 season with an OR4 victory on his Pepson Plastics Kawasaki KX250X.

“Congratulations also to the rest of the Pepson Plastics Kawasaki guys. To our team riders, Wian Wentzel, who was fourth in his OR1 debut and Jaycee Nienaber who had a steady run to seventh in OR1, Jayden Boyce seventh in OR3 Pro Am and last year’s 85cc South African champion Derek van Aswegen eighth on debut in OR3.

Also to the rest of our brilliant team, well done one and all. “What more can I say than to congratulate our three winners and the rest of the team on an incredible performance, well done one and all,” Pepper concluded. “All the hard work, especially over the off-season has paid off handsomely and Pepson Plastics Kawasaki has started the 2025 season in perfect winning style!

The next chapter in Ducati’s South African journey was written last night as Volkswagen Group South Africa officially took over responsibility for the importing and sales, including parts supply and servicing, of the iconic Italian brand.

Ducati has been owned by Lamborghini, itself a member of the Volkswagen Group, since 2012 so to bring the brand under that umbrella in South Africa is a logical step and should secure the future of the brand in this country for many years to come.

Simphiwe Nghona, Head: Sales and Marketing at VWGA, said: “Ducati is a premium international motorcycle brand with a strong and proud heritage. Over the years, it has built a loyal and passionate client base in South Africa which our company is excited and looking forward to servicing from now on. We are confident that the current and future Ducati clients will positively benefit from our established sales and after-sales processes, as well as our dealer network.”

In a difficult time for the motorcycle industry in SA, VWGA is planning to grow the Ducati brand and broaden the client reach by integrating the Ducati brand into three dealer sites, which will be located in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal. The current approved retailer in Gauteng (World of Motorcycles in Centurion) has been retained for the region. A new retailer in Cape Town, which is an existing Audi dealer, has been appointed. The plans are in progress to appoint a retailer in Durban for KZN.

Nghona added: “We have set an ambitious growth target for the brand in its first two years of full operations under the VWGA stewardship. Our target is to achieve a double-digit market share in South Africa by the end of 2026 from the current market share base. The brand growth will be boosted by a range of exciting models which will be introduced in South Africa over the next two years.”

VWGA has appointed Tertius Cronje to head the Ducati Brand in South Africa. Cronje has 24 years of experience in the automotive retail business gained in the local and international markets. His experience includes 10 years in the motorcycle retail business.

“South Africa is the ideal environment for our motorcycle range, either for track use, twisty roads or gravel. I am sure that this, together with the passion and professionalism of our new partner, Volkswagen Group Africa, will allow us to provide great experiences to our Ducatisti, allowing us to expand our presence in the country and get closer to their needs, also considering that in the country there are some of the greatest collectors in the world of special cars and bikes,” commented Francesco Milicia, Director: Global Sales & After Sales at Ducati Motor Holding Spa.

The Linex bLU cRU Yamaha Racing Team is thrilled to announce its official rider lineup for the 2025 season. Competing in the GXCC Gauteng Cross Country Series, the team is set to take on the competition with an impressive roster of talent.

Meet the 2025 Linex bLU cRU Yamaha Racing Team:

Zander King – OR2 Pro Category | Yamaha YZ250FX

Shawn Badenhorst – Seniors Category | Yamaha YZ450FX

Pieter Colyn – High School Category | Yamaha YZ125X

The team is determined to make an impact in the highly competitive GXCC series and get the Linex name out there. With a strong mix of experience and rising talent, Linex bLU cRU Yamaha Racing is ready for the 2025 season.

“We are extremely excited about this new venture for 2025 with the race team. With the end goal being an increase in sales and getting the Linex name out there” said Justin Boniface (Team Manager). “Zander, Shawn, and Pieter bring an incredible mix of skill, determination, and passion for the sport. With the support of Linex Lynnwood, Linex Sandton, Yamaha Motor South Africa and our amazing sponsors, we are confident in a strong season ahead.”

The team extends a heartfelt thank you to its sponsors, whose support makes this journey possible: Linex Lynnwood, Linex Sandton, Yamaha Distributors South Africa, A.M.P, Bikewise, Leatt, 32Gi, Bandit Graffix, PSP, CWC Electrical, Plasson South Africa, Mzanzi Agriculture, Nova Feeds, and AFGRI.

Fans can catch the Linex bLU cRU Yamaha Racing Team in action at all GXCC events throughout the season. Follow the team’s journey on social media for race updates, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive rider insights.

1 of 3

Triumph recently opened a new dealership in Centurion. Resplendent in typical Triumph style it is a top-notch operation. To introduce local riders to the brand they had an open day with their range of bikes available for demo rides. Triumph boasts a great range across the various genres and the event was extremely well supported. Chatting to Ian Van Der Merwe after the event he shared that more than 140 folks had put bums on Triumph saddles, and that in the course of a Saturday morning! Coffee, cold drinks and yummy boerie rolls all went down singing hymns!

What impressed me too, was the amount of effort our friends at Motul put into the event. It was cool catching up with Jackie and the rest of the Motul crew. A range of their motorcycle products were also available to “demo”. Helmet & Visor Clean, Moto Boost & Clean, Wash & Wax Spray, Helmet Interior Clean (the Helmet & Visor Clean also comes in a pocket-sized bottle which, in my opinion, every rider should have in their jacket pocket).

The modern-day motorcyclist is truly blessed to have bespoke motorcycle and kit care products of this quality and type. I have used Motul products elsewhere to good effect too. We recently did a road trip to the Cape with my wife’s Suzuki Fronx, which included 40 odd kays of dirt road. There was a brisk breeze blowing and the car got very dusty inside when we had to hop out to open the farm gates. Irene was bemoaning the state of her car’s interior, specifically the dust-covered dash. Motul Wash & Wax Spray to the rescue. I sprayed some on a soft cloth and wiped down the dash thoroughly then rubbed it up. Voila! Restored to an as new lustre.

The bright red Motul gazebo and banners set off well against the classic Triumph Corporate charcoal colours. It all hung together to make a memorable event. Like with the Triumphs available to ride, Motul also allowed their customers to “try before they buy”. Good job to all who made it such a festive and successful occasion.

1 of 12

For more information visit: Triumph Centurion / Motul South Africa

Sometimes you feel that you just need a kick start to your end-of-year chilling. Doing something that just plain says ‘Relax!’. My mate Brian came up with an idea. “Why don’t we speak to Corrie at Lambretta and see if he can hook us up with a couple of 300s?” “Damn straight” I retorted, “why don’t we?”. Corrie, with his overdeveloped sense of adventure, was a pushover. There was a condition, however. “No problem, but I’m coming too!”. I phoned my mate Abrie from Angel’s Mist B&B in Kaapschehoop, my preferred chill spot. As always, he was accommodating, so it was trip on.

As is typical with these spurs-of-the-moment trips, our numbers soon swelled. My son Dave and stepson Ryan signed up, as did my old mate Loy, who was on a road trip from Cape Town with his trusty Honda NC700 DCT with over 150,000 trouble-free k’s on the clock. My buddy Vernon was keen to do an open road trip on his BMW F 900 GS, so he too jumped at the opportunity for a quick over-nighter. And so, the original two became three then five and ended up at seven!

We rode out of Pretoria earlyish on a Saturday morning. Dave was on his 310 GS and Ryan piloted my NC 750 DCT. The Lambrettas immediately impressed with their willing engines and ride quality on the rather pockmarked back road to Bronkhorstspruit which would take us onto the N4. Scooters can have a choppy ride due to their stiff chassis and shortish travel suspension. Not so the Lambrettas. They exhibit good damping and an all-round comfortable ride. In no time the cavalcade was on the highway and heading east at a decent clip. The Lambretta is almost eerie at speed in that it is uncannily smooth and gives no sign of mechanical stress whilst cruising at the legal limit. I can confirm that the green ones are the fastest! For some reason the green beast that I was riding was a Rocketship, easily outpacing Brian’s stunning red chap and Corrie’s black fellow.

We turned off at the Balmoral turnoff for breakfast at the Boer war-themed restaurant alongside a poignant Boer war concentration camp cemetery. After a hearty brekkie, we strolled through the cemetery, appalled at the number of young mothers and tiny children that succumbed to what ironically was termed a ‘Gentleman’s war’. Back on the bikes, we fuelled at the Ultra City then rode ever eastwards. Just after the Belfast turn-off we pulled into the Bergendal memorial to the last pitched battle of the Boer war. this preceded the guerilla warfare phase, where small bands of highly mobile boers led the might of the British Empire a merry dance around the country. After a good leg stretch, we cruised a little further, through the tunnel at Waterval Boven where we stopped and then rode through the old original tunnel which runs parallel to the current tunnel.

The old tunnel is only accessible by foot or, of course, by bike. This leads to a decaying wooden deck which provides a great view of the waterfall off the escarpment which feeds the river in the valley below. Only Brian and I were aware of the tunnel’s existence, so it was a revelation to the rest of the group. The ride through the tunnel is pitch dark but it is not long before you literally ‘see the light’.

