December (2.1MB) - BMW Motorcycle Club of Pretoria, South Africa

December 2011 Volume 16/4 

What’s 

inside? 

• Year End Function: Fouriesburg 

• Honorary Members 

• Club Ride Reports 

• Members’ Trips: Namibia & The Hell 

• Bramley Christmas Function 

• TechTalk, Classic Corner 

• BMW GS Eco

Spoke & Piston 

2

from 

thechair 

2011 brought us Training days and Skills 

days, Club nights and Club rides, official 

events and private outings: So many Club 

members took hold of these opportunities 

to share riding pleasure and fun time with 

Club friends. The result: Another successful 

year with a great number of active 

members! 

I wish to thank every donor, sponsor and 

friend who contributed to the successes 

of events such as the YEF in Fouriesburg, 

several Bramley days and the Levubu tour, 

but also every member who holds the 

Club close to the heart. 

The RidesComm planned not only Sunday 

breakfast rides but also overnighters and 

several longer trips for next year. Find 

more detail on the rides for January to 

March on page 18. The complete roster is 

available on the website www.bmwclubs. 

co.za . Plan your year in advance and make 

the most of the riding opportunities that 

the Club has on offer! 

To those still intrigued with the bike that 

disappeared mysteriously in Clocolan 

during the GS Eco … the evidence is on 

page 7. 

Meet our Honorary Members 

Enjoy the December edition of our Club’s 

quarterly newsletter and if you don’t yet 

receive the Club’s weekly correspondence, 

the Triple R – “Reminders, Rides & 

Requests”, contact the Editor if you’re 

interested. 

May joy, love and peace be part of this 

Christmas and may you look forward to 

the New Year for a new start on all the 

good habits! 

Happy Holidays, 

Dani 

Our club is maturing as a successful association of BMW 

motorcycle enthusiasts and we are building a tradition of 

fellowship and camaraderie. In this process of defining our 

culture the committee decided it important to celebrate the 

past and recognise the role that our honorary members played 

in the forging of the club. 

It was a privilege to have so many honorary members 

attending the October Club Night. 

From left to right: Mike Hennessey, Pieter de Koker, Adriaan Scheepers, Hennie 

de Beer, Allie Scheepers, Wendy Meyers, Henri Heyns and Richard Hussey. 

Absent (now in the UK): Simon Pilfold 

In memoriam: Bruce Meyers, Brian Cannoo. 

The Committee had special badges designed and it was an 

honour to hand each of them an Honorary member Club 

badge. Mike Hennessey, former chairman, addressed the 

members with a positive message from the heart. 

CLUB INFORMATION 

Visit our website 

www.bmwclubs.co.za 

and register on the forum! 

Send your email address to 

dani@bmwclubs.co.za 

to ensure you receive our weekly 

Club correspondence: 

The Triple R 

Reminders, Rides & Requests. 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

Chairman Dani du Preez 

Secretary Corlia Koen 

Treasurer Etienne Pieterse 

S Captain Sue Coetzee 

GS Captain Marnus Pieters 

Regalia Corlia Koen 

Clubhouse Johann Meyer 

Bramley Pikkie du Plessis 

Webmaster Marnus Pieters 

Clubs Africa Dani du Preez 

representatives & Johann Meyer 

VISION & MISSION 

Our Vision: 

Shared riding pleasure 

Our Mission: 

To foster fellowship through safe, 

supportive and responsible riding 

and enjoyment of BMW motorcycles, 

in a courteous manner. 

Editor: Spoke & Piston - Dani du Preez 

PO Box 75474, Lynnwood Ridge, 0040 

c 083 260 8542 

t 012 803 7123 

f 0866 112 734 

IMPORTANT! 

Non-Club members are welcome to attend Club riding events as guests. They are, however, required to sign an 

indemnity form before participating. The form can be down-loaded from the website. The Club has an official policy 

regarding the use and financial compensation of support vehicles on official overnight Club trips. 

Spoke & Piston also appears on our website. Please send articles, pictures, comments, etc. to dani@bmwclubs.co.za 

INDEMNITY: Although reasonable care has been taken to ensure the correctness of all material contained herein, the 

publisher cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies that may occur or damage/loss sustained as a result of advice 

given. 

3 

December 2011

clubride 

reports 

October - GS’s going east 

At least there was no dust! 

Seventeen souls braved the weather to 

join the GS trip out East with not much 

rain in sight. It was however apparent that 

the previous night’s rain would leave some 

lasting impressions. I expected the club 

ride to be a bit more interesting than the 

recce ... 

As we left the tar in Irene the gravel was 

dotted with puddles and soon we had to 

ride some 2-spoor tracks filled with water. 

Just before the crater, Dani and Marius 

opted for early retirement - it’s challenging 

enough, but if your mojo is gone, it’s better 

to ride another day. Some fun was to be 

had at the crater - even the pouring rain 

didn’t stop some of the guys riding down 

and out and playing on the slopes. 

Our journey took us further along muddy 

single track and 2-spoor and the muddy 

marsh crossing that didn’t seem so muddy 

at all! The group rode the rocky part like 

champs and we set off to the second part 

next to the R21. I take my helmet off to 

everyone that toppled and just got back 

on. It was Andrionette’s first time in mud 

and she just sucked it up and carried on! 

With Roan, Andrionette and Heinrich doing 

this with Anakees, the going was tough, 

but they were tougher! 

We negotiated an extremely slippery 

railway service road section to get to the 

old MX track, where some of the boys (and 

Corlia) took a couple of laps. After that the 

general “I had enough mud, thanks” looks 

on the faces took us on tar all the way to 

Que Sera. En route Corlia had a close call 

trying to climb the road from the shoulder 

at speed, but somewhere there is one tired 

guardian angel. Pieter also had a rear flat 

which could not be fixed a second time, so 

backup was summoned. Thanks Zonica! 

The buffet breakfast at Que Sera was 

absolutely superb. Just what the doctor 

ordered after a diet of mud. Due to the 

bad weather we practically had the place 

to ourselves and the staff went out of their 

way to make us feel welcome and to keep 

the food warm for the stragglers. It’s also 

when Sithe picked up a note from Dani 

and Marius who also had breakfast there. 

Pity we missed them with about 5 minutes! 

Two thumbs up for all the lady riders and 

the bikes with Anakees - you have guts! 

My apologies for punting the ride as not 

too technical - the recce was easy, but 

somehow a little water makes everything 

different 

Thanks Etienne for sweeping and Drix for 

helping me out in front at a section. And 

for everyone that came along - I’ll ride with 

you any day!! 

- Marnus Pieters 

Etienne Pieterse: “Riding sweep on a 

ride like this is a very challenging job, you 

can normally see some of the falls, and 

I saw some spectacular falling, dancing, 

stepping, sliding, and even some gliding! It 

gave me some smiles, but it also gave me 

the chills when I see someone go down. 

The plus point of falling on a ride like this is 

that it is pretty much always at a very slow 

pace, so no real injuries, apart from bruised 

ego’s, but that is par for the course when 

you ride a GS. 

Thank you Marnus for leading a great and 

very difficult ride.” 

Roan Bester: “This ride was my second 

and Andrionette’s first GS Club ride (other 

than the Levubu tour) and a first in mud 

for both of us. It was just awesome to see 

everyone being so patient and in good 

spirit. The GS peeps are really a great 

bunch!” 


4

October - S’s opt for safety 

Rain was predicted for today. For once the 

“prophets” got it right.... 

