Ridefast Online Nov 2020

WWW.MOTOMEDIA.CO.ZA NOVEMBER 2020 

November 2020 RSA R35.00 

20011 

9 772075 405004 

BMW R18 

FIRST RIDE 

HUSQVARNA 

701STYLE 

KAWASAKI 

Z650 

BRITISH 

TWINS 

BMW’S 

S1000RR & XR1000 

IN THIS ISSUE - SHORT CIRCUIT RACING - ALL ABOUT ENGINES - MOTO GP NEWS - PETERSON WINS MOTO AMERICA - BUYERS GUIDE

GO 

ADVENTURE 

KTM 390 ADVENTURE 

ADVENTURE MORE 

Fuel your restless spirit with a new adventure 

every day. Discover KTM’s sporty attitude and 

proven performance credentials aboard this new, 

compact single-cylinder travel-enduro machine – 

the KTM 390 ADVENTURE. Versatile ergonomics, 

smooth power delivery, and innovative technology 

all come together in a comfortable, lightweight 

package – created for those who want to fit more 

adventure into their daily lives. 

Phone 011 462 7796 for your nearest dealer. 

Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations! 

The illustrated vehicles may vary in selected details from the production models and some illustrations feature optional equipment available at additional cost. 

Photo: R. Schedl 

K&N Style Filters 

Available sizes 28, 35, 39, 42, 48, 

52, 54 and 60mm R125.00 

8000Ma 

Jump Starter & Power Bank R1299.00 

DESCRIPTION PART NO. SRP Inc. Vat 

SMART CHARGER 1 AMP DFC150 R599.00 

SMART CHARGER 3.5 AMP DFC530 R899.00 

SMART CHARGER 4 AMP PSA004 R999.00 

SMART CHARGER 8 AMP PSA008 R1349.00 

SMART CHARGER 4 AMP PSD004 R1199.00 

SMART CHARGER 8 AMP PSD008 R1499.00 

R110.00 R465.00 

Tubeless Puncture Kits 

License Disc Holders 

R168.00 

Bar Ends 

R100.00 

GAUTENG 

ZEEMANS GAUTENG MOTORCYCLES 011 435 7177 

BIKING ZEEMANS ACCESSORIES MOTORCYCLES 012 011 435 342 7177 7474 

FAST BIKING KTM ACCESSORIES 011 012 867 342 0092 7474 

GAME FAST KTM MOTOR SERVICES 011 849 867 7000 0092 

MOTO-MATE GAME MOTOR RIVONIA SERVICES 011 234 849 5275 7000 

MOTO-MATE EDENVALE RIVONIA 011 234 027 5275 0545 

MOTO-MATE KCR MOTORCYCLE EDENVALE FANATIX 011 975 027 5405 0545 

PRIMROSE JUST BIKING MOTORCYCLES 011 016 828 421 9091 1153 

RANDBURG KCR MOTORCYCLE MOTORCYCLES FANATIX 011 792 975 6829 5405 

OFF-ROAD CYCLES 012 333 6443 

PRIMROSE MOTORCYCLES 011 828 9091 

MPUMALANGA 

RANDBURG MOTORCYCLES 

BIKE CITY 

011 792 6829 

013 244 2143 

MPUMALANGA 

BIKE CITY 013 244 2143 

Bike and ATV Covers 

Available sizes S - XL 

From R270.00 

Scooter V Belts 

From R110.00 

Tyre Levers 

From R95.00 

18L / min 

Ring Globes 

H7 150% Power R330.00 

H4 150% Power R290.00 

Rim Locks Front and Rear 

From R48.00 

Jerry Cans 

From R450.00 

Fork Boots 

from R120.00 

DEALER LIST 

PBA DEALER LISTING 

PBA DEALER LISTING 

NORTHWEST 

BIKERS NORTHWEST PARADISE 018 297 4700 

INSANE BIKERS PARADISE BIKERS 014 018 594 297 2111 4700 

MOTOS INSANE @ BIKERS KLERKSDORP 014 018 594 468 2111 1800 

MOTOS WATER RITE @ KLERKSDORP MOTORCYCLES 018 468 771 1800 5050 

WATER RITE MOTORCYCLES 018 771 5050 

LIMPOPO 

K.R.MOTORCYCLES LIMPOPO 

015 297 3291 

K.R.MOTORCYCLES 015 297 3291 

KZN 

ROCKET RACING PINETOWN 031 702 2606 

PERRY’S M/CYCLES BALITO 031 110 0056 

ROCKET RACING MARITZBURG 033 264 3240 


RBS YAMAHA 031 701 1311 

ROCKET RACING MARITZBURG 033 264 3240 

UMPLEBY SUZUKI 031 303 8323 

RBS YAMAHA 031 701 1311 


RAC610 Inflator R449.00 RTG5 Gauge R249.00 

EMGO Top Box 

R990.00 

PART NO. DESCRIPTION PRICE 

50081406/L CARB CLEANER 400ML 50.00 

50201414/L TERMINAL PROTECT RED 50.00 

50201415/L TERMINAL PROTECT BLUE 50.00 

50320400/L BRK,CLTCH,CHAIN CLEANER 44.00 

50500192/L CHAIN LUBE 150ML 34.00 

50500193/L CHAIN LUBE 400ML 69.00 

50510403/L CHAIN WAX 400ML 71.00 

50510404/L CHAIN WAX 150ML 34.00 

51528262/L PETROL INJECTOR CLEANER 10.00 

53203200/L AIR FILTER SPRAY 55.00 

53203500/L AIR FILTER OIL 500ML 55.00 

53204005/L BIO FILTER CLEANER 5l 325.00 

53204400/L BIO FILTER CLEANER 400ML 47.00 

53780300/L SPARK 300ML 44.00 

55000314/L TYRE FIX 200ML 45.00 

56000001/L FORK OIL SYN 5W 125.00 

56000002/L FORK OIL SYN 10W 125.00 

56000003/L FORK OIL SYN 2.5W 135.00 

56000400/L MOUSSE LUBRICANT 100.00 

Hand Guards 

THE WORLD’S Various Colours available 

LARGEST RANGE OF 

ABS Plastic R470.00 

Alloy R990.00 

MOTORCYCLE AND SCOOTER BRAKES. 

British made Aramid Fibre brake pads for sport bikes are now accompanied by a new high tech range of 

sintered metal HH rated sport bike pads that will set the trend of sport bike brakes into the next century. 

Our new range of British made brake rotors come in flat solid types and fully floating designs complete 

with alloy centre hubs at competitive prices. 

CAPE PROVINCE 

CRAIGS MOTORCYCLE FITMENT 021 939 8916 

GAUTENG 

BIKERS WAREHOUSE 011 795 4122 

NEVES MOTORCYCLE WORLD 021 930 5917 BIKING ACCESSORIES 012 342 7474 

TRAC MAC BELLVILLE 021 945 3725 FAST KTM 011 867 0092 

TRAC MAC PAARDEN EILAND 021 510 2258 GAME SERVICES 011 425 1081 

TRAC MAC WYNBURG 021 761 4220 MOTO MATE EDENVALE 011 027 0545 

WICKED CYCLES 021 510 2968 MOTO MATE RIVONIA 011 234 5275 

LIMPOPO 

PRIMROSE MOTORCYCLES 011 828 9091 

KR MOTORCYCLES 015 297 3291 RANDBURG MOTOCYCLES 011 792 6829 

MPUMALANGA 

SILVERTON MIDAS 012 804 8888 

BIKE CITY 013 244 2143 ZEEMANS MOTORCYCLES 011 435 7177 

FREE STATE 

SALLEYS YAMAHA 051 430 3326 

KZN 

PERRY MOTORCYCLES CC 031 566 7411 

RBS YAMAHA 031 701 1311 

RIDE HIGH WITH YAMAHA 035 789 1581 

ROCKET RACING PMB 033 264 3240 



NORTHWEST 

BIKERS PARADISE 018 297 4700 

MOTOS KLERKSDORP 018 468 1800 

WATERITE MOTORCYCLES 018 771 5050 

RIDE HIGH WITH YAMAHA 035 789 1851 

RIDE PERRY HIGH M/CYCLES WITH YAMAHA GLEN ANIL 035 031 789 566 1851 7411 

PERRY’S M/CYCLES UMHLANGA 031 566 7411 

PERRY’S CAPE PROVINCE M/CYCLES HILLCREST 

CRAIGS M/CYCLE FITMENT 

031 765 2560 

021 939 8944 

CAPE TRAC-MAC PROVINCE BELVILLE 021 945 3724 

CRAIGS TRAC-MAC M/CYCLE PAARDEN-EILAND FITMENT 021 939 510 8944 2258 

TRAC-MAC BELVILLE WYNBURG 

021 945 761 3724 4220 

NEVES TRAC-MAC MOTORCYCLE PAARDEN-EILAND WORLD CC 021 930 510 5917 2258 

TRAC-MAC WICKED CYCLES WYNBURG 021 510 761 2968 4220 

MIKE HOPKINS MOTORCYCLES 021 461 5167 

NEVES FREESTATE MOTORCYCLE WORLD CC 

SALLEYS YAMAHA 

FREESTATE 

021 930 5917 

051 430 3326 

SALLEYS YAMAHA 051 430 3326

Intro. Keeping the wheels turning... 

November Issue 2020 

It’s an unwritten rule that there must 

always be an intro to a magazine every 

month. 

That’s a tough call some months - what 

the heck do you get to write pages and 

pages about to introduce the months 

magazine. 

We hope you like it. If you cannot find it let us 

know and we will kickstart the distributors. 

foleyg@mweb.co.za 

If you have missed any issues, please visit 

www.motomedia.co.za for a catchup session. 

The online magazine goes up as soon as the 

printed copies come off shelves. 

A comment on our cover shot: 

That is not a chequered shirt, it is, in fact a 

fully padded CE approved Kickback jacket by 

Oxford products, with full body armour and 

Kevlar inlays. 

Always wear the right gear - because 

sometimes... stuff happens. 

So far - so good? 

A man is riding a motorcycle down Cape 

coast, living the dream, when all of a sudden 

the clouds start to form... 

He pulls over. Out of nowhere he hears a 

booming voice from above: “My son, you 

have lived a life of virtue, one that I would be 

proud of, ask me of anything and I will grant 

it.” 

Astounded the man thinks for a minute then 

says: “Well I wish that I could ride my bike 

to Mauritius. I wish there was a bridge from 

Durban to Mauritius so I could ride my bike 

there.” 

There was a pause and then the voice said: 

“You know, I could do it. I could quarry the 

oceans and build a road that could stretch 

across the ocean, I could do it, but is there 

anything you could think of that would better 

convey my glory, something that would be 

worthy of my power?” 

The man sat and thought for a minute then 

said: “OK I wish to know what my Mrs thinks. 

How she thinks. I want to know the inner 

workings of her thoughts and what makes her 

tick.” 

There was a long pause then the voice said: 

“Do you want one lane or two?” 

have a great riding month. 

The team. 

Pic of the month: 

PUBLISHER: 

Glenn Foley 

foleyg@mweb.co.za 

ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL: 

Sean Hendley 

bestbikemagazines 

@yahoo.com 

071 684 4546 

OFFICE & 

SUBSCRIPTIONS: 

Anette 

anette.acc@ mweb.co.za 

011 979 5035 

ONLINE & 

DESIGN LAYOUT: 

Kyle Lawrenson 

kyle.lawrenson@icloud.com 

011 979 5035 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

Stefan van der Riet 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Shado Alston 

Donovan Fourie 

Michelle Leppan 

Mieke Oelofse 

Kurt Beine 

Videos and more 

available online... 

WWW.MOTOMEDIA.CO.ZA 

Copyright © RideFast Magazine: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, 

or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, articles, or other methods, without the prior 

written permission of the publisher.

All the NEWS proudly brought to 

you by HJC HELMETS 



MotoAmerica… Stock 1000 

Cameron Petersen Crowned Champ! 

SA’s own Cameron Petersen is the 2020 MotoAmerica US 

Superstock champion. 

Petersen did it with class, taking race 1 at Indianapolis 

on a Saturday afternoon, a great victory for the son of SA 

motorcycle legend Robbie. 

The Altus Motorsports Suzuki rider clinched the 2020 Stock 

1000 Championship in a race that he appeared to win, but he 

was docked .4 of a second which dropped him from first to 

second in the final result. 

“I can’t even explain it,” Petersen said when asked to 

describe his feelings about winning his first MotoAmerica 

Championship. “Even hearing you say that kind of brought a 

lump to my throat. It means so much to me. This is my life. 

Obviously, my goal is to be a Superbike champ and hopefully 

one day get in the World Championship. Just being able to 

hold this number one board is pretty special. It’s something 

I’ve dreamt of my whole life. It wasn’t easy. It hasn’t been an 

easy fight. Every year I’ve been here, I’ve had to get on a 

different team, different bike. It seems like every year kind of 

halfway through the season I start finding my feet. This year, 

I just decided to ride the Stock bike and see if I could find my 

feet again a little bit. 

I think I lost my way a little bit there a few years ago just kind 

of getting caught up in the whole Superbike thing. This year 

has probably been the best thing for my career. I’ve had so 

much fun riding my bike every single weekend. I look forward 

to coming to the track. The vibe in the team, everything is 

incredible. I honestly can’t explain the feeling of being a 

champion, but hopefully this isn’t the last number-one board 

I’ll hold up. Just all off-season going to put my head down, go 

to work and hopefully something good comes up for me 

next year. 

I want to show people that I can do this in the Superbike 

class, as well.” 

We’ll say it again: For a tiny country South Africans produce 

so many talented riders on the world stage… 

Cam Petersen and Brad Binder have a Honda CBR 150 in 

common: 

Whilst the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in 

Wampum, Pennsylvania, is far removed from Brno in the 

Czech Republic, the tracks were linked by two South Africans 

and a Honda CBR150. 

How ? 

Well, Brad won his first MotoGP in what was just his third 

race in the premier motorcycle road racing series in the world 

at Brno - and on the other side of the world, Cam won both of 

the MotoAmerica Stock 1000 races. 

In his blood: 

Despite Cams Dad and Uncles being such great road racers, 

it was actually the Binder family that helped to take Petersen 

from the dirt to the tar. 

“Brad picked up his first MotoGP win in his third race ever, 

which is something special,” Petersen said. “It’s good for the 

whole Binder family because they have has put their lives 

into racing. To see him where he is and beating those guys… 

it’s pretty damn awesome. I’m proud of that kid and couldn’t 

be happier for him.” 

But the CBR150? 

“My first road race bike was his (Binder’s) Honda CBR150,” 

Petersen said. “They are the ones who kind of introduced 

me into the whole road racing side of it. I was into the whole 

motocross side. I guess you could say they got me into the 

whole road racing thing, so that’s pretty cool.” 

We see a great future for sure! 

ATTENTION





Get a grip in the twisties. 

World Supersport 

ODENDAAL STARS AT ESTORIL 

South African racer, Steven Odendaal crowned a fine debut 

world Supersport season aboard his EAB Ten Kate Racing 

Yamaha. 5th overall. 

If you’re looking for rubber you can trust, 

fit a set of HP SERIES II’s, BATT’s super-affordable 

high-performance premium Super-Sport tyres. 

The dual-compound, steel-belt radial construction 

provides exceptional grip, durability and performance in wet or dry conditions, 

inspiring confidence at the highest levels of Super-Sport riding. 

HP Series II Combo Deal Sizes (incl. VAT)*: 

• 120/70R-17 & 160/60R-17 Combo- R2,800.00 

• 120/70R-17 & 180/55R-17 Combo- R2,900.00 

• 120/70R-17 & 190/50R-17 Combo- R3,100.00 

• 120/70R-17 & 190/55R-17 Combo- R3,200.00 

• 120/70R-17 & 200/55R-17 Combo- R3,500.00 

• Facebook @BikeTyreWarehouse • Twitter @biketyrewhse • www.biketyrewarehouse.com 

* Available exclusively 

from Bike Tyre 

Warehouse branches: 

GRAPHICWERX ADVERTISING & DESIGN CC 

Midrand Branch: 

073 777 9269 

sales@biketyrewarehouse.com 

East Rand Branch: 

082 878 6091 / 082 878 6089 

eastrand@biketyrewarehouse.com 

Cape Town Branch: 

079 735 2951 / 063 146 0086 

cpt@biketyrewarehouse.com 

Port Elizabeth Branch: 

083 267 2685 

pe@biketyrewarehouse.com 

Steven Odendaal: “I had a good feeling on Friday already, 

we found a good set up and were really close to the front. 

I qualified in 9th position (3rd row) in Superpole, which is 

still something we need to work on but I knew we had a 

good race pace. I had a really good battle for a 4th position 

in race 1 on Saturday. We kept swapping positions with 

Viñales, Oncu and Gonzalez which allowed the Top3 to pull 

a small gap. I finished 5th and moved up to 5th overall in 

the championship standings ahead of the last race, which 

was our objective for the weekend. I did think, however, that 

we needed to find a bit of extra speed for Sunday to fight 

for the podium. We tried some changes in warm-up and the 

result was our strongest performance of the year in race 2. 