Back on the bikes, we continued down the valley, loving the cool air and even getting the odd spot of rain on our visors. We refuelled in Ngodwana before riding up the mountain to Kaapschehoop. The quaint little village owes its existence to gold being discovered there around the time that Barberton and Pilgrims Rest all experienced gold rushes. Small herds of feral horses, remnants of boer war mounts which got ‘left behind’ and flourish to this day, still frequent the village. The town was enveloped in mist which morphed into light rain at times. We got settled into Angel’s Mist and then, after a quick cold one, proceeded to the office, or rather ‘Nagkantoor’, the iconic little pub in ‘bo dorp’ run by investigative journalist and author, De Wet Potgieter.

A year’s worth of concerns and cares seeped away as we ‘kuiered’ up a storm as only a bunch of motorcycle mates can. The little pub was particularly festive with a wedding party popping in to slake their thirst, or top up on Dutch Courage perhaps? By now breakfast was a distant memory so we decided to stroll down to the pub and pizza spot next door to our lodgings. The mist was now even heavier, and a general cool dampness prevailed. Festivities continued unabated over dinner, and it was a bunch of happy and content chaps that strolled next door for a wee drop of the red stuff before hitting the sack. All except Corrie that is.

Taking a little longer to don his wet gear than the rest of us, we had already made our way home before he emerged. In mist-induced confusion, perhaps slightly enhanced by a carafe or two of red, he turned left instead of right, embarking on a long and arduous tour of Kaapschehoop. Everything seems to look the same in the pea soup fog covering the village. After a tour of the furthest reaches of the town, he resorted to technology to aid his navigational skills and phoned me to drop him a pin.

In no time he pitched up at Angel’s Mist, which begs the question as to how far and wide he wandered. His tale of woe was the source of much mirth at breakfast the next morning. His fitness app on his phone told the story of a comprehensive tour of Kaapschehoop. The ride home was epic. It was a deliciously cool morning with hints of blue sky breaking through. The bikes ran sweetly in the crisp air.

Exiting the extortionately expense tollgate before Milly’s near Machadodorp, I gave the Lambretta its head to see what the green machine could do. Granted it is a significant downhill, but I was astonished to see the little 300 nudging 160 kph, pulling well into the red. It always remained rock steady, a testimony to excellent design and build integrity (please note dear reader that such lawless frivolity can be hazardous to your health and is not recommended and should not be emulated).

After a coffee and more war stories at Milly’s, and a top up at the Ultra City, we kept a loose formation, occasionally enjoying some slipstreaming fun until close to Pretoria where we waved our goodbyes and headed to our respective homes. Thinking about the weekend it once again occurred to me how much richer we are thanks to our motorcycle habit. A night away on an eclectic mix of bikes and we were refreshed in body and soul.

The Lambretta I rode is an obvious answer to urban mobility, and perhaps long-distance touring was not high on the design brief, yet the fact that it took it in its stride is testimony to a beautiful, efficient and superb scooter. Owning a bike like this makes economic sense and opens endless possibilities for getting away from the daily grind. You can embrace life in a way that seems to come naturally to the Italians. Thank you, Corrie, oh and by the way, just remember that the green ones are the fastest…

For more information on Lambretta scooters visit – www.lambrettascooters.co.za

My love for all things petrol-powered stems from my dad and his passion for motorsport, adventure and motorcycles. Let’s just say it didn’t take long before I got my first bike. I wanted a motorcycle since the day I could say the word, so my dad made little three-year-old me a promise, and that promise was: “As soon as you learn to ride a bicycle, I will buy you a motorcycle”. By age four, I was on a 98-2001 KTM Pro Jr 50; the rest was history.

Project bikes, throwing spanners at one another during late nights spent in the garage, going to the race track, watching racing after church on Sundays and plenty of open road rides later, it’s fair to say that motorcycles have been the glue of our relationship. Life is a funny bugger though, it throws obstacles, piles of work and with that excuses of why it’s never the right time to go for a proper road trip.

This leads us to the title of this article – a question frequently asked by my dad, “when are we going on that bike trip?” My dad longs for road trips and has had many bucket list rides that he consistently looks back on, so I made him the promise that when the time is “right” we should go on an adventure bike trip. Life and all of its excuses happened to me but eventually, our calendars aligned.

Our plan was simply no plan, well that’s not entirely true, we had a destination and we wanted to stick to b-roads, dirt roads and railway line service routes, basically skipping out on all the boring tolled roads. My dad and I like traveling light so GoGravel backpacks for luggage were all we needed and repair kits were all stored under our bike seats. Talking about bikes, our short list of potential bikes grew and then shrank, crossing off all the heavy 1000 cc plus adventures and rather looking at the more exciting, lighter and dirt-capable middle-weight adventures. Our taste and style of riding soon led us to the Husqvarna Norden 901 and the new BMW F 900 GS.

My dad and I have had a massive crush on the Norden and in particular the Expedition model, which wasn’t available for our trip, but the standard model mixes good open road manners with decent enough dirt-worthiness for both mine and my dad’s skill level. One bike that I never thought I’d see my dad swing a leg over or choose for our trip was Bavarian’s new F 900 GS, the old GS stigma lives no longer with the new 900 thanks to decent Showa suspension, good ground clearance, aggressive off-road geometry and a strong but smooth power delivery. It doesn’t look like your typical GS, but rather a rally bike crossed with an adventure bike, which gets the thumbs up from old Julio and me, especially in the BMW motorsport colours and gold rims.

Day one of our semi-planned two-nighter adventure trip was to visit Julio’s high school mate David Seitz in Witbank, ride to some Nostalgic parts of my dad’s home town and then excavate some dirt at speed towards Dullstroom for our overnight stay at Kinlock Lodge. From Pretoria, we decided to head down Boschkop Rd passing Kitty Hawk Aerodrome and turn left onto a dirt road called Spoorweg Ave, just before the train bridge. This network of dirt roads led us to the R104 which popped out just before Bronkhorstspruit and then seeing us through to the Balmoral turn-off.

Usually, I turn onto the highway at this split road for a short stint, but my dad wanted to show me a scenic road that my grandfather would always drive back home on—even after the highway had been built he always enjoyed driving through the countryside. Nowadays you will find mining operations to the left and right of the R545, but it is still a scenic and peaceful route to take, so much so that I decided to stop for a picture and began to reflect on my time spent with my granddad—I could imagining him driving his Bronze Mazda Capella down this road with the windows down back in the day.

We rolled into Witbank, shot the breeze with David, enjoyed a recommended single track back to the main road and took in the last bit of the Witbank at the dam. First impressions of Witbank? It isn’t as bad as people make it out to be, yes there are some rough parts but the potential of the town and the development that is taking place far out ways the negatives.

Witbank to Dullstroom is just under 120 km and we thought we would b-road through Kromdraai to Middleburg and then catch the R104 to the turn-off that takes you into Dullstroom. Whenever I ride a road bike in this area I always get jealous of the adventure riders, this road makes your inner meerkat itch and it did for both myself and my dad. After the turn-off, we were on the railway line and cutting through the green pine forests into town. I just love adventure bikes!

Before heading into town for dinner we quickly dropped our backpacks off at Kinloch Lodge, a beautiful countryside lodge nestled up in the hills 12 km outside of Dullstroom en route to Highland Gate Golf Estate. If you love the countryside, rolling hills, good hospitality and fishing, Kinloch is a must-visit. Dinner saw us chat about how both bikes faired on day one and how the spec sheets paint them so similar, but in reality they have two completely different personalities.

The BMW surprised both of us as to how well it handled the dirt, the suspension ironed out the corrugations, rocks, ruts and jumps but what made riding off-road on the F 900 GS so comfortable was the dirt-focused rider triangle. Navigating the electronics rider modes was simple on the fly, with the mode button on the right switch gear selecting from the road-biased Dynamic to the dirt-worthy Enduro Pro mode with a single press of the button and better yet switching TC off was just as simple with a button on the left switchgear. For a modern bike filled with sophisticated electronics, we were both happy to see how easy it was to navigate.

The Norden was definitely a favourite coming into this ride and having ridden both models before I was glad to hear similar feedback from my dad. We were both impressed with how light the motorcycle feels due to the lower centre of gravity thanks to the low-slung fuel tanks. Fuel economy, fuel range, comfort and peppiness from the motor from low in the RPM range was a consistent visor open and giggle every time we made a stop. In what world is a KTM, I mean Husqvarna a better do-it-all bike than a BMW, yes I know BMW has an F 900 GS Adventure, but frankly, the base Norden fits right in the middle of both Germans, as it does with its Austrian cousins.

Negatives so far on the BMW were short fuel range from the small 14-liter tank and what we complimented the F 900 GS for on the dirt was its compromise on the road, leaving you slightly uncomfortable in the seat and arms on prolonged tar stints. On the Husqvarna, we had got the bike a day before our road trip and the suspension wasn’t set up for our ride and we felt it on day one with many angry head shakes both on the tar and especially on the dirt. After opening the Norden’s suspension manual we quickly dialled the suspension on its more sporty off-road setting making our complaint null and void. Suspension setup aside, the engine heat riding through town was a bit toasty, but that’s just nit-picking from me.

At this stage, both bikes were like two tasty meals that neither of us could make our mind up on quite yet—we also had plenty more riding to still do.

Day 2 saw us ride up to Mashishing formerly known as Lydenburg to meet up with old family friends Philip and Lenie Grover, before winding our way through twisty mountain passes and logging routes into Sabie for an overnight at Sabie River camp, a ZA Bikers favourite. We decided to ride the potholed R504 with plenty of reserves left in the wrist and boy is that road stuffed, we do hope to see the road works in Mashishing carry their way out onto the R504.