In spite of their predictions, 20 members 

on 17 bikes arrived for the Club ride to Van 

Gaalens Cheese Farm. 

As we waited for the GS group to make 

their way to the land of mud and who 

knows what, there was time to enjoy a 

warm cup of coffee. 

With only two “classic” bikes Amos and I 

decided that we are not going to split the 

group since we were going to ride at a 

leisurely pace anyway. Amos took up the 

role of sweep. 

November - GS & S: Cullinan 

Both groups visited Cullinan on the 

morning of 6 November: 

Johann Meyer took the seventeen S riders 

on tar, on a route that entered Cullinan 

from the north, and Martin Dudley took 

the GS group via Dinokeng also to the 

hotel in Cullinan. 

Martin reports: 

“On Sunday 6 November 30 bikes, 33 

people joined us for the club ride to 

Cullinan via Dinokeng. Our first challenge 

was at the Wallmansthal off ramp on 

the N1 – they dug up the whole road! 

Some negotiated the road around the 

toll booth while others opted to find a 

path through the boulders in the road. 

At least we didn’t have to pay toll fees! 

We all made it through safe and after 

deflating the tyres we hit the first real 

dirt road. It was a nice dirt highway with 

some corrugation but everyone kept a 

Just before the Lanseria turnoff the 

heavens opened. The Petroport appeared 

just in time and we quickly ducked for 

cover. At this point I had to decide whether 

it was worth risking the group going on 

less than ideal roads in poor visibility and 

wet conditions. A quick call to Van Gaalen’s 

confirmed that it was raining hard and that 

there was a power failure and they were 

without electricity… 

The group all agreed that we head back 

and have breakfast together. Amos then 

led us to Doppio Zero in Centurion. We 

all arrived safely and then enjoyed a great 

breakfast and a good time of fellowship. 

nice speed to get through to our first 

stop next to a small stream. We also saw 

our first wild life – some kudus – on this 

stretch of road. 

The dirt road conditions were great, with 

just enough loose stuff to make it fun. 

The highlight of the ride had to be the 

sandy farm tracks. There were a couple 

of spills and an incident with a fence, but 

everyone made it through nice and safe. 

It was really nice standing under the trees 

in the shade listening to everyone talking 

about their experience through the sand! 

Everyone kept up a fair pace making 

it easy to stay on schedule for an early 

breakfast at the Cullinan Hotel. The hotel 

was packed with other bikes but there 

were plenty seats available and enough 

food for everyone. It was a nice short 

ride with all kinds of interesting road and 

enjoyed by all! 

The ride may have been short, but the 

“kuier” showed that it’s not the bikes that 

make the Club what it is – it’s the PEOPLE! 

Thanks everyone for accepting the change 

in plans so well and Amos – thanks for 

taking us to a great breakfast venue! 

- Leon van den Berg 

Thanks to Leon and Amos for putting the 

group’s safety first. It was a lot of fun to chat 

to everyone. It was also interesting to see 

how a group can confuse unsuspecting 

waiters, even without trying! 

– Anton van der Merwe 

Thanks to Pikkie for doing a great job as 

sweep and Daleen for the route planning. 

And then to all who joined the ride, the 

camaraderie was what makes the GS 

rides so enjoyable. 

Irma: 

Thanks so much for a fabulous morning 

out. The route was beautiful and the 

company fabulous. It was great fun! 

Thanks for the search and rescue effort 

when Fifi and myself went off-route 

accidentally. What’s life without a bit of 

adventure on the roads less travelled . . . 

Alwyn: 

To the Dudleys and to Pikkie - Thank 

you!! The scenery was beautiful. I love 

the twisties on those roads! Saw a lot of 

game thanks to the spotter on the back 

of my Adventure: kudu, impala, zebra, 

wildebeest, gemsbokke (me thinks) and 

also a nice “dice” with two ostriches! 

5 


clubride 

reports continued.... 

December - S: Van Gaalen Cheese Farm 

A score of bikes gathered at BP Centurion 

for the ride to Van Gaalens’ Cheese Farm. 

The weather was overcast, but the rain held 

off for the whole trip. We started off smartly 

and only discovered at the first regroup that 

one bike had not been able to start and 

so the tail end was delayed by around ten 

minutes. Force of habit made another rider 

turn off ahead of the sweep and so ended 

up making his own way to the destination. 

Having regrouped at the Diepsloot turnoff, 

we stayed tight for the rest of the trip, 

criss-crossing the Magaliesberg through 

three of the better passes in the area. The 

landscape was green, the air clear and the 

traffic was quiet. We arrived perfectly on 

time and relaxed, after a most pleasant ride. 

The food at Van Gaalens was good and the 

range of cheese on sale even better. The 

return trip was a ‘take yourself home’ trip 

and so everyone chose their own route to 

suit their individual timetables. 

If you want a great ride of just over two 

hours round trip, then download the 

Garmin route file on the forum and save it 

for future use. It’s a good trip by car too if 

you want to show visitors the scenery. 

- Richard Hussey 

December - GS: Perfect route to Rafters 

The biggest fears of a new ride leader, 

after sweating for weeks about a great but 

appropriate route are that nobody pitches; 

rain turns a level 1 route into level 4; people 

get lost; many mechanical setbacks, terrible 

food, and the worst, injured riders... Well, for 

Dicky Carstens none of these fears came 

true and the result was a great outing on 

a lovely route, and he received 10/10 from 

the judges for style and execution! 

30 gravel-hungry bikes arrived on the 

cloudy morning, with 33 souls ready to get 

grit and bugs on their teeth, as GS riders 

generally find it difficult to hide their smiles. 

Besides Corlia’s 200, the envy of many for 

these kinds of routes, we even had a Suzuki 

V-Strom joining in the fun. The only delay 

was caused by an early puncture, after 

which many great stretches of gravel next 

to railway lines, farms, dams, cattle, and lots 

of green were pieced together for a most 

enjoyable experience in the south eastern 

regions from Pretoria. Gauteng and the 

highveld in the winter can be a hard-core 

place for riding, only described as pretty 

by the biggest optimists. However, by 

December it is truly a beautiful place and 

it only takes a Pretoria GS tour to get the 

appreciation going for anyone who has 

his roots in Africa. People tend to think 

they need to travel far from Pretoria to find 

great riding ground, but this was possibly a 

challenge to our Gauteng paradigms. After 

the rains of the past week, there actually 

was much more dust than expected – just 

to remind us what we were doing with little 

mud and just enough sand to challenge 

the senses. Dicky enjoyed the new dustfree 

ride-leader privilege! 

The threatening clouds never produced 

the mud-making ingredients and made it 

a perfect riding day. The surface conditions 

were a lovely mix of jumps, power slides, 

ruts and loose GS magic and even the odd 

ploughed land detour for the brave – or 

foolish.. As noticed on other rides over the 

year, the general standard of GS riding in 

the club is definitely on a higher level and 

everyone seemed to have had fun, as was 

evident in the jovial brother and sisterhood 

displayed at the breather stops. Dicky’s last 

stop, after a series of jumps down a long 

lane of trees, must surely be the signature 

image for this ride. 

Rafters was a new food stop for us and 

99% received their delicious food within 

reasonable time. Some live country music 

was specially put on for Deon, uhh, Derik... 

and those who kuier’ed longer, followed 

by a quick trip home – the benefit of a 

destination close to home. As they say 

in the classics, fun was had by all and the 

experience of trouble was to the point of 

boring! 