We were in the leading group from start to finish and only 

missed out on a podium by 0.1 seconds. I also finished 

only a second behind the race winner for the first time in my 

rookie season in World Supersport. Whilst we did not get 

onto the podium today despite being so close, it is definitely 

encouraging to be heading into the winter break after a 

strong performance and with a 5th position in the overall 

world championship standings. It also gave me some extra 

motivation to work hard during the off season to come back 

and continue this momentum. The objective is to fight for 

the championship next year and I will do everything I can to 

achieve this goal. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity 

to say thanks to the whole team, especially Ferry, Kervin, 

Kor, Arnold, Remon all my personal sponsors that have 

been supporting me even in such challenging times with 

the COVID-19 pandemic, my manager Jorge and my whole 

family. I am already looking forward to being back on the bike 

next season. We are yet to announce our plans for 2021 but I 

will keep everyone updated as soon as I can.” 

stevenodendaal44.com 

Takaaki Nakagami 

seals ‘multi-year’ Honda contract for 2021 MotoGP and beyond 

Takaaki Nakagami seals ‘multi-year’ Honda contract for 2021 

MotoGP and beyond 

Takaaki Nakagami will remain in the Honda fold for the 2021 

MotoGP World Championship and beyond after signing a 

multi-year agreement 

The Japanese rider, who made his MotoGP debut with the 

satellite Honda squad in 2018, was always expected to retain 

his ride over Cal Crutchlow on the strength of his close links 

to HRC, with whom his contract is aligned with. 

However, a series of impressive results during the 2020 

MotoGP season on the year-old Honda RC213V - a best 

finish of fourth and a maiden front row start - all-butconfirmed 

this. 

Having finished 20th in his rookie campaign of 2018 and 13th 

overall in an injury-hampered 2019 campaign, Nakagami - as 

the only rider to have finished all 10 races inside the top ten 

this year - sits fifth in the standings, despite not being any 

one of the 15 riders that have stepped on the podium in 

2020. 

"I’m very happy to be able to continue racing for LCR Honda 

IDEMITSU in 2021 and beyond,” he said. “I’m grateful to 

Honda for their generous support, allowing me to bring 

out my full potential this season. I will be doing my best to 

gain solid results for the remaining races, and build on that 

momentum next year. I’m aiming higher with Honda. I look 

forward to your continued support."





Jonathan Rea 

clinches a SIXTH World SBK Championship title… 

Not even COVID-19, not even a Superpole crash can stop 

Jonathan Rea smashing more records as he wraps up a sixth 

WorldSBK title. 

Jonathan Rea has consolidated his status as the most 

successful WorldSBK Championship rider of all-time by 

successfully wrapping his sixth title when sole remaining rival 

Scott Redding was unable to finish the first race of the 2020 

finale weekend in Estoril. 

The Kawasaki rider came into the race needing only three 

points - the equivalent of a 13th place finish - regardless of 

where his sole remaining rival Scott Redding finished, but while 

he gave himself some work to do by starting 15th after a crash 

in Superpole, it couldn’t halt the perceived inevitable. 

Indeed, though Rea may have been on the back foot after 

qualifying, remarkably Redding fared worse after his own crash 

in the morning session placed him last. However, while Rea was 

quickly making progress up the order to run third by lap four, 

Redding's progress was far steadier even before he pulled over 

on lap seven with technical issues. 

The overall result may have looked familiar but it has been 

an anything-but-regular season for Rea and his WorldSBK 

counterparts, with five months splitting the opening round in 

Australia at the top of the year with the resumption of action in 

July. 

Indeed, the coronavirus played its part by compacting the 

season down from 13 rounds to only eight, while two of those 

were held at the same circuit (Motorland Aragon). 

In fact, it was there where Rea ultimately began to get the jump 

on Redding having been forced to duke it out with this new 

pretender to his throne in the early rounds. 

An uncharacteristic crash for Rea in Phillip Island left him 

playing initial catch up, but while Redding had the edge on 

consistency initially to lead Rea after round two in Jerez, the 

pendulum of momentum would shift back to the Kawasaki rider. 

When Redding’s form began to scatter graph, Rea dug in with 

some metronomic consistency to the extent that he has won 

at least one race at every round this year. It meant that even 

on the days Redding could beat Rea, the Kawasaki man was 

usually right behind him nonetheless. 

Another marvellous display by Rea as rivals are left scratching 

their head to wonder just how they could possibly break his 

stronghold, though Redding has at times forced his rival to 

discover another level, there is little doubt Rea’s unfailing 

adaptability has once again been the bedrock of his success. 

There is still more to play for this weekend - Rea’s has already 

added 11 wins alone to his tally this year, but one more will see 

him hit a full century. While the move to three races a weekend 

skews the overall stats, he still stands well clear of the next best 

rider - Carl Fogarty - on 59 wins. 

Can anyone defeat Rea in 2021? Well, Redding will take a 

huge amount of knowledge into next season when - hopefully 

- we will be getting a full calendar to play with, while Rea’s 

ultra consistency could in theory be harmed by the proposed 

introduction of a brand-new Kawasaki ZX-10R, which always 

poses a risk when it comes to reliability and performance. 

For now though, Rea can celebrate the fact that even 

COVID-19 can’t stop his dominance of the modern WorldSBK 

era. 

Bike Tyre Warehouse 

is expanding ... and expanding ... and expanding ... 

A few weeks ago our lady in the Cape, Lorna, went off to the 

launch of BTW Cape Town, situated in the same building as 

Bike Kings Cape Town in Paarden Eiland. 

It was a well attended 4 day festival of all things motorcycles, 

Starting on the Thursday and ending on the Sunday with some 

great opening specials on all brands. They have a symbiotic 

relationship with Bike Kings Cape Town with both businesses 

benefiting from each other, a win-win situation for everybody 

especially the customers. 

The set-up is really well thought out with a well laid out 

accessories shop for customers to browse around while they 

wait for their tyres, brake pads, chains and sprockets to be fitted 

and when they finished shopping they can enjoy a great cup of 

coffee with a light snack at the in house coffee bar. 

Pop down to Unit 1, 46 Marine Drive, Paarden Eiland if you are 

in the area. The staff are well trained, professional, enthusiastic 

and knowledgeable and always ready with a friendly smile. 

Cape Town makes four branches so far for Bike Tyre 

Warehouse. 

Other branches include the very well established Midrand 

branch, essentially the head office which we have brought you 

a lot of news about in the past - then a month or two ago, we 

told you about Alan Hughes and the Port Elizabeth branch at 

Restitution Ave, Fairview, Port Elizabeth, which is growing from 

strength to strength. 

Then there is Eden Bike & Tyre down in George situated at 23 

Cathedral St, George Central who are still getting brought up 

to speed with upgrades to their fitment centre and branding 

but do run the same specials and pricing and have the same 

stock consistency as the rest of the branches with equally well 

trained, enthusiastic and friendly staff. 

Then, a little bit on the down low because they are still waiting 

for all their proper corporate branding and so-on, the East Rand 

branch opened its doors in Boksburg and started trading thanks 

to the high demand in the area. We will bring you more details 

on that as soon as they guys are ready. 

Here is a list of all the contact number and addresses if you are 

in the market for tyres, brake pads/discs, chains and sprockets: 

Midrand - 011 205 0216 - 997 Richards Dr, Halfway House, 

Midrand 

Cape Town - 079 735 2951 - Unit 1, 46 Marine Drive, Paarden 

Eiland, Cape Town 

Port Elizabeth - 083 267 2685 - Unit 6, Moffet Business Centre 

4, Cnr Restitution & Overbaakens, Fairview, Port Elizabeth 

George - 079 981 0377 - 3 Cathedral St, George Central, 

George 

East Rand - 082 878 6091 - Unit 17, Saligna Park, 3 Saligna St, 

Witfield, Boksburg





Aprili RS250SP 

HRC Honda Grom 

Honda MSX 125 Grom Championship Announced 

HRC has built a race-only Honda MSX125 Grom – We LIKE! 

Honda has announced that it is to begin a one-make 

championship with the Honda MSX125 Grom – and we think 

we’re in lust. 

THE announcement that the Honda MSX125 Grom was 

living on in 2021 was widely welcomed by the global 

motorcycle fraternity. But the cute and cuddly Grom has just 

been given a shot in the arm, as Honda has just announced 

an HRC-spec race only version. 

The bike is going to be fielded in a one-make race series 

called the HRC Grom Cup in Japan. As you’d expect with a 

race-only machine, the little Grom has been given a thorough 

going over to improve its on-track prowess. 

Gone are all the road-going safety equipment, ABS, lights, 

hooter, and so on. Instead, the bike uses a race harness and 

ECU, HRC body panels and belly pan, sticky treaded tyres, 

and the obligatory high-level race exhaust. We can’t find any 

specific details around the output of the machine, although 

given the number of changes we’ll put money on the fact that 

it will be significantly higher than the stock bike. 

The HRC Grom Cup is not a new idea, it’s been running in 

Japan for some time now with huge grids filling up venues 

like Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. The racing is fast and furious, 

with huge groups battling for position as they make the most 

of the all-important slipstream effect along the straights. 

Sadly we can’t find any information on whether these bikes 

will ever make it out of Japan… C’mon Honda – lets go 

racing!!! 

Aprilia RS660 

Launched Overseas 

The RS 660 unmistakably sporty with its RSV4-like styling, 

sculpted-in wings, racy electronics and tasty chassis parts, 

but the good news for road riders is it promises to be 

easier to live with than a race replica, thanks to its friendlier 

ergonomics, comfier seat and useable power. 

The specs sound good – It’s powered by a liquid-cooled 

659cc parallel twin cylinder engine with a 270° crank, it’s 

essentially the front half of the V4 RSV4 1100 and uses the 

same 81mm bore and a 63.9mm stroke. It produces 99bhp, 

has 49ftlb of torque and weighs just 183kg ready to go. 

Handling should be excellent thanks to the aluminium twin 

spar chassis, fully adjustable 41mm Kayaba forks, Brembos 

brakes and the chassis know how that brought us the RSV4 

1100 Factory and Tuono V4 1100 Factory. 

The bike includes a full raft of electronic rider aids including 

lean sensitive traction, wheelie control and engine braking 

control, and up/down quickshifter, five riding modes, cruise 

control and a colour dash. It also has triple LED headlights 

with daytime running lights, self-cancelling indicators and 

Pirelli Rosso Corsa II tyres. 

While the RS660 is designed to be a road bike, it has track 

genes… Aprilia has focused on keeping everything as light 

as possible. The compact and lightweight parallel-twin engine 

forms a stressed member in the forged aluminium frame, and 

also acts as the swingarm mount. All of this weight-saving 

results in a finished bike weighing just 183kg at the kerb. 

That’s 24kg lighter than a Honda CBR650R and 7kg lighter 

than a Yamaha R6. 

Along with adjustable traction control and cruise control, you 

get adjustable wheelie control, adjustable engine braking and 

adjustable engine mapping. All this, plus the lean-sensitive 

ABS is controlled through a six-axis IMU. 

So despite being comfy enough to ride every day on the 

road, the RS660 should be great fun out on the track. 

More info: www.italianmi.co.za 

Africa GP Academy is launched 

For ages 11 and up. 

The other day RideFast Magazine was invited to a surprise 

launch at the Italian Motorcycle Importers premises in 

Randburg. We thought that they might have imported a couple 

of the new RS660’s, but we were mistaken… 

They launched the Africa GP Academy. There is a lot more to it, 

but here are the nuts and bolts of the academy: 

The objective of the academy is to create a road to international 

racing and ultimately to Moto GP. There are some racing 

classes around who do a great job – but this series takes it a 

step or two further. 

The core focus for the academy is to get the riders international 

exposure. 

1. Gain access to Italian RS cup for exposure. 

2. Win wildcard entries (top 3 finishers in SA). 

3. Access to Italian Cup on identical machinery at a fraction of 

the costs. 

4. Guided and facilitated Italian cup experience weekends 

where appropriate. 

5. Establishment of an SA base in Italy for the long term. 

AFRICA GP ACADEMY 

For a set fee per annum, competitors can purchase an Aprili 

RS250SP. They will compete in the World Of Motorcycles 

racing series in the current 300cc class.At the end of the first 

year, the bike is yours. 

The academy will stick with the international format and rules. 

Riders have access to the academys fitness training, social 

media training, dietary advice and guidance. They also have 

access to trainers like Themba Khumalo, Sheridan Morias and 

invited guest coaches with regular rider training days. 

Guidance on technicalities by experts like Ricky Morais, Ohvale 

and invited coaches. 

It all sounds awesome – remember that to create world champs 

is a massive investment. This program aims to make it more 

affordable – and to give competitors a real shot at being 

noticed. 

Interested? : 

robert@africagpacademy.com 

themba@africagpacademy.com 

sfiso@africagpacademy.com 

sean@africagpacademy.com





The All New 

Concept Store 

Accessory Hyper at the World of Yamaha... 

Bikes, Boats, Power Products and all the gear to match... 

23 October 2020 saw the all new revamped Concept Store 

Accessory Hyper at The World of Yamaha officially launched 

to the public with a massive variety of products, accessories 

and gear for avid Motorcycle and Marine enthusiasts. 

“The World of Yamaha has always been a place where you 

can find almost anything but it was lacking variety”, says 

Ben Robertson - Dealer Principal and the man behind the 

revamped space. Thus, the idea began to turn the store into 

an Accessory Hyper with far more variety from apparel to kit 

to accessories from a wide range of well recognized brands. 

The revised store has a dedicated section for ladies and 

junior riders alike to help inspire the next up and coming 

generation of racers and enthusiasts. 

“The plan for the store in the long run is to become a onestop 

store with everything an avid Motorcycle and Marine 

enthusiast could need with events taking place more 

frequently, once restrictions have been lifted,” says Ben 

Robertson. 

It was a great launch weekend - complete with a PW track for 

the kiddies. 

Go and pay them a visit... It is mighty impressive! 

www.yamaha.co.za/world_of_yamaha 

HRC Announces 

Leon Haslam 

Contract Extension with SBK Team HRC... 

HRC Announces Leon Haslam Contract Extension with SBK 

Team HRC: 

HRC has announced that it has renewed its agreement 

with British rider Leon Haslam who will continue to wear 

Team HRC colours during the 2021 FIM Superbike World 

Championship (SBK). Haslam joined the Team HRC factory 

team at the end of 2019, making an important contribution to 

the positive development of Honda's SBK project and fighting 

hard on track to achieve the best possible results during a 

season that has been significantly affected by the global 

Covid-19 pandemic. The one-year contract extension will 

therefore see the Brit continue to race on "CBR 1000RR-RW 

FIREBLADE SP" factory bike, alongside Spanish rider Alvaro 

Bautista during the 2021 SBK. 

Leon Haslam | Team HRC: "To say I'm pleased about 

renewing my contract with Team HRC would be an 

understatement. This year has been difficult, with Covid-19 

and limited test sessions, but I knew right from the start that 

this project has great potential and so to have a second year 

in which to continue developing the FIREBLADE and working 

with the team is very important to me. I'm really confident that 

we can be fighting for the top steps of the podium in SBK and 

that's my ultimate goal, so to work towards this with Honda 

and Team HRC is fantastic. I'm excited and can't wait for the 

2021 season to get underway." 

Motomate Boksburg 

Moves to new premises 

And you are not going to have to look too far to find them, 

they have literally moved out of Bikeshop Boksburg into the 

shop next door. The ever effervescent Mpho has put together 

a really well stocked and beautiful store that is light and airy 

and well laid out. 

She has to divide her time between her two hot shot shops in 

Edenvale, but her two right hand men, Mandi and Tyler are 

incredibly knowledgeable, service oriented and run a very 

tight ship. Anything and everything you can imagine should 

be in stock and your size or colour and if not they can get it 

for you very quickly. 

122 North Rand Rd, Bardene, Boksburg. 011 025 8272. 

Oxford Cliqr 

Smartphone Holders from DMD: 

So here is something that we all wish we had at some point 

or the other, especially when using apps like Google maps, 

waze and etc. How the heck do you hold your phone to 

follow directions to a new destination while hanging onto the 

bars and using the controls to keep your bike pointing in the 

correct direction... Admit it, we've all done that. 

Oxford has come up with this easy to use CLIQR system that 

simply mounts to your handle bars, mirror stems or onto your 

dashboard. CLIQR uses a dual locking, fail-safe mechanism 

to mount almost any device in the most convenient position 

for you. Simply stick the CLIQR Device Adaptor onto the 

back of your device and CLIQR it into the mount in the 

orientation that suits you. Installation of the mount is quick 

and easy and slotting your smart device onto the CLIQR is 

natural and instinctive and very secure. Look up the system 

that best suits your application and your nearest stockist on 

www.dmd.co.za.

BLACK Arrow 

Styling on a Black Arrow … 

Words: Kyle Lawrenson & Séan Hendley 

Pics: Stefan van der Riet (Black_Rock Creative Studios) 

So, I’m going to start off with some possibly shocking and maybe 

even insulting comments, not to be controversial, shocking or insulting 

but more as a ‘Wake up’ call. If you’re easily offended please page 

past this article. 