Once in Mashishing, we road up a lovely dirt road where we got to stretch both bikes’ legs and suspensions on the way up to the Grover’s. Once at the gate we wound our way through a stunning pine forest to Philip’s place and were greeted by massive Caucasian Shepherd Dogs or Caucasian Ovcharka as they are formerly known. A stout was a must as we planned to stay out of the blistering sun, spend some quality time chatting with the Grovers and also get to know and build trust with the dogs.

You must be thinking, what the heck is a Caucasian Shepherd Dog? These big grizzlies are large livestock guardian dogs that are native to the Caucasus region, notably Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Dagestan. These stunning dogs were bred in the Soviet Union from about 1920 from dogs of the Caucasus Mountains and the steppe regions of Southern Russia. Philip’s wife Lenie takes care of these amazing hounds and is a South African breeder.

From the Grovers, we headed out on Long Tom Pass and enjoyed plenty of twisty tar. The one reason I love adventure bikes is that you don’t get a set menu like you do at a Michelin-star restaurant, but rather you get the full menu which means you are never dissatisfied. We got to the top of Long Tom and we could have easily chosen another twisty way down that was on dirt and it didn’t feel like we were sacrificing that much on tar compared to a touring bike and not that much on the dirt compared to a lighter travel bike. These adventure motorcycles are truly for those who have FOMO (fear of missing out) and once you’ve experienced it all you’ll struggle to go back.

We settled down in Sabie after riding as much tared and dirt road nirvana as physically possible in beautiful Mpumalanga. If you love riding bikes Sabie has it all, fast road riding, twisty logging routes and slow and technical forest routes, at one stage my dad and I were making our own routes as the skies had blessed the mountains with plenty of rain, leaving us with overgrown forest sections. Over at camp we lit our fire, poured our rum and just sat back reflecting on two full days of adventure riding, finding new routes and making awesome memories.

Right there we knew “that” bike trip had come to an end and we had already started planning “that next bike trip” by the time the ice in our rum had melted in toasty Sabie. Owning an adventure bike allows you to see the world or those holiday destinations from a completely different perspective, from being there to getting there and bonding over it all at the end.

1 of 34

As for the motorcycles we were impressed to see what these two companies had built after what seemed like engineers taking notes from one another. A wild off-road focused beamer and a feature-packed and sophisticated Husqvarna—two fantastic adventure motorcycles with two very tasty flavours.

For more information on the bikes featured in this article, click on the links below…

2024

BMW F 900 GS

Pricing From R253,450 (RRP)

Brand: BMW Motorrad

2023

Husqvarna Norden 901

Pricing From R246,699 (RRP)

Brand: Husqvarna

There is an iconic line in the 1975 movie Jaws when Chief Brody sees the shark for the first time. With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he mumbles: “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” Having just visited the second AMID Motorcycle Expo at Red Star Raceway, I feel that we are going to need a bigger venue soon! I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout, and that warms the cockles of my motorcycle heart.

At the beginning of 2024, Arnold Olivier, National Director of AMID (Association of Motorcycle Industry Distributors) put together a Motorcycle Expo at Red Star Raceway. The event itself was organized on very short notice, which resulted in some manufacturers not attending because of other commitments. However, this was only the start of something that will hopefully become a permanent fixture at the end of January each year.

The event coincided with the Suzuki Rider Safety Day which in itself is a wonderful initiative. The Suzuki Rider Safety Day allows riders of any skill level to come and improve their skills in the safe and controlled environment of the track. I have to give a special mention to the guys and girls at Suzuki. They really pour back into the motorcycle community. Not only are they one of the major supporters of Cancervive, but they also provide motorcycles for the CMA Riding Academy.

This initiative helps new riders understand the basics of operating a motorcycle on their rolling road, and they also have scooters on hand to help beginner riders. Of course, none of this will be possible without Quinton and his crew at Red Star Raceway.

This day, however, had even more to it, and the line-up of manufacturers was quite a sight to see. At last year’s event, almost all of the exhibitors could fit into the pit area of Red Star. This year, the pits were fully occupied by the manufacturers, therefore, the accessories and gear sections had to be moved to their own dedicated area.

Honda gave us a first glimpse of the new 1000cc Hornet SP. Honda South Africa will only get the SP version of this bike, and pricing has not been finalized. However, speaking to Riaan Fourie from Honda, the price will be substantially less than what you will shell out for the latest CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Where the Fireblade is a track-day weapon, the Hornet will be a practical, everyday bike with similar performance.

Over at the BMW stand, most of the space was taken up by the new R 1300 GS Adventure, decked out in every conceivable add-on you can think of. I know this bike will sell well here in South Africa, but man, that bike is big! Next to it, the standard 1300 GS looks almost dainty.

The new kids on the block, CF Moto, had a very impressive stand, and their range is quite extensive. That MT 450 looks like such a good bike for people like me!

Yamaha brought their XSR 900 GP to the expo and this really is a beautiful machine to witness in the flesh. It was also good to see Kawasaki, SYM and Triumph join the fray this year.

The extended accessory section included everything from motorcycle gear, luggage solutions and tyres. The guys from Bikewise were also on hand to clean helmets and look after your Arai helmet. I grabbed a hat from the friendly people at Motul which helped to keep the sun off my face. I also had a long chat at the AXOR helmet stand. They have a stunning range of affordable helmets and will be good news for cash-strapped consumers.

For me, the highlight of the day was the racing, organized by Neil Harran and his team from the South African Motorcycle Racing Academy (SAMRA). SAMRA has been going for 16 years, and most of our young racers have graduated through this program. With full backing from Honda South Africa, they have 58 Honda NSF 100 motorcycles for the kids to race on.

These are small motorcycles, but the program is only for ages 6 to 14. Also, absolutely no experience is required for you to join this program. They will even teach you how to ride. Once new riders are up to speed, they can go and race. To make the series fair, you get allocated a motorcycle on the day, so everyone races on equal machines. Neil pointed out that parents are not allowed near the bikes! On Saturday, the kids put on an 8-lap demo race, and maybe somewhere in there is the next Brad Binder. It was wonderful to see.

I sincerely hope that this event will keep growing so that we will need a bigger venue very soon. This is a wonderful initiative, and again we have to thank everyone involved in putting it all together. May our motorcycle sales numbers climb, and may we have an even bigger turnout next year!

Another gruelling Dakar Rally has come to an end and, yet again, the performance of both two- and four-wheeled entrants had a distinctly South and Southern African flavour.

While riders and drivers of the calibre of Henk Lategan – who was to finish an agonisingly close 3 min 57 seconds behind eventual winner Yazeed Al Rajhi – Giniel De Villiers, Ross Branch and Brain Baragwanath are well-known to enthusiasts, what might not be so well-known is the fact that a large percentage of cars taking part in the rally are of South African origin.

The SA-built Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux EVOs were allocated to four driver/navigator teams, but there was disappointment for two GR teams who unfortunately could not reach the finish. After starting and finishing 21 Dakar Rally events and winning the race in 2009, Giniel de Villiers was forced to retire after Stage 6 due to his navigator, Dirk von Zitzewitz, having to withdraw due to a neck injury. This event was also the last outing for De Villiers as part of the Toyota Gazoo Racing squad.

Their teammates, Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy, were also running well but experienced mechanical issues early in the race that dropped them down the field. They kept pushing and finished behind their teammates in second place on Stage 8 but rolled their GR Toyota Hilux EVO in the following stage and had to call it a day. Last year, Botterill finished sixth overall and was the best rookie at the event.

Midrand-based Century Racing had no fewer than ten cars entered, seven finishing. Another South African manufacturer, Red-Lined, entered four cars, and they all finished.

WCT Engineering, who manufacture rally-raid race vehicles for the local and international market, had a successful Dakar, as the SA prepared VW Amarok, in the hands of regular competitors in the SA Rally-Raid Championship, German driver, Daniel Schröder together with local SA navigator, Henry Köhne, made it to the finish in Shubaytah.

As mentioned, the SA team of Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings finished in a close second place with their South Africa-built Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux EVO, after covering a total of 7,828 kilometres. The team won the Prologue on the first day, while they also won Stage 8 and led the field until Stage 9 and again at Stage 10 before losing it to eventual winners Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk on stage 11 and running second to the end of the rally.

Four GR teams completed the Dakar Rally in the top 20 with Seth Quintero/Dennis Zenz finishing ninth overall, Lucas Moraes/Armand Monleon 14th and the 19-year-old South African, Sawood Variawa and his French navigator, Francois Cazalet, in 20th. Variawa also became the youngest driver to win a stage.

The SA team of Brian Baragwanath/Leonard Cremer were 10th while their French counterparts, Mathieu Serradori/Loic Minaudier, brought their CR home in sixth place overall.

South Africa was well represented at the overall finish line in various teams. The multiple ‘Malle Moto’ Original by Motul (No Assistance) motorcycle finishers, Stuart Gregory, navigated the Zimbabwean, Will Battershill, to 38th place in the Ultimate T1.2 Class in the CR, while the young Dutch student Capetonian, Puck Klaassen, had the winner of the 2023 Original by Motul Motorcycle Category, Charan Moore from Ladybrand, showing the road in the T3.1 Challenger Class. The team finished 19th after an extremely challenging event, which saw them arrive back in the bivouac in the dark of night after being towed for nine hours on Stage 9.