- Drix Pretorius 

Sithe, Etienne & Johan 

Dit was lekker om Etienne saam te hê op sy 

laaste rit voordat hy na Qatar verhuis. (Sien 

bladsy 18) 


6

GSEco 

Marius du Preez 

Clocolan was the place to be early in 

October where BMW Clubs Africa with a 

sponsorship by BMW Motorrad, organised a 

major event for 615 proud GS owners. 

Almost 70 of our Club’s members enjoyed 

the different routes: colour coded green, 

orange and red. Everybody did their best 

to be back from the out-rides by 15:00 to 

witness the Skills Challenge, organised by 

Jan du Toit and his team. The evenings 

were most enjoyable around camp fires, 

with good company and delicious dinners 

served in the marquee tent. Despite the 

cold nights, thin mattresses, lack of cold 

water (Yes, the water in the showers was at 

boiling point!) and a dismal performance 

by Bryce Lawrence with the whistle, 

everybody looks forward to next year’s 

event: 18 – 21 October. 

Evidence... 

Bavarian Motorcycles BMW GS Eco Team: Rally results 

Roger and Adriaan organised an excellent rally to get everyone to Clocolan. Here are the results: 

Fuel Consumption Winners 

Dirt Routes: Anthony Dodds 

Rally Routes: Jan Vermeulen 

Rally Pillion: Eben & Melanie Olivier 

Tar: Wilfred Koekemoer (picture above) 

Time Winners 

Dirt Routes: Casper Bierman & Anthony 

Dodds 

Rally Routes: Deon Dry & Pieter de Koker 

Rally Pillion: Eben & Melanie Olivier; Dirk & 

Fiona Kruger 

Overall Rally Champions 2011 

Colin King & Anthony Postma 

7 


Bramley 

hats&helmets Christmas Function 

Pieter Steenkamp 

We tend to live in the reality that all is 

well, especially when we look at our 

children. Our children’s list for Christmas is 

normally long and expensive. Have any of 

your kids ever asked for school shoes for 

Christmas? Mine certainly did not. 

Sunday 27 November, the club hosted 

the yearly Christmas function for the 

children of Bramley and this year the 

venue was Zwartkops Raceway. In the 

week preceding, final arrangements were 

made: presents wrapped, marked and 

checked. 

Sunday morning dawned on us all too 

soon, but what a splendid day. We started 

rolling into Zwartkops on our bikes and 

vehicles. What a pleasant surprise to see 

so many faces from the Club. 

Soon the kids arrived and the day got 

into full swing with cold drinks, chips and 

a lot of banter and laughter. It was clear 

that the kids could not wait to get into 

the cars to race around the track. 

Zwartkops Owner’s Club and twelve 

drivers of the SuperHatch Race Cars 

offered to take the kids around the track. 

The first session started and the first 

two groups got donned with helmets, 

strapped into the seats and sent off to 

speed around the track. The faces told 

the story: some broad smiles and some 

sheer terror in anticipation. 

The members assisted in marshalling the 

troops and the ice-cream man was kept 

nailed to his position handing out icecream 

cones to the excited youngsters. 

Soon after the rest of the kids got their 

turn, some of the “grown up kids” joined 

in. I had to be a kid and behaved like one 

again for the two laps. 

The moment arrived and Father 

Christmas appeared in grand style on 

his GS, red suit and all. The children 

swamped him out of sheer excitement. 

The suspense was evident. It was time 

for the hand-outs. I must admit I got a 

tear in the eye watching these kids; some 

couldn’t wait to try their new shoes on! 

With the Christmas Gifts handed out, it 

was time for pudding and ice-cream. 

The proceedings ended with the Club 

Members handing out a Farewell Gift and 

saying their goodbyes. 

A big thank you to all the sponsors and 

contributors who made the day special: 

Melanie Spurr, Sporting and Marketing, 

Zwartkops Owner’s Club (www.zoc.co.za) 

and all the Owners and drivers of the 

SuperHatch Race Cars. 

Cilliers de Kock from Eish Cream (www. 

eishcream.co.za) for the endless stream of 

soft serve ice-cream. 

André and his staff from Aces Café for 

their sponsorship as well as assistance 

during the day in making use of their 

facility. 

Bata Shoes in Centurion Mall (012-663- 

5459) for the exceptional good service 

(and discounts) with the shoes we 

bought for the kids. 

Kruispaaie Outreach Group for assisting 

with the kids, getting sponsorship 

for the schoolbags, helping with the 

refreshments and making up the Farewell 

Packs. 

Flip en Nerina de Swardt for the 

awesome pudding! 

All the BMW Motorcycle Club Members 

who contributed financially. 

All the Club Members and their families 

who came out for the day to join in the 

festivities and to make it a special day 

for all of the kids. A special thank you 

to Richard Hussey who was our own 

Father Christmas, Ralph Mills with the 

photography as well as the selfless hands 

that assisted with the gift wrapping. 

Special thanks to Pikkie for all the effort, 

time and commitment in making this a 

huge success. 

See you all next year and have a merry 

Christmas and all the best for the New 

Year! 


8

9 


members’trips 

Vanishing Namibia 

Bruno Gila 

Bruno Gila, Eric Teixeira and Francois Barnard visited Namibia and its ghost town Kolmanskop recently. 

As always, Bruno’s camera went along. He shares some of the trials and tribulations of a photographer: 

There is an elusive little spot on the 

West coast of Namibia that is never “on 

the way” to anything except the sleepy 

coastal town of Luderitz. The short of 

this story is that Kolmanskop has had 

an interesting and colorful history that 

caused a wave of diamond prospectors to 

settle here at the turn of the nineteenth 

century. Small, industrial diamonds were 

literary picked up from the desert floor 

and since the discovery of bigger alluvial 

diamonds in Oranjemund, the prospectors 

hastily saddled their horses, packed their 

mule carts with bare necessities and 

disappeared into the desert leaving an 

eerie, spooky existence of a Kolmanskop 

that was once the hub of influential and 

rich European settlers. 

So the plan was simple. Leave from 

Pretoria via Kuruman and stay at Ai-Ais for 

one night. Then spend a full day exploring 

the beauty of the Fish River Canyon then 

off-road to Luderitz via Aus. 

The dusty road through the protected 

Richtersveld Transfrontier National Park, 

saddled on the Huib Hochland Plateau, 

was absolutely breathtaking. The dirt 

road meanders through many pastels of 

purple, green and violet succulents that 

litter the countryside from the front wheel 

side to infinity. Oranges and yellows in the 

distant desert against the hard profile of 

sun kissed mountains flanking the road on 

both sides. 

Just stopping the GS, switching off the 

engine and listening to the deafening 

silence is awe-inspiring. We found 

ourselves riding along and crossing the 

Orange River a few times, stopping for 

a well earned espresso coffee, which 

I always brew from my bikes battery 

adaptors via an espresso Mocca. Here 

we toasted life on our BMW motorcycles 

celebrating where this fantastic hobby 

took us. 

From Rosh Pinah to Aus it started drizzling 

but I must admit that I felt fresh and alive 

and the musty smell of the welcoming 

rain hitting the arid desert floor, reminded 

me how good life is and how little and 

insignificant nature sometimes makes 

us feel. That famous saying: ”That your 

senses are at their peak when you’re a little 

tired, cold and hungry”, really had a new 

meaning as we entered a soaking wet Aus. 