The South African biking public does frustrate me to no end with its narrow 

mindedness, one dimensional-ness and over compensating egotistical 

approach to motorcycling. Purely because some really brilliant motorcycles 

are overlooked, sneered at or ignored and thus eventually dropped from 

the importers/distributors line up, thereby depriving the select few of us the 

pleasure and joy of owning and riding these great bikes. 

Unfortunately all markets are driven by cash flow and supply and demand of 

the masses dictates what we are, and are not allowed to experience. And, 

sadly in this country in particular, it would appear that all bikes either have 

to be wrapped in Tupperware with mostly unusable horsepower by at least 

50% of the said masses.

The other half want bigger and faster 

without considering the important factors 

like ease of use – and out and out FUN. 

As a result, people often fail to notice, or 

even consider bikes like this one. 

No, seriously, you need to ride the Pilen 

lineup to understand. 

Let’s dissect this one, the ‘Svartpilen 701 

Style’, a bike all of us in the office are 

completely enamored with. 

Like all of Husqvarna’s road range, the 

bikes styling is fresh, eye catching and 

completely out of the box. 

She is shod with Pirelli MT60RS tyre 

which means that it can be ridden down a 

dirt road. If you need to. 

But we stuck to the tar and spent most 

of the time during this feature scratching 

through the corners. 

Kyle will tell you more about that. 

The 701 comes with a lot of very nice 

accessories already bolted on, like the 

Akarapovic silencer which really accentuates 

the sexy little bark when using the 

power shifter between gears. Standard 

rear view mirrors are replaced with billet 

bar end mirrors, really showing off it’s 

Café Racer looks, which everybody is 

currently spending crazy money customising 

old clangers. 

The stock foot pegs are really slick billet 

jobs, and the front and rear indicators 

tuck away neatly becoming almost invisible 

until you use them. 

Power: 

Husqvarna had made use of their famous 

701 engine. 

The Svartpilen is powered by a 693cc mill 

that kicks out 55kilowatts or 75 horses with 

72Nm of torque at around 6,750 rpm. 

You need to ride it to understand. It is hilarious 

fun, especially when you hang hard on 

the gas and use that powershifter to bark 

through the 6 speed box. 

It easily gets to the double ton on the 

speedo and happily whips along all day 

- way north of 160kmh. I used it on my 

rounds for a few days and purposefully 

wore an open face helmet, not to look cool 

but to keep myself reigned in, because 

every time I straddle one of these beauties 

I get stupid and generally drain the 12 litres 

at least twice a day just running around 

JHB & PTA. 

Needless to say that might be foolish, but 

you just can’t help yourself! 

This Pilen is just so willing and – at the risk 

of repetition, so much fun to ride… 

Ergonomics: 

I’m 2m’s tall and fit perfectly on what seems 

to be quite a petite sized motorcycle, but 

the ergonomics, the relationship between 

the seat, foot pegs and handle bars is absolutely 

ideal, something that a lot of much 

bigger bikes seem to get completely wrong. 

You get wide-ish bars on a skinny bike 

with amazing power delivery, superb handling 

and a throaty exhaust that propel 

you through traffic, diving in and out gaps 

that barely exist and tearing off into the 

distance. 

I had to do a freeway run in busy traffic 

from the West Rand out to Centurion, 

about 80kays or so. I pulled the strap 

down tight on my open lid and cleared 

the 80 odd kays in under 20 minutes. Try 

that on a bigger bike – or in a car. 

I will say this though … dust storms, 

rain, brommers, miggies and road debris 

are not fun in an open face lid, but “Hey 

Ho …” My beard looked cool whipping 

around in the breeze and I love the wind 

and bugs in my teeth, the true essence of 

freedom on a bike, 

fairings and full face helmets can take 

away that joy. 

While out in the Wild West Rand I 

bumped into a mate of mine who is 

great fan of those car badged bikes with 

the knobblies, (to be fair, so am I), who 

smirked at my mount for the day. After 

some growled persuasions I managed 

to get him to take the 701 Style for a 

burn - he came back a convert … He is 

seriously looking at adding a ‘Pilen’ to his 

garage. 

You NEED to ride it to understand. 

We haven’t been able to coax the Svartpilen 

701 Style away from our Kyle for 

more than a couple of hours at a time, 

usually only when he is in front of his 

computer busy with magazines can we 

sneak it out for a ride. He rides it every 

single day and had done for a week or 

two already and is sometimes the best 

rider in the office, here is what he has to 

say …. 

Kyle says: 

If I had the shekels in my bank account 

right now – this very bike would make its 

way into my garage. And there are a few 

reasons for this. 

It’s a blend of stuff-you attitude that you 

can RideFast every day – or you can 

chill and just enjoy the scenery. It’s got 

so much personality with such unexpected 

performance that it begs to be ridden 

every day. 

More than one fast looking guy pulled up 

next to me while I was out and about. It 

looks like a gentlemans machine – but 

when I blitzed them robot to robot, they 

sat up and paid attention. 

For the performance nuts out there – yes 

she gets up onto the back wheel without 

any fuss. I found that it’s better to use 

manual clutch rather than the quickshifter.Railing 

through the corners, this bike 

is just so compact and well balanced – 

you scrape the pegs rather than run out 

of lean angle. And this is without proper 

road tyres. 

A quickshifter is such a lekker addition to 

this bike – and this one works better the 

faster you go. 

I like the Akarapovic pipe – but this bike 

needs a bit more noise to match the 

attitude. 

Build quality is really right there. No 

rattles and shakes – just smooth, gutsy, 

organic performance everywhere we 

went. And I absolutely LOVE the flattracker 

styling. 

A ladies viewpoint – Mercia Jansen. 

“I’ve ridden both the Svartpilen and 

Vitpilen 401’s as well as the Vitpilen 

701. So was very excited to be given the 

Svartpilen 701 Style for a month to ride. 

Not only does this bike look the part but 

it didn’t disappoint on riding experience. 

It’s very comfortable whilst still having a 

very controlled ride feel. I am a fan of 

the neo-retro flat track design and riding 

position. I rode it to work, I rode through 

town, I went for breakfast rides out of 

town. It’s ideal for urban exploration and 

everyday use, yet powerful enough to 

stretch its legs on the open road which 

makes it a great all-rounder. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. 

This bike is a smile inducing machine. 

With its low weight and low-down torque 

it springs off the line. Add to that a quick 

shifter and great suspension every ride is 

guaranteed fun” 

You really need to go and ride one. 

At your Husqvarna Dealer – 

www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com 

Specs. 

ENGINE: 

TRANSMISSION/FINAL DRIVE: 

CLAIMED HORSEPOWER: 

CLAIMED TORQUE: 

FUEL SYSTEM: 

CLUTCH: 

ENGINE MANAGEMENT/IGNITION: 

FRAME: 

FRONT SUSPENSION: 

REAR SUSPENSION: 

FRONT BRAKE: 

REAR BRAKE: 

TIRES, FRONT/REAR: 

GROUND CLEARANCE: 

SEAT HEIGHT: 

FUEL CAPACITY: 

CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT: 

692.7cc, liquid-cooled, SOHC single 

6-speed/chain 

75 hp @ 8,500 rpm 

53 lb.-ft. @ 6,750 rpm 

50mm Keihin throttle body w/ RBW 

PASC slipper clutch, hydraulic operation 

Keihin EMS, double ignition 

Chromium-molybdenum steel trellis 

43mm WP-USD fork fully adjustable 

WP monoshock 

4-piston radial caliper, single 320mm discs 

1-piston floating caliper, 240mm disc 

110/80R-18 / 160/60R-17 

164mm 

835mm 

12L 

158.5kg 

Richard Harper (@ridemotostakephotos) 

The Svartpilen is so comfortable. Well 

made – and well – an absolute hoot 

every time you take it for a spin. 

Last but not least, Mercia Jansen, she 

of Motul oil and lubricants fame had the 

bike for almost a month. She did not 

want to return it…

Blitskrieg! 

Two reprobates on two of BMW’s very fastest machines, 

the S1000RR and XR1000… 

“Chaps.” 

“Oi! Yes you! Focus! How would you like to borrow our 

S1000RR.” 

“Yes Please and we can…” 

“No. Wait we haven’t finished yet.” “We want you to take it on 

a breakfast run. You are not to go near a track – just go and 

enjoy the bike like 99 percent of South African riders do.” 

That was the request made by the friendly lot at Fourways 

Motorrad. 

Great idea! We can RideFast. Get it? Ok no we can Ride 

Very, Very Fast. 

But how to keep our photographer up for decent shots? 

BMW Motorrad West got wind of our plan – and offered us 

their XR1000 to join the fun. 

Problem solved.

The engine produces 205 horsepower 

at 13,500 rpm, and 83 ft/lbs of torque 

@11,000 rpm. BMW reports that the engine 

has at least 73 ft/lbs of torque from 

5500 to 14,500 rpm. 

A standard feature on the 2020 RR is the 

powershifter and autoblip, which provides 

for clutchless upshifts and downshifts. 

This one has BMW’s latest generation 

electronic suspension or Dynamic 

Damping Control (DDC). The suspension 

itself is manufactured by Marzocchi to 

BMW specifications. Up front is a 45 mm, 

inverted telescopic fork, and in the rear 

is the new Full Floater Pro shock, both 

with electronic compression and rebound 

damping adjustment and manual adjustment 

for spring preload. 

The braking system is manufactured with 

components from Nissin, Hayes, and 

Brembo. The front master cylinder is a 

Nissin unit attached to two radial-mounted, 

four-piston Hayes calipers that bite 

onto on 320 mm steel rotors. The rotors 

are each 4.5 mm thick and together they 

weigh less than their predecessors. At 

the rear there is a single-piston Brembo 

caliper and a 220 mm disc. 

On any Sunday you’ll see hundreds 

of motorcycles of all shapes and sizes 

making their way to favorite breakfast 

run spots all over SA. In the JHB area, 

Harties has always been popular, the 

route out to Bronkhorstspruit is always 

full – Cullinan, Vaal dam and so-on. One 

of our favourites is out through the Cradle 

and onto the Hekpoort pass and then a 

blitz down the satellite road – and there 

are a few reasons for this. The roads 

are generally in great condition. We 

can laugh at all the cyclists toiling away, 

great eateries dot the landscape – and 

the roads are twisty and fun to ride with 

lots of places where you can really open 

up. If you don’t ride a bike – you’ll never 

understand. 

Bikes were collected and promises made 

that we would not be mad hooligans. 

We turned the bikes towards Mulderdrift 

– and those promises were very soon 

forgotten you see – it was a Wednesday 

– and the roads were just sooo quiet… 

That year, the Bavarian motorcycle 

manufacturer built 1000 units to satisfy 

World Superbike homologation rules. The 

following year the first-gen S 1000 RR went 

into full production, changing the supersport 

landscape with its superior electronics 

and its nearly 200-horsepower engine. Unheard 

of - and, to be frank, they caught the 

Japanese manufacturers with their pants 

down in the horsepower department. 

For 2020, BMW had two main goals for the 

S 1000 RR’s ground-up redesign: To put 

the customer first and to beat the competition. 

The plan was to make the bike more 

approachable and friendlier to use. We are 

not going to run through all of it coz there 

is a lot, but here are some of the main 

features… 

The bodywork has been redesigned and 

while it retains the shark gills on the right 

side of the engine, the asymmetrical 

headlights are gone. The gills were retained 

not for styling purposes, but rather 

because it allowed the engineers to 

reduce overall engine heat by 10 percent. 

The bike includes BMW’s very latest 

cutting edge technology with more 

electronic aids than Battlestar Galactica. 

Razor Sharp with oodles of very useable 

horsepower on tap. 

The engine was revamped, and features 

BMW ShiftCam Technology (variable 

valve timing) for more linear power 

across the low- to mid-rpm range, along 

with more power on top. 

The XR. A big, comfortable mile eater. 

Fully loaded with all of BMW’s High End 

Tech. 

The XR was designed to fill a void for the 

rider who didn’t want an all-out adventure 

tourer like the GS, or the sportsbike 

positioning of the S 1000 RR or roadster 

models. For 2020, BMW revised the bodywork 

and ergonomics for more wind protection 

and comfort. The riding position 

is upright and relaxed, there’s no weight 

on your palms, and you have excellent 

leverage on the handlebar. Built for hours 

in the saddle. The seat is sculpted and 

firm… it takes a bit if getting used to… 

The Bikes: 

The bikes share so many tech innovations 

and components. We appreciate 

that you probably know just about 

everything about them. Both have been 

ridden and written about in great depth – 

but we’ll run a quick re-cap, just so you 

know what the bikes are about. 

The RR – Race, Sports. Fast. 

The S 1000 RR, was first launched in 2009.

The XR is fitted with a same 999cc inline 

four-cylinder engine as the RR with a 

more linear torque curve. The engine produces 

“Just” 165 horsepower at 11,000 

rpm and 84 ft/lbs of torque at 9250 rpm. 

For XR duty features taller fourth, fifth and 

sixth gear ratios for more relaxed cruising. 

The complexity and cost of the RR’s 

Shift Cam technology — which boosts the 

superbike’s power at high rpm — wasn’t 

deemed necessary here. 

Instead, the XR has its own camshafts 

and an exhaust manifold that focuses 

power in the midrange for better street 

performance. 

The bike features BMW’s new engine 

drag torque control, what the Germans 

call “MSR.” The technology prevents the 

rear wheel from slipping under abrupt 

throttle inputs or downshifting. 

The bike also boasts BMW’s electronic 

suspension – Dynamic ESA (Electronic 

Suspension Adjustment) – as standard. 

The suspension has two modes: Road 

and dynamic. 

This years bike gets Dynamic Brake Control 

which means basically, that the brakes 

work in conjunction with the engine to 

help control any unwanted acceleration. 

BMW says “By means of intervention in 

the engine control, drive torque is reduced 

during braking so as to make full use of 

the braking power at the rear wheel. 

This keeps the motorcycle stable and 

shortens the braking distance.” 

It has a six-axis Inertia Measurement 

Unit (IMU) that drives the function of the 

high-tech electronics found on the S 1000 

XR: Traction control, wheelie control and 

cornering ABS. 

In a nutshell – big, bold, comfortable and 

fast with every bell and whistle known to 

the clever guys in Bavaria. 

The Ride: 

Being the racer boy he is, Kyle opted to 

give the RR the first ride, with Glenn and 

Stefan doubled up on the XR. We wound 

our way out looking for twisty roads and 

corners so that we could get the shots. 

Surprisingly, The XR never really felt 

out of its depth keeping up with the Red 

Rocket. Although on paper it is significantly 

down on power – it is still one hell of a 

machine to ride. 

All torque, speed and mighty power with 

longer legs than Claudia Schiffer. 

A photo shoot, goes something like this: 

Find the perfect spot. Drop the camera 

man off. Ride down the road – and 

ride back, all the while trying to look as 

professional as possible. Usually each 

shot takes six or seven attempts – you 

know how fussy these arty guys are – so 

you tear through, stop, U-Turn, back. 

Stop, U-Turn… you get the idea. In the 40 

million degree sunshine Kyle was soon 

sweating and swearing away in his leathers 

after every turn… 

The XR rider, on the other hand was all 

grins, riding jeans, airflow jacket, comfortable 

seating – easier to maneuver for 

stuff like this. On every shoot we do, we 

try to get the pics out the way early on so 

that we can just enjoy the ride – but young 

Stefan – bless him - see’s a photo, there 

is a tap on the shoulder – and we stop 

again… 

To keep tempers even, we stopped in at 

the Neck And Deck restaurant at the famous 

Rhino and Lion Park in Kromdraai. 

It’s great to see them open again – a lekker 

spot, great food and fair prices. Bikes 

can’t go in to the reserve, but you can stop 

for a great nibble and chill session. 

The Ice Cold softies went down a treat… 

From there it was game on! 

We needed to see how these puppies run 

in the real world. The RR is not made for 

stopping and starting and messing about. 

It’s a weapon that needs to have the ear 

twisted – and that exactly what we did. 

The Hekpoort pass was blitzed in a blur 

– and we were having so much fun – that 

we missed the turnoff to the Satellite 

road. Not a problem – you tuck down with 

eyes just above the screen and the smile 

just gets bigger. Handling is absolutely 

sublime through the long corners heading 

down the pass. It’s one of those roads 

that just flows so beautifully – the ride is 

natural and intuitive. Although the bike 

is infinitely sporty, it is not ridiculously 

uncomfortable. Shifting through the box is 

just so smooth and that autoblip is subtle.

In a heartbeat you are well above the national 

speed limit, but the bike handles rider 

input absolutely seamlessly. 

When we eventually turned around, bikes 

were swapped and we headed back up 

the pass. The XR is bigger and bolder with 

so much power on tap. It certainly does 

not feel like it has any less power than its 

sports cousin – but the red bike soon had 

the edge and started to pull away through 

the twisties. The XR requires more input 

and it has a raw edge to it that we really 

enjoy. Same thing – gearing through the 

quickshifter is seamless and all the while 

you sit comfortably on top, well protected 

from the elements by a comprehensive 

screen. 

