1601 DT final

Ride More Stress Less 

JANUARY 2016 

16 PAGE 

ROOF OF AFRICA 

SPECIAL! 

JANUARY 2016 RSA R29.50 

YAMAHA 

AT THE ROOF OF AFRICA 

IN THIS ISSUE: WORLD LAUNCH! 2016 HONDA AFRICA TWIN 

SUNFIELDS RIDE 2015 / YZ250 BRETT SWANEPOELS ROOF BIKE 

& LOTS OF OTHER GOOD STUFF! 

1601 DT COVER-2.indd 1001 2015/12/16 9:34 AM

CELEBRATING 

60 YEARS OF 

RACING HERITAGE 

Yamaha YZ450F 

60th Limited Edition 

R99,950 

Yamaha YZ250X 

R79,900 

2-stroke with a wide-ratio 

gearbox 

Yamaha YZ250FX 

R94,950 

INCLUDING A FREE YAMAHA 

KIT BAG VALUED AT R2,500 

Offer only valid on 250FX model 

A 250cc that goes 

like a 450cc! 

E&OE. Prices are including VAT. While stocks last! 

All prices mentioned 

include VAT @ 14% 

find us on 

Tel: (011) 251 4000 • Fax: (011) 792 9998 • E-mail: info@linexyamaha.co.za 

Cnr. Malibongwe Drive & Tungsten Road, Strydom Commercial Park, Randburg 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.linexyamaha.co.za 

STREAKING AHEAD FOR OVER 30 YEARS 

1601 DT COVER-2.indd 1002 2015/12/16 9:34 AM 

JT R

GSX1.0 GoggleS 

2016 casual wear 

coming soon 

2016 LUGGAGE 

Premium Dealers 

Gauteng Rad Moto Tel: 011 234 5007 - The Roost Tel: 011 362 2255 - Ridgeway Stoneridgetel: 011 609 0612/0017 - Biker’s Warehouse Tel: 011 795 4122 - KTM Centurion 

(012) 643-1110 Kwazulu-Natal Enduro Cycle Accessories Tel: 082 825 0132 - Rocket Racing Pinetown Tel: 031 702 2606 - Ultra Badge And Metal Ta Ubm Mototcycles Tel: 036 

352 1484 - XSM Pinetown Tel: (031) 701 8647 Mpumalanga Rudamans Bike & Marine Cc Tel: 013 752 7077 - Mcgee And Company Lydenburg (Pty) Ltd Tel: 013 235 2371 Western 

Cape Ace Sports Distribution Tel: 073 229 9771 - Eddy 2 Race Tel: 021 982 8368 Free State Pinnacle Power Sport Tel: 051 448 3797 - Kamikazi Dirt Shop Tel: 079 567 

8050 Eastern Cape Imb Adventures Tel: 041 364 1090 DEALER ENQUIRIES CONTACT DEALERS@XSTREME.CO.ZA 

1601 JT Racing DT COVER-2.indd Jan16.indd 1 1 2015/12/16 2015/12/15 9:34 7:13 AM PM

EDITOR: ROLEY FOLEY 

Happy 2016 everyone and we hope that it’s 

going to be even better than last year!!! 

WHAT CONFUCIUS NEVER SAID: 

Man who wants pretty nurse, must be patient. 

Lady who goes camping must beware of evil intent. 

Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion. 

Man who runs in front of bike gets tired, man who 

runs behind bike gets exhausted. 

Man who eats many prunes get good run for 

money. 

War does not determine who is right, it determines 

who is left. 

Man who stands on toilet is high on pot. 

Man who live in glass house should change clothes 

in basement. 

Finally, CONFUCIUS DID SAY. . ... 

“A lion will not cheat on his wife, but a Tiger Wood!” 

Thats it! Enjoy the read... 

CONTENTS: JANUARY 2016 

THE TEAM: 

EDITOR: 

Glenn Foley 

foleyg@mweb.co.za 

DESIGN: 

Rob Portman 

rob@ridefast.co.za 

ADVERTISING: 

Sinead Foley 

foleyg@mweb.co.za 

ACCOUNTS & 

SUBSCRIPTIONS: 

Anette 

anette.acc@mweb.co.za 

011 979 1363 

CONTRIBUTORS: 

Clive Strugnell 

Kurt Beine 

Grant Foley 

Richard Sutherland 

Zygmund Brodalka 

Garth Roberts 

Laren vd Westhuizen 

Ian McClaren 

Craig Barendson 

Byron Rudman 

Zenon Birkby 

& many more... 

16: FEATURE: 2015 ROOF OF AFRICA 

38: FEATURE: SUNFIELDS CHARITY EFFORT 

42: WORLD LAUNCH: 2016 AFRICA TWIN 

56: ROOF READY: YAMAHA FX250 

TO SUBSCRIBE 

CALL 011 979 1363 OR EMAIL 

anette.acc@mweb.co.za 

Digital or hard copy. 

60: READERS RIDE: ROAM AFRICA 

68: QUICK SPIN: KTM ADVENTURES 

2 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JANUARY 2016 



NEWS 

Powered by 

What do you think about the KTM 1290 

Super Enduro that will take on the 2016 

Erzbergrodeo? 

Having “enduro” and “KTM 1290 

Super Duke R” in the same, nonnegative 

sentence is obviously weird. 

However, it looks like this is not the 

case for everyone, and the Czech 

racer Jiri Heinik has the perfect proof. 

Meet his KTM 1290 Super Enduro, 

a cross-breed between the Super 

Duke R and the Super Adventure 

machines. 

And making things even crazier, 

you should also know that Jiri has 

serious plans to take this bike to the 

Erzbergrodeo next year. 

Obviously, the Erzberg mountain 

is the most unlikely place to prove 

the abilities of a 180kg (397 lb), 

180 hp motorcycle, but with the 

modifications Jiri added to the Super 

Duke R and his skills, we’re dying to 

see this. 

One of the funny aspects is seeing 

Jiri finding the right mapping for the 

Erzberg. The 1290 Super Duke R was 

not nicknamed the Beast for nothing; 

it is a savage motorcycle that’s hard 

to master even with all the electronic 

systems active and taming it. 

Putting 180 horsepower to work in 

the grueling conditions of the Austrian 

race seems to be one of the true 

challenges. If the 1290 Super Enduro 

can tackle the most brutal parts, 

Arai helmets distributed by www.bike-wise.co.za 


such as Carl’s Diner, its explosive 

power might give it the upper hand 

in climbing smoother gradients, as it 

can build up momentum and speed 

much more easily than a 450cc bike. 

1290 Super Adventure 

suspensions needed to 

accommodate bigger wheels 

Jiri took a 1290 Super Adventure 

fork and replaced that of the Beast. 

The longer suspension travel was 

mandatory for the project, as the 

street-focused forks of the 1290 

Super Duke R were nowhere near fit 

for the job. 

Also, Heinik installed new, bigger 

Kineo rims, shod with knobby tires 

for mud, puddles, and rocks, and 

with the proper suspension setup, the 

bike has good odds to behave like a 

natural born enduro machine. 

The weight of the 1290 is, however, 

one of the things that might impact 

the bike’s performance negatively in 

the Erzbergrodeo. The photos don’t 

show any engine protection installed 

on the bike now, but we know Jiri 

would not leave his baby unprotected 

in the fight with the Iron Giant. 

So here’s one more reason to check 

out this race next year! 

Sunoco Race Shop now 

open and ready to serve you 

Sunoco racing fuels have opened a race shop 

out in Vanderbijlpark. Sunoco Race Shop was 

established to serve the greater racing and biking 

community. They pride themselves on personal 

service and delivering products of excellence to 

your office or Home. 

The shop is situated next door to VR Motorsport, 

who do services, repairs and have a dyno and 

tyre changing facilities. 

Sunoco race shop are the official distributor of 

Shift MX gear and Sunoco race, with fuel for any 

type of motorised motorsport. Michael Barnard, 

Cloete van Rensburg (owner of VR Motorsport) 

and Dean Warner are always on had to give you 

some great advice. Ryan Shapiro is the man 

behind Sunoco Speed TV as well as running the 

Sunoco mobile workshop at all race events. 

Give them a call 016 9339987, order what 

you want and one of their personal accessory 

consultants will deliver your goods to your door! 

READY FOR ANYTHING 

The Tour-X 4 must be one of the most versatile 

helmets ever: adventure, grand touring or off road, 

and without the peak looks pretty good on a naked 

bike too! No matter the riding conditions, the Tour-X 4 

is ready for it. Can be used without visor with goggles, 

without peak but with visor, any way that suits you. 

Full range available now from your nearest dealer. 

1601 DT news.indd 4 2015/12/16 9:35 AM 

Trax

DEMO CLEARANCE 

SPECIAL! 

2015 low Km 1050, 1190 & 1290 Adventure models at great prices! 

As Good as New! 

Call now for pricing! 

LOADS OF GREAT SPECIALS IN STORE! POP IN! 

TRAX KTM HAS MOVED! 

Come check out our new shop in Solomon 

Mahlangu drive opposite MAKRO Pretoria east. 

Willow Rock Shopping Centre 

Solomon Mahlangu drive 

Willow Acres.Pretoria East 

Sales: Riaan 082 446 8852 

LANDLINE: 012 111 0190 

KTM Group Partner 

1601 Trax KTM DT news.indd Jan16 DT.indd 5 1 

2015/12/14 2015/12/16 11:51 9:35 AM

NEWS 

Powered by 

Trax Outgrows 

and does the 

Groot Trek 

Popped into the new Trax 

shop in Silverlakes Pretoria 

the other day, very cool 

store - all the KTM stuff your 

little heart’s desire... and 

not too far from where they 

used to be just up/down 

the road opposite Makro in 

Soloman Mahlangu drive…. 

(012) 111 0190 

Peter Herbert Motorcyle Repairs 

Peter Herbert, of Peter Herbert Motorcycles, has 

26 successful years in the South African motorcycle 

industry. He takes great care of all motorcycles that 

he works on and caters for all motorcycles - dirt 

road or adventure. 

If your ride needs a service, accident quote or race 

prep, give Peter a call on 011 793 4613. 

Willam Sutherland opens MX School 

Willstar Sutherland MX man extraordinary is offering 

his schools to young riders in Gauteng. Great for 

kids and adults – go and spend a day with this 

talented man, he is a great teacher – your riding will 

improve… full story soon. 076-900-6850 




SSS

QUICK FILLER 

FROM R1970 

IF ITS STRONG 

ENOUGH FOR 

DAKAR.ITS STRONG 

ENOUGH FOR YOU 

TUBELESS PUNCTURE 

REPAIR KIT 

FROM R340 

MANUFACTURERS OF THE TOUGHEST ALUMINIUM 

AND STAINLESS STEEL PLATES AT BARGAIN PRICES 

FOR ALL QUADS AND 2-WHEELERS 

PROUD PERSONAL SPONSOR TO 

JACQUES “BOESMAN” STUWIG 

UNIVERSAL CLUTCH 

PERCH 

FROM R380 

WHEELIE BARS 

FROM R1500 

NERF BARS 

FROM R1500 

MX STANDS 

FROM R600 

AIR FILTER ADAPTORS 

FROM R500 

ENGINE CASE 

SAVERS 

FROM R350 

SHARK FIN REAR 

UNIVERSAL KTM 

FROM R590 

SHOCK TOE GUARDS 

UNIVERSAL KTM 

FROM R640 

FROM R290 

A ARM GUARDS 

FROM R750 / SET 

PRO NERF BARS 


FRONT SHARKFIN 

UNIVERSAL KTM 

FROM R890 

HEEL GUARDS 


IRON CROSS BUMPER 

FROM R980 

U BUMPER 

FROM R980 

SKID PLATES 

FROM R850 

FOLD UP RAMP 

FROM R1080 

BACK WHEEL TIE DOWN 

ONROAD / OFFROAD 

FROM R300 

QUAD AXLES 

FROM R2700 

RADIATOR BRACES 

UNIVERSAL KTM 

FROM R1170 

GRAB BAR ALUM 

FROM R780 

MX HANDLEBARS 

FROM R380 

SPACERS 

GRP SPACERS FROM R400 

ALUMINIUM SPACERS FROM R500 

FRONT WHEEL GRAB 

CLAMP FROM R990 

BASH PLATES 

FROM R990 

RACING SPROCKET 

GUARDS 

FROM R860 

QUAD STEARING 

STEMS 

FROM R2000 

PRICES SUBJECT TO EXCHANGE RATE 

SSS 1601 Jan16.indd DT news.indd 1 7 2015/12/14 2015/12/16 11:51 9:35 AM

2 

R 

NEWS 

Powered by 

Camp Master raises R250 000 for 

RAGE’s anti-poaching campaign: 

This is a great initiative… 

South Africa’s leading outdoor brand, Camp Master has raised a total of R250, 

000 for the Rhino Action Group Effort (RAGE) through the sale of vehicle mirror 

socks at selected Massmart stores. 