Aus to Luderitz was approximately 125 

km and I’ll confess that no wild horses 

and sweeping golden grass fields could 

dampen my spirit as we wheeled into a 

cold, grey Luderitz. Nothing a quick, hot 

shower and a brisk walk around town, 

catching the last hour of afternoon light, 

couldn’t sort out. 

Kolmanskop is about 10 km east of 

Luderitz and consists of approx 40 

abandoned buildings, nestled between 

two long sweeping, yellow desert dunes. 

At first glance, the Ghost town looks like 

a normal 18 Century suburb with grand, 

sandstone double storey houses. But 

closer inspection tells a sad story of a hard 

life, exploited by the rich and mined by 

the poor souls who scraped a meager 

existence in the hostels as hard labourers 

in the open cast mines. The hostel floors 

are creaky, the windows and doors 

hanging and clattering and the roofs are 

loose, half missing, lying strewn on the soft 

hot sand and taunted me with an eerie 

cacophony of clanging tin percussion. 

A railway yard still lies silent and is still 

property of the Consolidated Mining 

Companies. Personal items still lay strewn 

on the desert floor, being discovered by 

the moving sandy winds of the constantly 


10

moving dunes. Nothing is touched; 

nothing is taken out of an unwritten 

respect for stories that exist only in our 

fantasy of distant forgotten souls who 

haunt these corridors and rooms. 

We enjoyed a short guided tour of the 

area but I opted to return at sunset, 

to get some more interesting lighting 

effects photos and with no tourists in 

the background. After a scenic off-road 

ride on the GS bikes to Dias Cross on the 

coastline, I returned to the Ghost town at 

sunset with my special permit and started 

exploring the town. Big mistake. Alone 

and a little rattled, I started exploring the 

inside of some of the nearest houses. 

The wind picked up and blew the desert 

sand a foot high over the surrounding 

dunes and onto my ankles. A whistling 

noise monotonously carried across the 

ghost houses, corrugated roofs, doors and 

windows clattered consistently as I made 

my way through the more affluent houses. 

I took pictures as fast as I could; lying 

down, on my knees and crawling through 

the small gaps between the doors. I 

remembered the stories and legends that 

our guide told us that morning and the 

vision of those meat hooks, still hanging 

in the old butchery stuck in my shivering 

mind. As the sun disappeared over the 

dunes the temperature dropped quickly 

and I had a short, spine chilling moment, 

where the hair on the back of my neck 

gave me a tingling sensation of fear. I 

sheepishly realised that this was definitely 

a bad idea. Not having gotten the pictures 

I wanted, fear overwhelmed me and 

realizing how far I’d walked, seeing my GS 

as a speck on the horizon, I walked briskly 

back to the entrance, not looking behind 

me. The whole ordeal took almost an hour 

and I was only too glad to start up my bike 

and enjoyed the last few orange colour 

sunset profiles of the spooky houses from 

the comfort of my bike’s rear view mirror. 

Never before in my adult life, had I feared 

silence and solitude with all my human 

senses so much so that memories as a 

junior school prefect, closing the huge 

sliding windows of my 150 yr old boarding 

school’s dark corridors late at night 

flooded back leaving me terrified and 

lonely as I sped as fast as my GS would 

take me, back to the comfort of our hotel 

lounge in Luderitz bay. 

Namibia has not disappointed and riding 

back to Pretoria, swaying through dust 

roads and enjoying the solitude of my 

spine chilling experience, I couldn’t help 

wondering if there is anything better 

than the lifestyle of free adventure riding 

that BMW sanction when selling you a 

motorcycle and a lifestyle to match. 

11 


The Hell Diary 2011 

Danie Brynard 

Danie Brynard (1200GS) en Craig Seaman, sy ‘ingelsman’-vriend van Ierland (1200GS Adventure) en nou ook ‘n nuwe 

lid van ons klub, was op ‘n epiese toer na Die Hel vroeër in November. 

Danie shares part of his trip diary with us: 

Start Log 30 October 2011 

Just arrived in Clarens. All good and lovely 

around here. We are getting the holiday 

feeling. Lots of people around and many 

bikes! Must be a Rally in Harrismith or 

something? Life is great! 

Saw a massive road kill just outside 

Clarence; two cows have been killed...how 

does a single car kill two cows? 

my so by 140km/h. 

Karoo Nasionale Park: Hier waai ‘n yskoue 

wind. Wonder waar dit vandaan kom? Voel 

soos winter. Eers tent opslaan en slaapgoed 

regkry voor ons gaan eet en daar ontmoet 

ons dramaturg Abrie Le Roux. Baie drama 

en radiowerk gedoen. ‘n Man met ‘n vrye 

gees. Totaal anti-establishment. Dis goed so, 

dink ek. 

Vanaand in Zastron by gastehuis. R300 vir 

bed en ontbyt. Sommer aandete ook gekry. 

Die oom het ons alles van Zastron vertel 

en sommer die landspolitiek ook opgelos. 

Alles afrikaans hier. Selfs Craig praat nou 

afrikaans :-) 

Oom Piet Labuschagne was ‘n grensboer. 

Sê dit het hom uitgeput om altyd alles op 

te pas; in die nag uit te gaan; patrollie te 

doen; skote te skiet. Hy is ‘n intelligente en 

saggeaarde mens. Dink hy is dalk reg: die 

vis fossiel wat hulle in die koppe hier agter 

gekry het is miljoene jare oud. Vrek man. 

Craig se bike kort olie. Ons sal more moet 

ingooi. Myne loop nog soos ‘n droom. 

Monday 31st 

Oom Piet se ontbyt is heerlik en hy praat 

steeds sonder ophou. Hy sê die aarde is 

miljoene jare oud en hy bid vir ons voor 

ontbyt. Lang gebed met allerhande dinge 

in. Ons het soos konings gebly by dié plek. 

11h00: Koffie in Burgersdorp se hoofstraat. 

Praat nou oor die roete verder, Hel toe. 

Daar is ‘n groot pan wes van Aberdeen wat 

interessant lyk. Grond of teer? Sal maar 

gaan kyk. 

Een helse afstand tussen Burgersdorp en 

Middelburg. ‘n Groot vlakte tussen-in. Dis 

‘somehow’ lekker om so ‘n groot vlakte te 

sien – dit maak mens kalm - die Hel kom 

nog . . . 

Nog so 300km om te doen vandag. Die 

groot ‘pan’ tussen Aberdeen en Beaufortwes 

wag. ‘n Laaaang stuk pad: pylreguit 

en geen mense nie. Ons het konstant so 

150km/h gery. Dis seker die groot Karoo? 

Plat so ver jy kan sien. Hulle sê mos die 

Karoo was lank gelede onder water? 

Nota: Die 1200GS is ‘n fenomenale bike. 

Stadig of vinnig, hy ry net. Sy ‘sweet spot’ lyk 

Tuesday 1 November 

We had a good night’s sleep. Cold wind 

died down. Breakfast at Leeu Gamka and 

then onto Prince Albert, a typical little 

small town of the Cape. We bought some 

tomatoes and stuff. Then the dirt road 

starts.... 

We deflated our tyres to 1.8bar front and 

back just outside Prince Albert. The pass up 

the mountain is short but very nice. Can’t 

believe somebody took the effort to build a 

dirt road through such a huge mountain! 

We found the turn-off to The Hell and 

started heading west. The sign post says 

‘baie gevaarlike pas’. What could that mean? 