This time we remembered to stop on the 

satellite road off-ramp. The grins said it 

all – these are exciting bikes – make no 

mistake. 

Experiment time. 

Chaps – time for a bit of a drag race 

(Stefans eyes open wide – Umm… you 

are dropping me off first hey?). We have a 

friendly guy in the traffic department who 

agreed to close the road off just for this 

purpose. 

We had a 10 minute window while the road 

was closed while we abused all the laws 

known to man. We took a pre run along the 

road just to check it out and to make sure 

that there were no unexpected surprises. 

Turned around, GO!!!! 

We fully expected the RR to make mincemeat 

of the XR but the XR held its own 

admirably. Initial pull off saw the RR nudge 

about 4 or 5 bike lengths into the lead – 

the numbers on the display start rising 

very rapidly and the world starts to blur a 

bit. On the XR, there’s power everywhere 

in the second half of the rev range, but 

from about 8,500 rpm to the 12,000 rpm 

redline the XR’s acceleration is brilliant 

and she howls like the superbike that she 

is. At around the 270 mark, the RR started 

to walk away – when we hit 280 – there 

was quite a big gap forming and the riders 

chickened out. And here’s the thing… 

Whilst we ran these mad speeds – 

everything stayed absolutely stable and 

well planted. The great chassis, brakes and 

handling deliver bikes that inspire confidence. 

There was never a moment when 

either rider felt that things were getting 

silly. These bikes are so fast – but they are 

packaged so, so well. 

Conclusions: 

This was a great day to be on a motorcycle. 

The smiles and laughs and bench 

racing that went on around the table when 

we got back is testament to just how much 

fun these bikes are to ride. If you are a 

racer, then there is very little to match the 

thrill that a superbike like the RR delivers. – 

BMW 1000RR 

Bike Specs... 

Engine Four Stroke Transverse four Cylinder, DOHC 

Capacity 999cc 

Max Power 207hp / 152 kw @ 13500 rpm 

Max Torque 113Nm / 83 lb-ft @ 10500 rpm 

Transmission Constant-Mesh 6 Speed 

Final Drive X Ring Chain 

Frame Aluminium Composite bridge frame, self supporting 

Seat Hight 824mm 

Wet Weight 193.5kg 

Fuel Capacity 16.5 Litres 

BMW XR1000RR 

Engine Four Stroke Transverse four Cylinder, DOHC, 

Valve actuation vis single rocker arms 


Max Power 165hp / 121kw @ 11000 rpm 




Frame Construction type aluminium perimeter frame, 

Self supporting 


Wet Weight 226kg 

Fuel Capacity 20 Litres

Twins 

Meet the 

Sometimes you just have a really lekker day on a 

bike – and this was one of them. Triumph South 

Africa loaned us two of their twins for a coupla 

days – and we made full use of them. 

They might not look like twins – but the name 

refers to the fuel injected 1200cc parallel twin mill 

that power two very different motorcycles. We’ve 

said it before – and we’ll say it again –Triumph 

really has a knack of building bikes for every type 

of rider

C 

M 

Y 

Present for duty: 

The fared version of the Truxton R and 

the new Speed Twin… 

Both models share the new Bonnie 

engine: 

• High power 1200cc Bonneville 

engine. 

• Low inertia, high performance, 

six-speed, 8-valve, liquid-cooled 

SOHC 270° crank angle parallel 

twin. 

• Peak power 97PS at 6,750rpm. 

• High torque across the rev 

range (peak: 112Nm @ 

4,950rpm). 

The Triumph Thruxton R. 

Now you’d be excused for mistaking this 

bike for something that you might have 

seen Tiny Mariner or someone similar 

roaring around the track on days long 

gone by. This is of course, a deliberate 

nod by Triumph to the company’s rich 

racing heritage. They even painted it 

British Racing green. 

Under the Skin: 

Triumph has no fewer than three café 

racer models for 2020, not surprising for 

one of the key players in the original retro-café 

racer movement. Looking at this 

bike from the ground up – a lot of thought 

went into the manufacture… 

Pirelli Diablo Corsa tyres are mounted on 

32 inch spoke 17 inch aluminium rims. 

These are suspended out back by fully 

adjustable Ohlins shocks – up front you’ll 

find fully adjustable USD forks by Showa. 

Nothing like Grandads old scoot! 

Attached to those svelte wheels are big 

brake discs – twin floaters up front and a 

single on the rear. 

Here’s something strange – up front, you’ll 

find 4-piston Brembo calipers – while out 

back, they have optes for Nissin. 

Strange that the brakes would not be 

uniform. ABS is switchable. 

Ride By Wire enabled Triumph to give the 

Thruxton Rider modes – Road, Rain and 

Sport. The bike also has traction control 

that can be switched off via the 

instrument menu. The Thruxton R’s 

switchgear is pretty intuitive – a simple 

fingertip scroll button gives access to the 

main features on the digital display. 

Speaking of display, these ones acknowledge 

old school tech with updated, uber 

modern tech. We are pretty glad that TFT 

tech has not found its way onto bikes like 

these. Yet. The bike features twin clocks 

– a speedo and a rev counter with cool 

3d dial interfaces that incorporate the 

digital menu. These include cool bits like 

the gear position indicator, range to 

empty, 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 

But take it from us. This bike is about 15 

sqillion light years ahead of those old 

boneshakers – and this is one thoroughly 

modern sports machine. 

Sure! It’s absolutely not everyone’s cup 

of tea, but we’ll place bets on the fact that 

it will draw more admiring glances than 

most of the Tupperware torpedoes on the 

market.

The fuel level and what your average 

consumption is doing. Nothing old school 

about this lot. 

Moving to the electrical equipment you’ll 

find LED lights all round with a Daytime 

Running Light built into the headlight, 

which is mounted into a beautifully crafted 

Rickman styled faring. 

Rider position is quite racey with the 

old-school clubmans positioned quite low 

– not as aggressive as some superbikes, 

but over time you do feel your weight on 

your wrists. Triumph put some thought 

into the rider triangle and the relationship 

from pegs to ground to bum to bars 

is quite comfortable. Your knees nestle 

comfortably into shallow recesses in the 

tank – even that gets old-school treatment 

with an offset fuel cap and a wrapover 

tank clip. 

Very cool! 

The Triumph Speed Twin: the Moder 

Classic Custom Roadster. 

Here’s a bike that looks old school 

chilled. The kind of bike that you can use 

for cruising the burbs or hitting your favorite 

breakfast run route every weekend. 

It is distinctly different to the Thruxton 

but by no means any less fun to ride. 

A few years ago, you’d hand out plenty 

of ammo to build a bike like this – now 

you can buy it just like this – and take it 

further. 

Under the skin: 

It shares a lot of tech with the thruxton, 

like the clocks, electronics package and, 

of course that sweet 1200cc mill. But 

there are lots of differences that set this 

bike apart. 

Rather than spokes, the Speed Twin has 

alloy rims fitted. Also 17 inch, shod in the 

same rubber. 

This bike does not boast such high end 

suspension either – opting rather for 

some KYB fare, KYB forks with cartridge 

damping and Twin KYB rear suspension 

units with adjustable spring pre-load 

- rather than full sports units. Nothing 

wrong with KYB. 

Brakes are the same – we are going to 

have to find out why they use Brembo in 

front and Nissin out back. 

Styling is different too – no less pretty – 

just different. They have packed the bike 

with brushed alluminium finishes – like 

the front & rear mini mudguards, throttle 

body covers, side panel finishers, and 

heel guards. Man it looks too cool. 

Twin upswept matt black finished silencers 

deliver a meaty roar and add to the 

bikes overall classic appeal. 

Rider position is chilled – anyway you 

look at it. The bars are sensibly upswept 

and natural, pegs are well placed and 

the well padded seat is not overly tall. In 

fact on both bikes, its really easy to keep 

your feet flat on the ground. Triumph has 

a knack for cool little finishes like the bar 

end mirrors and that Monza flip up fuel 

cap. 

Really great little touches. 

We were quite surprised when during 

some impromptu drag races, the 

Street Twin actually drilled the Thruxton. 

There was a fair bit of mumbling 

about skinny younger riders and all 

that – but with the correct gearing 

– the bikes are really quite evenly 

matched in the outright speed and 

power department. 

Where the Thruxton does shine in in 

the tight stuff – the suspension really 

takes control with a firmer more hooligan 

inspiring kind of racey feel. The 

R’s handling is really excellent thanks 

to great brakes, suspension and chassis 

balance. The electronics marry the 

whole package together. Run it down 

to your closest track and in the right 

hands it will happily hold its own. 

That’s not to say that the Street Twin 

is lacking in any way – it’s just a different 

kind of ride. The increase in bore, 

10 extra BHP (The previous rendition 

was a 54 BHP 900) and specifically, 

bottom end grunt makes this bike far 

more exciting than the old one. And all 

the while you sit upright with a great 

big grin on your kisser. 

www.triumph-motorcycles.co.za 

Bike Specs... 

The Ride: 

Take off your manic superbike warp 

speed hat and just enjoy the ride. That’s 

what these bikes are both about. Don’t 

think boring by any means of the word – 

when you lash them with a bit of anger – 

both bikes induce torque inspired grins as 

that big 1200 grabs you by the ass and 

thrusts you along through the gears. 

Our route included everything from fast 

flowing freeways to some really tight, 

twisty mountain passes and quite a bit of 

suburban sprawl. We even took a wrong 

turn on our way back to the Triumph 

dealership in Kramerville – and ended up 

taking a little trip through the outskirts of 

Alex. It was awesome to see the people 

there gawping at the “Mlungus” on their 

old school Scootas. More than one luxury 

sedan hooted enthusiastically with lots of 

thumbs ups hanging out of the windows. 

SA can be such a cool place. 

Both bikes are fast and powerful as you 

would expect from a big bore 1200. Both 

are really smooth and easy to ride – even 

slowly. And both have their own, distinct, 

massive personalities. 

Thruxton R 1200 Speed Twin 1200 

Engine Four Stroke Parallel Twin, SOHC 


Max Power 97hp / 71.5 kw @ 6750 rpm 

Max Torque 112.5Nm / 83 lb-ft @ 4950 rpm 

Transmission 6 Speed 


Frame Tubular Steel Cradle, Aluminum Swing Arm 

Rear Suspension Ohlins Twin Shocks, Piggy Back reservior 




Engine Four Stroke Parallel Twin, SOHC 


Max Power 97hp / 71.5 kw @ 6750 rpm 

Max Torque 112.5Nm / 83 lb-ft @ 4950 rpm 

Transmission 6 Speed 


Frame Steel Tubular Frame with Aluminum cradle 

Rear Suspension Twin Shocks with Adjustable preload 




We won’t lie – at low speeds wending your 

way through traffic in the Joburg sunshine, 

you do get a fair amount of heat from the 

engine. But that disappears as you hit the 

more open roads and twist some ears... 

And when you do twist, these bikes haul 

ass - quickly up to the 190KPH mark and 

then the Thruxton starts walking away.

Dozzy Loreiro 

Frerichs Leads the pack 

Little Man Mofokate leads on his Pw50 

Getting into RACING 

The Superbike Magacazine Short Circuit Series 

The other day, when we heard that the short Circuit Series 

was happening at the Benoni Karting track just down the road 

from our offices. We decided to hop on a bike and head on 

down for a looksee. Mighty glad we did. Entry level racing is 

alive and kicking in SA – and we were very impressed to see 

so many people from all walks of life having great dices… 

Pocket bikes have been around for many years with this series 

taking on different forms over the years. Clifford Redfern had it 

for a few years and then a whole committee ran it for another 

few. That’s when Clinton Pienaar together with Michaela Voster 

took it over and over the last few years with the ever increasing 

popularity of the Motards class has made it what it is today. 

They push the idea of families that race together stay together 

and they try and encourage braai’s and lots of family interaction. 

Prize Giving is once a year at Silverstar Casino and this is a 

black tie event with all the kids hiring tuxedos and doing quite a 

dress up, a 5 star affair. 

There are 13 different classes. 

• Pocket bikes Novice from 4 years of age. The littlest 

guys. All together now – AWWWWW CEUTE! 

• Yamaha PW50 Class also for Novice riders from 4 

years of age. Everyone learned to ride on a PW. Its awesome to 

see the kids tyearing around the track! 

• Pocket bikes stock, same age but only when the kids 

get too fast for Novice class. 

• Pocket Bikes, Production and Super production classes 

are based on 6 and 9 HP Pocket bikes. Kids aged 6 and up. 

• Honda NSF100 SAMRA 3Bore bikes – run by Neil Harran, 

for kids from the year in which their 8th birthday happens. 

This is a fantasic class – Honda South Africa has really stepped 

in to get entry level racers up and running – and Neil seems to 

have boundless energy when it comes to looking after the kids. 

Many of our national and international racers have come up 

through this class – and they all stay involved to give the new 

generation pointers. There is a camp coming up soon – and the 

junior Foleys will be attending – so we’ll run a full feature soon. 

NSF100 Class

Parents pay R15k first year, R12k for the 2nd and R10k third 

year. Bikes get transported to tracks and back and there are 

normally two training camps every year where the top racers of 

SA racing abroad and nationally help out. 

• Cre8Work 50/65/85 Junior Motards, duplicates the MX 

ages for the classes here. 

• Honda CBR 150 Class. The “professional” class for 

the kids, it’s a good stepping stone for kids wanting to take their 

racing further. 

• Clubman’s Class – This is for anything with 2 wheels 

and that does not fit into any other class. It’s a great place for 

new riders wanting to find their feet for their first race. 

• Motards SM2 – New to Motards, this is for you, as soon 

as you get too fast (within 5% of fastest SM1 time of the day) you 

get a big cheap skin coloured PEP store Big Girl panty and you 

have to move up. 

• SM1/ SM1X - This is the big boy class, SM1 for fast 

guys coming through the ranks. SM1X is for The National Racers 

who want to dice!. 

Something unique – They have Live Streaming for all theclasses 

and a 26 minute program on Ignition TV and Open View. 

More info – superbikemag.co.za 

Go and have a look – you won’t be sorry! 

Beau Levy with his son 

Donovan and Steve commentators for the day 

Tristan Pienaar 

Mia Pienaar leads the pack 

Matteo Armoed and his dad

Joan Mir 

Mr Consistancy 

Photo:www.suzuki-racing.com

How a 2-stroke works 

All About 

ENGINES 

A typical inline 4 

cylinder engine 

Turning Fuel Into Smiles: 

We ran a feature similar to this about 

5 years ago – and we figured that it’s 

time for a refresher course. We are 

often asked about the differences 

between all of the engine types and 

configurations. This should shed 

some light on the topic… Specifically 

for motorcycles… 

The engine on a motorcycle has always 

been a central feature. 

Unlike a car’s engine that is hidden 

beneath the bonnet, it is a feature slapbang 

in the centre and sometimes even a 

part of the frame that demands attention. 

Think Triumph, you think Triple. Think 

KTM – V-Twin. Harley – a different kind 

of V, Japanese – inline four. Beemer – 

Boxer, Ducati – also Twin… 

Although this is changing as engine tech 

evolves and emission control laws get 

tighter, many manufacturers have made 

their engine configuration – a kind of 

trade mark or manufacture feature. 

Manufacturers have always made 

their engines look good…with chrome, 

anodizing, polished alloy, shiny black 

covers and so-on. 

The Japanese, of course have always 

produced everything they can think of 

to build sales and establish themselves. 

They have had two and four-stroke 

versions of everything possible except, 

ironically the BMW style opposed twin. 

They had one or two attempts at it in the 

60’s and they left it to the Bavarians to 

thunder on with the concept. 

The Japanese have, and continue, to 

produce everything from single-cylinder 

bread and butter bikes right up to Vee 

Fours, parallel twins, three cylinders, 

as well as in line four cylinders. In the 

recent past they flirted with a rotary 

engine, as well as a couple of exotic six 

cylinder offerings. 

Honda once even sold an oval 4 cylinder 

engine that pretended to be a V-eight! 

In a world where enthusiasts strive to 

have a unique machine, we are really 

spoiled for choice. 

Will this continue? 

We hope so. Whilst there is a push for 

electric tech – nothing, in our humble 

opinion will replace the sheer emotion 

delivered by an internal combustion 

engine. And electric technology is still 

rather expensive… 

With computer aided design, it is 

reasonably quick, cheap and reliable to 

design a virtual engine and produce it in 

small numbers, so perhaps we will still 

be able to buy motorcycles with exotic 

hearts for a long time to come. 4 stroke, 

2-stroke, Diesel, Rotary… 

Here is the skinny: 

What is a four stroke engine? 

A four-stroke engine (also known as fourcycle) 

is an internal combustion engine in 

which the piston completes four separate 

strokes per combustion which comprise 

a single operational cycle. A stroke 

refers to the full travel of the piston along 

the cylinder, in either direction. While 

risqué slang among some automotive 

enthusiasts names these respectively 

the “suck,” “squeeze,” “bang” and “blow” 

strokes as they are more commonly 

termed. 