Camp Master matched the contributions from Game, Makro and Builders’ 

customers to reach a grand total of R250, 000. The cheque was handed to 

RAGE at Massmart’s offices in Sunninghill on Thursday 3 December 2015 to 

aid its anti-poaching initiatives and help create awareness about the need to 

combat rhino poaching. 

Camp Master brand ambassador, Stacey Lee Read , comments: “We are 

delighted to have partnered with RAGE on this meaningful awareness campaign. 

But, we must also thank our customers for not only donating towards this worthy 

cause but visibly demonstrating their rage against the devastating and criminal 

attacks on this beautiful creature.” 

“Rhino poaching remains a critical conservation challenge in South Africa and 

we believe that investing our efforts in educating the public through raising 

awareness has been an effective step toward finding ways to save our rhinos.” 

RAGE spokesman Andy Rice says: “We are hugely grateful to Camp Master for 

this large investment in RAGE’s activities – and to its customers for helping to 

create awareness of the ongoing challenge we face by using the mirror socks 

on their vehicles. The funds will help to sustain critical RAGE initiatives, with 95% 

of all funds raised deployed directly for on-the-ground activities. A visit to www. 

rhinorage.org provides information on all of our campaigns.” 

For more information please visit www.rhinorage.org OR www.campmaster.co.za 

About RAGE 

RAGE is a Non Profit Company that is audited and administered by KPMG. 

Contributions to RAGE are allocated to anti-poaching initiatives prioritised by a 

committee of volunteer experts comprising ecologists, game reserve owners, 

members of government, media professionals and economists, whilst KPMG 

ensures strict accounting measures. 

About Camp Master 

Since 1998 Camp Master has been synonymous in the Southern African 

market with outdoor and camping and has grown to be South Africa’s number 

1 outdoor camping brand. Camp Master offers a range of products including 

tents, chairs, gazebos, trailers and all other forms of outdoor products which 

are designed to help you have the best adventure possible from family 

camping trips at the local dam to hiking adventures to long stays in the wild. 

“Camp Master, Adventure by design.” 

www.campmaster.co.za 

Moose racing Gear: 

Scar Race Gear is the newest importer of the 

famous Moose Racing brand of MX Clothing to 

South Africa. Scar Race Gear has stock of the 

FULL 2016 line of kit from Goggles to socks and 

everything in between. 

As the new kid on the block, Scar Race Gear has 

taken a unique approach to bring it’s products and 

services to you. Their retail store is on wheels and 

will be moving around the Kwazulu Natal landscape 

shortly. The other provinces will be an integral part of 

the growth phase, but please don’t feel left out, you 

can still shop online from anywhere in the world. 

For more information contact Andrew Ehlers 

Phone: 082 775 7408 

Email: sales@scarracing.bike 

www.scarracing.bike 




Kata

2016 POLARIS 

RZR 1000 XP 

TURBO 

144HP 

THE FUN FACTORY 

TRADE INS WELCOME 

NEW AND USED UNITS 

ALWAYS IN STOCK 

INCLUDING 

4 POINT SAFTY BELT 

LED LIGHT BAR IN FRONT 

REAR LED DUST LIGHT 

FRONT AND READ BULL BARS 

SIDE ROCK SLIDERS 

R464 950 

SPORTSMAN 

FROM R114 950 

2015 SCRAMBLER 

1000 EFI R248 950 

2015 RANGER 

FROM R154 950 

2015 RZR FROM 

R234 950 

2015 DIESEL CREW 

1000 R399 950 

2015 RAIDER 

DIESEL R189 950 

REBEL 400 4X4 

AWB R94 950 

RUSTLER 260 

2X4 FROM R49 950 

RUSTLER 300 4X4 

R54 950 

2015 RAIDER 

700 EFI R164 950 

2011 KAWASAKI 

KX250F R45 000 

2014 KTM 250 XCW 

R70 000 

2007 KAWASAKI 

KX450 R30 000 

2013 HUSQVARNA 

TE449 R48 000 

2001 Honda VTR 

1000 SP1 R55 000.00 

2009 KTM 200 XCW 

R35 000 

2013 KTM 250 XCF-W 

R55 000 

2014 KTM 1190 R 

R168 000 

2009 KTM 530 XCW 

R80 000 

PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE 

2006 SUZUKI LTZ 400 

R24 000 

SHOWROOM: 011 475 4892. WORKSHOP: 011 475 9274 

ANDREW: 083 266 1458 ANDREW@KATAYRACING.CO.ZA 

DEVON VALLEY SHOPPING CENTER, CNR 9TH AVE & RUGBY ROAD, 

WELTEVREDEN PARK, ROODEPOORT 

WWW.KATAYRACING.CO.ZA 

Katay 1601 DT Racing news.indd Jan16.indd 9 1 

2015/12/15 2015/12/16 7:19 9:35 PM AM

NEWS 

Powered by 

Cayenne Now TCX & Richa importers: 

Cayenne announced that they have been appointed as the official importers 

and distributors for TCX boots and Richa riding gear. 

Richa rider gear has now made its way to SA, with Cayenne World now the 

official distributor. A wide range of Richa gear is now available at the Cayenne 

World accessory store based in the massive dealership in Midrand. 

Featured here are two top of the range jackets, the Mugello leather and 

Airstream textile jackets. 

Airstream Textile Jacket 

The Airstream jacket speaks for itself: thanks to the full mesh zones on sleeves 

and body, you will enjoy a high level of ventilation when riding on hot SA 

summer days (had a few of those lately). But the functionality does not end 

there: you can easily insert or remove the thermo liner, which allows you to 

keep wearing this sportive blouson from spring time till autumn. The breathable 

membrane will protect you against an unexpected rain shower, and can be 

removed on radiant, dry days. The D3O protectors provide maximum safety. 

The Mugello leather jacket retails for R4100. 

Looking for gasket sets? NS 2-stroke: 

Some oldies & also some new models that are now 

available: Honda: MBX50, XL185, CD200, NSR250 

MC18/21/28, XR200, XL250S, NS400R, 

VFR400NC30, XL500S , XR500RE 

Yamaha: PW50, RZ/DT50LC, PW80, BWS100, 

RD/RZ125LC, TZR125, RD350LC, 

RD/RZ350YPVS, TZR250 1KT/3MA/3XV, XT500 

Suzuki: LT50, RG50, TS/TF125ER, TS/TF185ER, 

B200, TS250ER, RG250 POWERVALVE, RGV250 

VJ21/22, GT750 TRIPLE. 

Kawasaki: KE/KH100, AR125, KE/KH125, KDX200/ 

KLR650 

Aprilia: RS125 

Cagiva: MITO125 

Polaris: PREDATOR 500 

All the gasket sets are viewable on the website: 

www.ns2stroke.co.za / 011 849 8495 

Mugello Leather Jacket 

The high quality of the Richa-leather is to be found in the new Mugello jacket. 

With its extraordinary sportive look and track-like details, it is an ideal choice 

for anyone looking for a stylish, sportive design to use for daily cruising as well 

as on the circuit. The high-quality leather and the use of the premium D3O 

protectors for shoulders, elbows and back, provide the best sense of safety 

one can imagine. Thanks to the Air-Vent system, you will be able to cool down 

on a hot day. No need to stop riding once summer is over, as the detachable 

thermo liner will extend the seasonal use of the jacket. 

The Mugello leather jacket retails for R7499. 

TCX Comp EVO Michelin 

As many motorcyclists are aware, TCX manufacture OEM for BMW, Ducati 

and more recently KTM. The all new Comp Evo Michelin was released at the 

EICMA show and is expected in SA as soon as January 2016. 

Call or visit Cayenne World now to see full range. 011 244 1900. 



1601 DT news.indd 10 2015/12/16 9:35 AM


NEWS 

Powered by 

Optimate Solar Powered battery charger… 

from Bikewise. No more Eskom Required: 

The Optimate Solar - (6W panel/Charge 

Controller) Solar pulse charge system) 

2Amps - 2 to 240Ah batteries - 4 stages 

The sales blurb: This is a 100% true 

desulphating charger – the only one of 

its kind in the world. The panel is a high 

density panel of exceptional quality. This is 

the only solar management system in the 

world that pulses a higher current which 

is the best way to achieve a good state 

of health for the battery and will certainly 

prolong the life of the battery. 

Perfect for maintaining large batteries as 

well that just need to be kept topped up. 

Tested By Eric Lawrenson… 

OptiMate Solar employs an innovative 

charging technology to charge and 

effectively maintain your 12V battery from a 

standard solar panel. 

OptiMate Solar converts the low power 

from the solar panel to high current 

pulses more effective for charging and 

maintenance of a 12V battery. 

The OptiMate charge controller is separate 

to the panel and can be placed close 

to the vehicle or battery so that charge 

and maintenance progress can be easily 

followed.” 

We were given a model TM524 Solar 

powered battery charging system to look 

at and investigate. 

This little system consists of a 6W solar 

panel, an inline controller unit, and a range 

of different cables to allow connection to 

batteries in a number of different ways. It is 

quite a clever little device in the way it works. 

You see, under normal circumstances a 

6W solar panel is only capable of delivering 

a current of around 

500mA (0.5A) into a 12 V 

battery under optimal sun 

conditions. 

But this little number 

makes use of whatever 

solar power is available 

(within reason) and stores 

it internally until there is 

enough power available to 

supply the battery with a 3 

Amp - 5 Amp pulse charge 

of very short time duration, 

after which it stores power 

from the panel again until it is ready to 

supply another pulse. Obviously, the more 

sunlight that falls on the panel, the more 

frequently are the charge pulses going to the 

battery and the more efficient is the system. 

A benefit of this type of pulse charging 

system is the fact that it assists in desulphating 

the battery, a benefit not derived 

from regular constant voltage chargers. 

In measurements done, we found that the 

panel was supplying between 280m A and 

380m A of current into the controller in 

bright sunlight, while this dropped down 

to around 55m A to 120m A in overcast 

conditions. In extreme cases where there 

is not enough power coming from the 

solar panel the controller shuts down 

and awaits more light before waking 

up automatically again. 

In conclusion: a very clever setup as 

mentioned before, and one that can 

be used very constructively off grid 

to charge a range of batteries. The 

kits are available with 3W, 6W (the 

one we tested), 12W, and 15W solar 

panels apparently. 

So, can this system be used to 

charge a big 105AH battery (the type 

typically used to drive 12V freezers 

etc?) - in theory yes, but it would 

take a while... and it is unlikely to 

charge the battery if there is a load 

on it. Can it be used as a charging 

system on a touring bike battery to 

supplement the power used at night to 

drive camping lights, cell and camera 

charger, etc. - Yes it can. Only thing to 

be aware of would be the packing 

requirement for the panel, 

it is a bit large, at around 

50x40x20 cm for the one 

we tested. 

We still having a look at the 

DC-DC charge controller and 

can have some feedback on 

this one for the 

next issue. 

Prices range 

between R1200 

and R1500. (011) 

566-0333 for your 

closest stockist. 




Trade Enquiries Welcome 

Contact us for your nearest stockist 

Tel: 011 708 5905/06 

Fax: 086 602 6391 

www.facebook.com/hendersonracingproducts 

Henderson Racing EVS Dec15.indd 1 2015/11/20 8:27 PM 


NEWS 

SA Bike Festival to be held at all new Kyalami 

Clarion Events UK are thrilled to 

announce the launch of South Africa 

Bike Festival, powered by Discovery 

Channel, to be held at the newly 

rejuvenated Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit 

in Gauteng. From Friday 27 May 

to Sunday 29 May 2016, Kyalami will 

open its gates for 3 days of fun-filled 

live music and entertainment, new 

adventures, leisure pursuits and all things 

engine, petrol and motorcycling! 

The event aims to become South 

Africa’s Premier Motorcycle, Music and 

Lifestyle Festival that will showcase 

entertainment for families as well as 

educate and encourage the new youthful 

market about safe and responsible 

motorcycling. Over 20,000 visitors 

will have the unique opportunity to 

experience the brand new circuit facilities 

at the newly refurbished and much 

anticipated re-opening of The Kyalami 

Grand Prix Circuit. 