They eventually finished just ahead of the young American, Corbin Leaverton, who had the young South African female competitor, Taye Perry, reading the notes. Perry is no stranger to the Dakar; she completed the 2020 Dakar Rally in the motorcycle category and navigated for Cyril Depres in 2022 when they finished 19th in the Car Category.

In the motorcycle category, two riders from SA managed to complete the distance with Michael Docherty winning Stages 8, 10 and 12 overall, finishing 14th overall and fifth in the Rally2 Class, while Dwain Barnard was 48th overall. Bradley Cox crashed out during Stage 6 while Aaron Mare did so in Stage 9.

The 2025 Rally Raid series continues with a brand new round in South Africa, the South Africa Safari Rally from the 18th to the 24th of May, in the North West and Limpopo provinces. For more information, head to – www.sarallyraid.co.za

Delivery bikes are now a way of life on the roads of South Africa and, while they offer not only convenience for the consumer but also employment for thousands of riders, it would be fair to say that the safety record of some of the riders isn’t the best. With that in mind, Bajaj South Africa has initiated a partnership in conjunction with its dealers and the Radah Skills Academy.

Radah Skills Academy is a skills development and training program designed to empower South African youth. Their initiative provides extensive rider training, mentorship, and placement opportunities in the delivery sector. The program lasts for six months and includes a variety of support services. Radah Skills Academy offer a New Venture Creation (NVC) course, assists beneficiaries in registering their own companies, helps them obtain learner’s and driver’s licenses Code A/A1, and ultimately connects them to major delivery platforms, such as Takealot, Mr D and others. They aim to help participants secure sustainable employment, achieve financial independence, and contribute positively to their communities.

Bajaj dealers will be the contact point for companies looking to recruit riders, and the dealers are empowered to offer rental solutions to businesses, which includes rider training. The first of these transactions involved Bajaj Hatfield and Takealot Centurion.

30 lucky riders met at Bajaj Hatfield after 6 months’ training at Radah, to collect their brand-new Bajaj Boxer motorcycles, from where they rode to the Takealot Centurion depot, but not before Radah Skills had filled up the petrol tanks of all 30 bikes free of charge.

Upon arrival at Takealot’s Centurion depot, riders filled in forms to become official Takealot delivery riders. Takealot also took them through a short classroom session explaining service delivery (how to talk and treat clients) and how the App works on their phones. Shortly after getting the thumbs up, riders grabbed their new work uniform and a drink – once again supplied by Bajaj SA – and headed out for their first day of delivery work.

1 of 22

It doesn’t sound like much but Bajaj SA is looking to roll out the initiative to Bajaj dealers countrywide, not to mention strengthen relationships with the likes of Takealot and other big delivery bike fleet users, to ensure the safety of everybody who uses the roads. A small step maybe, but an important one.

For more information, visit: www.bajajsouthafrica.co.za

It’s a measure of how impatient we are for the 2025 MotoGP season to get going that I am writing this preview before the teams have even revealed their liveries, let alone conducted any meaningful tests so we can get some idea of which way the wind is blowing. There are a lot of new team/rider combinations, with very few teams remaining as they were at the end of 2024, so we enter 2025 with a lot of unknown factors.

The biggest shocks must surely be the defection of Jorge Martin from Ducati (Pramac) to the factory Aprilia team, and Marc Marquez’s promotion to the factory Ducati squad alongside two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia.

If Ducati had opted for anyone other than Marquez in 2025 over 2024 champion Martin, then it would have been a hugely controversial move on team manager Gigi Dall’Igna’s part. As it was, Martin felt betrayed by the factory Ducati squad, having finished second to Bagnaia in 2023 and taking the title in 2024 and feeling he was a shoo-in for the second factory seat, never mind the fact that, had he stayed with Pramac (and had that team stayed with Ducati instead of changing to Yamaha), he would have been guaranteed a fully up-to-date GP25. Ducati’s loss is definitely Aprilia’s gain but can that team give Martin the goods to fight at the front?

As it is, Ducati has a massively strong line-up, with Bagnaia and Marquez. What Marquez achieved on a year-old GP23 in 2024 was nothing short of miraculous, especially when no other rider of that model got much of a sniff of the podium. Of course, it’s no guarantee that he will gel with the GP25, or that the bike itself will be as dominant as previous iterations but you have to think that the momentum is with Ducati Corse, with perhaps the only real challenge coming from Aprilia.

Of course, that ignores the possibility of KTM, Yamaha and Honda getting their acts together in 2025 but, as much as it pains me to say it, that seems unlikely. For that to happen, we will have to wait until 2027 for the new rules to come into effect.

The financial woes of KTM are well known, so no need to go into them here but it’s hard to see the wisdom of tens of millions being spent on racing when so many staff are being laid off and bikes are sitting unsold. If KTM had been challenging for wins and titles, maybe the expense could be justified, but how much marketing benefit is there in coming sixth, seventh, eighth or worse every weekend? Racing is nothing but hard-nosed and unsentimental so perhaps KTM’s withdrawal would leave the door open for a Suzuki return or even a BMW arrival? One thing is for sure, the grid could really do without losing four bikes (two factory KTMs and two satellite bikes.)

Yamaha finally has four bikes on the grid – two factory and two run by Pramac – obviously hoping that doubling the rider feedback will help drive the development of the M1 in the right direction. However, that hasn’t worked for Honda or KTM so why should it be any different for Yamaha? Much has been made of the impending change to a V4 engine from the last inline-four engine on the grid but surely expecting that alone to propel Yamaha to the front again is wishful thinking?

The factory Yamaha team remains stable, with Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins riding. Prima Pramac Yamaha gains Jack Miller, widely acknowledged to be brilliant at developing bikes, so that will help. He teams up with ex-Trackhouse Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveira, so it’s an all-new team that will hit the tracks in February.

The Factory Honda team also remains stable, with Joan Mir and Luca Marini surely hoping for something much better in 2025 after a dire 2024. The loss of Repsol as title sponsor after 30 years will rob the grid of a familiar sight and many will hope that it’s not the beginning of a descent into obscurity for the long-standing and hugely successful MotoGP manufacturer. You have to hope that that is unlikely but stranger things have happened, and the world market for road motorcycles isn’t looking too healthy at present time, so how long before manufacturers feel that spending millions of dollars on racing is worth it?

LCR Honda retains Johann Zarco and introduces the first of three rookies to step up from Moto2 in the form of Somkiat Chantra. The squad naturally rides on the fortunes of the factory Honda, even though LCR outperformed Repsol Honda in 2024.

As mentioned, the factory Aprilia squad has champion Jorge Martin on its strength, and joining him will be Marco Bezzecchi, fresh from the VR46 team, where he was riding a GP 23. Trackhouse Aprilia will field Raul Fernandez and second rookie Ai Ogura.

The third and final rookie comes in the form of Fermin Aldeguer, who partners Alex Marquez in the Gresini team, riding Ducati GP24s.

VR46 will field Ducati GP24s, ridden by Fabio DiGiannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, who will surely be hoping for a stronger season after his preparations for 2024 were derailed by a bad crash pre-season.

Red Bull KTM Tech 3 has an all-new line-up, with shock signing Maverick Viñales being joined by Enea Bastiannini, who will surely be hoping to make Ducati rue their decision to drop him from the factory squad in favour of Marc Marquez. Whether that will be possible, remains to be seen.

And that leaves the factory KTM team, Brad Binder being joined by rookie sensation Pedro Acosta. The question marks over the manufacturer’s future will no doubt be weighing heavily on the team’s mind but, for me, there is another, more pressing question.

Brad Binder has long been the darling of the KTM team, signing a multi-year deal very early on, which will take him to the end of the 2026 season – should KTM survive that long.

However, along comes Pedro Acosta, who causes a sensation in his first races on a satellite KTM RC16, outscores all the other established KTM riders and scores immediate promotion to the factory team for 2025. He has suddenly become the KTM rider everyone is looking at, perhaps to the exclusion of Binder. How does this sit with the South African? How do you react when a rider with – supposedly – more talent comes along and threatens your position in the team? If Acosta can do in 2025 what he did in 2024, it could be that KTM will find itself punching above its weight in the championship.

Of course, there are many variables; will the 2025 RC16 suit him? Could his input benefit Binder (and vice versa, naturally)? Will neither of them be able to challenge the Ducati dominance? Will Acosta’s presence fire up Binder to greater heights?

As an adopted South African, naturally, I hope that Binder will rise to the challenge and give as good as he gets. Acosta’s arrival might just be the rocket that KTM needs up its arse to start running consistently at the front and if Binder can benefit, then he’d be a fool to resent it.

In the next few weeks, we’ll get the first looks at all the teams in the official tests. Only then will we get some idea of where MotoGP 2025 will be heading and I can’t wait.

For the tenth year in a row, participating in the Roof of Africa was made a little easier thanks to Motul’s Bike Wash facility. Being able to blast off the dust and mud after each stage helped competitors get maximum performance from their motorcycles and made running repairs less challenging.