1. INTAKE: The stroke of the piston 

begins at top dead centre. The piston 

descends from the top of the cylinder to 

the bottom of the cylinder, increasing the 

volume of the cylinder. A mixture of fuel 

and air is forced by outside atmospheric 

(or greater) pressure into the cylinder 

through the intake port. 

2. COMPRESSION: With both intake and 

exhaust valves closed, the piston returns 

to the top of the cylinder compressing 

the air or fuel-air mixture into the cylinder 

head. 

3. POWER: This is the start of the 

second revolution of the cycle. While the 

piston is close to Top Dead Centre, the 

compressed air–fuel mixture in a petrol 

engine is ignited, by a spark plug - or 

ignites due to the heat generated by 

compression in a diesel engine. The 

resulting pressure from the combustion 

of the compressed fuel-air mixture forces 

the piston back down toward bottom 

dead centre. 

4. EXHAUST: During the exhaust stroke, 

the piston once again returns to top dead 

centre while the exhaust valve is open. 

This action expels the spent fuel-air 

mixture through the exhaust valve(s). 

What is a 2-stroke engine? 

Single, twin, triple, crank and piston 

only no valves or camshafts and rather 

use what is commonly referred to as 

reed valves in a rad block… usually 

found in dirt bikes although quite a few 

manufacturers made 2-stroke powered 

road bikes. 

Because it can be made to be light, 

powerful and compact, the very simple 

two stroke engine is a big favourite with 

dirt bike manufacturers… 

A two-stroke or two-cycle engine is 

a type of internal combustion engine 

which completes a power cycle in only 

one crankshaft revolution and with two 

strokes, or up and down movements, of 

the piston in comparison to a “four-stroke 

engine”, which uses four strokes. 

This is accomplished by the end of the 

combustion stroke and the beginning 

Diesel: 

Because of their power characteristics 

and bulky size and weight, Diesel 

engines are not a huge line for 

motorcycle manufacturers. Bikes are 

mostly about excitement – and small, 

normally aspirated Diesels provide more 

torque than top-end, thus, manufacturers 

tend to fit them into workhorses like Side 

By Sides and some of the Utility ATV’s. 

The basic difference between a diesel 

engine and a petrol engine is that in a 

diesel engine there are NO spark plugs. 

The fuel is sprayed into the combustion 

chambers through fuel injector nozzles 

just when the air in each chamber 

has been placed under such great 

pressure that it’s hot enough to ignite 

the fuel spontaneously. A diesel does 

not run with traditional spark plugs 

because they do not need fire to burn - 

combustion happens under pressure. 

They do, however, have glow plugs to 

heat the fuel for starting purposes. 

of the compression stroke happening 

simultaneously and performing the intake 

and exhaust (or scavenging) functions 

at the same time. It does not have a 

camshaft or valves, and fuel enters the 

engine through a hole, or “port” in one 

side of the cylinder wall, and the exhaust 

gas blows out another hole (port) in the 

opposite cylinder wall. 

As the piston moves up and down it 

uncovers these “Ports” in sequence. 

This all happens in “two strokes “of the 

conrod, one crankshaft rotation. Once to 

suck fuel in, compress and burn it, and 

the second time to expel the burned gas 

through the port into the exhaust pipe. 

During each firing stroke, where the 

power is generated, a two stroke makes 

roughly only 60% of the power a four 

stroke makes. However, it has twice as 

many power-strokes as a four-stroke. 

Diesel powered Bikes include the likes of 

Royal Enfields bullet that sells reasonably 

well the world over, but the big market 

for SA are machines like the Polaris 

Diesel UTV’s, Kawasaki’s Mule 

UTV’s, both aimed at the mining 

and agricultural markets. 

The U.S. military also developed 

and successfully ran a fleet of 

Kawasaki KLR 650’s that ran on 

diesel and paraffin … and basically any 

crude fuel they could find out on the 

battlefields of the world. 

It has as a better power to weight ratio 

but is heavier on fuel as well. 

Therefore, a 250 two stroke single will 

generally generate more power than a 

250 four-stroke single. 

A two stroke engine also has a dry crank, 

where most other engines have cranks 

that run in oil baths or sumps. So, how 

is the crank shaft lubricated on a two 

stroke? Lubrication is derived from the 

two stroke oil you mix in with your petrol 

which atomises on combustion and the 

vapour then provides lubrication to the 

crank, also another reason two stroke 

engines develop better power more 

quickly than a four stroke equivalent. The 

oil bath creates drag on the four stroke 

crank where the two stroke crank spins 

more easily in a cloud of vapour. 

A diesel engine.

The Rotary engine: Not common at all 

in the bike industry. 

A rotary engine, like the ordinary 

reciprocating engine (where the piston 

goes up and down, both two and fourstrokes) 

gets its driving power from the 

same compression of fuel being 

compressed, burned and exhausted. 

However, where the normal engine 

must convert the power generated 

forcing the piston down the 

cylinder into a circular motion 

through the crankshaft, the rotary engine 

has a rotor spinning inside a chamber 

performing the same function. 

Engine configurations: 

Whenever you read a bike test – you’ll see that 

we often refer to what kind of engine powers 

the machine – ie – parallel twin, Vee twin, single 

cylinder and so-on. Some people confess that 

they often have no idea what we are talking 

about. There are plenty of non-technical people 

out there, so maybe, this will help. Please bear 

in mind that we are not boffins - we rely on our 

wives to tell us everything... 

But here’s what we do know… 

Here are some of the engine configurations on 

the market at the moment, or which have been 

produced in the recent past. 

Different configurations make power in different 

ways - IE: and inline four is generally smooth 

and is fairly predictable – while a V-Twin… well 

- ride one. You’ll get the gist of it. 

As the rotor spins in one direction 

only, and does not have to stop at the 

beginning and end of each cycle (four 

times per power cycle in a 4 stroke, and 

twice in a two stroke), it is continuously 

sucking in fuel, compressing and 

burning it as well as expelling the 

exhaust. 

The power shaft is being 

driven continuously. This 

makes for a very 

smooth and 

powerful engine. 

It produces 

more than 

double the 

power of 

either a two 

or four-stroke 

engine and 

has similar 

characteristics 

to a jet turbine engine. 

High power but woefully inefficient and 

very heavy on fuel, and it also produces an 

unacceptable amount of toxic emissions. 

Single Cylinder 2 Stroke 

It is also very complex and expensive to 

manufacture and maintain. Having said 

all of this it might still make a comeback as 

technology progresses because it has the 

advantage of small size, and it can run on 

almost any type of combustible fuel. 

Suzuki and DKW both bought licenses 

from Wankel in the mid 70’s, and whilst 

DKW brought out a lightweight rotary 

engine dirt bike, 

Suzuki produced the incredibly heavy 

and complex RE5. Nice bikes to ride, 

but thirsty and unwieldy, they were 

overshadowed by the excellent GS 750 

and soon both the DKW and the RE5 

faded away into history. 

Norton, in its first re-incarnation in 

the UK developed quite a successful 

800cc rotary, which they again raced 

very successfully and ended up with a 

reasonably successful production rotary, 

which included a very reliable police 

version. 

Single Cylinder 4 Stroke 

Single cylinder: 1 piston that moves 

up and down. 

The piston and barrel can basically fave 

in any direction or be slightly inclined. 

Four stroke or two stroke. 

The vast majority of dirt bikes have these 

engines fitted, in various sizes. Most 

manufacturers offer a single of capacities 

from 50 cc up to around 700 cc. 

Water cooling, fuel-injection, electronics 

and balance shafts make them 

sophisticated and reliable. 

Popular Examples: Honda CRF450, 

Husqvarna Svartpilen, KTM690, Yamaha 

Grizzly 700. 

Parallel twins: Two pistons going up 

and down next to each other in a straight 

line. Four and two stroke. 

Once again most manufacturers have 

one or more parallel twins in their 

catalogue, ranging from 250 to 1200 

cc, in both air-cooled and water cooled 

versions. 

Popular examples: Yamaha’s T7 and 

MT07 . BMW F850GS and XR900. 

Kawasaki Z650. Polaris RZR. Triumph 

Thruxton. Yamaha RD350. 

Triple parallel engines: Three pistons 

going up and down next to each other in 

a straight line. Four and two strokes. 

MV Agusta made the 3cylinder engine 

famous in their grand prix bikes, and the 

configuration is well-known for producing 

a very exotic exhaust note. While the 

Italian company was in one of the many 

limbo periods it has gone through over 

the years, Triumph brought out a 750 

version which kept them going and 

helped to developed the current triple 

which has revived the company and 

made into a wonderful success. 

Yamaha, in typical Japanese style, have 

produced a brilliant triple cylinder bike the 

MT09, aimed at the market looking for 

something unique. We hope to see this 

engine in an adventure bike soon. 

Triumph also produced the monster 

Rocket - three cylinders fitted 

longitudinally in a huge cruiser frame 

which is surprisingly effective and 

popular. 

Popular examples: 

Triumph 800XC, Yamaha MT09. 

Significant is the fact that Suzuki 

and Kawasaki put themselves on the 

Superbike map with a selection of very 

nice two stroke triple-cylinder bikes. 

All of them were well known for great 

performance, reliability and smoothness. 

Only the move away from emissionemitting 

two strokes saw them being 

discontinued. 

In Line four cylinders: Four pistons 

going up and down next to each other. 

Every Japanese factory followed Honda’s 

lead with their original CB750 four that 

was based (copied) on the earlier Benelli 

4 and 6 Cyl bikes. 

This is the engine that changed the world 

of Superbiking forever. Honda made 

history, but they only beat Kawasaki to 

the punch by a very short time, as the big 

K had their incredible (for the time) Z900 

almost ready to launch. Had they brought 

it out first, the motorcycle industry may 

have looked a little different today. 

So popular is the in-line four that it has 

earned the tag of UJM….Universal 

Japanese Motor, and it is still one of 

the most popular big cylinder road bike 

engine to this day. It took BMW a while 

to make an inline four with their RR, but 

when they did, they were the first to give 

it just more than 200 BHP – unheard of 

back then. 

Inline fours are generallytoo wide to fit 

into adventure and dirt bikes, where you 

always look for a more compact design.. 

Inline Six cylinders: Six pistons going up 

and down next to each other. 

Big, wide, in your face… probably quite 

impractical due to the sheer size… 

In the early sixties Honda put themselves 

on the map with a wailing six cylinder 

four-stroke grand prix racer which 

dominated the 250 GP class at the time. 

Just the sound alone of this engine 

which peaked at 22000rpm in a field 

of thumping singles and some twin 

cylinder two strokes made everyone 

sit up and take notice of the Japanese 

manufacturer, and sent enthusiastic 

buyers into Honda showrooms worldwide. 

A classic case of how racing can 

sell product! 

When the other 

Japanese and the odd European brand 

brought out their competitors to the 

mighty Honda 750-4 and started to ease 

customers away from the big H they 

dropped another bombshell. 

The in-line 6 cylinder Honda CBX 

1000 road bike. Honda proved their 

engineering skill and marketing savvy 

once again. Kawasaki soon followed suit 

with their Z1300… Due to the sheer size, 

weight and girth of these girls, neither 

bike handled very well… 

These days the only production inline six 

cylinder is the monstrous BMW touring 

bike, a machine big enough to need a 

reverse gear to get it out of a parking bay. 

Popular examples: Honda CBX1000. 

Kawasaki Z1300. 

Parrallel Twin 

Z650 

Triple Cylinder 

Mv Agusta 

Inline 4 Cylinder Honda 

CBR1000 

Inline 6 Cylinder 

BMW k1600 GT 

Single Cylinder 

Svartpilen 701

KTM LC8 V Twin 

TOLEDO 2.0 AIR 

R2,850 

The Vee’s: 

Vee twins: Two pistons going up and 

down at an angle, usually 60 or 90 

degrees. 

There are many, many Vee twins on the 

market, from 250cc right up to monster 

2000cc versions. They also feature 

balance shafts, electronics, fuel injection, 

and trick mounting systems to protect the 

rest of the bike and rider from vibration 

and sheer strength. 

There are also air-cooled and water 

cooled versions. They also vary 

in the way they are mounted with 

Ducati (Transverse), Harley Davidson 

(Transverse), all of the Japanese and 

other manufacturers mounting them in 

line, that is with one cylinder behind the 

other. Then there are a few companies, 

like Moto Guzzi (Opposed) and Honda, 

who have turned them sideways, with a 

cylinder poking out at an angle sideways. 

Honda even sold one like this with a 

turbo…a classic quite sought after these 

days. In the off-road world, Can-Am has 

made the Rotax V-Twin engine their 

weapon of choice. Interesting is the fact 

that Aprilia fitted their RXV dirtbikes with 

a V-Twin. Fun to ride, and something very 

unique… 

Popular examples: KTM 990/ 1190R. 

Suzuki V-Strom. Harley Davidson. Can 

Am Renegade. Moto Guzzi. Ducati 

Multistrada. 

V- Four cylinder: Like a V- twin engine 

but with two pistons on each side. 

You got it – four cylinders in a V 

formation. This creates a fairly unique 

form of power delivery – like the Tuono 

that we rode in last months issue… 

Manufacturers like Ducati are romancing 

these designs again. 

Air-cooled Twin 

Guzzi 

Popular example: Aprilia Tuono, 

Honda’s VFR lineup. 

V8: Four Pistons on each side moving in 

a V-pattern. 

Yup – the V8 found its way into some 

bikes…There has been a factory made 

V8 in the Moto Guzzi 500 V8 GP bike of 

the 60’s, but the size and complexity of 

this engine makes it just too impractical 

for a regular road bike. There are a few 

custom V8’s around using car engines in 

cruiser type frames, but they are few and 

far between. 

Popular example: The Boss Hoss. 

Other V-s 

Hondas GP bike was a V5… and you 

could argue that radial engines found 

on the old aircraft also classify as a V- 

configuration. 

Flat twins: Two pistons going side to 

side in opposite directions. 

Everyone knows the BMW-style 

opposed, or flat twin. They have 

developed it into a very sophisticated 

power unit, and have managed to 

squeeze a surprising amount of power 

out of it. Interestingly, 

the technology has never really caught 

on with other manufacturers, Honda 

made a Goldwing with a flat four, Ural 

uses BMW’s design from WW2 for 

their machines, but to our knowledge 

(and there is not much of that), this 

is just about the exclusive domain of 

BMW. However you can still buy a new 

URAL which is based on BMW’s WW2 

designs… 

Popular example: BMW GS1250. 

So what’s next? 

With the world going greener, engineers 

around the world are looking for cleaner, 

more efficient technology. Who knows 

what the future holds. Frankly, even 

motorcycle manufacturers are not entirely 

sure. KTM made giant strides with the 

introduction of the TPI range of two 

stroke machines – but is that enough? 

What’s next? The sky is the limit for the 

boffs out there – we look forward to lots 

more different kinds of horsepower in the 

future… 

BMW Boxer 

flat twin cut 

away 

ADVENTURE 

TOURING 

The Toledo 2.0 Adventure-Touring 

jacket has been given a significant 

update ensuring it is perfect for 

summer riding and high-mileage 

riders who want maximum 

performance but with massive 

air-flow through the jacket. 

WET WEATHER 

The polyester mesh jacket now 

features tough nylon overlays on 

the shoulder and elbows, creating 

a very durable jacket for summer 

use. It also has a removable 

waterproof liner just in case of 

inclement weather which also 

can be used as an over-jacket, 

meaning you don’t have to 

refit the liner to the inside of the 

jacket if you’re caught out in wet 

weather. 

It has a fully adjustable rolled 

Neoprene collar and soft-edged 

cuffs for maximum comfort and 

features handwarmer pockets 

and an outside Napoleon pocket 

plus adjustment points on arms 

and hips. A Mandarin collar 

keeps the rider cool around 

the neck. 

Subtle black reflective elements 

give the rider full visibility when 

riding in low light conditions, 

giving the rider a full humanoid 

shape to other road users, 

ensuring the Rider is fully 

registered. 

The Toledo 2.0 Air has CE 

Level 1 protectors to shoulders 

and elbows as standard and 

provision for Oxford level 1 or 2 

back protectors. 

Contact DMD on 011 792 7691 or visit www.dmd.co.za for a dealer near you. Prices shown are recommended retail pricing including VAT. E&OE. 

TRUST BIG BOY TO DELIVER- AFFORDABLY 

Big Boy’s commercial range offer affordability, reliability and convenience for all your business and fast food delivery requirements. 

Join the brand that’s ahead of the commercial pack by calling one of our 80 dealers nationwide today or visit www.bigboy.co.za 

Velocity 200 R19,499.00 

FOR ROAD LEGAL MODELS 

Velocity 150 

R15,999.00 

USED FOR DELIVERIES 

FOR MANY OF SOUTH AFRICA’S 

POPULAR BRANDS. 

OTHER 

SCOOTER 

MODELS ALSO 

AVAILABLE 

SuperLight 200 

R19,499.00 

Revival 150 R18,999.00 

* MOTORCYCLE TOP BOXES EXCLUDED 

** Prices include VAT, excludes On-The-Road costs & Govt. Levy. 

Aprilia V4 

engine 

Cutaway 

V-Twin 

engine. 