Together with the manufactures, 

associated brands and industry 

members, Clarion Events UK aim to 

combine event entertainment experience, 

international media partnerships and local 

market expertise to ensure the festival 

becomes THE MUST ATTEND annual 

motorcycle show in Southern Africa. The 

festival will offer entertainment, action, 

products, services and information to 

consumers and the trade. 

Focusing the event on safe biking, South 

Africa Bike Festival will provide visitors 

with the opportunity to experience the 

benefits of biking in a safe and controlled 

environment, direct from the brands and 

experts. From young children through to 

the retired, there will be an opportunity 

to try, ride and buy motorcycles as well 

as see and be part of other motorcycle 

related pursuits. 

Nicole Muller, Portfolio Director at 

Clarion Events adds: “Our long term 

aim in creating this event will be to 

drive awareness to a potential new 

target audience each year and create a 

sustainable, annual and internationally 

recognised brand that will bring 

together the experienced and the young 

motivators to encourage and grow a 

new generation of motorcyclists in South 

Africa and beyond”. 

Headline media partner, 

Discovery Channel and confirmed 

manufacturers BMW, Triumph, Kawasaki, 

Indian & Victory, Polaris, Linhai Suzuki, 

Yamaha, Honda, SYM, KTM, Can-Am, 

Husqvarna and Ducati, to name a few, 

are looking forward to showcasing their 

brands alongside exciting live music 

and celebrities, motorcycle parades, 

custom bike competitions and displays, 

as well as stunt and enduro-cross 

entertainment, local food and drink and 

much, much more! 

“We are incredibly excited to be 

partnering with the inaugural South Africa 

Bike Festival,” said James Gibbons, EVP 

& Country Manager, Emerging Business, 

Discovery Networks CEEMEA. “Turbo is 

one of the biggest programming genres 

on Discovery Channel, so South Africa 

Bike Festival presents a great opportunity 

to reach out to new and existing local 

viewers who love everything fast and 

furious!” 

Clarion Events UK are calling all 

sponsors/exhibitors/food trucks 

interested in partaking - contact the 

team today by emailing Kasia on Kasia. 

Pienaar@clarionevents.com. Ticket prices 

start from R190 and for more information 

on the South African Bike Festival visit 

www.southafricabikefestival.com 

Tickets go on sale soon, visitors are 

encouraged to register via the website for 

the early-bird ticket specials. 

Check out all the social media platforms. 

For press enquiries and accreditation 

please contact Leigh at Butter Knife PR 

on leigh@butterknife.co.za 

Powered by 

New Oxford tools from DMD: 

The Inspector Mirror: 

This is the Oxford 55mm inspector mirror with 

24-71.5cm telescopic range and extendable 

(16-63.5cm) magnetic pick up tool. Very easy 

to grip and the shaft is made of stainless 

steel which means it is very durable. Geat for 

when you drop a bolt down into 

an engine, or you need to check 

that the Phlux capacitor is correctly 

bolted on to the neon fliburator… 

R175.00 Suggested Retail 

Compact Oxford Sockets: 

Quality tools from Oxford made 

from chrome vanadium steel. This 

set includes ratchet driver, T-bar 

handle, driver adaptor & extension 

bar and 9 sockets between 5mm & 

13mm to suit most motorcycles. 

Contents: 1 Ratchet screw driver, 

1 T-bar handle, 1 drive adaptor, 

9 socket (5-13mm), 1 extension 

bar, 16 Chrome vanadium steel bits 

included: Hex: H4, H5, H6, Philips: 

PH0, PH1, PH2, PH3, Torx: T10, 

T15, T20, T25, T30, Slotted: 

3mm, 5mm, 6mm, 7mm. 

www.dmd.co.za for your 

closest stockist. 




GO DEMO A 

TIGER TODAY! 

K15245 

800 

R159 500 

R129 500 

Now also 

available in 

“low” models 

Now also 

available in 

“low” models 

1200 

R164 500 

* 

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1601 DT Roof 2015.indd 16 2015/12/16 9:36 AM

Story by Clive Strugnell. Pics by the Dirt And Trail Army: Glenn Foley, Ian Mclaren, Byron Rudman, Craig Barendson, Wayne Phillips and 

Irina Gorodniakova. Jay Groat got the cover shot this year for Motul. 

Guys and gals. The focus on this feature is on the 

incredible battle between the top gold riders who 

entertained us so well for the weekend. It is impossible 

to tell everyone’s story but we have to doff our collective 

hats to everyone who took part in this year’s Roof Of Africa. 

Silver and Bronze riders, we are in awe of what you guys 

achieved and we ask the following: 

For the Febuary issue, please send us your story – with a 

pic or two. We’ll make space for the second Roof feature and 

share your experiences… foleyg@mweb.co.za 

For years The Roof has attracted top riders from all over 

the World, its’ reputation as the hardest extreme enduro 

ensuring that competing in the event is very prestigious on a 

riders’ racing CV. Finishing in the top ten is really cool, and of 

course winning it puts the rider into an elite group… 

For many years overseas riders came, saw and 

conquered. Every now and then they had a glitch when 

a local like Alfie Cox, Jeremy Davies or one or two local 

champions pulled off a win, but in general for quite a 

long time it was almost a foregone conclusion that top 

International riders would take home all the silverware. It isn’t 

always like that, and every now and then we would have 

a superb bunch of local riders capable of winning against 

anyone. Names like Tissen, Brand, Wicks, Rogers, Beattie, 

Falconer, Curtis and Van Niekerk, to mention a few, are 

engraved on the Roof trophy. 

More recently South Africa has produced a crop of fabulous 

young riders not only capable of winning the Roof against any 

competition, but they have been taking the fight to the Internationals 

in their own backyard in events like Erzberg, Sea to Sky, Romaniacs 

and many others. 

This year any one of several local young guns were in the hunt for 

the honours after 3 days of racing. Wade Young, Brett Swanepoel, 

Travis Teasdale, William Gillett, Altus de Wet, Charan Moore, Jade 

Gutzeit and Kenny Gilbert were all closely bunched in the top 20. 

Wade Young was the hot favourite, having won it for the first time in 

2012 and again in 2014. Just a short few months before the event, 

none of the top International riders had even entered. For the first 

time in ages it looked as though the fight for the lead would be an all 

local one, with the home boys lining up for a shot at the title. 

One of the reasons for this was that the finals of the world indoor 

enduro series was held on the same weekend, this despite the fact 

that organiser Peter Luck had moved the Roof date for 2015 to as 

late as possible in December to avoid a clash. Despite this the FIM, 

who sanction all these events, allowed the indoor organisers to hold 

their event really close... 

Another reason, dare we say it, is that the reputation of our top 

youngsters and the impressive performance they put in last year scared 

the Internationals away? After all, no works rider with a big reputation 

internationally wants to come all the way to Lesotho to eat dust! 

Just hours before the closing date for entries former winner, 

veteran Graham Jarvis from the UK, agreed to come back again, 

DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JANUARY 2016 17 


Classic Roof of Africa shot... 

riding a Husqvarna prepared by the South 

African importers. 

Despite the lack of top overseas entries 

the competition between KTM, Husqvarna, 

Yamaha, Beta and relative newcomers 

Sherco posing a threat, is more intense 

than ever before. It is an absolute shame, 

in our opinion that more motorcycle brands 

are not well represented, someone please 

get the other big 3 to build competitive 

enduro machines… 

KTM dominated by sheer weight of 

numbers, with not only the Importer 

team but with several dealer teams as 

well. Outfits like Alfie Cox racing, Traxx 

Dwayne Kleynhans... 

from Pretoria, KTM Cape Town and 

several others looking impressive and 

very competitive. Yamaha South Africa 

set up “Yamaha City” in the parking lot of 

the Avani Maseru Hotel (Old Maseru Sun) 

to assist any Yamaha riders with a full 

spares and technical back up an awesome 

initiative from the blue brand. If you raced 

a Yamaha, you were looked after by the 

importer. Now that is cool! 

All three classes, Gold, Silver and 

Bronze were fully subscribed, with Bronze 

class riders having to qualify at an event 

earlier in the year. This requirement was 

brought in last year after the organisers had 

to turn away literally dozens of entrants. 

One of the reasons for this is that the 

Roof is an iconic event like the Comrades 

marathon, and which many sportsmen put 

on a bucket list of things they would like to 

achieve someday. One of the results of this 

type of entrant is that in the past many of 

them were not really properly prepared, and 

stretched the resources of the organisers 

trying to find and help when they got stuck 

out in the mountains during the first day of 

racing. The new system saw more Bronze 

riders making the finish than ever before 

– and a whole bunch of silver riders, who 

jumped bronze being time barred. 

Garland on the new 

2-stroke Yammie... 

Estonian Priit Biene 


1601 DT Roof 2015.indd 18 2015/12/16 9:36 AM 

AMP

Top 5 gold at Roof Of Africa used Metzeler 6 day tyres: 

Brett Swanepoel - Proudly Bidvest Yamaha. 

Travis Teasdale - Brother Leader Tread KTM. 

Jade Gutzeid - Proudly Bidvest Yamaha. 

Kenny Gilbert - Proudly Bidvest Yamaha. 

Dylan Barker - Pa Ma Racing 

DISTRIBUTED BY AMP www.ampsa.co.za 011-259-7750 

AMP 1601 Metzeler DT Roof 2015.indd Jan16 DT.indd 19 3 

2015/12/15 2015/12/16 7:43 9:36 PM AM

Another feature of the modern Roof of Africa races is 

that dedicated spectator points and spectator facilities are 

identified along the route and facilities are provided so that 

enthusiasts, friends and supporters can get out into the 

mountains and follow the race as it progresses. In addition 

to this a very sophisticated on line app called “yellow brick” 

was introduced last year, and has proved to be a real winner. 

Each rider hires a satellite tracker, specially imported for the 

Roof, and through this can be monitored continuously during 

the race. The safety aspect of this is obvious, but is also 

completely eliminates any chance of a rider taking a short 

cut. Combined with this is a dedicated race GPS devices 

pre-loaded with the route carried by each rider… Aaah, the 

wonders of modern technology! 

The community of Lesotho is also becoming involved with 

the event more each year, and a huge part of the organisers’ 

task is to liaise with villagers along the route to help with 

marking the route, marshalling and running the service 

and spectator points. For instance at every service point, 

the Lesotho Government supplied and erected a green 

and white tent for the locals to use to provide take away 

refreshment points and even protection from the weather for 

spectators. Co-ordinating all of this is a completely unseen 

and unsung part of the organisers’ task each year, and 

coping with the different requirements and local politics in 

the villages along the route is one of the reasons why they 

are literally out on their feet with exhaustion by the time the 

event is over. It is actually amazing that Peter and Justin 

manage to run the event as smoothly and efficiently as they 

do with such a small team of volunteers. 

The race turned out to be a nail biting affair. The top guys 

showed their intention right from the start of the ceremonial 

round the houses race, where they threw caution to the 

wind and simply tore around the streets of the capital 

Maseru, finishing in just about the same order as they did in 

Altie takes a swim. 



Princ

WE CONQUERED 

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2015 Roof of Africa 

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Princess 1601 DT VW Roof Jan16 2015.indd DT.indd 21 1 

2015/12/15 2015/12/16 7:45 9:36 PM AM

the actual race. Talking of the “Round the Houses” race, 

this was originally the actual time trial used to determine 

the starting order for the first race day. When cars still 

took part as well it was an even more spectacular event, 

with some of South Africa’s top racing drivers of the time 

like Paddy Driver and Eddie Keizan storming around the 

streets in 800hp V8 trucks! The “Round the Houses” 

is a traditional part of the Roof, and there is now talk 

of timing the event again, and making it part of the 

Thursday time trial. 

Paul Van Aswegen gets boosted 

by the cheerleaders... 

Time Trial: 

The rumours of the time trial being very tough and 

designed to thin out the field on the first day proved 

to be unfounded when most competitors completed it 

considerably faster than expected. In fact most riders 

arrived at the finish line smiling and looking pretty fresh, 

despite the very hot and dry weather. It seemed that 

the most difficult part of the route was choking dust 

rather than the track. Wade Young (KTM) arrived first 

as expected, although he faced a strong challenge 

from local rider Charan Moore (KTM), Brett Swanepoel 

(Yamaha) Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) and to every one’s 

surprise, the out of retirement Jade Gutzeit, also on a 

Yamaha. He had not raced off road at all for almost three 

years, and although having a reputation as a fearsome 

rider, this layoff, kept him off the pundits’ radar. 