This year, the Motul Bike Wash facility involved a partnership between Motul and Industrial Supply Centre (ISC) with their Husqvarna HB34 pressure washers, Extreme Clean manager Craig Kruger and his team, EcoTanks and Cashbuild Maseru – and the teamwork continued after the race had ended.

Following the conclusion of the ‘Mother of Hard Enduro’, the 4750L EcoTanks water tanks were generously donated to the local Ts’enola community, in collaboration with Cashbuild Maseru. This initiative, spearheaded by the Bike Wash partners, marked a significant contribution to community support and sustainable development efforts in Lesotho.

During a heartfelt induction ceremony, Craig Kruger and his right-hand man, Brendon Venter, received traditional Basotho garments as a token of the community’s appreciation. The event underscored the profound impact of the donated water tanks on local livelihoods, especially in an area where access to water remains a challenge.

Reflecting on the initiative, Craig Kruger remarked, “It was deeply humbling to witness firsthand the transformative power of this donation. Access to water is a basic necessity that many of us take for granted, and while it is more available in the Maloti Mountains, in Maseru, it can be a scarce resource. Through the Motul Bike Wash partnership, we are making a real difference, one tank at a time.”

Recently appointed Ts’enola Community Deputy, Thethuoe ‘T’ Lelakane, has been part of the Motul Bike Wash team for nine of the ten years, and now this initiative has come full circle, with a member of the team benefitting from water tanks donated to his community.

Mercia Jansen, Motul General Manager for Southern and Eastern Africa, explained that “Without the support of local communities, events like the Roof of Africa would not be possible. We are privileged to have this opportunity to give back through initiatives that resonate with our commitment to community empowerment,” she added.

For more information on Motul’s diverse product range and ongoing corporate social investment initiatives,  please visit Motul’s website.

The disappearance of the AMID Motorcycle Expo after so many years was a huge blow to the motorcycle industry in South Africa, even if the reasons for its ceasing to exist were understandable – increasing costs and lacklustre support from the manufacturers, who were finding it hard to justify the costs.

AMID (Association of Motorcycle Importers and Distributors, a representative body for the motorcycle industry) realised that the industry would continue to contract if action wasn’t taken and, at the beginning of 2024, partnered with Red Star Raceway to create a much toned-down motorcycle expo that maintained the function of getting motorcycle, accessory, and apparel brands in front of the motorcycle community en masse.

It was judged to have been a big success, so much so that a second Red Star Raceway Motorcycle Expo has been announced for 2025, taking place over the weekend of January 25th and 26th.

Entry is free, and visitors will be able to look at the latest models from the following confirmed attendees: BMW Motorrad, Can-Am, CF Moto, Ducati, GasGas, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Husqvarna, Kymco, KTM, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Lifan, Linhai, Polaris, Suzuki, SYM, Triumph and Yamaha.

In addition, there will be many of the premium accessory and apparel brands represented, making the Expo a must-attend event.

Sadly, the track will not be open for demo rides, which was such a strong feature of the Kyalami-hosted shows. While this is disappointing, it should in no way detract from what will prove to be another excellent weekend of motorcycling fun.

On Saturday, Suzuki will be running its bike safety road school. You’ll need to be pre-registered—your local Suzuki dealer will help with that, or you can contact Red Star directly on 076 624 6972.

After the excesses of Christmas and New Year, the Red Star Motorcycle Expo will be the perfect way to start your motorcycling year.

No matter your opinion of them, their road manners or the state of the motorcycles they ride, there can’t be too many of us who have not relied on delivery riders to make our lives that bit easier and more time-efficient. New brand names have become huge in SA motorcycling, thanks to the likes of Big Boy, Hero and, perhaps most visibly, by Bajaj, especially when the bright yellow Bajaj Qute Bolt taxis are to be seen in ever-increasing numbers on the roads.

It’s easy to be cynical about the manufacturers of delivery bikes, thinking that all they do is supply the means of transport and then leave the riders to it, with very little in the way of customer care, other than making sure they have all the relevant spares for servicing and repair. However, a new initiative by Bajaj South Africa has given lie to this assumption and it’s all rather impressive, if we’re honest.

From October through to December 2024, Bajaj SA has been giving back to delivery riders through what they have called Service Camps, whereby delivery riders (on Bajajs, of course!) are invited to bring their bike to an established workshop for a free oil service and general check-up, with incidental repairs carried out at no cost. Not only are these Service Camps a way of giving back to their loyal customers but also as a way of introducing those same riders to the workshops, which will become official and fully-branded Bajaj service and sales centres.

Gauteng service camps were held in Roodepoort, Craighall, Centurion, Hatfield, Cresta and Eersterust and over 200 services were carried out at no cost to the riders.

The initiative will continue into 2025 and spread around the country and there will be dealer-based campaigns where new motorcycles sold will include service vouchers and other benefits for the riders.

Experienced motorcyclists might turn their noses up at delivery riders but there can be no doubt that not only are they adding huge convenience to the lives of many members of the public, but the industry is empowering many small businesses and individuals. Also to be taken into consideration is the effect the sale of hundreds, if not thousands of delivery bikes every month is having on the motorcycling industry in the country.

An aspirational motorcycle a delivery bike might not be for many, but for others, it is a lifeline and a chance to support their family, by providing a service that is becoming increasingly important to – and appreciated by – so many.

Bajaj SA really should be applauded for their efforts to support these hard workers.

For more information on Bajaj products visit – www.bajajsouthafrica.co.za

OK, so that headline is a bit misleading but I couldn’t think of any other way of starting it that would avoid an explanation in the body of the text, so I bowed to the inevitable. Despite the name, Circuit Equipment doesn’t involve itself with circuit racing, at least when the surface is tarred (supermoto).

Having been in existence since 1984, Circuit Equipment is a U.S.-based company (manufactured in Brazil) that specialises in accessories for off-road motorcycles and bicycles and the range is extensive, comprising hand-grips, ‘bark- basher’ hand guards, quick-action throttles, bike protection, some bike plastics, disc guards, paddock MX stands, bar pads, rider apparel and much more.

In South Africa, the import agency for these exceptionally well-designed and engineered products is held by Autocycle Centre, a subsidiary of AutoX, which also deals with Willard, Sabat and Varta batteries for both cars and bikes, as well as Michelin tyres, Regina chains, Premier brake components and Elf motor oil for motorcycles and Nexx and HJC helmets. Adding Circuit Racing to the roster of high-quality products was a natural progression.

We recently sampled a set of grips and hand guards on a Suzuki 250 V-Strom and while we can’t comment on any impact resistance of the hand guards for the simple reason that we didn’t hit anything, we can report that the hand grips were comfortable and the hand guards looked good and felt solid and well-made.

A bit of research shows that, in the respective motorcycling and bicycling communities that Circuit Equipment works, the company enjoys a very good reputation, for both product innovation and quality. The product range is constantly evolving and expanding, with some road bike products starting to appear.

With many motorcycle brands expanding their manufacturing to India and China, we are seeing motorcycles, especially entry-level or motorcycles under 400cc being produced on a mass scale. This means that certain features lack inspiration in their design and are built for ‘mass function’ rather than flowing with the rest of the design language and we see that from the hand grips too, which just lack that tactile or premium feel. For a bike like the Suzuki V-STROM 250, which offers incredible value and represents the most affordable entry point into a world of adventure, we can account for some forgiveness.

What brands like Circuit Equipment help you do is take your ride to OEM+ for an affordable cost, with a design that fits your bike’s livery and shape. For instance, the Fenix handguards fitted to the Strom come in a variety of colours, a dash of carbon look-alike wrap and a flexible material that can take a beating. The Fenix sets you back as little as R1,200 and they are worth it, if you’ve got a smaller bike or aren’t in need of a wrap-around handguard you could look at a Vector or Dakar handguard from Circuit for half that price.

At the end of the day, you are going to spend time in the cockpit on trips, commuting and even staring at the bike well drinking a cold one with your mates, so why not give your dirt bike, commuter or adventure bike that OEM+ look it deserves with Circuit Equipment.

For more information, you can either visit Circuit Equipment’s own website, www.circuitequipment.us or Autocycle Centre’s listing at www.poweredbyautocycle.co.za

When was the last time you did something for the first time? I have been riding motorcycles for the best of forty years but have never been to a motorcycle rally. Personally, I like to ride on my own, and crowds are not my thing. I got a call from a mate who lives in George about a new rally being planned around the Oudtshoorn area. It is called the GrootVoël Rally, and hearing him talk enthusiastically about the future they envision for this one, I said yes. I wanted to find out more, and with the date booked, I had to find a suitable steed to accompany me on this journey.

After a quick chat with Conrad Koen from Off-road Cycles in Pretoria, I managed to secure the new Kove 800X Pro. Obviously, I would need something to carry my undies in, so for that job, there is only one solution: Turkana Gear. Turkana is also involved in a wonderful initiative called the Turkana Safari Challenge. They give you 15 challenges to do, and if you complete them all, you stand a chance of winning some great prizes. As it happens, one of the challenges is to photograph your bike at Gariep Dam. Quite convenient then that I was heading that way!

