Dirt & Trail Aug2020

SPEEDHUT -
SHERCO
Formerly ASAP Racing is now under new
ownership and management, yet still retain
there Sherco agency which is good news
for all Sherco owners in the 011 dialing code
district. The shop is now co-owned by Brett
Sproson and Andrew Stead. Andrew’s wife
Dee Stead has been tasked with the day
to day management of the shop and has a
passionate and dedicated team behind her to
keep things running smoothly. Calvin Lodge
handles all sales, parts, accessories and
etc while Kai Stoltzer and Emmerson Diké,
(pronounced Deekay), look after the workshop
and all things technical. Joe Mokwena is the
janitor and keeps everything neat, tidy and
clean and young Ms. Linifa Mwale cracks the
whip and keeps everybody in line.
The shop has a cool modern industrial feel
about it with raw chipboard, corrugated iron
and dark paint with great industrial lighting
and we really like the uncluttered space. Most
importantly, they have a very nice “coffee”
bar for that all important refreshing beverage
while you wait for your purchase to be rung
up or your new bike to be loaded.
A really nice shop and a great bunch of
people, we really wish them well and much
success. Pop in at L.G. 01, Pineslopes
Boulevard, corner Witkoppen rd and The
Straight in Fourways or give them a call on
011 465 7129 or 083 300 7303. you could
also mail them on sales@speedhut.co.za.
BMW GS,
THE FATHER
OF ENDURO
TOURING, IS
NOW A MIDDLE-
AGED BIKE
Back in 1980 there was nothing like the newly
introduced R 80 G/S. There was nothing like it
in BMW Motorrad’s own history that harkens
back to the BMW R 32 from 1923. And there
was nothing on the market to combine virtues
from the off- and on-road riding segments.
You could even say the R 80 G/S was a
motorcycle crossover. And you would be right,
hence the 40 years of continued success.
Today any rider – and especially BMW
aficionados – is well familiarized with the
Gelände / Straße (German for off-road / onroad)
or Gelände Sport series. Particular praise
could go to Ewan McGregor and Charley
Boorman’s Long Way series of adventures, but
we need to be honest about this approach.
The motorcylce division would have achieved
the more than half a million sales of the GS
boxer series anyways – only perhaps a little
later than 2014. BMW Motorrad credits
itself with the creation of the enduro touring
segment and we are not going to argue much
about it.
The original R 80 G/S really was a forerunner
for the appreciated combination of on-road,
off-road use that did not even sacrifice on
everyday use values. And jump forward from
1980 to 2020 when BMW says the series
has already reached a production total of 1.2
million units.
Of course, the success was based not only
on casual use – the R 80 G/S was ridden in its
first year of full production by Hubert Auriol to
a resounding victory in the 1981 edition of the
prestigious Paris - Dakar Rally.
Other notable firsts include the introduction
of the F 650 “Funduro” in 1993 as BMW’s
original single-cylinder enduro, the arrival of the
R 1100 GS as the first enduro with ABS, the
expansion of the GS moniker to the F Series or
the expansion of the range from the compact
G 310 GS to the flagship R 1200 GS.
A personal favorite with some here is the
R nineT Urban G/S - it relies on the genes
of the original R 80 G/S but takes the DNA
into the 21st century for arguably the perfect
combination of vintage style and modern air/
oil-cooled boxer engine performance thanks to
the available 110 hp.
28 DIRT & TRAIL MAGAZINE AUGUST 2020