We soon found out. It has some easy parts 

but the steep passes are very narrow. You 

need to go slow otherwise you’re history. 

It is a long pass, up and down and very 

curvy. Then suddenly you see The Hell: A 

wonderful green valley with small houses 

visible between the trees below. 

A caravan is available. No tents tonight. We 

made a nice hot meal on my msr stove 

with bully beef, sweet corn and 2-minute 

noodles. Ons koop 4 roosterbrode met 

konfyt by die tannie in die groot huis. Sy 

gee hout ook. 

Sy sê hulle het ongelooflik baie reën gehad 

en kon vir 5 maande geen inkomste 

verdien nie. Hulle het ook baie sneeu 

gehad. Wêreld van uiterstes hierdie. Dis 

vanaand weer koel - selfs Die Hel is koel in 

die somer. 

Nota: As niemand dit nog weet nie, die 

1200GS is ‘n great bike. Dis spesiaal gebou 

vir grondpaaie lyk dit my. Die groot ding is 

die wringkrag in tweede rat. Daarmee kan 

jy gemaklik stywe passe op en af karring. En 

die bikes is swaar gelaai met tent en dinge. 

Daar’s baie diere in Die Hel. Ek dink klomp 

van Noag se diere het besluit die Ark is nie 

so ‘n nice idee nie en het toe maar hel toe 

gekom. Ons hoor jakkalse en sien klomp 

suikerbekkies in die bos langs ons karavaan. 

In die aand vlieg ‘n hadida in die vallei op 

en skree aanmekaar. Kan ‘n hadeda dan sien 

in die nag of het hy nagsigtoerusting aan 

boord? 

Die diere lyk vir my gelukkig want dis ‘n 

helse lekker plek. Groen en weelderig. Ek 

begin wonder of die hemel so ‘n lekker plek 

is. 

Ek en Craig het bietjie Captain Morgan 

gedrink en voel nou lomerig. Die bikes is vol 

stof. Sies. 

Wednesday 2 Nov 2011 

We are now far into deep space. In fact, in 

hell. Is that inner space or outer space? Die 

tannie gaan vir ons ontbyt maak; sien baie 

uit want ek is al weer helhonger. Snaaks. 

Voel vir my of ons net ry en eet. Is dit 

dekadent? 

My iPad se battery is pap, kan nie notas 

maak nie. Geen selfoon of 3G opvangs. 

Lekker so ontkoppel van die buite-wêreld. 

‘n Jong ou en sy vrou stap in. Hulle ry ‘n 

langbak TDi 2.4 Landrover. Hy sê hy moes 

soms agteruit ry om om die draaie te kom, 

so nou is die pas. 

Die ou sê hy bly nou al 15 jaar in Mexico - 

juweelhandelaar daar en praat al flot spans. 

Snaaks waar Suid- Afrikaners hulle nie oral 

vestig nie. 

Ek is nogal skrikkerig vir die rit terug. Die 

stuk naaste aan die hel is regtig steil en 

mens moet jou bike se spoed ophou 

anders val hy om. 


12

Jy kan ook nie vinnig ry nie, want as jy gly 

gaan jy teen die berg afdonder...nee afhel. 

Dis ‘n smal grondpaadjie sonder rante aan 

die kante. 

En toe gebeur dit! Hel... Op die heel 

skerpste draaitjie met ‘n vreesaanjaende 

blik na onder, staak my bike se enjin en die 

voorwiel is op ‘n klip. Ek kan nie my bike 

regop hou nie, want my voete raak nie 

grond nie. Daar lê my 1200. Die groot bike 

met al sy pakkasie is te groot vir my om 

teen die helling op te tel. Gits....wat nou? 

Gelukkig ry ek en Craig agter mekaar. Na ‘n 

tydjie kom hy ewe rustig die pas afgery! Die 

boer is bly om die engelsman te sien :-) 

Ons tel gou die bike op en gly gly ry ek die 

slingerende steil grondpad verder. Ek ry 

sommer met ABS aan dan sluit daai damn 

voorwiel nie op nie. Die werk ook goed om 

dinge in toom te hou met die agterrem. 

Die uitsig vanwaar mens oor die hel uitkyk 

is besonders! Ek neem ‘n paar panoramas 

met my Canon. Die stuk tussen Die Hel en 

die T-aansluiting is ‘n hele 37km van passe 

en golwende grondpad en neem laaank 

om te ry. Ek en Craig ry ‘n stuk teerpad van 

50km sommer in 20minute maar daai pas 

neem byna 2ure. 

Dan volg die grondpad suid in Oudtshoorn 

se rigting. Mooi en breed met ‘n 

asemrowende uitsig. 

Op die R62 na Montagu het ‘n plaasboer 

van Calitzdorp water op die pad gespuit vir 

die stof! Ons gly-gly daardeur! 

The rest of the R62 route to Montagu is easy 

and scenic. Nice wide tar roads. We camped 

in Montagu on lush green grass with a neat 

ablution block. That evening we solve most 

of the world’s political and economical 

problems. Surprising how powerful Captain 

Morgan is. We should charge all these 

countries for our wisdom. If only they 

would listen. 

Thursday 3 Nov 2011 

Lae miswolke hang oor Montagu. Ek 

is alweer honger en lus vir koffie! The 

Adventure has a puncture in its rear tyre. We 

fix it and depart via Burgerspas to the N1. 

We stay in Mannetjies Roux’s B&B in Victoria 

West. These small Karoo towns look so 

dusty - how can one live here? Perhaps we 

see only one angle of it. We talk bit rugby. 

Mannetjies Roux is n gawe omie. Ek moet 

erken ek weet nie meer so baie van rugby 

nie. - het darem Cravenweek gespeel op 

skool. Craig lyk of hy net so baie soos Oom 

Mannetjies weet. 

Three Musketeers Ride 

Hein J van Rensburg 

Fri 4 Nov 2011 

We head off early for Orania, the Afrikaner 

town near the PK Le Roux dam. Everything 

is very white here. We ask them if Craig 

is also welcome. They say yes! They have 

already one or two ingelsmanne. Craig 

looks relieved. 

After a long ride north we got caught in 

storms before Jo’burg and decided to stay 

in Kroonstad. Found a very nice B&B there 

right next to a Spur steakhouse! Will be a 

short ride home tomorrow. 

What a great breakaway! I definitely want to 

visit The Hell again.. 

Post Script: 

• We took over 1 GB of pictures 

• Did about 3300km 

• No major problems except for a puncture 

in the Adventure’s rear wheel 

• Danie forgot his clothes line in The Hell. 

The devil is using it now 

• Craig lost his rain cover somewhere after 

Clarens. Some basutho has a nice jacket 

now :-) 

• We camped and braai-ed and it worked 

out very well. Nice combination. 

The 3 Musketeers and their better halves 

took off early one Saturday morning 

on a RT and 2 GT’s to explore Limpopo 

and Mpumalanga. Hein and Hester, Flip 

and Nerina and Karl and Elouise packed 

lightly and started on the back roads via 

Middelburg and Roossenekal, mostly 

avoiding the N4. It was a beautiful day for 

riding: some clouds but no rain. 

The bikes took the winding roads less 

travelled, with potholes and traffic with 

ease. We enjoyed coffee and pancakes at a 

road stall on the way to Bourke’s Luck where 

friendly farmers gave us each 2 bottles of 

export peppadews to take home. 