The Kove is a remarkably light dual-sport motorcycle, but after a brief stint on it, I was wondering whether my derriere would hold up on the 1000-odd kilometres down to Oudtshoorn. As a precaution, I made the decision to stay on the N1, all the way to Gariep Dam, and see if I could find a place to rest my weary head. The luggage solution offered by Turkana included the MadMules rackless soft bags, each side holding 15 litres. To compliment that, I added the Turkana Duffalo bag. That is good for another 25 litres. I normally carry my camera gear on my back, but with the distance ahead of me and the extra luggage solutions, I was able to fit it into one of the bags. Between the handlebars, I fitted the Turkana PelliPouch to hold all my essentials within easy reach. The Madmules fit on the Kove perfectly as the bike is already fitted with a rugged luggage rack.

As day broke on the Wednesday before the rally, I was already negotiating the first bursts of light Johannesburg traffic. The fully laden Kove dispensed the distance with ease. The 20-litre fuel tank gave a respectable range, and while I was filling up in Ventersburg, the first of many onlookers walked over to try to identify the Kove. When they heard what it was, the reaction was universally positive. During the course of the next few days, I realised that many riders are looking for a lighter bike, and the Kove is definitely on their radar. When a bike competes in the Dakar, people seem to look past its Chinese origins.

I stopped at the Sand River Convention site where, in 1852, the United Kingdom and Ireland formally recognised the independence of the Boers North of the Vaal River. Visiting national monuments is also one of the Turkana challenges. Winburg also has a very impressive structure commemorating the Voortrekkers, and the area was remarkably well-kept.

I pulled into Bloemfontein for a quick stop at Safari 4×4, the local Kove dealership. If anyone is in the area, they have great coffee! After a top-up of my favourite beverage, I headed onward towards Gariep Dam. I stopped in Trompsburg for lunch, and it always fascinates me how these small towns have a vibe all of their own. As I was devouring a burger, everyone that walked through the door, greeted the people in the restaurant by their name. Remarkable.

At Gariep Dam, I took the obligatory photo for the challenge and realised that I was not tired yet. As it was still pretty early, I pushed on to Graaff-Reinet. I figured that every kilometre I travel today is one less for me to travel tomorrow. Dinner was a delight at Hello You restaurant and I got chatting to a retired couple about travelling, and before I knew it, it was way past my bedtime. The next morning it was raining, but I was confident that the Turkana bags would keep my undies and camera dry.

I stopped in Aberdeen, which boasts one of the tallest church steeples in South Africa. In Willowmore, I stopped at the first shop that had the word “coffee” on the wall. With breakfast done, I tackled the last few hundred kilometres to George. I had to get a photo of the bike next to the ocean for the Turkana Safari Challenge, and the Outeniqua Pass stood between me and ticking another challenge. Here, the Kove amazed me. I could throw it around on the pass with some vigour, even fully laden. The front felt a bit soft on braking, but the front forks are fully adjustable, so I am sure that can be cured. I made a brief stop at Garden Route Motorcycles which will be the Kove dealer in George. From there I rode to Hartenbos, so I could hit the Robinson Pass back to Oudtshoorn.

My destination for the night was with some friends who stayed on the Oudemuragie road outside De Rust. Here, I could experience the Kove on a decent gravel road. The electronics do not offer a dedicated off-road mode, but you can switch the traction control off completely, as well as the ABS. The throttle fuelling is a bit sensitive, but it handled the ruts pretty well. The next morning I headed for breakfast in De Rust and then made my way to the rally site, the Cango Mountain Resort, outside Oudtshoorn. As the riders started trickling in, I used the opportunity to go up Swarberg Pass with the Kove. I can honestly say that I enjoyed both the Swartberg Pass and Outeniqua Pass equally. This really is a true all-rounder.

About the GrootVoël Rally

Rallies are in abundance in South Africa. Speaking to people, I did get the impression that there is at least one happening somewhere in the Republic almost every second weekend. However, this one wants to be something more than just another rally. This was the inaugural rally called the GrootVoël Rally. Their reasoning was: “If you put on a good rally, the people will come.” The upside of the location is that it is a sufficient distance from the town so the noise does not bother the residents of Oudtshoorn, but it is close enough that you could quickly pull into town should you be running low on braaiwood. As a bonus, the organisers managed to secure the Oudtshoorn airport runway for the Saturday morning, where you could do a quarter-mile drag or an uninhibited wheelie safely.

The rally aims to establish something that could eventually grow into a bike week, rather than just a weekend. If you are going to attend at least one rally a year, they want it to be this one. A lot of thought has gone into the event and there were even two motorcycles given away on the Saturday evening. The organisers are hoping to get manufacturers to buy in on the idea and bring their demo models down for the event. Just imagine having the opportunity to ride Swartberg Pass with four different bikes, back to back! The roads around Oudtshoorn are spectacular. If you are an adventure rider, there are more than enough gravel roads of varying difficulty. The road riders have beautiful passes to enjoy, and the cruisers can cruise down Route 62. It is all there. It is a biker’s paradise!

The event itself catered for all ages and affiliations. There were more than 20 different food stalls—eating lamb on a spit, served on a roosterkoek was something else! There was also a team of about 40 people that kept both the regular and temporary bathrooms clean. Overall, the rally was nothing like I pictured it in my head. These were all just normal people looking to belong somewhere with their tribe. As I walked through the campsite, I saw a beautifully maintained Kawasaki GPZ 900, the poster bike of my youth. Over some coffee, I had a long conversation with the owner about this bike. And right there, I understood the rally thing. We all share a passion for motorcycles, and having a conversation with a complete stranger about a motorcycle is just normal.

As I said in the beginning, big crowds at rallies are not my thing, but this is the beauty of the GrootVoël Rally. There are so many places in the area where you can ride if you want to be alone. And then, when the riding is done, you can come and have a cold one and some decent food, while listening to the entertainment. With more than 1300 visitors to this inaugural event, it shows that there is potential to expand this event. Let’s hope that this rally can become all that the organisers envision!

My thanks to Conrad Koen for entrusting the Kove to me. I covered almost 2000 km over 4 days, and the only issue I had was running out of fuel—my fault. I was enjoying the scenery of the Karoo so much that I did not pay attention to the fuel gauge. When I finally realised my mistake, I pulled into the only service station that had no petrol, all part of the adventure of solo travelling!

Royal Enfield, the global leader in the mid-size motorcycle sector, today announced the start of a new distribution partnership with Moto Royale for South Africa, with confirmation of the first Royal Enfield Exclusive Store in the region opening in early 2025.

Established in 1901, Royal Enfield is the oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production. It now has over 2800 points of contact with motorcycle enthusiasts worldwide, including more than 200 exclusive stores. Buyers who purchase any Royal Enfield motorcycle today receive a three-year manufacturer warranty, three years of roadside assistance, and free membership to the Royal Enfield Riders Club to engage in community events.

Moto Royale’s all-new Royal Enfield exclusive store in Cape Town, Salt River, will open in conjunction with the expansion of Royal Enfield’s portfolio of mid-size 350cc to 650cc model availability for the South African market. Customer pre-orders are being accepted from 16th December 2025 on all key models including the HNTR350, Bullet 350, Classic 350, Meteor 350, Guerrilla 450, Himalayan 450, Interceptor 650, Continental GT 650, Shotgun 650 and Super Meteor 650 – with the newly announced Bear 650 and Classic 650 will be arriving in-store from March 2025.

Commenting on the new Royal Enfield and Moto Royale distribution partnership Arun Gopal, Head of International Business EMEA said “The agreement with Moto Royale represents a huge opportunity to develop our retail footprint in South Africa. Our consumer base in the area is already modestly established with an active community of loyal riders; the opportunity lies in a growing number of urban commuters and unmatched scenery to explore on two wheels. We have selected a partner who understands our core values and will develop the local brand experience in dealerships and grow the Royal Enfield customer community.”

Sabrina Schoeder and Adam McCallum, directors of Moto Royale commented “Royal Enfield’s expansion in South Africa, with its all-new 2025 product line-up and accessibly priced range, marks the beginning of a local biking revolution whereby accessibility and community are paramount. To this end, Moto Royale has already begun a programme of retail network development to support and service customers at the level expected by one of the world’s most iconic motorcycle brands. With the launch of the first exclusive store
in Cape Town, we look forward to more South Africans joining our Royal Enfield family.”

In addition to Sales, Service and Warranty for all Royal Enfield motorcycle models, Moto Royale offers complementary products such as Royal Enfield clothing and apparel, protective equipment and genuine motorcycle accessories, as well as tours, rentals and experiences in conjunction with Royal Enfield’s official experience partner in South Africa, RETZA (Pty) Ltd.

To learn more about the power and elegance of Royal Enfield motorcycles in South Africa visit: www.moto-royale.co.za & www.royalenfield.com.

When I was a lightie I was amused by silly, non-existent books: Rusty Bedsprings by I.P. Knightly, Under the Grandstand by Seymour Butts, Seven Days in the Saddle by Major Bumsore. In November I spent seven days in the saddle of a new Suzuki V-Strom DL1050DE and I’m delighted to report that my bum was just fine and the V-Strom proved itself to be a brilliant long-distance touring machine in all kinds of weather and across all types of roads from the sublime to the ridiculous.

At 2255km the N2 is the longest numbered route in the country. My mission was to ride the N2 from its origin in Ermelo to its endpoint in Cape Town. In the days before the ride my plans were derailed. Heavy rain was forecast for the east coast from Richard’s Bay to East London. I’m not a fair-weather biker but I had no desire to ride 850km in snot flying downpours. It was an easy decision to start the N2 ride in Cape Town instead. But as you’ll read that didn’t work out either.