Whilst the riders disappeared early on Thursday night, 

and the service crews worked late preparing the bikes 

for an early start in the morning, the experts ( 2500 of us 

scattered all over that side of Lesotho), sagely discussed 

the results of the time trial and confidently predicted 

the leaders for the next day, and the entire race. Some 

of the predictions were spot on… most of the experts 

said Young, Swanepoel, Teasdale, Gillet and Gilbert 

and few others would be up front. The end of Friday’s 

racing section, where they predicted Gutzeit and Jarvis 

weren’t up the pace set by the young guns, proved to 

be completely wrong. 



2 legends, Jade and Richie... 

PEOPLE 

AT THE ROOF 

Adventure riders come from all over to spectate. 

Beta’s Sean Kirk 

Clint Rieper the COC with Thabo the route marker... 

Bronson louw pulls the chix... 

Future Roof Racers... 

Francois and family from Wild West. 

Kenny G moves to Husky this year. We think 

Yamaha will miss him... 



Deon Neethling does a victory shuffle... 

The Basotho’s help Jacques Van 

Heerden up Music Box. 

Day two Friday 

KTM’s Wade Young set off first at 6am, followed some 

five minutes later by a snarling group of riders. Amongst 

the leading bunch were Jarvis and Gutzeit. From the 

start the race was enthralling. After the first service 

point Wade Young, Brett Swanepoel, Travis Teasdale 

and Graham Jarvis pulled away from the second group 

of Jade Gutzeit and Kenny Gilbert, who were in turn 

almost 20 minutes ahead of the remainder of riders 

filling out the top ten places. Through Whispering 

Death pass and all sorts of gnarly terrain.The pace up 

front was ferocious, and by half way the leaders again 

arrived nearly an hour quicker than expected, although 

the pace was expected to become much slower over 

the second half of the route, much of it over trails not 

used before. On the YB tracking app, the top four were 

glued together, indicated by little Pacman-like dots, 

then the unthinkable happened… Wade Young started 

to fall back, his little dot drifting away to just ahead of 

Gutzeit. It was obvious that he had a problem. Lucky 

for him Gutzeit was unaware of it, because he is such 

an intensely competitive rider if he just got a sniff of the 

possibility of overtaking the favourite he would redouble 

his efforts. So now it was a three way battle with 

Teasdale in front, followed by Swanepoel and Jarvis. 

Gilbert also managed to hold off Young and Gutzeit for 

4th place. At the end the top 10 riders still looked fresh 

enough to continue their furious pace again on the third 

and final day, and their bikes looked pretty good as well, 

especially Jarvis’ Husky. It didn’t have a scratch or ding 

on it, testimony to his conservative and skillful riding 

style. The same couldn’t be said for their tyres though. 

As in every other form of bike racing, tyres have become 

an incredibly important factor. In the roof this year a 

needle match between Metzler, Mitas and to some 

extent Pirelli had developed. All of the top riders had 

used their rubber to the maximum, with very little margin 

left at the end of the day. 

Wade Young had his GPS fall off and he had to stop 

to find and refit it, giving the others the chance to pass 

him. Gutzeit had got ahead of Gilbert at one stage, but 

dropped back after having to sort out a loose pressure 

overflow pipe on his radiator and replace a sidecover on 

his waterpump. 

Kevern Pelser helps with 

a top end rebuild. 

Eddie Vermeulin 




Day three Saturday 

It was now clear who the leading bunch was going to 

be, with Brett Swanepoel setting off first on his Yamaha, 

followed by Jarvis, Teasdale, Young, Gilbert and Gutzeit. 

Sherco’s Altus de Wet had quietly been gaining ground 

and was also in the top ten. They all looked fresh and 

ready to go, amazing after the conditions they had 

already faced and testimony to the incredibly professional 

sportsmen they have become. The experts, perhaps from 

having been up late and guarding against dehydration 

with lots of golden liquid, seemed to all agree…Wade will 

still do it, Jarvis is good for a top five, Swanepoel could 

be a dark horse, Teasdale could also take it and Gutzeit 

will definitely be done by lunchtime….in fact he probably 

would struggle to stay in the top ten. 

By service point one Wade Young was back in front, 

with Brett Swanepoel in close attendance, followed by 

Jarvis. Some minutes back, which equates to a kilometer 

or two, Gilbert and Gutzeit continued their battle. 

Service point two was a real “Gasoline Alley” in the 

Maluti’s and was just before the most difficult part of the 

Roof, where the organisers promised a lot of new terrain 

which would really test everyone to the limit. Once again the 

time taken by the leaders over the first half of the final day’s 

racing route took everyone far less time than expected. This 

was probably due to several factors. Firstly the leaders were 

engrossed in a battle royal, with no quarter asked and none 

given. The weather was hot and dry, with just a smattering 

of rain from the odd isolated thundershower in the late 

afternoon, so it didn’t really affect the leaders. Off they went 

up the side of a humungeous mountain, into “Mokopu Pass” 

and when they thought they had reached the top it went up 

even more! 

As the afternoon wore on, those tracking the race on the 

online app saw that Young and Jarvis had pulled away from 

Swanepoel, who in turn was now just ahead of Teasdale 

and Gilbert. Then about an hour before the final service 

point Jarvis made his move, and in the toughest part of 

the race up to that point, passed and began to pull away 

from Young. Slowly, but ever so surely the wily Englishman, 

using all his experience, pulled away from the South African 

champion. By the time Jarvis pulled into the final service 

point he was about 13 minutes ahead of Young, the 

biggest lead anyone had held since the start of the race. 

We were there – and suddenly it seemed as though the 

silent assassin had finally found the throttle as he screamed 

past on the way to the end point. Jarvis had planned his 

move all along, using his skill and experience in the most 

technical part of the race to open up enough of a lead so 

that he could keep ahead in the faster terrain near the end. 

As it turned out Wade Young and Brett Swanepoel had no 

answer, and just concentrated on holding their position. 

Jarvis actually managed to increase his lead slightly 

over the last 5 km of the race, and simply popped along 

to the end, pulling in to the cheers of a huge group 

of spectators crammed along the top of the natural 

grandstand of a Maluti mountaintop at Ha Patrick. Behind 

him there was still plenty of drama. Wade Young was flying 

to make sure the chasing pack wasn’t going to catch him, 

and Teasdale was right on Swanepoel’s back wheel, with 

Altus de Wet not far behind them. Jade G had got ahead 

of Gilbert, and tenaciously clung to the opportunity of 

using the slightest mistake by any of the trio to pass them 

before the finish line. 

Richie VD Westhuisen. 

Justin louwrens under the 

Mitas Balloon. 

Jade Gudzeit 



Team Christini 

TEAMS 

AT THE ROOF 

Team Husky KTM pit poppies... 

Team ABE Midas Husqvarna... 

Team KTM 

The Amazing Kirsten and 

Sarah Mingay twins. 

The boys from Raceworx KTM Wynand 

Badenhorst and Francois du Toit. 

The crazy freestyle boys 

entertained the crowds... 

The happy bunch from team Liquorland. 

The Hyde Hounds... 

The crews work hard to keep the bikes all going properly... 

Russel Stone and the Princes Benoni Boys... 

DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE JANUARY 2016 2 7 


On the last day Jarvis found his throttle... 

Graham Jarvis was already into his 

second bottle of water and had washed 

the dust off his face when Wade Young 

literally leaped over the finish line. A couple 

of minutes behind him Swanepoel and 

Teasdale looked like they were on the last 

lap of an MX race as they scrapped wheel 

to wheel at every corner of the last 5km, 

with Brett just managing to hold on by 

millimeters over the finish line. Altus came 

in smoothly and surely in 4th place with the 

veteran Jade Gutzeit thundering up in a 

very remarkable 5th place. In the post race 

interviews it seemed that in the top 10 no 

one really had any issues, although Wade 

Young, when asked if he had any problems 

during the day remarked “Yes, I had a big 

problem today…Graham Jarvis!” 

Kirsten Landman on a Freeride in the 

Silver class was the first lady rider home. 

This after a horrendous previous day of 

running out of fuel when her fuel pipe 

split. We watched Kirsty on a few of the 

technical sections and she really has the 

skills and race maturity befitting a top 

contender. 

A wonderful finish in the bronze class 

saw Priit Blene of Estonia, a country 

with it’s own “Koppie alleen” being it’s 

only mountain, and it’s only 300 meters 

high anyway, winning with his team mate 

Toomas Trissa coming home 2nd to a 

rapturous welcome from their families and 

a few friends. Next year, they will have to 

enter Silver… 



Some famous people... 

The friendly mob from Motul... 

Spectators everywhere... 

Sherco’s Flanagan eyes the finish... 


So ended one of the most 

competitive Roof of Africa’s to date. 

Now not far off 50 years old, the Roof 

is one of the oldest races of its kind in 

the World. Dirt And Trail Magazine along 

with Peter Luck and some of the past 

Roof greats will be putting a coffee table 

book together to commemorate this 

milestone. Past Roofies – we need your 

input, photo’s and stories. Go and dig 

through the archives please and get in 

touch! 

As usual, this year there were plenty 

of surprises along the way, and no-one 

was able to really guess the outcome 

properly. There were a record number 

of finishers this year, and one very 

encouraging thing was the number of 

new young riders in the top 16 of the 

gold class. Some of them didn’t even 

look tired at the end, which bodes well 

for racing in SA. Lots of credit must go 

to the organisers, who seemed to have 

hit the right combination of distance and 

difficulty this year…maybe this will bring 

the big International names back next 

year? 

Jarvis takes the win 

A 

Top ten by class 

Gold 

1: GJ0 : Graham Jarvis 

2: 1 Wade Young KTM 

3: 2 Brett Swanepoel Yamaha 

4: 1 Travis Teasdale KTM 

5: 24 Jade Gutzeit Yamaha 

6: 4 Kenny Gilbert Yamaha 

7: 3 Altus de Wet Sherco 

8: 7 Henco Botha KTM 

9: 9 Dwayne Kleynhans KTM 

10: 69 Wesley Redinger KTM 

Brett Swanepoel - third overall... 

Silver 

1: 105 Eduan Beste KTM 

2: 109 Oliver Santoro KTM 

3: 101 Dalan Hall Sherco 

4: 229 Travis Holman 

5: 152 Jarryd Coetzee KTM 

6: ED0 Ethan Depiazzi 

7: GB0 Grady Byrne 

8: 242 Brett Peckham KTM 

9: 194 Hein Jnr van Niekerk KTM 

10: 189 Christo Nel KTM 

2nd place Wade Young 

Travis rode the race of his life 

finishing a brilliant fourth... 

Bronze 

1: PB1 Priit Biene 

2: TT0 Toomas Triisa 

3: 357 Dirk Olivier Yamaha 

4: 306 Wihan Le Hanie Yamaha 

5: 343 Luke Walker KTM 

6: 301 Garth Prost Yamaha 

7: 314 Francois Aucamp KTM 

8: 309 Greyling Pedlar KTM 

9: 393 Josias (Jnr) Zerwick KTM 

10: 313 Gareth Laubscher KTM 



Conrad Oosthuizen on the final climb to the end. 

A birds eye view of the finish... 

A very happy Francois Aukamp 

Altie and Kenny... 

A kiss for the finisher... 

Brandon - double trouble... 

The roar when 

this Basotho 

rider crested 

was amazing... 

The Lauter fan club... 

The Saaijman brothers... 

The toughest 

girl we know 

after our 

wives. Kirsten 

Landman 

The Trax KTM supporters team. 

This says it all... Wesley Redinger. 

Two Yamaha legends.... Denzil Torlage with 

Steve Thompson 

Will Gillit entertains the locals - always fun... 

Jarvis entertains the crowds... 



Laren with previous roof organiser and gold racer Charan Moore. 

Macattack... Kyle Dohne rode his first ever Roof - gold class and 

finished for his mate Matthew who has been diagnosed with leukemia. 

International Press man Pieter Schluter 

with friend. 

Joseph Motenane and Victor Matekane, 

basotho riders... 

local support is massive... 

Roof legend Alec Salley and family... 

One of the only honda’s on the Roof - a 

two stroke CR250 engine in a CRF-X 

frame. Brendon Rees. 

Very happy Austrian Importers... 