Bourke’s Luck potholes and the Three 

Rondavels are really worth a visit. From 

there we rode to Hazyview to run the 

Graskop/Hazyview racetrack. These are wide 

sweeping roads with a new surface and can 

be done at speeds a GS can’t do. Several 

other sport bikes were flying the route. It 

runs in the woods most of the way and has 

very good visibility all around. We arrived in 

Hazyview in no time and took a slow ride 

to Casa du Sol where we saddled off for the 

evening. 

The Musketeers got into casual wear, sipped 

a G&T before they sat down for a 5-star 

dinner at Casa du Sol, a venue with very 

good facilities. Right next door is an Elephant 

sanctuary where you can feed and ride 

elephants (R300 and R800). 

Next morning we took off to Sabie and 

decided it was worth another visit on its 

own. The triangle between Sabie, Graskop 

and Hazyview must be some of the most 

spectacular high speed riding areas in South 

Africa. We stopped at the Long Tom cannon 

and then through a misty Lydenburg to 

a busy Dullstroom. The girls did some 

shopping while the Musketeers savoured 

another cold brew. 

The RT and 2 x GT’s made light work of this 

940 km route. They are really the world’s 

best long distance cruisers with a good long 

distance fuel consumption and can take 

any surface and any weather comfortably 

with our ZTecnique screens. Our new inner 

ear speakers connected to our Bluetooth 

headsets and music suppress all the noise 

and give hi-fi sound. 

The Musketeers and their wives had a very 

good time. Next time we will avoid the R535 

to Burgersfort and take the more scenic 

route a little further east. 

Nerina, Hester and Elouise, the better halves 

of the three musketeer,s at the potholes of 

Bourke’s Luck. 

13 


Tech Talk: 

Tyre choice 

Martin Dudley 

One of the most common questions from 

new riders is which tyre to fit. With the 

large selection of tyres and tyre brands, tyre 

choice is always difficult. 

If you are looking for tyres for your road bike 

the decision will depend on performance 

and price. The tyre will be designed for tar 

only which at least simplifies the choice. 

When riding a dual sport bike (GS) the 

choices become more complicated. 

There are basically three types of street legal 

tyres for dual sport application and they 

will be 80/20 road oriented, 50/50 road /off 

road and 30/70 off road oriented. 

When making your decision you have to 

look at where your riding time is spent and 

match this with the application of the most 

suitable tyre type. With this in mind there 

will always be an element of where you 

want the best performance, on or off road. 

It is important to remember that a 

compromise will always exist with dual 

purpose tyre performance in some 

conditions, for example when riding 

with a 30/70 off road bias tyre on wet tar 

roads greater care should be taken when 

cornering and breaking distance should be 

increased. Another factor is speed, although 

the bikes may be capable of high speed 

riding, a 30/70 tyre will not perform safely 

at high speeds and will also wear at a very 

high rate. 

With all the choices in tyres the brand that 

suits you will always be a personal choice, 

the performance of the different brands 

and cost will be the final decision maker. 

On a final note always keep the tyres of 

your bike in road worthy condition for both 

safety and in the event of an insurance 

claim tyres will be the first part of the bike 

to be inspected. Worn tyres could result in 

the claim being disputed. 

classiccorner 

Amos de Lange 

This will be a short article to end the year: 

Unfortunately, there’s not much to report 

back regarding the October ride, since it 

rained out. A few rides were identified at 

the rides planning meeting which will cater 

for the Classics as well. 

The feedback on “What’s the tool/part?” 

was good, and I will give some memorable 

quotes from the forum. 

2012 Classic Rides 

Next year we will still join the S-riders on the 

Club rides. The first ride we will join is the 

March Club ride. Wait till next year to find 

out where we will be going… 

For 2012’s rides, I will recce alternative 

routes to the destinations, to cater for older 

bikes which might not be able to do the 

distance or speeds required for the S-ride 

routes. 

2012 Bikes 

Send me a message on the forum if you 

are busy with an Oldies project, so I can 

feature you in this column. Also if you have 

a “boereraat” for your classic, please share. 

None of us are ever too clever to learn. 

What’s that tool/part? 

In the last issue I had a picture of what is 

known as a Rose spanner. Below is the 

answer that I got from Iain Howie: 

“Well, it is really used for removing the 

exhaust nut on the boxer twins.” 

Another description for its use is for when a 

person goes into hospital for an operation. 

The doctor would put this tool into the 

patient’s mouth and the patient will bite 

down on it like in the old days when the 

pirates sailed on the seas and there was a 

battle and someone got hurt and needed 

to have a badly shattered limb removed 

and there was no anaesthetic available. the 

poor unfortunate victim would bite down 

on a lead ball”. 

The GS camp also had their representative 

Knopkop who stated: ”Looks like I can open 

a 750ml Maluti Quart in dodgy Lesotho 

shabeen with that thing!!!” 

Here is a picture of a rose nut that fix the 

exhaust to the boxer engine. 

That is it then for Classic Corner for 2011. In 

true Vintage style, it is a struggle to start, but 

once we get going we will be difficult to 

stop. Let’s make 2012 a Classic year. 

Till next year then, have a pleasant holiday 

and ride safely. And if you don’t own 

a classic yet, put it on the top of your 

Christmas wish list. You know you want 

one. 


14

Ready for the gravel “highways”? 

Johan Gray (www.adasa.co.za) 

Dr Gregory Frazier who completed multiple 

round-the-world (RTW) bike trips wrote in 

one of his books; “You are the people you 

are riding with”. This is quite a strong and 

very valid statement. Everyone in a group 

of riders is labelled the same based upon 

any behaviour that an outside observer 

disapproves of. 

A lot can be said about acceptable and 

non-acceptable behaviour depending on 

who you are, your cultural beliefs and so on. 

Consequently there are different viewpoints 

on acceptable and non-acceptable 

behaviour and there are different risk 

tolerances depending on the particular rider. 

Some people will keep slow speeds on a 

trip and others will fly past, some will expose 

dangerous actions and others more reserved 

actions. 

In the end we all want to enjoy a trip and 

come back safely. There are a few aspects 

that we can consider in order to make our 

ride on the gravel “highways” safer. There 

are a few main configurations of gravel 

“highways”. (Figure 1) 

These configurations have a couple of 

aspects in common to take cognisance 

of: 

1. The lanes may be clear of debris or the 

lanes may be washed out. 

2. Between the lanes there may be soft 

sand or a ridge to cross. 

3. The lanes may be straight for kilometres 

and you can see far ahead. 

4. You should be able to see which way 

a road is turning over a blind rise by 

looking at terrain forms, sign boards, the 

direction of telephone lines, trees, etc. 

5. Corners with a hill or blind rise, banking 

to one side can have: 

• All the dirt thrown to the high 

side of the road. Riding into this 

will be slippery and can contain 

objects that can cause punctures. 

• The inside corner could have ruts 

caused by stormwater or be totally 

washed away. 

• The four lanes can change to three or 

the three to two lanes. 

6. Corners tend to be the collection points 

of sand, especially next to cultivated 

fields. 

7. On the vast open Karoo stretches it is 

possible to see no animals but suddenly 

have a duiker dash from behind the 

cover into the road. 

8. Coming over a blind rise may present 

you with: 

• Oncoming traffic, especially with the 

three or two lane configurations. 

• Slow-moving traffic on the other side 

of the road such as a tractor or even 

some stationary vehicles. 