For the full scooter, motorcycle, ATV and commercial range visit: www.samotorcycles.co.za 

IMPORTED AND DISTRIBUTED BY 

Join Big Boy on 

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TYRE TECH TALK 

by Bruce de Kock, owner of Bike Tyre Warehouse Group 

ALL THE PREMIUM BRANDS 

THAT COUNT UNDER ONE ROOF 

Motorcycle Tyre Basics 

Hi Peeps 

Wow November edition already and pushing as deadline is 

today, Sean is on my case anyway here goes with the second 

part of the 4 part series on Motorcycle Tyre basics. 

Well this is number 2 of our 4 part Tyre Basics Series, I hope 

you are taking in the basics so when we move to the more 

advanced tyre technology you at least have the basics under 

THE TYRE OUTSIDE 

Part 2 

your belt and are able to discern very quickly if the advice you 

are receiving next time you venture out to a dealer to purchase 

your next set of hoops. 

From the Bike Tyre Warehouse Team take care out there on 

the roads and make sure your tyres are geared for the wet 

season contact any of our BTW branches for the #bestadvice 

#bestservice & #bestprice 

Sidewall 

• Support the shoulder at full lean 

• Protect casing plies 

• Bear sidewall legal markings 

SIDEWALL 

PRODUCT 

NAME 

LEGAL 

CERTIFICATIONS 

Tread pattern (center) 

Shoulder (or side) 

• Road holding at full lean 

THE TYRE INSIDE 

BRAND 

SIZE 

SHOULDER (SIDE) 

Its main function is to ensure grip, stability 

and line holding when riding at lean. 

SHOULDER (SIDE) 

The slicker this area, 

Its main function is to ensure grip, stability 

the sportier behavoiur we may expect 

and line holding when riding at lean. 

from the tyre. 

The slicker this area, 

The more grooves this area contains, the 

the sportier behavoiur we may expect 

more efficient the water evacuation 

from the tyre. 

results. 

The more grooves this area contains, the 

more efficient the water evacuation 

results. 

MULTI COMPOUND 

TREAD PATTERN 

TREAD PATTERN 

Side 

Side 

Center 

16 

Center 

17 

17 

Sidewall 

• Support the shoulder at full leaning 

• Protect casing plies 

• Host sidewall legal markings 

Side 

Side 

CENTER 

It is the section of the tire that comes in 

contact with the road surface. 

CENTER 

It is made of a thick rubber, or 

It is the section of the tire that comes in 

rubber/composite compound formulated to 

contact with the road surface. 

provide an appropriate level of traction that 

does not wear away too quickly. 

It is made of a thick rubber, or 

rubber/composite compound formulated to 

It is characterized by the presence of 

provide an appropriate level of traction that 

geometrical shapes made out of grooves, 

does not wear away too quickly. 

blocks and in some cases sipes 

It is characterized by the presence of 

geometrical shapes made out of grooves, 

blocks and in some cases sipes 

TREAD PATTERN COMPOUND 

It consists in the usage of two or more tread 

compounds in different areas of the tyre, i.e. 

center and shoulders. 

Conventional Structure 

(X-Ply) 

The cords of the plies face 

diagonally the rolling direction 

Conventional Structure 

(X-Ply) 

Load 

Structure is very resistant and 

resilient to deformations even 

when: 

• the load increases 

• is used in Offroad 

24 

28 

STRUCTURE 

Radial Structure 

The cords of the plies face perpendicularly* 

the rolling direction 

* or nearly 

Radial Structure 

Speed 

The tyre preserves its 

shape also at high speed 

From a technical point of view, the aim is to 

create tailored performance outputs in 

different areas of the tyre. 

A harder compound 

in the center 

provides mileage 

and stability. 

A soft compound on 

the shoulders will 

increase grip in lean. 

Best use: 

a. Heavy weights 

b. Low speed (

BUYER’S GUIDE 

SELLING 

YOURBIKE? 

FIRE IT UP IS THE MOST TRUSTED PURCHASER IN SA! 

WE PAY INSTANTLY, WE COLLECT, WE COME TO YOU! 

www.fireitup.co.za 

MODEL PRICE MODEL PRICE MODEL 

PRICE 

RSV4 RR 1000 R325,000 Monster 797 

R151,900 Street 750 

R109,000 

RSV4 RR 1100 Factory R479,311 Monster 821 

R189,900 

Tuono V4 1100 

Tuono V4 1100 Factory 

RSV4 1100 FACTORY 

G 310 R 

G 310 GS 

C 400 X Scooter 

C 400 GT Scooter 

F 750 GS 

F 850 GS 

F 850 GS Adventure 

R 1250 GS 

R 1250 GS Adventure 

R 1250 R 

R 1250 RS 

R 1250 RT 

R NineT Pure 

R NineT 

R NineT Scrambler 

R NineT Urban GS 

R NineT Racer 

K 1600 GT 

K 1600 GTL 

K 1600 B 

S 1000 R 

S 1000 RR Red 

S 1000 RR M Sport 

HP4 Race 

APRILIA 

DUCATI 

HARLEY-DAVIDSON 

BMW 

S1000RR M SPORT 

S1000XR 

R289,000 Monster 821 Stealth R202,900 

R315,000 Monster 1200 

R224,900 

Monster 1200 S 

R262,900 

Monster 1200 R 

Monster 1200 Black 

R257,900 

R248,600 

Hypermotard 950 

R203,900 

Hypermotard 950 SP R241,900 

Supersport 

Supersport S 

R204,900 

R226,900 

Multistrada 950 

R217,900 

R69,300 Multistrada 950 S 

R243,900 

R80,400 Multistrada 1260 

R243,900 

R125,000 Multistrada 1260 S 

R298,900 

R136,000 Multistrada 1260 Enduro R297,900 

R190,500 Multistrada Pikes Peak R362,900 

R202,500 Multistrada Grand Tour R328,900 

R223,300 Diavel 1260 

R313,900 

R269,300 

R288,900 

Diavel 1260 S 

X Diavel 

R352,900 

R331,900 

R212,000 X Diavel S 

R381,900 

R227,000 959 Panigale 

R229,900 

R252,400 

R175,300 

959 Panigale Corse 

Panigale V2 

R264,900 

R267,900 

R196,700 Panigale V4 base 

R351,900 

R204,000 Panigale V4 S 

R418,900 

R180,350 Panigale V4 Speciale R669,900 

R180,200 Panigale V4 R (2019) R712,900 

R288,700 Panigale V4 25° 916 R755,900 

R311,900 Panigale Superleggera R1,774m 

R348,100 1299 Panigale R FE 

R669,900 

R213,600 

R311,400 

Streetfighter V4 

Streetfighter V4 S 

R307,900 

R359,900 

R352,400 

R1,3m 

Sixty 2 Scrambler 

Icon Scrambler 

R128,900 

R155,900 

Full Throttle Scrambler R184,900 

Classic Scrambler 

R164,900 

Desert Sled Scrambler R200,900 

Cafe Racer 

R2000,900 

1100 Scrambler 

R199,900 

1100 Scrambler Special R216,900 

1100 Scrambler Sport R251,900 

STREETFIGHTER V4 

Street Rod 

R120,000 

Iron 1200 

R153,000 

Superlow 

R147,500 

Iron 833 

1200 Custom 

R151,500 

R163,900 

Superlow 1200T 

R169,000 

FortyEight Special 

R163,000 

FortyEight 

Roadster 

R163,000 

R171,500 

StreetBob 

R191,000 

LowRider 

R218,500 

Deluxe 

Sport Glide 

R276,900 

R234,500 

Fat Bob 

R229,500 

Fat Bob 114 

R263,000 

Soft Tail Slim 

R249,900 

Fat Boy 

R280,500 

Fat Boy 114 

R316,500 

Brak Out 114 

R316,000 

Break Out 

Heritage Classic 114 

R281,000 

R319,500 

Heritage Classic 

R286,900 

Ultra Limited Low 

R385,000 

Road King 

R323,500 

Road King Classic 

R281,000 

Road King Classic 

R323,500 

Road King Special 

R344,500 

Street Glide 

R354,000 

Street Glide Special R371,000 

Road Glide Special 

R375,000 

Road Glide 

R355,000 

Road Glide Ultra 

R379,000 

Ultra Limited 

R385,000 

CVO Street Glide 

R510,000 

CVO Limited 

R544,000 

Free Wheeler 

R407,000 

TRI Glide Ultra 

R514,000 

FXDR114 

R299,900 

HUSQVARNA 

FS 450 

R150,699 

701 Enduro 

R169,699 

701 Supermotard 

R169,699 

Vitpilen 401 

R84,699 

MODEL PRICE 

MODEL 

PRICE MODEL 

PRICE 

HONDA 

KAWASAKI 

KYMCO 

ACE 125 

R24,300 

Z300 

Elite 125 Scooter 

R23,399 

Z400 ABS 

NC750X 

R114,480 

Ninja 400 ABS 

NC750X DCT 

R123,120 

Z650 

Africa Twin 1100 

R210,000 

Z900 ABS 

Africa Twin 1100 DCT R222,499 

Z900 RS 

Africa Twin 1100 AS Man R236,000 

Z900 Cafe Racer 

Africa Twin 1100 AS ES R269,000 

Z1000R 

XR190 

R49,620 

Z1000SX 

XR150L 

R32,960 

Ninja 650 

XR125L 

R30,000 

Versys X300 

CRF250L 

R74,999 

Versys 650 

CRF250 Rally 

R85,000 

Versys 1000 

CBR 1000 RR 2019 

R209,999 

ZX10R WSB 2018 

CBR 1000 RR-R 2020 TBA 

ZX10R WSB 2019 

CBR 1000 RR-R SP 2020 TBA 

Z H2 

GL1800 Goldwing M R367,000 

H2 SX SE 

GL 1800 Goldwinh DCT R432,200 

ZZR1400 Ohlins 

INDIAN 

FTR 1200 

R209,900 

FTR 1200 Race Replica R269,900 

Scout Sixty 

R169,900 

Scout 1133 

R199,900 

Scout Bobber 

R199,900 

Chief Dark Horse 

R299,900 

Chief Classic 

R419,900 

Chief Vintage 

R379,900 

Springfield 

R389,900 

Springfield Darkhorse R369,900 

Chieftan Dark Horse R399,900 

Chieftan 

R399,900 

Roadmaster 

R449,900 

HUSQVARNA SVATPILEN 701 

KTM 

125 DUKE 

R63,999 

RC 125 

R66,999 

390 DUKE 

R79,999 

RC 390 

R84,999 

390 Adventure 

R93,999 

790 DUKE 

R159,999 

790 Adventure 

R195,999 

790 Adventure R 

R209,999 

690 Enduro R 

R168,999 

890 DUKE R 

R189,999 

1290 Super Adventure S R259,999 

1290 Super Adventure R R269,999 

1290 Super Duke R R265,999 

1290 Super Duke GT R269,999 

R61,995 Agility RS 125 

R22,950 

R72,995 Like 125l ABS 

R44,950 

R99,995 G-Dink 300l 

R59,950 

R122,995 Xciting 400l 

R119,950 

R155,995 AK550 

R159,950 

R175,995 

R168,995 

R179,995 

R179,995 

R124,995 

R85,995 

R115,995 

R159,995 

R229,995 

R259,995 

R329,888 

R310,995 

R259,995 

GIXXER SF 250 

1290 SUPER DUKE R 

MOTO GUZZI 

V85 TT Evocative E5 R234,850 

V85 TT Travel Pack 

R249,850 

Audace Carbon E4 

R430,895 

MGX 21 Flying Fortress E4 R575,296 

V7 III Carbon E4 

R210,750 

V7 III Racer ABS E4 

R224,750 

V7 III Stone S 

R228,420 

V7 III Milano E4 

R220,460 

Dragster Pirelli LE 

R329,900 

Dragster 800RR 

Z H2 Hypernaked 

Dragster 800 RC Limited 

Super Veloce 800RR 

Brutale 1000RR 208HP 

RUSH 1000RR 212hp 

Turismo Veloce 800 160HP 

UR110 

UB125 

GSX150 

GSX150F 

GIXXER 250SF 

DL650XA 

DL1050XA 

SV650A 

GSXR750 

GSXR1000 A 

GSXS1000 R A 

GSXS1000 A 

GSXS1000 ZA 

Katana 

VZR1800 

VZR1800BZL9 

MV AGUSTA 

SUZUKI 

R299,900 

R359,900 

R379,900 

R479,900 

R549,900 

R299,900 

R19,100 

R21,300 

R31,250 

R33,850 

R49,900 

R131,500 

R221,950 

R101,900 

R161,950 

R237,500 

R273,900 

R163,500 

R175,500 

R188,900 

R199,900 

R204,900 

MODEL 

XS125 K Delivery 

NH125 

XS200 Blaze 

XS200 Trail Blaze 

Citycom 300l 

GTS 300l EV 

Max Sym 600l ABS 

Crox 125 

Fiddle ll 150 

Jet14 200 

Orbit ii 125 

Symphony 150 

X-Pro 125 

SYM 

Street Triple RS 

Speed Triple RS 

Street Twin 

Bonneville T100 

Bonneville T120 

Bonneville Bobber 

Bonneville Bobber Black 

Bonneville Speed Master 

Street Scrambler 

Thruxton 1200 R 

Tiger 800 XCX 

Tiger 800 XCA 

Tiger 1200 XCX 

Tiger 1200 XCA 

Tiger 900 

Tiger 900 Rally Pro 

Rocket R 

Rocket GT 

XTZ125 

YBR125G 

TW200 

XT250 

XT1200Z 

XT1200ZE 

MT07 ABS 

MT09 ABS 

MT07 Tracer 

MT09 Tracer 

MT09 Tracer GT 

TRIUMPH 

YAMAHA 

PRICE 

R18,995 

R29,995 

R18,495 

R10,995 

R59,995 

R63,995 

R121,995 

R19,995 

R20,495 

R26,995 

R16,995 

R19,995 

R21,995 

R170,000 

R219,000 

R144,000 

R145,000 

R169,000 

R169,000 

R184,000 

R179,000 

R169,000 

R192,000 

R186,000 

R205,000 

R226,000 

R260,000 

R192,000 

R215,000 

R299,000 

R315,000 

R43,950 

R31,950 

R74,950 

R77,950 

R224,950 

R249,950 

R134,950 

R169,950 

R144,950 

R179,950 

R199,950 

MODEL 

FJR1300 

XMax 300 Scooter 

YZF R3 

YZF R6 

YZF R1 2020 

YZF R1M 2020 

Niken 3-wheeler 

NIKEN 3-WHEELER 

ZT250 R 

ZT310R 

ZT310X 

ZT310T 

ZONTES 

PRICE 

R229,950 

R94,950 

R84,950 

R219,950 

R349,950 

R424,950 

R275,000 

R44,900 

R63,900 

R68,900 

R74,900 

DEALERS CONTACTS WHO 

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Fire it Up Kawasaki Tel: 011 467 0737 

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YAMAHA R1 

Svartpilen 401 

R84,699 

Vitpilen 701 

R146,699 

Svartpilen 701 

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All pricing correct as at time of publishing, but may vary due to exchange rates etc. 

All pricing correct as at time of publishing, but may vary due to exchange rates etc. 

All pricing correct as at time of publishing, but may vary due to exchange rates etc.

BUYING 

USED BIKES 

Used bikes are a great option for entering the motorcycle 

market. This month, Donovan found a real little gem… 

Fire It Up Ride: 2014 Honda CBR500R – R59,888 

Story: Donovan Fourie 

Pics: Glenn Foley 

Next month, we are doing a feature showing just how 

damn cheap it is to purchase and own a decent motorcycle 

compared to the equivalent crap-box eco-car, and that 

is purely on a monetary basis excluding such priceless 

commodities as happiness. 

We have another motorcycle in mind for that, but this one 

would a be grand candidate too. It’s a Honda CBR500R, sold 

by Fire It Up’s own Berto Santos to a customer in 2014 when 

he was trading under a Honda dealership flag. That customer 

did 24,807 happy kilometres over the next six years, and now 

it has returned to Berto and his hallowed Fire It Up floor.

The CBR500R was built around Europe’s 

learner market where to gain a full motorcycle 

licence, riders need to spend time 

with a learner’s licence and a motorcycle 

that the authorities believe will not overwhelm 

their poor, underdeveloped skillset 

and therefore cannot push more than 

47hp. So Honda simply produced a bike 

with a dyno graph that peaks at 47hp 

and enough charisma to send the stifling 

Eurocrats into a turkey rage. 

The cubic-centimetres are supplied by 

two parallel, 250cc cylinders fed generously 

by fuel injectors. The exterior 

is sculpted out of superbike lines while 

the cockpit has been proportioned more 

for luxury than wrist-bending fury. A bike 

designed for comfort should speak volumes 

by itself, but when it’s a Honda that 

phrase carries even more weight. 

As one motorcycle designer, when asked 

how he had achieved such great ergonomics, 

admitted: “I took a tape measure, 

went down to a Honda dealership and 

just copied them.” 