At 07:00 on Monday morning, I met Kyle, Suzuki Area Manager, at Suzuki HQ in Marlboro. I strapped my new Desert Fox bag to the rear seat and luggage rack of the handsome glossy black bike, got a rundown from Kyle of the bike’s features and by 07:30 I was on the road braving the insane Joburg traffic. The N3 was solid in both directions. The N1 was a mess because of an accident. Every offramp was choked and every arterial bridge over the N1 was rammed. It was a relief when Soweto disappeared in the mirrors and the open road lay ahead. With the Grasmere toll plaza behind me, I took it easy on the N1S. There was a strong smell of bacon borne on the breeze. Thrice I spotted the porcine, khaki-clad revenue collectors lurking in the bushes and blessed my highly tuned olfactory sense for saving me from their clutches.

It was perfect riding weather, overcast, cool and windless. I made good time as I crossed the Vaal, left the freeway and followed the country roads to Parys, Viljoenskroon, Vredefort and on to Bothaville. A few years back the road to Bothaville was a potholed deathtrap and it was a welcome surprise to find the road reconstructed and in 160km/h condition. The next two towns were Wesselsbron and Bultfontein. I thought I would have had enough fuel to make it to Bultfontein but I was still getting used to the range readout on the TFT screen. Once the range readout dropped below 100km the remaining range dropped at an alarming rate and the last thing I needed was to run out of fuel. Wesselsbron was a mess. Over the years the degradation of once proud and pristine platteland dorps has been a tragedy to behold. The pavements were broken and littered with uncollected garbage. The potholed main street was lined with buildings that hadn’t seen paint in a decade. Unemployed people sat in the parks and on the sidewalks with nowhere to go and nothing to do. On the outskirts of town an informal settlement of hundreds of zinc shacks mushroomed across the veld. I don’t know how this will all end but it cannot end well. I rode across the plains to Bultfontein and rejoined the N1 on the northern side of Bloemfontein.

Viljoenskroon to Bloemfontein is a ride I highly recommend. The vast flat plains are the breadbasket of South Africa. Fallow mielie fields, waiting for the ploughs, stretch to the distant horizons. The landscape is punctuated by stands of ancient bluegums and occasional grain silos. This archetypal South African scene is the essence of lebensraum and a tonic for the soul.

On the southern side of Bloem, I picked up the N6 and headed to Reddersburg 60km distant. At about the halfway point the weather ahead looked increasingly ominous, a black wall riven by lightning. But there was bright sunshine to the west and a strong wind blowing in from the west which would dissipate the storm. I expected to ride through a shower and emerge slightly moist on the other side. Oh Yeah??? I rode into a ferocious Free State tempest. Thrashing wind, pelting hail, sluicing rain, blinding lightning strikes and zero visibility. After 10km of deluge and sound and fury, I emerged into bright sunshine soaked to the skin and stinking like a wet chicken. Way to go Howard! Why bother with the neatly folded and easily accessible rain gear in your luggage? Idiot! I stopped in Reddersburg, bought a drink and stood in blazing sunshine drying out and warming up.

There’s a magical, narrow tar road that runs from Reddersburg to Edenburg. Every time I ride that road it has become narrower as the grass encroaches. In 30km I did not see another vehicle and that’s the beauty of riding backroads and avoiding N roads. Edenburg to Trompsburg to Philippolis is my favourite road in all the land. It’s narrow and bumpy and potholed in places but it runs across breathtakingly beautiful, golden, grass-covered plains that disappear in infinity where the line between earth and sky becomes indistinguishable. I stopped to say ‘Howzit’ to a battered old tortoise and revelled in the ineffable tranquillity and solitude unique to great open spaces. My destination for the day was Hanover. As the shadows lengthened I cruised through Philippolis, crossed the Orange River, bypassed Colesberg and stopped at 3 Darling Street, Hanover at sunset. 3 Darling Street is owned by Dave and Heather, old bikers from Port Elizabeth. I spent a pleasant evening in their company, ate one of their legendary pizzas and then slept the sleep of the righteous man.

1 of 7

James Taylor sang in my dreams:
“Dark and silent late last night
I think I might have heard the highway call
Geese in flight and dogs that bite
And signs that might be omens say I’m going, going…”

I woke to bright sunshine on Tuesday morning. Great, a nice warm day on the road. Or so I thought. A few clicks down the road I realised I was badly underdressed but like an idiot, I pressed on. The sunshine was a distant memory as I rode under a low scudding cloud, the colour of ashes in a cold fireplace. The temperature readout was pegged at 11°C. After 160 miserable kilometres, I stopped in Three Sisters, put on as many clothes as possible and continued to Beaufort West. If you’re in the movie business and decide to make a zombie apocalypse movie, Beaufort West is the place to go. There will be no need to hire any extras. Weird, tattered apparitions stagger through town moaning and screeching and gesticulating and making a nuisance of themselves. I know nothing about drugs but it’s clear that those benighted souls are in the grip of industrial-strength chemicals.

I rode south into the great nothingness, the 100km of desolation from Beaufort West to Klaarstroom. In Klaarstroom I stopped at The Shed, drank an excellent coffee and admired the collection of old machinery which included an aeroplane, an MGB GT and a beautifully restored Chrysler. Meiringspoort was as mystical and magical as ever, an otherworldly canyon through the mighty Swartberge “waar die kranse antwoord gee.” It was a skip and a jump to De Rust and thence to Oudtshoorn, the start of a legendary road. Route 62 is one of the sweetest rides in South Africa characterised by orchards, vineyards, meadows, lakes, wildflowers, picturesque hamlets and abundant emerald valleys flanked by rugged sunblasted mountains. Route 62 traverses an intriguing and ever-changing landscape. The towns are easy distances from each other which breaks the ride into nice bite-sized chunks.

By now the icy morning temperatures were a distant memory and I bombed along to Calitzdorp basking in the spring sunshine. Huisrivierpas is always a delight to ride. It’s tight and challenging with amazing views around every corner. Back on the open road, I rode at speed past Zoar and Ladysmith and thence to lush, beautiful Barrydale where property prices have gone aapkak because of semigration from Gauteng. Montagu, Kogmanskloof Pass, Ashton and Robertson were soon behind me and in Worcester, I joined the N1 for the last leg into Slaapstad. I was tempted to skiet the Huguenot Tunnel toll gate but decided on the less risky and more scenic option of riding up and over Bain’s Kloof Pass. I rejoined the N1 before Paarl and twenty minutes later parked the Suzuki at my nephew’s home in Durbanville.

Wednesday morning was the start of my quest to ride the length of the N2. I wanted a photo at the Cape Town Waterfront to depict the start of the odyssey. I left Durbanville, rode the N7 south and at 09:00 I joined the N1 to the city centre. I expected an easy ride but the freeway was rammed. It was horrible, high-concentration riding as I weaved through the crawling traffic. Eventually, I made it to the Waterfront which was a further nightmare with construction taking place everywhere. I took my photos and at last, it was time to hit the open road or so I imagined. Dream on Bru! The N2 past the airport, Somerset West and Gordon’s Bay was a mess. In Cape Town, every idiot, his moron brothers and his imbecile sisters, heads straight for the fast lane and refuses to budge. Add to the mayhem unsynchronised traffic lights and stupid speed restrictions. By the time I rode Sir Lowry’s Pass, I was a frazzled fellow. Houwhoek Pass was a sweet ride and for a brief while my mood improved but that was short-lived as I hit a Stop/Go at Botrivier. My usual tactic is to ride straight through but two-thirds of the road was under construction and the remaining third was barely wide enough to allow the passage of dozens of 26-wheeled juggernauts. I cooked in the sun for twenty minutes before eastbound traffic was allowed to proceed. The section under construction was about seven kilometres long which explained why the wait was so long. Ten kilometres later there was another Stop/Go and again I sat and cooked for twenty minutes.

Past Caledon, the road through the Overberg was in excellent condition. I stopped for photos of the rolling wheat fields tapestry, and vast pastel-coloured landscapes to delight the eye. I had arranged to meet my mate Gustav for brunch in Riviersonderend at 11:00 and eventually, I stopped at Die Ou Meul, in a foul temper, at 11:30.

It’s too painful to describe in detail the rest of that awful day on the road. There were four more Stop/Go sections but by now I had learned my lesson. I didn’t bother to stop, rode straight through, took my chances with oncoming traffic and damn the consequences. Shortly after Swellendam, a smirking cop pulled me over for allegedly overtaking on a barrier line. I could see he was in the mood for an argument so I shut my mouth when he presented me with a fine of R2500. Another wonderful feature of the N2 is the capricious and completely random speed limits which vary from 120km/h to 60km/h and every speed in between. There are so many changes to the speed limit, especially in the Knysna environs, that it becomes almost impossible to remember what the limit is. To make my joy complete the temperature peaked at 37°C. When, at last, I reached my friend Greg’s house in Plettenberg Bay I was hot, exhausted and angry. In more than half a century of riding that was the worst day I have ever spent in the saddle. What should have been a great day on the road was a hideous, stressful, dangerous ride. I should have been enjoying the Garden Route fragrances and scenery but instead, I spent the day wrestling with Western Cape stupidity. Thank heavens I was on a bike. Pity the poor bastard driving from Cape Town to Plett. A 550km journey that should take six hours will take nothing less than nine hours.