Husq

www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com 

www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com 

GRAHAM JARVIS WINS THE ROOF OF AFRICA 2015 ABOARD HIS HUSQVARNA TE 300 

BUILT TO GO 

AS FAR AS YOU 

DARE TO TAKE 

Tougher than 

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MPUMALANGA - Vans Husqvarna, Middleburg – (013) 282 0766 

Husqvarna 1601 DT Roof Nov15.indd Jan16 2015.indd DT.indd 1 331 

2015/10/23 2015/12/14 2015/12/16 11:43 11:50 9:39 AM

Advertorial 

10 December 2015 

Roof of Africa 2015 - Supermoose 

One of the most important aspects of a riders career in this sport is how they feel 

on the bike, the comfort that gives you the confidence to go faster than the 

competition. 

I was fortunate enough to be able to test the new Supermoose mooses at this 

years Roof of Africa. The mooses arrived just before the Roof, so there was not 

too much time for testing but after putting these mooses in and going for a quick 

little ride to bed them in I could immediately feel the difference. 

As a racer you are always looking for a particular feel on the bike. I personally 

love the feel of tubes in the wheels, it does not roll and you get much more 

response from both the front end and the rear. Now at a National or International 

event you cannot risk using tubes and you are forced to use mooses that have 

been traditionally very heavy and result in a lot of tyre roll and flex. 

The feeling I got with the Supermoose is something I have never experienced 

before, the front end feel is exactly the same as running tubes with the safety of 

a moose. Hands down the best front moose I have ever used. Then the back 

moose felt slightly hard brand new in the tyre but was significantly lighter than a 

normal mousse and I was pleasantly surprised at how it tracked in the Lesotho 

mountains. Usually a hard moose would equal a very tough time in Lesotho but 

the more I rode the better the moose felt and the more confidence I had with the 

back end. The ultimate offroad and enduro moose in my opinion. 

I was able to finish Round the Houses in 2nd Overall, finish the Time Trial in 7th 

Overall. And run in the Top 10 Overall for majority of day 1 until I was forced to 

retire due to a knee injury. 

Now the next issue you always have with current mooses on the market is that 

they hardly last, either shrinking or getting impact tears especially in Lesotho. 

When I took the mooses out I could not believe how they had lasted, I was 

expecting to see at least one or two impact tears or at least slight shrinking but 

they looked brand new as if they had not even been used. 

The compound of the Supermoose is new to the industry and something that I 

believe to be an undisputable winner. After one weekend of riding the mooses I 

felt more confident than ever on the bike. 

Excellent price, superior feel, longer lasting. I will not use any other moose. 


CHARAN MOORE 



1601 DT Centre.indd 36 2015/12/16 9:39 AM

1601 DT Centre.indd 37 2015/12/16 9:39 AM

The Sunfields 2015 

RIDE 

The guys from Family Adventures have a pet project. In exchange for the farmers opening their land 

for a great trail ride, they invite people to come and support the Sunfields home for the disabled. 

A roaring success, with some great 

routes worked through the farmlands, 

hundreds of eager riders dug deep to 

support the home this year. Guys – we 

saw people donating so much – we 

know that Auto Alpina in Boksburg send 

a truckload of stuff, SSS Racing made a 

huge donation, the Webster family and 

Liebenbergs, de Carvalho’s, Botes’ and so 

many other that we do not know of dug 

deep. We saw washing machines, tumble 

dryers, microwave ovens all being offloaded 

into the house. Guys you have no 

idea what this means to a place like this, 

from all of us a huge thank you!! 

The routes were excellent fun with a 

great mixup of rock for the tweelies and 

flowing trails for the family riders out there… 

Spare a thought for the farmers, the 

drought is having a real impact. Please if 

you are out and about on the trails watch 

out for your stompies. 

Lots of rides are planned for this year 

– keep an eye on the website – www. 

familyadventures.co.za and watch Dirt And 

Trail magazine for updates. 


1601 DT Sunfields.indd 38 2015/12/16 9:40 AM


The Sunfields 2015 

RIDE 


COME JOIN 

THE FUN 

WATERBERG 

MOUNTAIN RIDE 

NABOOMSPRUIT 

29-31 JANUARY 2016 



1601 DT Africa Twin.indd 42 2015/12/16 9:41 AM

WORLD 

LAUNCH 

HONDA AFRICA TWIN 

By Clive Strugnell pics supplied by Honda. 

RESURRECTION! 

The all new Honda Africa Twin 

“The underlying geometry, the choice 

of suspension, the riding position and 

even the texture of the handgrips has 

been honed by a team of people who 

really know what they are doing. There 

are no compromises on this bike. The 

initial goal was to make the successor 

of the original Africa Twin the best 

Adventure bike on the road.” 

Every now and then a particular motorcycle becomes 

an icon, often highly sought after long after production 

has stopped. So many factors contribute to this, and it’s 

very seldom that the iconic status was planned by the 

manufacturer in any way. In fact most times the exact 

opposite happens, the manufacturer introduces a bike 

planned right from the beginning to be something special, 

and in the end it turns out to be nothing of the sort. 

The number of really iconic Japanese bikes is 

actually pretty small considering the hundreds of 

different models they have produced since the early 

sixties. Honda in particular have some very impressive 

milestones, most notably the mighty four cylinder 

CB750, introduced in 1969. It was the bike that 

changed the face of motorcycling forever. Who knows 

what expectations the men at Honda had at the time…. 



they must have known it was going to be a 

winner, but there is no way they could have 

known just what an impact it would have. The 

directors of Honda in Japan should have a 

picture of the men who conceived that bike 

and at the door when they come to work 

every day, and they should doff their corporate 

hats and thank them every morning. And 

thank them again when they go home. 

Then there was the original Africa Twin. 

First produced in 1988 as a 650 V twin 

“Adventure Bike” the Africa Twin used the 

basic looks and configuration to tackle a 

market that was beginning to emerge, mainly 

in Europe, for a nimble touring bike that 

could tackle unpaved back roads as well as 

the paved highways and byways. We can 

only guess, but the Honda engineers and 

marketing men probably thought that the 

very successful XR/XL range was a good 

starting point for a bike capable of some 

long distance touring, and based the bike 

roughly on that range. The original Africa 

Twin had spoke wheels, 21” in front, 18’ 

in the back, long travel suspension and a 

fairing copied from the Honda Dakar racers 

of the time. The Dakar race was a big thing 

already, and Honda used the image of a 

cross continental racer to market their new 

baby. It was an immediate success, and by 

1989 had grown to a 750, still with the V twin 

motor. For the next 14 years the Honda Africa 

Twin was a strong seller around the world, 

and successfully pounded its’ way along 

dirt, sand and paved roads across every 

continent. It was also just as successful being 

used as a commuter in cities everywhere. 

Then Honda seemed to get sidetracked. 

They stopped production in 2003, and 

concentrated on their new adventure bike 

offering, the 1000cc Varadero, no doubt 

seeing it as the successor to the now ageing 

Africa Twin and in line with the more modern 

offerings like the V Strom from Suzuki and 

the BMW line up. The Varadero however, was 

quite a lot different to the Africa Twin, and was 

discontinued in 2013. 

In the meantime the reputation of the 

Africa Twin soared, and even 15 years after 

the last one rolled off the production line used 

examples change hands for much more than 

they sold for when new! 

The motorcycling World has also moved 

on, and over the past ten years the biggest 

sector in motorcycle sales has become the 

Adventure Bike market. For many reasons, 

not the least being that the baby-boomer 

generation that drove the sales of race 

replica superbikes like the Fireblade to the 

top of the charts were now getting bored 

with Superbike culture, not to mention 

that their older bones no longer fit into 

racer-style riding positions. They happily 

embraced the Adventure bike culture and 

all the opportunities for a more relaxed 

and widespread riding experience it offers. 

Honda-men around the world obviously spent 

many long hours trying to figure out how one 

of the most innovative motorcycle companies 

in the world could become a bigger part of 

this fast growing market. Somewhere a light 

flashed and the answer was obvious. 

ALL-TERRAIN 

PERFORMANCE 

With 98Nm of torque, the Africa Twin is built 

to take you all the way from tarmac touring to 

off-road rally. 

The roaring dual exhaust pipes run from 

underneath the bike to the rear. 

The new Africa Twin packs an all-new 4-stroke 

1000cc parallel twin engine. It has the muscle to 

take on extreme off-road environments, offers 

smooth comfort for long distance touring, and 

sprightly agility for the everyday commute. 

Up and down the gears 

The standard manual version of the Africa Twin 

has a lightweight six-speed manual gearbox that 

uses the same shift-cam design found on the 

trusty CRF250R/450R – and is equipped with an 

assist slipper clutch. Coupled with a large 18.8 

litre fuel tank and top fuel efficiency, it has a 

range of up to 400km. Enough to get where you 

wanted (or weren’t expecting) to go. 


1601 DT Africa Twin.indd 44 2015/12/16 9:41 AM 

275x 

Zamb

Book 

yours now! 

ZAMBEZI HONDA 

Tel: 012 523 9500 

Cnr Visvanger Road & Sefako Makgatho Drive, PTA 

www.bbzambezihonda.co.za 

275x210-5mmB-20mmT.indd 1 

2015/11/19 9:16 AM 

Zambezi 1601 DT Honda Africa Twin.indd Jan16 DT.indd 45 1 

2015/12/15 2015/12/16 8:05 9:41 PM AM

The bikes chief designers, Naoshi Iizuka 

and Tetsuya-Kudo, were here in SA for 

the world launch. 

About the bikes: 

There are two distinctly different versions 

of the CRF 1000L. The first is the standard 

model, and it is fitted with a conventional 6 

speed gearbox with an ordinary foot gear 

lever and clutch lever on the handlebar. 

The second is the “CRT” top of the range 

model. Although the technical people were 

keen to explain how everything worked, and 

the guys in charge of showing us the way 

and making sure we behaved on the road 

tried hard to make us concentrate, they 

were fighting a losing battle and they knew 

it. We wanted to be on the bikes and riding! 

However, as we turned to the bikes and 

the moment arrived to actually get on them 

most of us were struck by the sheer good 

looks of Honda’s new baby. 

Resurrect the Africa Twin! 

Once that was decided, way back in 2009, 

mighty Honda set to work. 

Six year later the new Honda Africa Twin 

has been launched, and how fantastic 

was it that the introduction to the World 

motorcycle Press was in South Africa. Not 

only was the launch held here, ten South 

African journalists were invited to be the 

first to ride the new bike. Following us 

were another 70 writers from the biggest 

circulating magazines, TV shows and online 

media from around the World. 

From the start it was obvious how much 

effort, care and pure passion Honda have 

put into this bike. On arriving at Aquila 

private game reserve near Ceres in the 

Cape, we were introduced to many of 

the team responsible for the bike we saw 

lurking under an afdak as we checked 

in. Over an informal drink in a thatched 

lounge the obviously very proud President 

of Honda Africa, Mr Yoshiaki Nakamura 

welcomed us as the first group to arrive. 

Flanking him was the new bike, this one 

very understated in a satin black. At 

that point, to be quite honest, it was just 

another nice looking new bike, quite similar 

to one of the older model Africa Twins just 

outside the door. 

The team that was sent to run the 

launch were also all present, and it was 

noticeable how nervous and apprehensive 

they all were. It’s one thing to hear 

comments on the look of the bike at an 

international Motorcycle Exhibition, but 

here it was going to face a test by fire… 

the first time a group of experienced riders 

completely free to voice any opinion they 

liked were going to ride them. 

There were introductions 

to various Honda people, like the 

overall project leader Mr Naoshi Lizuka, 

one of his right hand men Mr 

Tetsuya Kudo, the leader of the 

Italian based styling centre, 

one of the men responsible for 

a lot of the prototype testing, Ian Bland, 

and several more. A very welcoming face 

was that of Heine Engelbrecht and his son 

Dieter from ADA. They were responsible 

for choosing the route, both on and off 

road as well as playing a very big part in 

running the riding part of the launch. It was 

soon obvious that these people were here 

to answer any question thrown at them as 

openly as they could. We couldn’t wait to 

get onto the bikes and out onto the road. 

After a quick breakfast we were all ready 

to rock and roll. First, however, we were 

given a very good briefing on the bikes. 

The Africa Twin is full of neat 

little design touches that 

nod to the past. Brilliant design 

withstands the test of time 

– and the Africa Twin is no 

different. Whether it’s the dual 

headlights with their handsome 

looks and great visibility, or the 

range of rally paintwork to choose 

from, the new Africa Twin pays 

homage to the original with classic 

styling that still looks great today. 




“Swinging a leg over the two colour single 

piece saddle is a doddle. Although Honda 

have given the Africa Twin very generous 

ground clearance they have managed to 

keep the saddle height low enough for 

shorter riders.” 

