Ridefast July 2021

The big eye opener for everybody was how well the
big bore adventure bikes handled around the track on
dual purpose and knobbly tyres, with one particular
GS rider eventually dragging his knees around just
about every corner and running around the outside of
Panigales and the like. I was particularly impressed with
the Africa Twin DCT on a set of Metzeler Karoo Streets
around Redstar on the day. I had had quite a spill on
another bike in Lesotho shod with the same tyres and
ever since then have had a mental block against them.
A few laps on the track soon sorted that out and I got
full confidence back in them and was cranking over
quite hard in the corners after some rather late braking.
Starting out I was slowing down from the 200 metre
mark, but by the end of the day I was only considering
the clamps at the 50 metre mark after dicing and passing
other bikes down the straights between corners.
Putting the DCT into full auto and sport mode 3 I didn’t
have to think about up and down changes and found
the Africa Twin to always be in the correct gear braking
into a turn or accelerating out the other side. The only
time I had to use the manual shift button was when dicing
a KTM 1090 down the back straight and a Yamaha
R6 coming out of the last bend onto the pit straight and
needed to hold the gears longer to klap them.
Let me reiterate, this is not a track day or a race school
and that kind of behaviour is not encouraged. However,
the instruction is that good that you just can’t help
yourself. Some of the other participants had only been
riding for a short while, literally a few weeks. Some of
the ladies were absolute newbies to the track and one
lady had recently moved up from a Street Triple to a
Speed Triple, quite a big jump up in cc’s and power.
Other riders had only learned to ride a few months
before and a bunch of older guys had only just gotten
back into riding after being off the bikes for about
20 years or so. By the end of the day everybody was
looking like skilled seasoned riders with amazing lean
angles in the pics. I reckon Kerry Hughes made quite a
mint selling prints of the photo’s he took on the day.
So! If you are a new rider, or just getting back into
biking after a long break or feel you just need to up your
confidence and skill level you really have to book yourself
into one of these courses, not only will it make you
a better rider but it will significantly up your confidence
and your riding enjoyment. The next opportunity to
attend one of their quarterly cornering courses at Redstar
Raceway will be on Monday 6 September and pre
bookings are essential with andy@adventureacademy.
co.za or 072 850 9253.
And some final thoughts in conclusion.
I would never have tried as hard as I did or progressed
as much as I did if I had not been wearing the correct
kit. I’ve seen my arse a good couple of times in my
biking life and know how much it hurts sliding and
bouncing on tar. I squeezed into my leathers for the
day, which are a little bit tight and restrict my movement
a bit so I couldn’t progress past a certain point without
falling off the bike or properly squashing my nuts …
which would have made me fall off anyway. But had I
been in my adventure kit, my riding would have been a
lot more conservative and reserved in the corners.
Basically what I am saying is make sure you ride in the
correct kit and that it fits properly and remember you
get what you pay for, some things cost more because
they are better quality and offer better protection. The
more confidence you have in your kit, the more you will
push the envelope and improve your riding skill.
Instructor Andy Birum showing us the ropes
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