CATEGORIES

Triumph Tiger 900: The Tiger Gets More Bite

Motorcycle development doesn’t stand still. No matter how good a model, engineers are always looking for new ways to improve it; it is a relentless task made all the more urgent as those same engineers know that to stand still is to lose ground to rivals who are desperate to gain the upper hand. Therefore, no sooner is one model signed off for production than a clean sheet of paper is placed on the drawing board and work on its replacement is started.

Red Bull Interview With Bradbinder

He’s our very own home-grown hero and he’s making a significant mark on the MotoGP grid in just his first race. But how did he cope with lockdown in South Africa while still preparing for the coming season?

BMW R1250RT Sport Free At Last

All my plans for the 2020 Buffalo Rally were finalised. Accommodation booked and paid, routes plotted, a good crew to ride with and, the crimson cherry on top, my ride to Mossel Bay was a gorgeous Mars Red BMW R1250RT Sport. In October 2019 I was invited to the launch of the of the R1250R, RS and RT in the Lowveld and had the absolute pleasure of riding the RT Sport on some of the best biking roads in the country.

Are Electric Bikes Really That Clean?

We are being constantly told that internal combustion engines (ICE) are too ‘dirty’ to last much longer and that electric motive power is the way of the future. In many European countries, sales of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles will be outlawed by 2040 or even 2035 and, whilst motorcycles have not been included in that timeline as yet, there can be no doubt that they will go the same route before too much longer.

WORKSHOP

My first workshop tip was concerned with what to do when you didn’t have a workshop; in other words, when you were out on your bike and found yourself stuck by the roadside.

Fabio Quartararo - The Next Big Thing

Fabio Quartararo is being hyped as the next Valentino Rossi and the future face of MotoGP. Considering his phenomenal rookie MotoGP debut season of 2019, he very well may be.

MotoGP - Michael Scott - Pit Lane

The great grand prix thought experiment

Gone But Not Forgotten

I intend this to be an infrequent series on a selection of the hundreds of motorcycle manufacturers that have long since disappeared, whether they had been in production a year or two or a few decades. Some possibly deserved to wither and die, while some were very successful but still went out of business; some have faded from memory but many are remembered. They are all part of the rich tapestry of the history motorcycling.

KTM's Stefan Pierer Speaks: Post-Coronavirus Is Full Of Opportunity!

The devastating effects of Coronavirus aka Covid-19 on the global economy are too great to quantify right now. But as things start to struggle towards a new normal, it’s evident that the worldwide motorcycle industry is facing a set of challenges which comprise both rehabilitation, and opportunity. Who better to ask for a frank appraisal of the effects of the pandemic, as well as an assessment of what the future holds, than the majority owner of Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer by volume, KTM’s Stefan Pierer.

Zed's Definitely Not Dead, Baby

Kawasaki’s ‘z’ models have been with us since 1972 but who could have foreseen the levels to which they would rise in 2020?

Riding Tips; Carrying A Pillion

A motorcycle is at its best with just the rider on board; this is when it is at its optimum load and balance. However, often we need to carry a passenger - or pillion, to give it the correct term - and this can have an effect on the way the bike reacts out of all proportion to the extra weight.

Great Bikes BMW R32

If there is one defining element of the BMW motorcycle, it has to be the famous ‘boxer-twin’ engine layout that steadfastly refuses to be deleted from the model line-up. But what are the origins of this venerable motor?

KTM 1290 Super Duke R - Sensation Overload

When I sat down to write this review of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, I found myself unconsciously hunching forward over the keyboard to stop the literary front end come up! It has that effect on you, even a couple of weeks after riding it. I am still asking myself if what I just experienced was real or was it just a bizarre dream? Did I fall into some strange other dimension for a few hours? Certainly I achieved warp speed…

The MATJIESVLEI TOUR

There are few times I feel unsafe on a bike. But put me in a heavy bank of mist, when my glasses and the inside of the visor mist-up, then I feel about as safe as a bleeding surfer with a Great White shark circling me. It was a miracle I made it across the N2 and onto the Dassiesfontein dirt track to Caledon. I could see virtually nothing and just hoped anybody coming the other way would be travelling slowly and have their lights on.

1929 BMW R11 750

Seeing as how we have featured the very first BMW motorcycle, the R32, in this issue of Bike SA, I felt it might be interesting to expand on that line of thought and take a brief look at BMW’s first volume production model, the R11, that arrived a mere 5 years after the R32.

MV AGUSTA 750S

There is something about Italian machinery; something indefinable but definitely there and it turns even the most mundane machine into a piece of sculpture; a living definition of the Italian lifestyle; from the humblest Vespa or Fiat 500 to the mighty Ducati and Ferrari.

Crusaders MC Babarayaan

Terrible Two Birthday Jol & Fundraiser

Ducati 750 GT Development History

The start of it all

The Italian Alternative

SWM Superdual X

The Perfect Shot

The Art of taking pictures of motorcycles raised to a new level

Stroking The Ego Energica Ego

The future of the internal combustion engine is in doubt and bikes such as these are leading the charge….

Akrapovic Full Moon Rising Pneumatically!

Exclusive first ride on the dramatic looking and sensuously styled award-winning showbike from Slovenia's leading custom shop Dreamachine

Mid Life Cycles: Royal Enfield 650 Sabre Salt Racer

Mid Life Cycles in Melbourne is one of Royal Enfield’s top Australian dealers, and is famous for its customised versions of the Indian company’s models, most notably its RE350 Brass Rajah single which achieved global acclaim a couple of years ago [see photos]. It’s currently selling the new range of Royal Enfield 650cc parallel-twin Interceptor and Continental GT models just as fast as it can get hold of them, with more than 80 examples so far delivered to customers, and another 12 currently on order awaiting further supplies from India. Just over 60% of these have been Interceptors, the rest GT650s.

TRIUMPH ROCKET 3

Bigger, Better.

Kawasaki ZX-25R

Screams Into Life

Gone But Not Forgotten - Part 1 The Vincent

I intend this to be an infrequent series on a selection of the hundreds of motorcycle manufacturers that have long since disappeared, whether they had been in production a year or two or a few decades. Some possibly deserved to wither and die, while some were very successful but still went out of business; some have faded from memory but many are remembered. They are all part of the rich tapestry of the history motorcycling.

BMW R1250GS On The Aspoestertjie Rally 2020

Verneukpan is an alien and inhospitable place. This massive barren wasteland, approximately 50km west to east and 20km north to south, is home to nothing.

Mick Doohan - The Unstoppable Aussie

The 1990’s in 500cc Grand Prix racing belonged to one man; Mick Doohan. We take a look at his amazing career.

The Pre-Lockdown Tour

The Koppies road through Hammanshof offers spectacular mountain views.

Alex Briggs : WORKING WITH THE ICON VR46

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP mechanic Alex Briggs knows what it means to work with champions. He was a former motocross rider who wanted to work in Europe as a motocross mechanic, when he met Peter Luczkowski, who was a mechanic for Mick Doohan. In 1993 Jeremy Burgess (Doohan’s chief mechanic) offered him a job in road racing for Darryl Beattie and Rothmans Honda.