The design team has done a fabulous job of 

capturing the essence of the original, especially the 

two combinations of the original red, white and blue 

Honda Dakar racing colours. The styling captures 

the feel of the old race bike, but is completely 

modern and very good looking. Somehow out in 

the open the bike looks much slimmer and smaller 

than the black one standing in the lounge the 

evening before. 

Swinging a leg over the two colour single piece 

saddle is a doddle. Although Honda have given 

the Africa Twin very generous ground clearance 

they have managed to keep the saddle height low 

enough for shorter riders. They have also made it 

extremely quick and easy to change the seat height 

to a lower position. Simply use the ignition key 

to spring it open, lift it and replace in the second 

position. It is quicker to do than to explain. On the 

lowest position it is low enough to suit a very short 

rider… also making it easy for lady riders to feel 

comfortable. Once on the bike everything 

is just in the right place. Footpeg height, 

handlebar height and bend, screen height, 

tank width and reach to the bars is just so 

well thought out. Talking of the footpegs, they 

are the current modern wide design, and have 

a removable rubber insert for riding 

in the wet when more grip on the 

soles of your boots is needed. 

Talking of saddle height another 

nice feature is that the bike will 

start in neutral with the stand 

down. This means that it is 

possible to sit on the bike 

with both feet on the pegs 

and start it, ready to pull 

off and flip up the stand just 

before engaging a gear… great 

if you are short, or really tired 

after a tough off road ride. 



Electronic wizardry: 

The DCT version has no gear lever, 

although one is available as an optional 

extra… everyone smiled when they heard 

that! It also doesn’t have a clutch lever. 

It does have strong looking enduro 

type plastic handlebar protectors, the 

instrument panel is easy to read and 

electronically shows everything you need 

to know, including the riding mode settings 

and other normal stuff like the time, your 

speed, water temp, fuel and the rest. It 

has another nice feature to help the rider 

remember exactly what setting he has 

chosen. On the left handlebar control there 

are the dim and bright headlight switch, 

indicator toggle, and a headlamp flasher, 

as well as the hooter. Normal so far. Then 

it also has a spring loaded toggle in front 

operated by a flick of your pointing finger, 

and one on the back to press with your 

thumb. They both fall very naturally in 

place, and the rider is able to change gears 

manually. Simply flick a finger or thumb to 

move up or down through the conventional 

6 speed gearbox. The changes are 

absolutely instant and as smooth as silk. 

No rider can possibly hope to match them 

manually with conventional controls. On 

the right hand cluster you find the normal 

starter button and kill switch and a rocker 

switch marked S and M… you guessed it - 

sport and manual. 

In manual mode the bike works exactly 

like the manual version, and holds the 

selected gear to whatever rpm you want 

(although a rev limiter kicks in just over the 

red line) it will also change down to a lower 

gear any time you select one, even if you 

do so at too high a speed for the lower 

gear. Select “S” and a little bar graph pops 

up on the instrument panel. Lightly tap 

the rocker lever and each time you do so 

it adds or subtracts a bar. One bar is for 

automatic in sport mode, for riding briskly 

but conservatively, flick it to two bars and 

it changes gears a bit higher up in the rev 

range for more spirited riding. Select three 

bars and have the full power available from 

the excellent parallel twin motor. In this 

mode the rider controls the bike entirely 

through the throttle and the brakes, and 

it automatically changes gears at exactly 

the right time. Race your mate and ride 

very aggressively and it even knows to 

change down two gears as you get to a 

sharp corner. If by some chance it has 

selected too low a gear for that particular 

corner it instantly and smoothly flicks 

into the right gear. How does it do that? 

Well you will have to ask Honda. If you 

remember, because it is just so much fun. 

Maybe you still don’t trust all this 

electronic trickery? No problem, you can 

EASY TO USE CONTROLS 

The switchgear for both manual and DCT 

machine has been designed to improve rider 

control and ease of use. The dash functions are 

controlled from a button on the left switchgear, 

as is control of HSTC, with the indicator switch 

set closer to the handlebar. The right hand 

switchgear has an integrated start/engine stop 

switch, plus a hazard light button. 

To manage the CRF1000L Africa Twin in DCT form 

the left switchgear incorporates an ‘up’ shift 

trigger on its rear – in a place naturally found 

by a forefinger – with the ‘down’ shift trigger on 

the front ready for a thumb. The right switchgear 

features an AT/MT (automatic/manual) select 

button and N-D-S (neutral, drive, sport) switch. 

The parking brake is operated by pulling a lever 

on the left handlebar, with four levels of braking 

force to suit conditions – up to an 18% gradient 

with two people and full load – and slipping 

on the small lock lever; it’s taken off by simply 

squeezing the lever. A plastic guard shields the 

parking brake caliper and rear disc. 

manually override the automatic mode any 

time you like and manually select the gear 

you think you need. In general it’s more like a 

comfort blanket when you do so, and as you 

get more used to it the less you will over-ride 

it. If you choose the optional extra foot gear 

lever you can use this instead of the toggle 

switch to change gear. Quite honestly it’s just 

not worth the bother, because in less than 

100 meters you will have forgotten about a 

foot gear change anyway. 

If you think that’s all space age 

technology which sounds too good to be 

true, there’s even more. The electronics 

employ some smart technology which 

analyses your riding style over a very short 

distance, and it adjusts the way the bike 

performs accordingly. For instance if you 

deliberately select the most aggressive 

sport three mode, but ride more gently 

and conservatively than the sport mode is 

capable of, it will automatically reprogram 

itself to suit your riding style. Alternatively 



if you happen to be pottering 

along enjoying the scenery in 

sport one, and suddenly decide 

to chase your mate who has 

just blasted past, the electronics 

will immediately pick up your 

more aggressive riding style 

and adjust accordingly. That all 

describes the go part. 

The stopping bit is 

just as clever. 

In default the bike (both versions 

have the same ABS system) 

is set to full ABS. This controls 

both the front and the rear 

brakes. In addition to the ABS 

on the front brake Honda use 

their dual braking technique 

where pressing the back brake 

always puts some braking 

force on the front as well. It 

works so well the rider can’t 

even feel it, other than the bike 

stops incredibly smoothly and 

efficiently. What’s more the ABS 

works under all conditions. (well 

we couldn’t try it on ice because 

the air temp was over 36 C 

most of the time) It does work 

exceptionally well on unpaved 

surfaces…even when there is 

just a layer of dust on a hard 

packed surface. For most riding 

it’s best just to leave it on. It can 

be turned off, mostly for use on 

heavy sand and dirt surfaces 

where locking the back wheel 

helps turn the bike, for instance 

around sharp, slow turns. 

Interestingly even though the 

dash light shows the ABS is off, it 

still operates on the front wheel. 

But wait folks, Honda still has 

one more electronic safety trick 

on this bike. It has a four stage 

traction control system. Default 

is full traction control, indicated 

by three bars on the dash panel. 

With a flick of a switch this 

can be reduced to a marginal 

one bar, or it can be switched 

off completely when the bike 

is stationary. With three bars 

showing it is very restrictive, 

cutting the power very quickly 

and comprehensively. It’s 

probably excellent in heavy 

rain and perhaps black ice, 

but too much everywhere else. 

The other modes work well, 

and it’s easy to find one to suit 

the conditions. It’s as good a 

safety aid as the ABS. Then 

the CRT model has one last 

trick up its sleeve. All of this 

wizardry is made possible by 

the latest version of Honda’s 

dual clutch technology. In 

normal operation to ensure silky 

smooth gearshifts, both up and 

down, and to give the bike an 

absolutely seamless ride from 

standstill to top speed there 

“But wait folks, Honda still 

has one more electronic 

safety trick on this bike. It 

has a four stage traction 

control system.” 




is some “slippage” between the 

two clutches and the gearbox. 

It is ever so slight, and almost 

unnoticeable. However it does 

rob a little bit of performance, so 

to remove this, Honda has fitted 

a button marked “G” just below 

the screen on the panel. Press it 

once and the clutches and all the 

other bits work like demons… 

still smooth and seamless, but 

with a pleasing taughtness 

that combined with a fabulous 

induction howl make canyon riding 

enormous fun. 

Ok so now that we’ve 

done our best to 

explain how it all 

works, what is it like 

to ride? 

On the fully automatic DCT version 

it only takes 30 seconds from 

selecting 1st gear with the right 

hand rocker switch and turning 

the throttle to pull off to forget that 

bikes ever even had things like 

clutch and gear levers! Everything 

just feels so natural and it all works 

so well. We were put into groups 

of five, each behind a riding leader, 

and told not to pass him, which 

we dutifully did not do… for about 

five kays. It was a brilliant Karoo 

summer day, with such clear air 

we could probably have seen 

Madagascar from the top of one 

of the nearby hills. After 5 kays 

we came to a T junction, and all 

of us had the same thought in 

mind. If we were expected to ride 

the 150 something km route like 

this we were going to turn right 

at the first opportunity when the 

riding leader turned left. Luckily 

for us Heine and Dieter second 

guessed us and we were asked 

to follow a film crew in a truck 

one by one for some video shots, 

so we forgot about riding away 

from our minders. After that we 

were taken on a succession of 

brilliant mountain passes, and at 

speeds we all enjoyed, and which 

exposed the new Africa Twin to 

real, fast touring conditions. One 

of the great things about riding 

in South Africa is that the roads 

are generally in great condition, 

traffic is sparse and policing is 

minimal. Our minders proved to 

be excellent riders and kept us 

all at a fast but safe pace. As 

the day wore on we stopped 

quite often and the entire group 

“One of the great things about 

riding in South Africa is that 

the roads are generally in great 

condition, traffic is sparse and 

policing is minimal.” 




of South African journalists naturally 

sorted themselves into groups who were 

comfortable riding together. 

At speed on the open road, fitted with 

Dunlop adventure type tyres the new Africa 

Twin proved to be a fabulously capable 

tourer. It is so comfortable, and so capable. 

The 270 degree crank angle makes the 

parallel twin engine sound and feel like a 

V-twin, and is very pleasant. There has 

been serious attention paid to the build 

quality of this bike. It is so smooth, rattle 

free and effortless. In fact there isn’t 

another bike on the road that comes 

close in these areas’. Unlike some of the 

competition there are no strange engine 

noises, no gear box clunks, and no rattling 

plastic. It does make a fabulous induction 

roar when pressed hard, and this makes it 

very tempting to keep the revs up as much 

as possible. Another nice feature is that the 

one piece saddle does have a fashionable 

dip in the front, but unlike several others 

allows the rider to move around freely 

during a long ride. The density and the 

texture of the saddle cover is also just right. 

An entire team must have been tasked 

to make sure a rider could comfortably 

ride from Cape to Cairo in one shot if they 

chose to. 

After lunch time we swopped bikes, 

and moving on to the fully manual version 

which, was not as different as one would 

expect. It just goes to show how well 

Honda have done their homework in 

“Unlike some of the 

competition there are no 

strange engine noises, 

no gear box clunks, and 

no rattling plastic. It does 

make a fabulous induction 

roar when pressed hard, 

and this makes it very 

tempting to keep the revs 

up as much as possible.” 

making riding the DCT bike as natural and 

effortless as possible. 

The manual Africa Twin is just as capable 

as its’ twin (ha ha, funny!). The ergonomics 

and geometry and in fact everything except 

the electronic wizardry is exactly the same. 

As the day went by we were in riding 

heaven. As we got more used to the bike 

one thing became very clear. The underlying 

geometry, the choice of suspension, the 

riding position and even the texture of 

the handgrips has been honed by a team 

of people who really know what they are 

doing. There are no compromises on 

this bike. The initial goal was to make the 

successor of the original Africa Twin the 

best Adventure bike on the road. 

At the end of day one we certainly 

thought they had pretty much succeeded 

as a touring or “Adventure” road bike. 

After a day in the saddle we got home full 

of enthusiasm and ready for the next day 

which was to be on the dirt. 

A very interesting thing had happened 

during the day. Almost to a man everyone 

of the Honda team, many who have been 

directly involved in the original conception 

and subsequent development of the bike 

eagerly approached each of the journalists. 

This was the first time the bike had really 

been ridden by anyone not directly linked 

to Honda in some way. All of the journalists 

there have had lots of experience on 

every other adventure bike currently on 

the market. The questions were always 

the same “What do you think?” They were 

so enthusiastic and so passionate - and 

apprehensive as well. It would have been 

devastating if something had been wrong, 

or if there was anything we didn’t like. 