The 47hp is not enough to cause the 

earth to shift on its axis, but it is enough 

to shift your world, especially when 

accompanied by a flurry of four-stroke, 

parallel-twin roar. Top speed is limited 

to 200km/h so that the Eurocrats won’t 

throw a wobbly, but places in Jo’burg 

where anyone could achieve more are 

few so this is not an issue. 

The rear seat on this specific bike has 

two little tears, and beyond that, the motorcycle 

looks pristine. It feels pristine too 

because clearly, the previous owner was 

a person of great care, but also because 

it is a Honda. The Japanese giant does 

not do half-measure. 

What a cool little bike to run around on. 

Comfortable, economical and probably as 

reliable as an anvil. If you cannot afford a 

new motorcycle – look around at the used 

bikes on the market. There are some real 

gems out there…. 

more confidence, in wet 

and dry conditions, even 

after 5000 KM * 

even after 5 000 

KM, experience 

braking in the 

wet* 

Even after 5 000 KM, a MICHELIN Road tyre 

stops as short as a brand new MICHELIN 

Pilot Road 4 tyre* thanks to the evolutionary 

MICHELIN XST Evo sipes. 

With its dry grip, stability and best handling versus 

its main competitors, thanks to MICHELIN’s 

patented ACT+ casing technology, it offers even 

more riding pleasure.*** 

* According to internal studies at Ladoux, the Michelin centre of excellence, under the supervision of an independent 

witness, comparing MICHELIN Road 5 tyres used for 5 636 km with new and unworn MICHELIN Pilot Road 4 tyres. 

** According to internal studies at Fontange, a Michelin test track, under the supervision of an independent witness, 

comparing MICHELIN Road 5 tyres with METZELER Roadtec 01, DUNLOP Road Smart 3, CONTINENTAL Road 

Attack 3, PIRELLI Angel GT and BRIDGESTONE T30 EVO tyres, in dimensions 120/70 ZR17 (front) and 180/55 ZR17 

(rear) on Suzuki Bandit 1250 

*** External tests conducted by the MTE Test Centre invoked by Michelin, comparing MICHELIN Road 5 tyres with MI 

*** External tests conducted by the MTE Test Centre invoked by Michelin, comparing MICHELIN Road 5 tyres with MI- 

CHELIN Pilot Road 4, METZELER Roadtec 01, DUNLOP Road Smart 3, CONTINENTAL Road Attack 3, PIRELLI 

Angel GT and BRIDGESTONE T30 EVO tyres, in dimensions 120/70 ZR17 (front) and 180/55 ZR17 (rear) on a Kawasaki 

Z900 giving best dry performance globally and #1 for Handling, #2 for Stability, #2 for Dry grip

Darth 

MotoGP 

more machine now than man 

At the first Aragon race, MotoGP saw its eighth winner in 2020 when 

Alex Rins crossed the line for his first win of the year. It also means 

that Suzuki has joined Yamaha, KTM and Ducati in the list of winning 

manufacturers in a year that is genuinely unprecedented for variety. 

The racing year has been remarkably unpredictable, creating more 

of a saga than a championship. The outcome for us mere mortals 

at home with our noses pressed against the TV screens in enduring 

intrigue may be glorious, but it is also causing a somewhat less desirable 

effect. 

It’s making it less about the rider and more about the machine. 

In Formula One, Hamilton is mystifyingly described as the greatest of 

all time even though it’s unlikely that he would still be able to win if he 

wasn’t in anything besides a Mercedes. 

Machine above human is the done thing. 

Photo: www.suzuki-racing.com

Traditionally, in MotoGP, not so much, 

and that’s the way we like it, however, 

that seems to be the case these days – if 

you’re on a Ducati or a KTM on a cold 

Aragon Circuit, unlucky. 

If you’re on a Suzuki, a Yamaha or Alex 

Marquez’s Honda, you might stand a 

chance. 

Alex Marquez was the stand-out rider at 

LeMans where he took his first podium. 

However, critics pointed out that it was 

raining and didn’t quite count, so he did it 

again in the dry at Aragon a week later. 

Many have praised him for gaining 

confidence, learning the Honda that was 

previously unrideable by anyone except 

his older brother Marc and showing the 

talent that he is. 

Much of that might be accurate, but then it 

might be complete garbage too. 

It might be more down to machine than 

man, in this case, the rejuvenated Honda. 

Since Marc’s exit from the championship 

because of injury, Crutchlow has been told 

he has no job from January, and Stefan 

Bradl is merely a seat-filler. Full attention 

has therefore be given to Alex, the only 

rider that will remain with Honda next year 

and continue its evolution. 

The biggest problem plaguing the 2020 

bike was severe understeer caused by a 

heavy crank that lifts the front wheel when 

the rider opens the throttle. 

For Marc Marquez, this was not a problem 

because of his manic, late braking style 

that pushed well into the depths of the 

corner, then squared the machine up and 

rodeo’d it out again under hard acceleration. 

For everyone else, the bike merely understeered. 

What changed for Alex during the LeMans 

and Aragon GPs? At Catalunya, two 

weeks before, he was languishing in his 

usual spot out of the top ten. Actually, his 

finish statistics for the year are: Jerez 1 

– 12th, Jerez 2 –8th with eight riders not 

finishing, Brno – 15th, Red Bull1 – 14th, 

Red Bull 2 – 16th, Misano 1 – 17th, Misano 

2 – 7th, Catalunya – 13th. 

All of these finishes were well beyond ten 

seconds behind the leader. 

Then LeMans and Aragon 1 happen, and 

Alex Marquez is on the podium challenging 

for a win in both. Did confidence hit 

suddenly and unexpectedly during the 

week between Catalunya and LeMans? 

What wizardry was being performed within 

the workings of his machine will remain 

a guarded secret, but what they were 

unable to hide was a brand new Ohlins 

rear shock. 

It was offered to all the Ohlins machines, 

and yet only the two Suzukis and Alex 

Marquez took it seriously, the same three 

motorcycles that stood upon the podium 

at Aragon 1. 

The signs that the Honda of Alex Marquez 

had changed were all too obvious during 

Aragon 1. The younger Marquez was not 

emulating his brother’s crazed, late-braking 

style, but looked more attuned to the 

smoother styles of the Suzukis with whom 

he shared a podium. During the final turn, 

he was clearly able to run more mid-corner 

speed, something that was previously 

unheard of on a Honda. 

It makes sense because the rear shock 

plays a massive role in the behaviour of 

the front. If the rear doesn’t squat suddenly 

when the throttle is opened, it keeps 

more weight on the front tyre helping it 

grip better and letting the rider hold a line 

more easily. 

It’s a good bet that other Ohlins teams 

will also begin looking into the new Ohlins 

rear shock, a situation that is worrying for 

non-Ohlins users such as Brad Binder 

who’s KTM is very much WP-shod. 

KTM showed immense promise at the 

beginning of the season when the teams 

were riding in the depth of the European 

summer and conditions were hotter than 

when they usually visit such circuits. This 

played into the KTM’s hands, and more 

so Binder who is used to wayward tyres 

on hot days. 

At that stage, KTM was the bike to be on. 

Of course, the three weeks of European 

summer ended, and winter struck… 

Usually, at this time of year, the MotoGP 

circus is in Asia and Australia playing in 

tropical climates, not in Europe where the 

track temperature dips to as low as 3º C 

on race weekends. 

All this would be fine if Michelin had 

created tyres with such chills in mind, but 

clearly, they have not. Thus, teams are 

forced to use only the soft options, and 

now it is no longer a case of best rider 

wins - but which bike happens to be 

the best at getting tyres up to temperature 

and not causing cold tears. 

We say “happens” because the 

teams prepared their bikes for an 

ordinary year and ordinary temperatures. 

By the time they realised that 

the calendar would be moving into 

the winter chill, Dorna had already 

put a hold on most development. 

At Aragon 1, the KTMs were stuck 

between two evils – a medium front 

tyre that could not generate enough 

heat to work effectively and a soft 

that would collapse under hard 

braking causing the bike to lock the 

front wheel and struggle to turn into 

corners. 

With a cold front tyre, the front will 

lock up with no warning, meaning 

the rider would be braking as usual 

and suddenly find himself crashing 

into the tarmac. With the soft, the 

front will also lock up but will at least 

give the rider some warning, making 

it the lesser of the two evils. 

This was particularly bad news for 

Binder who relies on his unnatural 

ability to brake later and harder than 

anyone else, and it is the reason he 

took so long to pass Pol Espargo 

during the race. 

Nonetheless, he was the top KTM 

at Aragon 1, a feat that should be 

rejoiced even though it meant him 

finishing in 11th. 

In conditions such as these, it is 

not the best man winning but more 

the machine that happens to be the 

best, so essentially Binder is racing 

only the other KTMs. And he’s doing 

jolly well.

At Aragon 2, just one week after 

Aragon 1, the track temperatures 

were far less frigid, and we saw 

more riders and fewer machines 

in the finishing order. Morbidelli 

won when no other Yamaha had 

a say, the Suzukis were fast again 

but not so dominant, and Zarco 

put on a good show despite working 

with a second hand Ducati. 

Of course, every South African 

had that sickening feeling in their 

stomachs as they saw Binder 

plough into the rear of Jack Miller 

on just Corner Two of the race. 

Of course, we love the guy, and 

his response to the incident reminded 

us why: 

“All I can say is ‘sorry bud’. 

There’s not so much you can say 

after an incident like that. I mean 

it was clear as daylight it was my 

mistake, and unfortunately, it cost 

someone else a race as well. I 

don’t know if it’s a good thing or 

bad thing, but both times this year 

I’ve wiped out friends. It always 

makes it a lot less easy to say 

sorry because you’re mates, but 

at the same time it really, really 

sucks. It was nice of Jack to be 

super chilled about it, 

but I hope I never do that 

again.”Going into Aragon 2, Alex 

Marquez had tied with Binder for 

Rookie of the Year, a tense situation 

for South Africans who were 

seeing the dreams of home glory 

diminishing every week, made 

even more heart-breaking when 

Binder went down. 

Our nerves were shattered 

Marquez began progressing 

through the field to perhaps even 

take top honours and extend his 

points tally over Binder to 25. 

We are not supposed to celebrate 

a rider falling – it is a treacherous 

notion that calls for the justified 

social execution of whichever 

despicable miscreant had the 

nerve to even think of such a 

thing. 

That’s all completely good and 

true, yet South Africans throughout 

the country struggled to 

hide their delight at seeing Alex 

Marquez standing in the gravel 

trap next to his crashed motorcycle, 

signifying that the Rookie 

Championship is still on. 

We are terrible human beings….

BMW’s R18 

Hits The Cape. 

BMW R18 Press launch 

Words: Sean Hendley 

Pics: Rob Till (Official BMW SA photographer) 

Any opportunity to scratch a bike around the amazing passes of the Western Cape is a great thing, and 

being the Cruiser man in the office, I jumped at the invitation from BMW to abuse their latest offering to 

the cruiser market. The fact that we were to be accommodated at the Lanzerac Wine Estate just sweetened 

the deal and helped override some misgivings I had about flying and all that.

To ride a ‘big’, (in apostrophes for reasons 

I will discuss shortly), cruiser on some of 

the best riding roads in the world is my 

weak spot. mountains, rivers, waterfalls, 

forests, blue skies, beards in the breeze, 

sun warming my cheeks always gets the 

bearded trio going in my head. Billy twanging 

away on his guitar and smokey voice 

singing about how good life on the road 

is, Dusty rocking away on the Bass and 

Frank beating on the skins, their music 

hardwired into my soul. I don’t need archaic 

technology to hear their sweet music, 

I just need some powerful iron under my 

butt, wind in my beard and a beautiful road 

for my spirit to switch on ZZ Top music 

hardwired into my soul. 

‘Big’ is a relative term. An 1800cc boxer 

twin is a relatively big motor. Definitely the 

biggest boxer twin I know of… but then 

again I don’t know a whole lot. 2,440mm 

long is a big wheel base. 345kg’s is a big 

weight. R360k odd is a big price tag. However, 

a 690mm seat … not so much. But 

not an issue unless your feet are tucked 

up a few centimetre away from said seat 

without the option to stick them out in front 

of you because of the two pots blocking 

the way forward. 

If you are anything over 1.7m’s tall at the 

very most you are going to battle fitting 

onto the R18 comfortably. A couple of 

the riders ranging close to 2m’s tall were 

resorting to yoga stretching next to the 

road to sort out some cramping issues in 

their hips and lower backs after about a 

hundred and fifty kays or so, 

(with comfort breaks along the way). The 

weird No.2 squat seating position negates 

any continent crossing aspirations 

taller folks might have on the R18. 

Now this is not a problem exclusively to 

the R18, it would seem that most ‘big’ 

cruisers are designed and built for and by 

the vertically challenged. I have personally 

ridden a lot of the ‘big’ cruiser available 

on the market over the years and have 

only found a very select few that fit my 

chassis and an even shorter list of those 

that I would actually like to own, but the 

ZZ top hardwired into my soul dictates 

that I must continue the search for my 

motorcycle nirvana. 

Now, let’s quickly clear a few other minor 

niggles out of the way before I get down 

to the essence of the R18. 

R360k odd is a big price tag and I would 

have liked to have seen cruise control 

and a power shifter on the R18. I understand 

trying to remain true to the 1930’s 

original style and feel, but guys this is the 

age of resto-mods, taking to gorgeous 

old styling and organic feel and mating it 

with modern technology to enhance the 

experience. 

At one stage, gear changing under hard 

acceleration I hit a false neutral and it 

sounded like the gearbox exploded as it 

reengaged. 

And one might expect some sort of 

adjustment on the suspension which is 

really very firm even under my 115kg ass. 

And “Range to empty” on the fuel. 

All these factors really do contribute to 

the ride experience and enjoyment … 

anyway, that’s my griping over. 

The R18 truly looks the part with its old 

hard tail look, old school black paint with 

white pin striping. Everything, including 

the indicator stalks, are made of some 

form of metal or other making it a true 

‘Iron Horse’. Then there is all the chrome, 

right down to the naked shaft, which 

spins and glistens in the sunlight as you 

roll along behind the big, chromed fish tail 

exhaust pipes. 1930’s is truly alive in the 

R18 styling and BMW have certainly got 

that properly right. 

I love the styling. 

Squatting down onto the seat, a mere 

690mm off the ground - and grabbing a 

handful of those wide bars does create 

quite a bit of anticipation in the rider. 

Hitting the start button and feeling that 

big 1800cc boxer motor erupt into life 

is really an experience and sitting on it 

while it rocks and rolls under idle giving 

off a very familiar ‘potato, potato’ exhaust 

note moves your soul to the very primal 

core. The pipes are so long that you can’t 

really hear it properly under load while 

riding, but ride behind an R18 and your 

very soul will rumble along with it. At one 

point there were 10 of us bunched up at a 

traffic light in front of traffic. 

We all dragged off the line when the 

lights went green and the sight and sound 

of 10 heavy metal beasts thundering off 

the line with tyres wailing as they lost the 

fight between traction and torque left a 

mark etched into the psyche of all the on 

lookers for all eternity. 

As mentioned earlier, the suspension is 

quite firm and where this really worked 

well was scratching down along Franschoek 

Pass. The pegs are really low 

and deck out very easily, but once we got 

used to that, some riders used them like 

knee sliders and the race was on. 

Watching a fleet of cruisers cranking over 

in corners, sparks flying off the pegs and 

the big 1800cc boxer twin rumbling off the 

kloofs, mountains and valleys is proper 

fuel for your soul. Then it was on to Clarens 

drive from Kleinemond to Gordons 

Bay, possibly the sexiest road in all the 

world. Pristine ocean and beaches to 

our left, sometimes we got so close that 

we got splashed in the face from waves 

breaking on the rocks below. 

Stunning cliffs and rolling mountains, 

gorgeous homes and scenery that is 

heart achingly beautiful with the smoothest 

most perfect snake of tar twisting and 

turning as it wends its way along next 

to the ocean, sun gleaming off every 

surface, seals waving at you from the water… 

life really really doesn’t get better. 

And that was only day 1. 

The next day we headed up towards 

Worcester, Wellington and Ceres via 

Bains Kloof pass and back to Stellenbosch 

along Slanghoek and Du Toits 

Koof pass. Bains Kloof is very bumpy,

incredibly tight and twisty really 

highlighting how firm the suspension 

is on the big Beemer. Although 

beautiful, I found the ride to be 

more of a chore than a joy through 

here and slowed right down to a 

crawl to enjoy the scenery, especially 

after we stopped where 

a car had gone over the edge a 

few weeks earlier and dropped 80 

metres to the ravine floor... 

Miraculously all three occupants 

survived according to a report I 

read up later on the internet. Into 

Ceres town we had some long 

winding open roads where we 

could really test the limits of the 

1800cc boxer, hooking feet over the 

pillion footpegs, tucking down over 

the tank behind those wide bars 

and hanging on the gas gets you 

up around 195km’s ph. 

The limiter is quite interesting. It 

doesn’t cut out or sound like a 

valve bounce like most limiters. It 

just reaches max revs and stays 

there …amazingly smoothly. 