On Thursday morning I had a decision to make; continue the N2 ride or abandon the idea. Plett to East London would be easy but then there were three baastid sections; the unpredictable and potentially hazardous Transkei, KZN zero-tolerance land with multiple toll plazas from Port Edward to Richard’s Bay, and the coal truck-infested road from Richard’s Bay to Ermelo. Over breakfast at the extremely swanky ‘The Plettenberg’ Greg and I looked at a map and on the spot I decided to discard my N2 plans and ride backroads I had never ridden before. My decision to cancel the N2 ride was vindicated the moment I left Plett. The N2 was down to one lane in each direction and once that mess was behind me the road became a freeway. There were two eastbound lanes and a single westbound lane. I expected a speed limit of 120 but this is the Western Cape so the completely arbitrary, churlish, spiteful, perfidious, pernicious, illogical speed limit was 80.

I left the N2 and followed the R102 to Nature’s Valley, a road I had never ridden before. It was a beautiful ride through a lush floral landscape past farms with lyrical names like Blue Lilies, Narnian Meadows, Lily Pond and Four Fields Farm. To make my joy complete I found myself on the Grootrivier Pass which wound down and down through dense indigenous Tsitsikamma forest and ended at the ocean. In Nature’s Valley, I stopped at the Blue Rocks Café and sipped a bottle of Windhoek Draught which cost a stinging R50! I called my maat Gilbert and asked if I could stay at his home that evening. “Pull in,” he said. With accommodation sorted, I looked forward to spending the rest of the day exploring the R102. At the start of the Bloukrans Pass, there were all sorts of signs declaring the pass to be dangerous and closed and big arrows pointing to the N2 and the R67.50 Tsitsikamma toll plaza. To hell with that. I was on an extremely capable dual-purpose bike and the pass lay ahead. Bloukrans was a magnificent ride through never-ending tunnels of green. There were a couple of rocks in the road and that was the extent of the danger. At the foot of the Pass, I left the forests behind and rode into a landscape of pine plantations redolent with the fragrance of freshly cut timber. This day was just getting better and better.

I spent the rest of the day cruising eastwards on the lovely R102 with not a care in the world. In many places, the roadsides were brightened with hundreds of white lilies. In the meadows herds of dairy cows grazed contentedly. My helmet was filled with the perfume of flowers and eucalyptus, the smell of new-mown grass and freshly ploughed soil and the aromatic essences of the trees and fynbos of the Garden Route. This idyllic day on the R102 stood in stark contrast to the previous bloody awful day on the N2. As I rode through avenues of flowering trees I sang:

What a difference a day makes
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be pain…

Past Humansdorp and Jeffreys Bay the R102 ended. Back on the N2, I set cruise control at 120 and soon reached the exit to Blue Horizon Bay. It was a pleasant 15km chortle down to the ocean and Gilbert’s home. We braaied and drank beer and talked until late as old maats do. Gilbert’s joke: The girl says to her boyfriend “You only ever talk about bikes.” He says “What do you want to talk about?” She says “Tell me about your feelings.” He says “I really love bikes!”

Friday was a slack day with only one item on the agenda, a ride on the R102 to Van Staden’s River. Gilbert rode his Yamaha XT660 and led the way. We stopped on the low-level bridge over the river from where we had a perfect view of the massive concrete arch bridge where the N2 crosses the gorge. The bridge is known as the Bridge of Death because of the number of suicides who have leapt into the rock-littered abyss. The bridge opened on 11 November 1971 and just 12 days later the first suicide, a man from Uitenhage, jumped to his death. We spent more than half an hour in that scenic spot and in that time three groups of bikers rode past. Clearly, they were as averse to the N2 as I was. Back in Blue Horizon Bay I made the most of a peaceful afternoon and had a rejuvenating sleep. Saturday was going to be a long day on the road.

Saturday morning dawned bright and windless. I was looking forward to an 850km day in the saddle. Who knew what adventures lay ahead? As the saying goes; “The road whispers secrets only old bikers can hear.” I was on the road by 08:00. The N2 past Port Elizabeth and Coega was free-flowing and by 09:00 I was past Nanaga and riding due north on the N10. It was pleasantly cool, 19°C, and the road was in immaculate condition. Paterson was soon behind me and then it was up and over fast, tight, challenging Olifantskop Pass and onto the plains of the vast hinterland. I set the cruise control to a decent pace and the Suzuki devoured the distance to Golden Valley and Cookhouse, over Daggaboersnek and into the lush green valley of the Great Fish River. Cradock is yet another historical town that has fallen victim to the name-changing frenzy that afflicts this country. The new name is Nxuba. The coloured people of the town still live in abject poverty in baking tin shanties on a barren, sun-blasted plain. But hey, we changed the name from Cradock to Nxuba and taught them colonial bastards a lesson. Amandla Awethu!

It’s only 60km from Cradock to Hofmeyr and in that stretch, there were four Stop/Go sections which I rode straight through. I was in hurry-up mode and blitzed to Steynsburg, Burgersdorp and Aliwal North. Aliwal North was named after the Battle of Aliwal which was fought in 1846. British East India Company troops under the command of Sir Harry Smith defeated the army of the Sikh Empire. For a short time, there was also a town called Aliwal South before it was renamed Mossel Bay. Now Aliwal North is also no more. It has been renamed Maletswai.

I crossed the Orange River on the General Hertzog Bridge, left the Eastern Cape and began a long hot trek through the eastern Free State. I had already ridden 520km but I still had 330km to go. Thank heavens for cruise control. The V-Strom ran smooth and easy at my usual pace and soon I was through Rouxville, Zastron, and Wepener for my habitual stop in Hobhouse. I always stop in the churchyard to pay my respects to Emily Hobhouse who brought to the attention of the British public the diabolical conditions in the British concentration camps in which 34000 Boer women and children died during the Boer War. It’s 50km from Hobhouse to Ladybrand. That road is a disgrace, a legacy of yet another politician’s tenure as Free State Premier during which the province’s fiscus is treated as a personal bank account. There are killer potholes everywhere and to add insult to injury there’s a 10km section where the R26, the main arterial through the eastern Free State, is a dirt road. Provincial employees should go to jail for this nonsense. Ladybrand to Clocolan to Ficksburg and Fouriesburg is a lovely scenic ride characterised by towering sandstone buttresses and fertile valleys. The meadows and roadsides are home to stands of ancient trees, aspens, willow and poplars, their spring foliage shimmering in the breeze.

1 of 2

In Fouriesburg I stopped at DiPlaasstoep Restaurant. I hadn’t eaten anything the whole day and I demolished an outrageously excellent toasted bacon, egg and cheese sandwich washed down with a couple of Windhoek Draughts. I checked into the Fouriesburg Country Inn for the night. After a long day on the road, I was fast asleep by 20:30.

Sunday morning should have been an easy 400km ride back to Joburg. It started off well enough with a swift pipe opener to Clarens followed by a leisurely ride through Golden Gate which was as delightful as ever, the roadsides illuminated with banks of wildflowers, purples, oranges and yellows. I saw baboons and antelope and meerkats and dassies. And of course, there were the towering sandstone bastions that give the park its name. But as I rode north to Kestell I rode into the teeth of hammering winds from the north. Past Afrikaskop and Warden and then on to Villiers there was no respite. On the N3 between Warden and Villiers, I caught up with some other guys on bikes and we rode together for a while making exaggerated gestures to indicate how badly we were being slammed by the wind. All I could do was to hang on like grim death and endure the battering. This too shall pass! And it did. I parked the Suzuki at my daughter’s home at 13:00. I was tired but fulfilled. I hadn’t ridden the N2 but I had ridden a 3700km lap of the country.

These days if you add accessories to your new adventure bike the price will almost certainly exceed R400,000. That’s an eye-watering number and, frankly, it’s out of the reach of many men. Check these base model prices:

• KTM 1290 Adventure – R350,000
• BMW R1300GS – R362,000
• Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Pro – R340,000
• Ducati Desert X Rally – R399,000

If you want to save R100K or more then I suggest you ride the Suzuki V-Strom DL1050DE which retails for R259,000. Over 7 days and 3700km, the Suzuki transported me in safety and comfort across this land. In all that time and distance the only maintenance I performed was to lubricate the chain every evening. The long travel suspension, 170mm front and 169mm rear irons out road irregularities and reduces fatigue on serious days in the saddle. The sophisticated, proven 1037cc liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, DOHC, 90° V-Twin never missed a beat and delivered an exhilarating ride on every conceivable road surface. The 20-litre fuel tank was good for 300km stretches and suited my riding style. I like to ride without stopping until the fuel warning light comes on. The multicoloured TFT screen provided all the information I needed with one exception – no tyre pressure readout. That might be due to the new 21-inch front wheel which has a tube instead of being tubeless like the rear 17-inch tyre. Fortunately, I never had a puncture and my ride was completely uneventful.

For all the reasons mentioned here, the biggest Suzuki V-Strom is selling by the container load. This goes to show, you don’t need to spend R400K to embark on your personal journey of exploration.

Suzuki V-Strom 1050 DE

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

2026

Suzuki V-Strom 1050DE

Pricing From R261,250 (RRP)

Brand: Suzuki