When we got back to the game lodge 

we had a very pleasant dinner out in the 

bush after a great game drive where a 

teenaged bull elephant threatened us 

and a lioness decided someone on the 

game viewing vehicle might be a nice 

snack. Once again the Honda staff split up 

amongst the riders. The wonderful thing 

was how informal everyone was, and how 

willing they were to answer even the most 

difficult of questions. This was not what 

we have come to expect from the normally 



very reserved Japanese, especially those 

from the inner sanctums of the various 

R&D departments. 

Of course we all talked amongst 

ourselves, comparing notes and discussing 

every facet of both bikes. By the time 

we went to bed we seemed quite evenly 

split between our preference for the 

conventional and the DCT bikes. Of course 

the perennial subject of electronics, and 

ABS in particular was a hot topic. Many 

riders keep saying they prefer to be in 

control completely and would like no 

electronics at all. Then there are some 

who love the electronics and delight in 

being able to ride faster, safer and easier 

as they become better. We all left thinking 

that the day on the dirt will be the most 

interesting… 

At breakfast the next morning, opinions 

had hardened during the night, with some 

riders declaring outright which system they 

preferred. 

When we got to the bikes we found 

they had been fitted with Continental off 

road tyres, which gave us a clue to the day 

Honda had in store for us. At the briefing 

we found that we had a new set of lead 

riders, Oliver and Martin, who turned out 

to be masters of off road, but so friendly 

and helpful, just like our road guides Adrian 

(Adie) and Ian had been the day before. We 

were briefed on the off-road loop we would 

ride, which included a gnarly uphill track 

more suited to a 450 enduro bike. 

The loop covered fast hard pack 

semi desert, some thick sand, a water 

crossing and some fast, eroded winding 

and undulating sections very similar to a 

national off road race like the Toyota 1000. 

On the face of it very brave stuff for Honda 

to entrust their bikes to riders they didn’t 

really know. 

Anyway, off we went, once again 

grouped behind a control rider, who set 

a smart pace right away. Within a very 

short distance it was clear that the new 

Africa Twin is a really competent off 

road bike. The terrain was far more 

suited to a well sorted enduro bike, 

especially for the riders capable of 

picking up the pace and using the 

ample, seamless power of the new 

Honda engine. And what a revelation 

the CRT proved to be. Riding in any 

mode was just so much fun. The 

very conventional, non electronically 

adjustable suspension easily handled 

everything that came it’s way. The 

brakes are outstanding, even with the 

ABS fully on. The biggest surprise of 

all was how good the automatic CRT 

bike is. With traction control off, ABS 

off, sports mode three selected and 

the “G” button pressed this bike 

is like a rattle-free Dakar racer! It 

is awesome! 

Up the gnarly rocky mountain 

climb one of our fellow scribes 

who is not a picture of fitness 

and who loudly proclaimed 

that he “didn’t do dirt” and 

wasn’t going up any off road hill 

under any circumstances, was 

persuaded by team leader Martin 

to just try on the CRT bike. Martin 

assured him he would help all the 

way, and that under no circumstances 

would the bike stall. Minutes later 

our colleague crested the hill with such a 

huge smile that if he hadn’t had a helmet 

strapped on his head would have split 

in two. Minutes later he had ridden back 

down the hill, and back up again on the 

conventional manual model! 

After one more loop of the dirt circuit 

which we all tried to do as fast as possible, 

we reluctantly headed for home, the riding 

part of our job done. Of course back at the 

ranch the team were waiting, this time with 

beaming smiles.. 

”Whaddoyouthink?” was the first thing 

we were asked by Mr Kudo, in charge of 

the final development. Honestly, this bike 

is awesomely good. Time will tell if the 

resurrected Honda Africa Twin will become 

as famous as its’ ancestor. I suspect it 

will. No bike will satisfy everyone, but this 

one will excite and satisfy a huge group 

of serious Adventure bike customers, 

attracted not only by what a good 

motorcycle this is, but also by the fact that 

it’s a Honda, backed up by all the qualities 

Honda is rightly famous for. 

The bikes are due to arrive here around 

April. We don’t know the price because 

the illustrious chaps in our parliament keep 

duffing the value of the rand. More on this 

bike soon… 



ROCKY ROAD 

BRETT’S ROOF MACHINE - THE YZ250FX 

It’s quite difficult to believe that this bike has only been 

around for a year or so - in fact the YZ250 FX made its 

official debut, just a year ago at the 2014 Roof Of Africa. 

Straight after that Roof, we got to ride the new models 

(FX and WR), and these were impressive- even out of 

the box. The bikes have brought Yamaha some pretty 

good sales successes and just as importantly, great 

results in the hands of some talented riders. We slightly 

less talented riders borrowed Brett Swanepoels Roof 

machine for a quick spin after it came third at this years 

Roof Of Africa... 

By now you will have read every review about these 

incredible machines - its as though Yamaha Japan said 

“stuff it” and took a sledge hammer to the traditional 

250cc enduro market. Naturally to ride extreme enduro’s 

like the Roof, a bike needs a bit of TLC to protect it and 

make it - well tough enough to go the distance. The guys 

from Bidvest Yamaha spend quite a bit of time on each 

Roof bike to make sure that it is up to race scratch - and 

looking at the results this year, they sure did a great job. 

What have they done to this one... 

Local is lekker: 

South Africa is quite famous for making components 

for hard enduro. The brake protectors and shark fin out 

back are polished aluminium polished components made 

by PSP in the Cape. Same with the radiator guards. 

This custom manufacturer has a huge variety of ready to 

race parts on offer - top quality, bolt-on goodies for most 

makes and models. 

The famous Hyde outfit are responsible for the protective 

skid plate mounted beneath the engine. 

It’s great to see so much good local stuff making its way 

on to some of the worlds top bikes. 


1601 DT YZ250 BS.indd 56 2015/12/16 9:45 AM



Imported stuff; 

Tyres and mousses are compliments of 

Metzeler tyres. The pipe is FMF. We notice 

that the KYB suspension has been set 

up by suspension tuning wizard Hilton 

Hayward - he dials the bike in according to 

the riders weight, riding style and of course 

- the application. 

The bike is liberally littered with light speed 

carbon components - on the front brake, 

the fork protector and the little brake guard 

out back. light weight and looks very trick. 

Looking a bit closer, we notice that a 

second fan has been fitted, so one on each 

radiator. For the rocks at the Roof this is 

probably one of the most critical additions 

to avoid overheating when you are battling 

up a snotty slope. And it all looks really 

neat and factory. 

Cycra hand guards are mounted, some 

of the toughest in the biz. It’s great to see 

that even a rider like Brett has a lifting strap 

bolted at the back of the seat, we thought 

it was only us mere mortals who have to lift 

our bikes out of trouble. 

Looking at the bike, you’d never say that 

this bike had just come third in a Gold 

Roof. Testimony to the skills that these top 

riders have. We were, in fact convinced 

that the bike had not even fallen over - until 

we watched the Roof footage on Ignition 

- Brett did put her down on Whispering 

Death pass. 

Riding it, it just feels so crisp and fresh. Our 

Kyle Lawrenson probably weighs around 

the same as Brett and constantly went on 

about how good the suspension feels. 

What a bike! light, nimble and so fast - 

easily as fast as an old generation 450. Its 

very easy to understand why it has done so 

well in such a short space of time. 

A four stroke up against the most popular 

two stroke race machines on the planet. 

Great to see how well this bike does... 

We’ll get our mitts on to some of the other 

top Roof bikes soon. 




www.roamafrica.co.za 

ROAM 

R E A D E R 

AFRICA 

S R I D E 

Year End Roam To Ganora Lodge, Eastern Cape 

The day finally arrived, Friday 27th November, 

time to depart to the inaugural year end gettogether 

at Ganora Lodge, a few km from 

Nieu Bethesda in the Eastern Cape, the venue 

was chosen partly because it is fairly central 

between Cape Town and Johannesburg, and because it 

came highly recommended by Dorsland/Johan Steyn, a 

local farmer in the area. 

I was fortunate enough to get a BMW XR 1000 

for the event the day before, more on this awesome 

machine later, I hastily kitted it out with a fruit salad of 

luggage, Famsa universal tailbag, Touratech drybag, 

SW Motech tankbag, bolted on my trusty Garmin 276C 

GPS, packed my kit and was good to go... 

Early on Friday morning I met up with Debbie/Go Girl 

on her KTM 950, and Tony on his KTM 1190 Adv, and 

Michelle, Tony’s daughter who very bravely decided to 

join her dad for the weekend, I say brave because to 

take on 800 km as pillion with very little road time takes 

some doing, somehow she maintained a smile and a 

sense of humour the rest of the weekend. 

RoamAfrica is a fairly new adventure forum, www. 

roamafrica.co.za, owned by people with a very wide 

variety of motorcycle adventure knowledge and 

experience, populated by a great bunch of ‘fairly mature’ 

members, all very keen to share their experiences, and 

learn from others, and not just motorcycle adventure, 

all types of adventure, be it cycling, 4X4ing, kayaking, 


1601 DT Kurt adv.indd 60 2015/12/16 9:47 AM



walking, whatever, as long as you’re 

having an adventure.... 

We met up at Kroonvaal Plaza, 

refuelled, refreshed with a quick 

breakfast, and off we went. Due 

to work pressure we had to leave 

on Friday and do the distance in 

one day, others more fortunate had 

left on Wednesday and Thursday 

already, doing as much dirt as 

possible along the way, Pierre/ 

Geotraveler had the misfortune to hit 

a sheep on the way, and was unable 

to make it, next year is another 

year... We stopped just after one of 

the toll gates on the N1 for a break, 

this a really monotonous road, and 

just as I mentioned to the others that 

we might meet up with Tom/TVB1 

along the road, Tom arrived, he had 

only been a few kays behind us, on 

his brand new Honda NC 750, so 

now we were 4 bikes. We stopped 

for fuel as needed, but kept a good 

pace, I was revelling in the pleasure 

of riding the BMW XR 1000, which 

in my opinion is a superbike that 

you sit on properly, upright and 

comfortable, not like a grasshopper 

hiding behind a screen, the XR 

1000 was launched in South Africa 

a few months back, I was fortunate 

to be on that media launch as well, 

now I finally had the opportunity 

to ride the XR my way, live with 

it for a few days, an ideal way to 

examine the bike and it’s abilities at 

my pace. And man oh man, was I 

having fun, the XR has a quickshifter 

fitted as standard, caning it off 

from standstill, holding the throttle 

pinned, no clutch, hook the gear 

lever, it changes gears like a F1 

car, a major adrenaline rush each 

time....the XR 1000 has the same 

motor as the BMW 1000 R, 160 

HP, it is very comfortable, has an 

adjustable screen, wide handlebars, 

a fair sized 20L fuel tank which can 

see around 300km if ridden at close 

to legal speed limits, for those that 

want adventure, and rarely go on 

dirt, this is the bike to have, a bike 

that has a lap timer AND a standard 

GPS cradle is a true all-rounder, it 

would be just as comfortable blitzing 

around a racetrack on track days 

as it would be tearing around long 

mountain passes, or long routes to 

a destination of your choice. Full 

luggage is an optional addition, all 

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and panniers just clip on. 

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Damian Pretorius finished 

the full race distance in 

the club category. 

SUSPENSION KITS AVAILABLE 

FOR ALL ADVENTURE BIKES 

DIGITAL ISSUE 

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Looking for the latest issue of Dirt and Trail Magazine in 

your inbox? Drop us a mail - foleyg@mweb.co.za, we’ll 

send you the details for annual electronic subscriptions. 

R200 for 12 issues... no more postal issues... works on 

all electronic platforms. 


Our last fuel stop was Middelburg, and 

I would be wise to listen to a student in my 

search for rusks, Michelle knew just where 

to shop for rusks, and Debbie proved this 

by popping into a coffee shop across the 

road from the gas station, one just HAS 

to have proper boere rusks with coffee for 

breakfast....our last stretch included a 30km 

dirt road to Ganora Lodge, now while the XR 

1000 has no pretences of being a dual sport 

bike, it coped very well, 17” front wheel, firm 

suspension and all, the dirt road was in fairly 

good condition, the XR coped a lot better 

than I thought it would, speedshifters are 

great fun even on dirt. 