• Animals or people walking in the 

road. 

9. On a windless day you may ride behind 

a truck in dust for kilometres. Following 

a truck in thick dust is tricky but the 

most dangerous part is when you go 

too fast and suddenly break through 

the dust to find the truck right in front 

of you. 

10. There may be other traffic also 

following the truck but with a side wind 

one should spot them early. 

The following are aspects to remember: 

1. Be sure that you can always do 

emergency braking safely. 

2. If you do not switch your ABS off, then 

bear in mind that it will take much 

longer to stop than what you may be 

anticipating. 

3. Learn to read the terrain, what 

sometimes looks slippery is not and vice 

versa. By quickly jabbing the rear brake, 

forcing it to lock-up or accelerating hard 

will tell you what the surface is like. 

4. Practice to cross the ‘middel-mannetjie’ 

when it is safe. You must be able to 

cross it on demand as you cannot 

always plan for it. Do not stiffen up 

and hang on the bars. Move weight 

appropriately and use accelerator 

correctly. 

5. Always look through a corner, not at the 

bush right in front of you when the road 

turns. Sometimes you need to force 

yourself to look, but it works every time. 

6. When passing a car, go to the outmost 

lane (e.g. four lanes to the 4th one 

from the left), stay in the lane, do not 

accelerate hard (remember a lot of 

stones are reflected at a 45 degree 

angle) and ensure that you go far 

enough ahead before crossing back. 

You do not want to be sprayed or 

be covered in dust, show the same 

courtesy. 

7. Ensure that whatever is loaded onto the 

bike is properly tied down. The chances 

are good that it will wiggle loose, check 

regularly. 

8. Some people stand the moment they 

hit gravel roads, if you are one, or if you 

need to stand when there are technical 

sections, turn your left mirror up so that 

you can see behind you while standing 

instead of turning your head. 

9. Change tyre pressures to suite the 

terrain and keep to suitable speed limits. 

10. Always make sure the person behind 

you follows you after turns. 

11. Low water bridges, hit at speed, 

could cause damage to the sump of 

specifically the GS1200. Adapt speed 

and set suspension accordingly. 

12. Low water bridges with slow running 

or still standing water, with some green 

stuff at the bottom can be very slippery. 

13. If your helmet does not have a peak, 

use duct tape or insolation tape to 

make a sun strip for the afternoon ride. 

14. Try not to ride late afternoon with a low 

sun ahead of you or after dark. 

15. Always carry water and food on 

the long back roads of the Karoo or 

Namibia. 

16. Same road rules apply on dirt roads, so 

stick to it. 

Ride safe, learn the lessons and share it! 

Figure 1 

15 


officialevents 

Year End Function 2011: What a blast! 

One hundred and twenty of our 

members attended the weekend 

in Fouriesburg to celebrate another 

successful Club year. The town was 

invaded! Fouriesburg Country Inn, as well 

as the guesthouses and B&B’s opened 

their doors to accommodate as many 

as possible; the town hall served as the 

restaurant for the weekend and had our 

Club flags waving at the entrance; the 

traffic department cooperated as well by 

closing a street or two for the duration 

of the Skills Challenge. In fact, everything 

went well, it even rained well! 

It was a weekend of riding: Saturday 

morning after an early breakfast, three 

official riding groups and several smaller 

groups explored the roads of the area. 

It was a weekend of giving: Awards and 

spot prizes were handed out 

It was a weekend of sharing: Fun, 

laughter and good spirit among friends 

and fellow members were prominent. 

Guests 

We were honoured to have David and 

Rita de Bruyn from BMW Clubs Africa, 

Braam and Belinda Smit as well as Roger 

Smith from Bavarian Motorcycles as 

guests for the weekend. Roger arrived 

just in time for the Saturday evening 

function and headed straight back home 

afterwards! Much appreciated. 

Fun Awards: 

Physics of thread direction 

Johann Strauss 

For his continuous interest in the physics of 

thread direction 

Sharpshooter of the Year 

Pauli Massyn 

For exceptional marksmanship in foreign 

countries 

Injured Throttle Control 

Tony Postma 

For missing out on Eco rides due to a self 

induced wrist injury 

Majestic Voyager Award 

Dries Haasbroek 

For making his first long trip to Tshipise and 

reporting on it in a splendid way 

Loan Bike Rider Award 

Marius Booy 

For keeping the loan bike running on the 

long Levubu trip 

Welcome Back 

LeRoy & Elsabe Olivier 

For surfacing after a long absence 

GS Muddy Rookie 

Andrionette Bester 

For successfully completing her first GS ride 

in wet and muddy conditions 

Good Heart Cowboy 

Johan Gray 

For spotting and rescuing a helpless calf 

from a water canal 

Workshop on Wheels 

Martin Dudley 

For helping fellow riders whenever wherever 

with tools always at hand 

The Sparing use of the Rondavel Award 

Willie Basson 

For only using the sleeping half of his 

rondavel, not realising the other door 

leads you to the kitchen and consequently 

plundering the Spur for cutlery. 

The Double Shocker Award 

Colin King 

For shocking his friends when he ended in 

hospital the Monday with heart problems 

and then shocking his friends again when 

riding to the YEF on Friday! 

Action Cameras Raffle 

Johann Strauss had all the luck in the 

world that night! It was decided to draw 

two names: the first name will walk 

away with a luggage roll worth R1200 

sponsored by Pauli Massyn (GPS4Africa). 

Roger Smith’s name was drawn but he 

decided to give the bag back! The redraw 

commenced and Johann Strauss was the 

lucky one to win the luggage roll! Second 

draw was for the camera sponsored by 

Warrick Kernes from Action Cameras. 

Marnus’s name was next but already 

being the proud owner of a HD170 

Stealth Action Camera, he also gave the 

prize back! The redraw commenced and 

again it was Johann Strauss’s name that 

was called out! He won the video camera 

too! Thank you to everyone who bought 

a ticket in the Camera raffle. The proceeds 

are used towards our Club’s charity 

institution: Bramley Children’s Home. 

Members’ comments: 

Wow! Thanks everyone for the 

arrangements, the sponsors, the friendly 

staff at Fouriesburg Country Inn and 

everyone that joined in the fun. It was 

really awesome to have my family along. 

Thanks Etienne for the Lesotho excursion. 

I hope we have a more understanding 

border official next time!!! And also 

thanks to Johan and Zanda and the 

timekeepers with the challenges. That last 

challenge in the pouring rain certainly 

lived up to its name. 

- Marnus Pieters 

Thank you to the committee for all the 

arrangements, what a great week end 

and YEF! Also to all our fellow members, 

what a great spirit and nice way to 

celebrate this year, catching up with 

some fellow riders and also making new 

friends, this was an amazing experience 

and one which will be remembered for 

all the good reasons! We enjoyed this 

tremendously. Thank you Johan (Meyer), 

we really had a ball riding with you. 

- Sias Wagenaar 


16

Thank you to Dani and the Committee for 

yet another perfectly organised event! I 

could not fault anything that was within 

your control. Mooi so 

- Richard Hussey 

This was one of those weekends to 

refer to many times. You bikers were 

unbelievable! Thank you to everybody 

that made this a very special event! 

- Johann Meyer 

Thanks for a wonderful weekend. Our 

hosts from Fouriesburg Country Inn really 

made an effort to get everything running 

smoothly and the food was very yummy. 

Look forward to the next BMW Club 

outing! 

