RideFast Magazine March 2020

THE APRILIA
MPUMALANGA
BLAST
Two Aprilias, two days and two idiots blasting to
motorcycling paradise. What could be better?
Words: Donovan Fourie | Pics: Hapless Donovan and his iPhone
Mat never mixes his
words: “Don, let’s go
shoot two bikes in
Sabie this week.”
My professionalism fails,
and I answer like a school kid
unwrapping a new Scalextrics set.
“Yes, please!”
“Good. We are riding up with
all our camera gear in backpacks.
And you’re riding an RSV4. And
you have to wear leathers.”
At this point, you notice that
the box is from China and the
spelling has two K’s.
“Oh…”
I love the RSV4, just like I
love all Aprilias, but the idea of
300km of N4 highway cramped
on a superbike while my black
leathers absorb the stifling heat
tends to dull the shine slightly.
Normally, I’d load the trailer,
turn the aircon in my bakkie
up and blare Led Zeppelin the
entire way there, but Mat had
this genius plan of doing a
travelogue film about the trip
there. He’d sit in the comfort
of a Tuono while I, the butt of
the joke, cramp my way to heat
exhaustion. Bastard!
The sun rose on a
Wednesday, which we are all
thankful for, and two bursting
backpacks travelled through
the morning gridlock on the
back of two idiots growling their
V4 ways along the morning
suffering. I’m on the RSV4RR, the
cheaper of the two superbike
options, that is joyfully still
adorned with the full set of
Aprilia electrickery, including
cruise control. The traffic clears
as we leave civilisation, and
we want to get this highway
torture over and done with. The
fastest way to so that is to lock
the speed at 166 km/h; fast
enough to haul and yet not fast
enough for handcuffs. Along
the journey, we encountered a
police representative once, who
pointed its little radar gun at us,
saw the speed, shrugged and
then waved at us. Isn’t that nice?
I expected to be weeping
with cramps before middistance,
more so in leathers.
Truthfully, the cramped position
of a superbike is never great in
riding jeans and a jacket, but
the leathers had a surprisingly
opposite effect. They were a
new pair I had received from
Mass Sports who were good
enough to stick a tape measure
into my unmentionables
and tailor me a custom set,
something a gentleman of my
“generous” proportions requires.
By some miracle, they fitted
magnificently, more so than
jeans and jackets, and I was
oddly comfortable. Helping
further is that the Italians are not
the smallest race and their bikes
are usually deliciously roomy.
By Milly’s Services, I felt
drained but not fatigued.
Happy as a daisy, we set off for
the last stretch and rolled into
The Woodsman less than an
hour later.
The plan was to begin filming
my road test of the RSV4 that
afternoon, but the weather
gods had become jealous and
offloaded a mini monsoon
upon us, so there was no more
riding until morning. With that,
I can heartily recommend The
Woodman’s bar…
The 22 is a stretch of road
running from Sabie towards
Hazyview and is the best race
track in the world. You may have
gazed in wonder at aerial photos
of European passes zig-zagging
down the mighty Alps and cast
some doubt on this claim. While
they are magnificent to behold,
they are less magnificent to
Two absolute beauties! You can see them in
the background behind Mat and Don.
ride. Essentially, they are like a
prolonged lap of a go-cart track
– short straight, hairpin, short
straight, hairpin, short straight,
hairpin, etc. The 22 does not
surmount any might peaks but,
instead, follows the Sabie River’s
meanders making for a 22
km-long stretch of fast, flowing,
predictable corners. The best in
the world.
Pornography for petrolheads,
And the RSV4RR is quite
possibly the best bike in the
world for this stretch. It’s even
better than the RSV4 Factory for
one simple reason – it’s cheaper.
There’s a good reason for the
Factory commanding a dearer
price and one that is much
appreciated around the closed
race circuits of the world, but
the 22 isn’t a closed race circuit.
30 RIDEFAST MAGAZINE MARCH 2020