We arrived late afternoon at our venue, 

Ganora Lodge, www.ganora.co.za, most 

people had arrived before us, some serious 

chilling out was being done...Ganora 

Lodge is a guest lodge/farm near to Nieu 

Bethesda, run by Hester and JP, which 

offers all types of accommodation, self 

catering 6 sleeper cottage, (which I had), 

catered 2 sleeper accommodation, rough 

and ready barn for groups, camping, you 

name it, Ganora caters for all. That night 

we all enjoyed a festive braai, meeting new 

faces and catching up with old friends, 

unwinding from the hectic life most of us 

endure. There is an onsite honesty bar, 

awesome food, and very attentive hosts; 

one cannot fault Ganora Lodge... 

Saturday morning after breakfast, those 

that had not gone off to explore the dirt 

routes in the area, headed to Nieu Bethesda, 

a town where time seems to have frozen 

about 40 years ago, the main highlight being 

the Owl House, where Helen Martins lived 

for many years, creating various sculptures 

of owls, camels, people, a place you just 

have to visit, it would take pages to highlight 

the aspects of this museum, Google it for 

more info...thereafter we visited the Fossil 

Museum, well worth a visit, then off to the 

Brewery on outskirts of town, a chill zone 

of note, in fact I was so relaxed by then the 

ride back to Ganora Lodge became quite an 

arduous task, but once back at the lodge all 

was well. After the mandatory group photo 

we sat around sharing the day’s experiences, 



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and laughing at other’s experiences over 

the years....After a fully catered dinner 

and a short speech by our Roam Africa IT 

guru Andre, the fun continued, we met an 

American lady from New York by the name 

of Pat, who is a volunteer at Ganora Lodge, 

she has travelled the world, worked on sloth 

rehabilitation centres, performed root canal 

treatment on a polar bear, (the bear was 

unconscious, not even Chuck Norris would 

do root treatment on a fully conscious polar 

bear), she operates off a website called www. 

workaway.info, check it out if you want to 

tour the world on a strict budget, her stories 

could keep her going for hours. 

Sunday dawned all too soon, our group 

packed the bikes and departed for home 

after saying cheers to everyone else going in 

different directions, now minus Tom who had 

a week to get home, and a very exiting route 

and plan, we refuelled in Middelburg again , 

had breakfast in Colesburg, myself and Tony 

swapped bikes, I wanted his and Michelle’s 

opinions of the XR, and enjoy it they did... 

Michelle reckoned she could see better 

because the XR 1000 has a higher pillion 

saddle, she enjoyed the wind protection as 

long as her helmet was not directly behind 

her dad’s helmet, but preferred the saddle 

of the KTM 1190 Adv. I got my XR back in 

Bloemfontein, I had now become very used 

to it, I loved the power, the quickshifter, the 

response of that awesome 4 cylinder motor, 

returning this bike to BMW was going to be 

very difficult.... 

We arrived back home mid afternoon, 

somehow shaving an hour off the time we 

took on Friday for the same distance... 

The first Year End Roam was now under 

the belt, a fantastic weekend, well organised, 

no issues, it was great to meet those that I 

had not met before, great to chat to those 

that I already knew, sad for those that had to 

cancel, next year is going to be difficult, we 

will have to at least equal the experience, not 

sure how we will better it..... 



Erna: 083 271 3209 | Tel: 012 663 4660 

Fax: 086 240 1067 

info@vilagama.co.za | www.vilagama.co.za 

LIMPOPO 

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and small conferences. 

WATERBERG 

DIGITAL 

ISSUE 

Looking for the latest issue 

of Dirt and Trail Magazine in 

your inbox? Drop us a mail 

- foleyg@mweb.co.za, we’ll 

send you the details for annual 

electronic subscriptions. 

R200 for 12 issues... no more 

postal issues... works on all 

electronic platforms. 



1601 DT KTM.indd 68 2015/12/16 9:48 AM

E X P L O R I N G S A 

THE ELEPHANT, THE WHITE 

TIGER AND THE LIONESS. 

By Pat Roux and Clive Strungell pics by William Sutherland 

It was one of those days that only come around very seldom, 

sparked by the opportunity to ride the 1190 and 1290 KTM 

Adventures. In fact it was supposed to be a chance to ride the 

1050 as well but unfortunately that will wait for a future issue. 

Oh the decisions on where to go….should we head east out of 

KTM’s head office in Randburg, or west? Perhaps south would be 

a good choice? 

In the end we decided to go north, from Randburg towards 

Rustenberg, passing through Hekpoort and Magaliesberg on 

the way. First up on the 1290 was Pat Roux, a very experienced 

adventure rider on about his 400th BMW GS. This was to be his 

first ride on a KTM. His instructions were short and sweet….ride it 

with an absolute open mind, and give your honest opinion. Those 

who know Pat, and there are an awful lot of you, know that with a 

brief like this an honest answer is what you will get. 



Pat takes up the story 

The very first impression of the new big 

KTM is that the rider sits very much on top 

of the bike, rather than being cushioned 

at a lower lever IN the bike, as on a big 

BM. Also the difference in the weight 

distribution is immediately noticeable… the 

KTM has a much higher centre of gravity 

than the BM, which makes quick changes 

in direction, for example changing lanes 

on the freeway, feel very different. The next 

big difference is the wonderfully planted 

feeling from the front wheel, especially on 

turn in to a corner, whether at speed or 

even at walking pace. Weight-wise the two 

bikes feel much the same. The thing that 

impresses most on the 1290 is the never 

ending surge of power, even from low rpm 

in 6th gear… the bike is really a rocket. 

So with Pat happily leading the way on the 

1290, and William cradling the Dirt & Trail 

camera for six photo’s on the back of the 

1190, the duo quickly left the hustle and 

bustle of the northern edge of Randburg 

behind, and popped off past the historic 

Muldersdrift Hotel, where so many prize 

giving ceremonies from the golden era of 

Motocross at nearby Syringa Spa were 

held. Folklore has it that visiting American 

MX Superstar Rex Staten once even faced 

down a gun-toting drunken local there after 

one of the Syringa Series rounds! 

Anyway after passing the hotel it was 

on ever northwards, past the “Cradle of 

Mankind” and Sterkfontein Caves, where 

we all know the remains of the oldest 

known Tannie in the world, Mrs Ples, were 

found. Just after her final resting place at 

Sterkfontein (that’s not really true, because 

what’s left of her is now at Wits University) 

we passed Maanhaarand, the sight of 

one of the early Boer war battles. Here 

the Boers managed to give the English 

Army a big wake-up call early in the war, 

although when the South African generals 

took stock a bit later they realised this army 

of young men following old traditions was 

going to give them a lot more trouble than 

they first thought. 

The main road to Rustenburg from 

Krugersdorp now folds itself over the hills 

and valleys of this old battleground and 

we hummed our way past in a symphony 

of V-twin music, on our way to the equally 

historic Olifantsnek, where the road 

breaches the Magaliesberg on its’ way to 

Rustenberg, where Oom Paul Kruger set 

up home for a while. There’s now a dam at 

the foot of the hills next to Olifantsnek, and 

it’s worth stopping at the top of the pass 

and looking back across the dam and the 

characteristic bushveld of the area. How 

awesome is it to be just an hour or so from 

the centre of Johannesburg, and be in the 

real African bush? Just over 200 years ago 

this area was teeming with Elephant, which 

gave the original old pass its’ name. 

After soaking up the awesome view from 

the top of Olifantsnek we retraced our 

tracks down the hill for just a kilometer or so 

and pulled in at the “Brauhaus am Damm”, 

the brewery on the banks of the dam. 

It’s new in the area, and is a magnificent 

modern building housing the old brewery 

brought from Dannhauser in Natal near 

Dundee. Apparently the original German 



master-brewer who operated 

it died a few years ago, and 

the new owners relocated it 

to Olifantsnek… lucky for us! 

After a very satisfying German 

influenced lunch we reluctantly 

headed back to Randburg. 

About halfway back, after 

having enjoyed whistling back 

up Hekpoort itself, we came 

across a crowd of people 

standing on the side of the 

road, gazing into a field right 

on the edge of the road. Being 

a nosy bunch we stopped, 

and to our amazement, there 

just 5 meters from the road 

was a full grown lioness lying 

languidly flat on her back with 

legs flayed out in abandon, 

enjoying the shade of a thorn 

tree, just as lion probably spend 

many afternoons for hundreds, 

if not thousands of years in this 

area. Even though she was 

completely oblivious of the little 

crowd gathered on the side of 

the road, we were quite happy 

there was a fence between her 

and us! 

After this enjoyable interlude 

we got going again, only to 

find another little huddle on 

the side of the road not 100 

meters further along. Again 

we stopped, but this time the 

centre of attraction was a full 

grown male white Tiger! Not 

something we ever expected to 

see anywhere in Africa, never 

mind here 45 minutes as the 

KTM flies from Sandton City. 

What’s more this big fella was 

just as indifferent to the humans 

gawping at him as the lioness 

was, and slowly rolled over onto 

his back, legs outspread, no 

doubt to get some cool air on 

his overheated private parts! 

Pat was riding the 1190 KTM 

by this time and remarked on 

several aspects of the bike, like 

how it felt quite different from its’ 

bigger brother. For one thing the 

handlebars, the windscreen, and 

the seat are all a lot different, 

and while the big KTM gives a 

riding position similar to the BM, 

the 1190 is a lot different. The 

engine is almost just as strong, 

and the handling and brakes are 

so good. The biggest difference 

from the riders point of view 

is the windscreen. The one 

on the 1290 is larger, and has 

much more complicated shape, 

including a slot on the face at 

eye level, it’s quite irritating for 

a rider of Pats size and height, 

whereas the screen on the 

1190 is much plainer and more 

practical. It’s also noticeable 

how noisy a chain is for 

someone used to a drive shaft, 

but most riders do get used to it 

and don’t notice it after a while. 

So after a couple of very happy 

hours in the saddle, having 

visited the place of Elephants, 

and having seen a white Tiger 

and a lioness right next to the 

road, our day came to an end 

negotiating the late afternoon 

traffic. Here again the two KTM’s 

proved remarkable comfortable 

and capable. 

The verdict at the end of the 

day was that even though some 

riders may favour one brand of 

bike over another, there was no 

doubt whatsoever that these 

two KTMs, and especially the 

1290, are certainly at the top 

of the pile when it comes to 

comfort and capability and are 

amongst the best adventure 

bikes available. 

www.ktm.com for your 

nearest dealer. 


L A D Y R A C E R 

ANOTHER 

NUMBER 1 

Toni Jardine Ends the 2015 

Season on a high note 

At the start of the 2015 season Toni made the decision 

to include MX to her already busy 2015 calendar to 

assist her with her cornering and speed. Little did she 

know that she would take to it like a duck to water and 

become one of her main focuses. Her goal for the season was 

to be able to ride along side SA’s previous Ladies MX Champion 

Nanda Swiegers and learn from her. Toni has all the respect in the 

world for Nanda as she has raced successfully against the guys 

in the MX2 class for the last 6 years as there was no Ladies class 

due to poor numbers. she won 3 Ladies MX Championships and 

been awarded her South African Protea Colours. 

At the first race of the season MXSA called a meeting with 

the ladies and offered the ladies a class provided they kept the 

numbers up - and so, a ladies class was back for the first time in 

6 years. Toni who took on the challenge. Enlisting the support and 

training from John Wakefield (Pelotrain) and Darrel Fitzgerald, Toni 

set herself personal goals on how she was going to tackle the job 

at hand. Halfway through the year Toni made the decision to drop 

Enduro and focus on Off Road and MX. The conflict between the 

two styles was holding her back and she now also had more time 

to focus on her MX training. 

With great support from her various Sponsors, Toni managed 

to wrap up the Ladies Championship at the penultimate race held 

at Teza. With one race to go, Toni focused on her original goal and 

beat Nanda… 

Toni’s ultimate success story of the year was being recognized 

for all her years of hard work and dedication to the sport by being 

awarded her South African Protea Colours at the MSA awards. 

Toni would like to take this opportunity to thank all her sponsors 

that have helped make 2015 the success it has been, without the 

support she receives none of this would have been possible: 

Mr.Move Worldwide Botswana, WM Digital Solutions, Yamaha, 

EVS, EKS Brand, Cycra, DRD, Maxima Racing Oils, Dunlop, 

Hydrapak, JT Racing, Solid Decals, Pelotrain, 32Gi, Just 1 

Helmets, PSP, Nithrone and Hayward Suspension. 

Thanks to Motorsport South Africa (MSA), Women in 

Motorsport (WIM) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme 

(FIM) for their continued support. 


1601 DT Jardine.indd 72 2015/12/16 9:48 AM

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1601 DT Jardine.indd 74 2015/12/16 9:48 AM

1601 DT final

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