- Zanda Gray 

Eerstens: Dankie aan almal wat 

meegewerk het om vir ons so ‘n 

onvergeetlike naweek te reël en dié 

wat gewerk het om alles so glad te 

laat verloop, julle verdien elkeen ‘n 

toekenning! Tweedens: Dankie aan 

almal wat die naweek bygewoon het. 

Die geleentheid om soveel wonderlike 

vriende beter te leer ken is vir my kosbaar. 

Daar is net een woord om dit te beskryf: 

PUIK! 

– Dries Haasbroek 

YEF 2011 Skills Challenge 

Johan Gray, club member and senior 

instructor at ADA training academy, once 

again did not disappoint with his lay-out 

of the tracks. The scene was set for our 

members to have fun and test their 

skills against the clock in three different 

exercises. The rain had no mercy and the 

last event took place in pouring rain with 

no tree or cover nearby. Johan Gray and 

time keepers Zanda, Corlia and Alun had 

to endure the pouring rain in which the 

last event took place - Well done to you 

and to all the participants! 

Results: (17 entries) 

A Slow Ride 

1. Marnus Pieters 

2. Pieter de Koker 

3. Etienne Pieterse 

4. Sias Koen 

B1 Manoeuvres S Class 

1. Johan Maree 

2. Giel Cillié 

B2 Manoeuvres GS Class 

1. Zonica Vermeulen 



4. Johann Strauss 

C Skills Challenge (Proper) 


2. Pieter Venter 


4. Sias Koen 

Thank you to our sponsors! 

Action Cameras - Warrick & David 

VeZA & Selftrack – Pieter & 

Brenda Coetzee 

Off Road Cycles 

– Conrad Koen 

Liqui-Moly – Melicia Labuschagne 

Every member who owns a chain driven bike walked 

away with chain lube, donated by Liqui Moly! 

Pauli Massyn – GPS4Africa 

Bavarian Motorcycles - Roger Smith 

Spot prizes, vouchers and cash were donated by: 

Sias & Emilia Wagenaar, Marius du Preez, Marishann Strauss, Claudette Hanekom, Abe Coetzee and Giel Cillié. 

17 


membermatters 

Etienne is on the move! 

Etienne Pieterse served as Club Treasurer 

for several years and as member of the 

Rides Committee organised and lead 

numerous GS rides and trips. We got used 

to him on his F650GS on his first Club trip 

to Mozambique in 2008 and we got to 

know Etienne as an adventure rider who 

excelled in his skills and his involvement 

in the Club on a level that was contagious 

to say the least! 

He bought a 650 Cross Challenge and 

then soon after trade it for a white 

F800GS which also took him on many 

roads less travelled. The pictures he took 

of the places he visited, many of them on 

solo rides, were picture book quality. We 

will surely miss him for all he did in the 

Club. 

We wish him good luck and all the best 

for his move to Doha in Qatar. 

Wheels for Christmas? 

Congratulations to all members who recently spoilt 

themselves with new wheels! We hope all your smiles 

are as wide as Sias and Basil’s! 

Membership 

Renewals are now due. Please find the applicable 

form on the website or contact dani@bmwclubs.co.za 

regarding membership matters. 

clubnightdates 

13 January | 6 February | 2 March - AGM 

SUNDAY RIDES 

upcomingevents 

15 January 

S & GS: Maropeng 

8 February 

S: Vredefort 

GS: Star Crater 

4 March 

S & GS: Soweto 

18-19 Feb 

Hazyview 

Overnighter 

3 March 

Slow Riding Day 

27-30 April 

Bike Fest 

Grahamstown 

9-12 August 

Club Gala Weekend 

Tshipise 

2-8 September 

Bike-on-train Tour 

Namaqualand 

18-21 October 

BMW GS Eco 

Clocolan 


18

10tips 

that can save your life 

With Credit to Bike Riders worldwide. 

Hein J van Rensburg aka B2R (Born to Ride) 

• Always wear a helmet, jacket, gloves 

and shoes even if you are just going 

around the block. 

• Never cross railroad tracks at an 

angle. They are slick! If possible, cross 

straight on. 

• When you are following semi-trailers 

(or cars) on the highway... always 

follow directly behind their wheels. 

Reason: If they straddle the dead 

animal, brick or block, etc. in the 

road, you will not have enough 

reaction time to change directions if 

you are following directly “centered” 

behind them. I usually do the same 

with cars. 

• Fast food places: Be careful when 

you pull up to the drive through 

window!! This area is always covered 

with oil from idling cars. Watch your 

footing. Be forewarned. Also, toll 

booths! Oil drippings mixed with AC 

condensation makes it impossibly 

Global Super Sunday 

slippery exactly where you want to 

put your foot down to pay the toll. 

• Do not ride in side by side formation! 

Too many things can go wrong and 

in formation, if you mess up, you can 

take your partner down with you. 

• Always... always... expect the car, 

truck, van etc. to pull out in front of 

you. Ride as though they DO NOT 

SEE YOU. Even if they are looking 

directly into your eyes. Watch the 

tyres of the vehicle not the eyes of 

the driver. The driver’s eyes may be 

looking one way telling you he is 

stopping but if the car moves you 

will see it by looking at the tyres. 

• Mobile phones: If you see a driver 

on his mobile phone, be careful. 

He is your enemy!! He is not paying 

attention to you or the road. 

Statistics indicate that these drivers 

cause as many accidents as drunken 

drivers. 

• Braking!! Until integrated braking is 

released on our beloved K’s our front 

brake is 80% of your braking power. 

Get used to braking with ONLY your 

front brake. Go to a large parking lot 

and practice until it is first nature. 

• Counter Steering. Learning this 

technique will save your life. All 

racers use this method. In a nutshell: 

Pull on the right handlebar and 

you go left or pull on the left 

handlebar and you go right or the 

exact reverse: Push lightly on your 

left handlebar and you’ll go left.. or 

push right and go right. Learn the 

physics. Learn it until it’s second 

nature because many times in an 

emergency situation, you have only 

reaction time, not thinking time. 

• One simple rule for me has been to 

eliminate the blind spot. Knowing 

who is around you at all times 

without having to turn your head 

all the time is one way to stay alive. 

Adding little blind spot mirrors on 

the bike can assist. 

Elvis Blue: 

Bavarian Motorcycles 

Ambassador 

Bavarian Motorcycles and Elvis 

Blue recently agreed to a longterm 

partnership: Elvis Blue will 

be Bavarian Motorcycles 2012 

Brand Ambassador! 

Not all the details have been 

worked out, but Elvis will be riding 

a GS in the New Year. 

The 5th Annual Global Super Sunday was held on 25 September. We had a turnout 

of about 35 people. This event is organised through www.bmwsuperbikes.com , the 

online community of BMW ‘K’ and ‘S’ bikes. BMW Superbike owners and enthusiasts from 

all over the world join in for a global out ride on the same date! South Africa sets the 

record year on year with the most participants globally. Keep an eye out for next years 

run! 

- Robert W Palmer 

He will be kitted out with all 

the necessary BMW Motorrad 

Rider Gear, supplied by Bavarian 

Motorcycles. Events and activities 

will be planned that Elvis will be 

attending in support of the brand. 

Well done! 

19 


Dankie aan almal wie se pragtige foto’s in hierdie uitgawe gebruik is. -Red

December (2.1MB) - BMW Motorcycle Club of Pretoria, South Africa

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?