MOTORCYCLE CULTURE | TRAVEL
hero in your own right. All our major cities – Joburg, Pretoria and Durban – are ready and waiting for when you’ve got your licence, assuming you’ve honed the defensive prowess each and every South African motorcyclist needs to survive the crazy antics of fellow motorists driving in their tin boxes. Today, cruiser motorcyclists tend to be mostly easy-going types getting from A to B on Harley-Davidson or Victory bikes, or perhaps those from the East, such as Suzuki Intruders, Kawasaki Classics, Yamaha Drag Stars or Honda Shadows.
Speed freak For those looking for a little more of an adrenaline kick, there are the superbikes, which quite rightly have their place on
South African highways and byways. Just about every global brand of speed machine is well represented locally, from Aprilia and Yamaha to Triumph and MV Agusta. However, in South Africa, BMW (as in many other countries) takes the lion’s share in new and secondhand sales, also claiming arguably the biggest enthusiast clubs. (Check out bmwmotorcycleclubcape.co.za for more info.)
Alas, our busy roads and the indifferent levels of driving ability displayed by those in charge of four-wheelers (often observed with mobile phones glued to their ears while negotiating tricky corners and changing lanes) mean the speed-freak motorcyclist is forced to seek out ‘track days’ at various race circuits near the major cities: Killarney in Cape Town; Kyalami in Gauteng; Phakisa in the Free State; and Swartkops near Pretoria. It’s really the safest way to go, while not having to worry about pedestrians or speed-humps. (Contact Motorsport SA, 011 466 2440 for more info.)
Take me anywhere
In South Africa the largest motorcycling sector of all revolves around adventure motorcycling
kulula.com
Arguably, though, in South Africa the largest motorcycling sector of all revolves around adventure motorcycling – equally divided between softcore but nevertheless intrepid off-road riders (Honda TransAlp, Suzuki V-Strom and Kawasaki KLR, for example) and the hardcore types on their top-selling BMW 1200GSs and KTM mounts. Bikes like these enable the riders to go virtually anywhere, anytime … and so they do.
DECEMBER 2013
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