HONDA CRF1100 D 

2020 

0 KM’S 

R240 300 

HONDA CRF1100 D4 


2 900 KM’S 

R269 900 

HONDA CRF1000 

2019 

12 000 KM’S 

R159 900 

HONDA ELITE 125 


0 KM’S 

R25 900 

CUSTOM 

HONDA CRF1000 

2018 

7 900 KM’S 

R129 900 

HONDA NC750x 

2019 

3 800 KM’S 

R95 000 

HONDA CBR215R 

2013 

8 400 KM’S 

R26 900 

BMW F850 GS 

2019 

5 800 KM’S 

R169 900 

KAWASAKI ER6N 

2016 

3 400 KM’S 

R64 900 

In my final analysis of the R18; 

Is it I bike I would own? 

Well … yes, but not from new I’d 

wait for a tidy used one to come 

onto the market. 

Would I ride it every day? … probably 

not, but it would be ridden often 

and hard. 

Would I ride it long distance? 

NO! it would be for a Friday 

evening trot down to the local Boho 

Chic bistro serving frilly pink drinks 

in frilly pink glasses so I can just 

sit and stare at it in all its beauty 

shimmering under the pretty purple 

lights emanating said establishment 

while I sip on my frilly pink drink 

and watch people crowd around it 

before finding an interesting route 

home to destroy the foot pegs. 

With some serious individualisation 

to suit my chassis it could be that 

Soul Fuel bike that I have been 

yearning for. 

In its current set up it would be my 

“Charlie Watts” bike. The Rolling 

Stones drummer can’t drive, but is 

an avid car collector and he collects 

cars just to have them so he can 

have custom suits tailor made and 

just sit in the cars on his sprawling 

estate. 

I would buy all the fancy kit, get 

dressed up and just go out for a 

pose to stroke my ego a bit. 

Get down to your local Motorrad 

dealer and ride one for yourself … 

and for all the tech boffs out there 

here are the spec’s: 

BMW R18 

Engine Four Stroke, two cylinder horizontally opposed 

boxer, push rod-actuated OHV w/ camshafts 


Max Power 91hp / 67kw @ 47500 rpm 



Final Drive Shaft Drive 

Frame Construction type Double tube frame 



Fuel Capacity 16 Litres

Rare Bikes 

YAMAHA XSR900 

Triple Amazake 

The Vintage monochrome inspired XSR900 build by Gareth Davidson from Linex Yamaha. 

Words and pics by Gareth Davidson 

Ever heard of Amazake? Me neither, until I started searching for a name for this article. 

Amazake is a traditional sweet, low-alcohol Japanese energy drink made from fermented 

rice. It sounds wrong but it does perfectly describe the way this bike makes you feel after 

having ridden it. I knew it had to be Japanese inspired and have something to do with a 

burst of energy while staying authentic…

Other general accessories 

• Oxford Horizon Bar End mirrors 

• Puig R12 frame sliders 

• XSR Billet brake master cylinder 

caps 

• FX CNC Racing steering damper 

• XSR top plate accents 

• R&G Radiator guard 

• XSR Billet oil filler cap 

One thing I haven’t mentioned is the fact 

that this is the actual bike I tested back 

in 2016 for Superbike Magazine which 

makes it a lot more special. I found this 

out when doing the registration and saw 

the same original Yamaha demo registration 

number featured on the paper as one 

of its previous registrations. 

When it comes to motorcycles in general, 

there aren’t many that I haven’t ridden 

before. Coming from a background where 

I’ve raced some of the most powerful 

superbikes at National level, to testing 

some of the greatest bikes as a journalist 

– deciding what to buy for yourself is one 

of the hardest decisions to make! 

I know what you’re thinking, I sound like 

a spoilt brat, but the reality is, riding too 

many bikes forces a dose of analogy 

paralysis. 2020 became the year where 

I purchased my first large capacity motorcycle, 

and this is what led up to this 

moment for me. 

In 2016, Yamaha released a “Faster 

Sons” neo-retro styled motorcycle that fell 

into their “Sport Heritage” range and they 

called it the XSR900. The base platform 

of this bike is identical to the Yamaha 

MT-09 and was pretty-much re-dressed 

in classic attire. 

Man! Did I have a lot of fun on this bike, 

and it was one of the only bikes at the 

time that I truly fell in love with – but, 

just like a lot of the newer generation 

bike enthusiasts, I fell into the statistical 

demographic of not being able to afford it. 

One year after its release in SA, Yamaha 

stopped importing this model due to the 

lack of sales, so this bike quickly became 

‘THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY’. 

I forced myself to quickly forget about the 

bike. 

Once it was in my grubby paws, I had 

a very clear image in my head of what I 

wanted it to look like. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with 

the original blue colour, in fact I did 

have a moment of doubt as to whether I 

should change it or not? I’ve always had 

a taste for classic or older generation 

motorcycles, so I wanted to produce my 

own interpretation of the original Yamaha 

Racing look. 

I just got the bike and it was taken away 

from me again for a respray. That was a 

bittersweet moment. 

The Tank: 

Plans changed ever so slightly, and 

as any custom builder will tell you, 

some things are done in the heat of the 

moment. I found out that the side tank 

covers are in fact made from aluminium 

(the actual fuel tank sits underneath 

these covers). 

My silver paint idea quickly changed to a 

brushed aluminium finish with the black 

racing blocks and Yamaha lettering painted 

in a custom midnight diamond black. 

The black tank cover that runs up the 

center of the bike was done in the same 

custom black but near the handlebars. 

I hid an XSR logo in a shade lighter which 

can only be seen from certain angles. 

Something very small and discreet put in 

place for the viewer with a great attention 

to detail eye. 

The Engine Cover: 

The right side of the motor has a plastic 

engine cover as standard but had a 

massive silver round piece which I did 

not like. We had this painted in the same 

fashion as the XSR logo but this time with 

the round Yamaha Tuning Fork emblem 

also only seen from certain angles. 

Another small attention to detail item that 

only true aficionado’s will appreciate. 

Blacked out bits: 

I wanted the tank to be the hero in the 

picture, so all silver parts barring the rear 

sets were blacked out. I think it was the 

right move, because the tank does stand 

out quite a lot and the black bits don’t 

look too ‘kak’ either. 

Tail light: 

The rear section of the bike has had the 

taillight removed and replaced with a 

New Rage LED Fender Eliminator with 

integrated indicators. This finishes off the 

rear of the bike so nicely and shortens 

the length making the bike appear more 

muscle bike. 

Performance: 

An Akarapovic Racing steel & carbon 

pipe is fitted. You can only get full systems 

for these bikes as the exhaust is 

a once-piece. This has opened up the 

lungs of the bike and there’s nothing 

quite like the sound of a screaming triple 

Yamaha motor. 

Pretty cool! 

I have a few more plans left on this build 

to make it super unique, but I think I’ll 

enjoy the bike in the way it is now for a 

little while. 

If this is something that interests you, we 

do offer this type of customizing at Linex 

Yamaha Randburg. 

Get hold of me personally to chat about 

us doing something special on your bike 

on 011 251 4015 or email 

garethd@yamaha.co.za. 

In 2018 I joined the Tuning Fork brand 

(Yamaha) and the desire to own this machine 

was re-introduced by a still-brandnew 

model on the World of Yamaha 

showroom floor. It was tough to casually 

walk past this bike daily as I still could 

not afford to own it. Staring at this bike 

almost every day paved the way for what 

I’d do to it if it were mine. 

Fast-forward two years, and I found one! 

A lot of superstitious people would agree 

that all my lucky stars aligned, and I finally 

had the finances available to purchase.

Parallel Universe 

When we popped in to Kawasaki’s headquarters the other day, 

Andrew the friendly dude in the workshop offered us a week on the 

naked Z650. Great opportunity, we were in the throes of delivering 

the latest issue to dealers in Gauteng… what could be better? 

We grabbed it and rode it – a lot and we kept asking ourselves why 

more people don’t ride bikes like these…

Sure – it’s no ZX6 – but that parallel 

engine is plenty grunty and willing and 

accelerates hard when you want to 

have some fun. The engine delivers 

a brilliantly linear power curve that 

comes alive around four grand and 

pulls evenly all the way to the top for 

pretty exciting acceleration. It’s no big 

1000 but for a 650 it is HEAPS of fun 

to ride. 

It will comfortably cruise along at the 

150 KPH mark with a top speed close 

to 200. Handling is excellent – the bike 

is small and it feels tremendously nippy 

through traffic and the curves. 

Naked: 

Nakeds are brilliant! Aggressive lines, 

uncomplicated, easy to ride, every day 

bikes – and they tend to bring out that 

little guy on your shoulder who taps you 

on the lid and encourages you to do 

hooligan stuff. True story! That wheelie 

shot is our publisher who also happens 

to be one of the most conservative (Read 

ninny), road riders on the planet… 

If you read our feature last month on 

the Z900, you’ll appreciate how much 

we luvvem! And this little Zed absolutely 

carries the genes. Modern styling, striking 

colours, futuristic head, tail and indicator 

lights. Transformers have got nothing on 

Kawasaki’s range, proper head turners 

for sure! 

Comfort: 

Spot on. Relaxed, you sit in the bike 

rather than on it. The only small grumbles 

came from tall Sean who is… well taller 

than a Wookie. But even he did not moan 

too much. Normal sized big Saffers were 

completely happy – and our smallest rider 

and photo man could not stop gushing 

about how comfortable it is. 

The relation between pegs, bars and bum 

is perfect for a commute or -even for a 

longer weekend in the saddle – and when 

we popped a passenger on the back to 

go and watch the racing at the Kart track 

– he had no complaints…. 

Electronic Features: 

Honestly not too much to talk about. This 

is a simple, easy to ride motorcycle – and 

the only electronic feature that you get 

is ABS. No power modes, no lean angle 

sensors – but you do also get a beautiful 

little TFT display that transmits all of the 

info that you need to know. 

The heart of the matter: 

Parralel twin: The reason that so many 

manufacturers are using parallel twins 

rather than inline fours is because: 

A: They have managed to make them 

produce real world power and 

B: Parallel twins are compact and allow 

manufacturers to build more compact 

motorcycles. 

The beating heart of this bike is a liquid-cooled, 

parallel-twin engine that runs 

a 180-degree crank with balancers to 

provide smooth power delivery throughout 

the range. Bore and stroke measure 

out at 83 mm and 60 mm, respectively, 

which adds up to a total displacement 

of 649 cc. Compression ratio is warm at 

10.8-to-1, just enough to put you at the 

mid-grade pump, and that contributes to 

the 48.5 pound-feet of grunt you get out 

of this bike. 

Dual over-head cams time the four-valve 

head, and they come ground with minimal 

overlap to improve low- to mid-range 

torque and to as Kawasaki says - “Reduce 

free hydrocarbons in the exhaust 

stream”. 

The factory added the Kawasaki Air Management 

System that uses a fan to direct 

hot air down and away from the rider and 

passenger, so even in urban clutter you 

don’t get any uncomfortable heat from the 

mill. A six-speed, cassette-type transmission 

sends power through the chain final 

drive and a slipper clutch makes for easy 

lever pulls and some wheel-hop prevention 

to help maintain control while hauling 

it down using compression braking. 

Ride impressions: 

Man this thing is fun! We always say, that 

no matter what bike you ride, it needs to 

make your heart beat a bit faster – and 

as far as mid-range bikes go this one will 

do it! It is so much fun – especially when 

you cane it with a bit of anger. 

Possibly this bikes best attribute, like 

most nakeds is its uncomplicated, fun 

to ride nature. It’s a use every day, go 

anywhere bike that feels built for fun, 

whilst also serving as a practical dayto-day 

work tool… 

Sean says: 

My first impression of the Kawasaki 

Z650 is of a mean and muscular looking 

streetfighter. Aggressive headlights, 

an almost non-existent wind 

shield, a sexy stubby tailpiece and a 

little shorty exhaust tucked away under 

the bottom of the bike coupled with an 

original white, green and black livery 

makes it a real looker from any angle. 

The taillight is still one of our favourite 

features, as with the Z900 we reviewed 

a few months ago, it lights up as a ‘Z’ 

… 

Swinging a leg over and dropping in 

the saddle had me a little concerned 

at first, I am around 115kg’s at 2 

metres tall and the Z650 feels really 

small. The handle bars are narrow, 

the seat very low and the whole bike 

is quite compact and light, so I had 

some reservations about cramming 

my mass into the saddle for the entire 

day on my rounds, especially lugging 

around a tog bag jammed full with 

around 60kg’s of the current issues 

of the magazines, only to be proved 

wrong again. 8 hours in the saddle 

was a breeze, you sit quite low in the 

bike, 

so immediately the bars feel a bit higher 

and naturally put your shoulders in a 

more relaxed position with no pressure 

on your wrists or lower back, yet the 

riding position is still sporty enough for 

some enthusiastic cornering. 

The compact dimensions of the Little ‘Z’ 

do make it brilliant in traffic. 

I found myself ducking in and out of 

gaps I would never have considered on 

a bigger bike, with the low-ish bars and 

mirrors you can easily sneak under or 

between the rear view mirrors of most 

other traffic queueing at intersections 

and traffic lights and then you can

GO 

blast off the line and into the 

distance using the impressive low 

down torque from the little 650cc twin 

motor. Redline is at 10,000rpm and 

you might expect a twin revving that hard 

would be something akin to jackhammer 

on a rock, but you would be sorely 

ADVENTURE 

mistaken. The motor rev’s cleanly and 

smoothly all the way to redline, somewhere 

around 7 or 8 thousand RPM it 

gets a small buzz through the seat. 

Banging the accelerator hard off the line 

then double clutching into 2nd just before 

red line gets the front wheel pointing 

heavenwards. Maintaining said enthusiasm 

through the ultra- smooth gearbox 

soon has you zipping past the national 

speed limit postings in 3rd gear and I 

managed to see 196kmh in top gear 

on a bit of a downhill before I ran out of 

tarmac, so it is definitely not slow… 

However, at these kind of speeds it does 

drain its fuel tank quite quickly as one 

might expect, but ridden within the speed 

limits it is reasonably economical and 

should get around 300 kays on a tank of 

fuel we suspect. 

What a great, practical, comfortable fun 

to ride little road bike! 

www.kawasaki.co.za for your nearest 

dealer. 

Specs 

Engine: 

4-stroke, 2-cylinder, DOHC, liquid-cooled 

Displacement: 

649 cc 

Maximum Torque: 

48.5 lb-ft @ 6,500 rpm 

Fuel System: 

DFI® with Keihin 36 mm Keihin throttle bodies 

Transmission: 

6-speed, return shift 

Frame Type: 

Trellis, high tensile steel 

Front Suspension / Wheel Travel: Telescopic fork/4.9 in 

Rear Suspension / Wheel Travel: Horizontal back-link with adjustable preload, swingarm/5.1 in 

Front Tyre: 120/70 ZR17 Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2 

Rear Tyre: 160/60 ZR17 Dunlop Sportmax Roadsport 2 

Front Brakes: 

Dual 300 mm petal-type rotors with four-piston calipers, ABS 

Rear Brakes: 

Single 220 mm petal-style disc w/ABS 

Overall Length: 

206.4 cm 

Overall Width: 

76.4cm 

Overall Height: 

106.4 Kg 

Ground Clearance: 

13cm 

KTM 390 ADVENTURE 

Seat Height: 

79cm 

Curb Weight: 

187 Kg 

Fuel Capacity: 

15.14 litres 

Top Speed (claimed): 

209 KPH 

ADVENTURE MORE 

Tech: 

Engine Management Technology: Assist & 

Slipper Clutch, Dual Throttle Valves, Economical 

Fuel your restless spirit with a new adventure 

Riding Indicator, Smartphone Connectivity 

Chassis every day. Management Discover KTM’s Technology: sporty attitude ABS and 

(Anti-lock proven performance Brake System), credentials Horizontal aboard Back-link this new, 

Rear compact Suspension single-cylinder travel-enduro machine – 

the KTM 390 ADVENTURE. Versatile ergonomics, 

smooth power delivery, and innovative technology 

all come together in a comfortable, lightweight 

package – created for those who want to fit more 

adventure into their daily lives. 

Phone 011 462 7796 for your nearest dealer. 

Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations! 

The illustrated vehicles may vary in selected details from the production models and some illustrations feature optional equipment available at additional cost. 

Photo: R. Schedl 

GET IT. 

READ IT. 

LOVE IT! 

SA’S MOST OFFROAD 

AND ADVENTURE 

MAGAZINE. 

READ IT AT 

www.motomedia.co.za

ROAD 

TRACK 

DIRT 

GET A GRIP ON 2020! 

///RACE 

///TRACK 

KR451 

D213 PRO 

///TRACK 

///ROAD 

GPR 300 

ROADSMART 3 ROADSPORT 2 

Q3+ Q4 

S594/A 

///OFFROAD 

///TRAIL 

AT81 & AT81EX 

MX33 MX53 EN91 TRAILMAX MISSION 

50/50 

DUNLOPTYRESSA 

Get a Grip on 2020! Email Nicole Swanepoel at 

nicole.swanepoel@srigroup.co.za or contact our call centre on 011 418 3088.

Ridefast Online Nov 2020

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