I am beginning to think the world, and nature hates motorcyclists.
I got hit buy a Bumble bee and a Pigeon this week. The bumble bee was a messy surprise.
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I am beginning to think the world, and nature hates motorcyclists.
I got hit buy a Bumble bee and a Pigeon this week. The bumble bee was a messy surprise.
I do not recall. I have been a little miffed with biking.
Other than relearning a new bike and getting used to a more relaxed riding position, I have definitely noticed that your sentiments regarding visibility when riding a Harley rang eerily true. Cars do not see you, and when they do they gawk at your bike because it looks cool causing them to drift towards you. Annoying.
I do enjoy riding the bike though. Way more comfortable than my Grandfather clock of a Pre-sling, the amount of torque is nice to have too, the fact that I can cruise in a higher gear without being deafened by a highly strung 4 banger is cool too.
My next bike will most likely be even older than my Pre-sling.
Other than relearning a new bike and getting used to a more relaxed riding position, I have definitely noticed that your sentiments regarding visibility when riding a Harley rang eerily true. Cars do not see you, and when they do they gawk at your bike because it looks cool causing them to drift towards you. Annoying.
I do enjoy riding the bike though. Way more comfortable than my Grandfather clock of a Pre-sling, the amount of torque is nice to have too, the fact that I can cruise in a higher gear without being deafened by a highly strung 4 banger is cool too.
My next bike will most likely be even older than my Pre-sling.
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Pineapple Smurf
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I T-Boned a kudu 4yrs ago near Aberdeen just after sunset, I had just dropped my speed from 80km/h to about 45km/h as it was full moon and I know from growing up in the karoo the wildlife comes out early at night on full moon.
Bike went down, me on top and then kudu on top of me, we slid down the gravel road.
Kudu got up and ran down the road, I eventually freed myself as my right leg was still under bike.
broken rear mirror, badly twisted handlebars, 1 broken indicator bulb and a very very sore right foot that swelled up like a watermelon the next day but luckily i didnt go see doctor or anything else.
It kudu been worse
Since then I refuse to ride at night out of town
Nobody Important
Executive Member
Never had that experience yet but will be on the lookout. I always get annoyed at dogs that run after my bike in the street, have to speed away from them lest they get my ankle.
How do you guys deal? Has anybody here ever just not sped away, what did they (the dogs) do?
Never had that experience yet but will be on the lookout. I always get annoyed at dogs that run after my bike in the street, have to speed away from them lest they get my ankle.
How do you guys deal? Has anybody here ever just not sped away, what did they (the dogs) do?
Just kicked the dog in the ribs. It never chased me again.
FiestaST
Honorary Master
And the 2018 SA Bike of the Year of the year is...
The Ducati Panigale V4 was awarded the 2018 Pirelli SA Bike of the Year title at a function in Sandton, Joburg on 25 October.
The two runners-up were the Triumph 765 Street Triple and the Kawasaki Ninja 400. With the entire range of engine sizes were represented on the podium, this is an indication that the process doesn’t favour bigger or faster bikes.
This was the sixth award since the inception of the competition in 2013, and the fifth on which Wheels24 was represented on the panel of judges.
As in the past, choosing this year’s Bike of the Year was no easy task, with the 12 finalists, each in its own right, having had a fair shot at the coveted title. But there can be only one, and it was up to the judges, drawn from the ranks of motorcycle publications, to decide which one would walk away with top honours.
For the second year running, testing took place at Gerotek’s excellent vehicle testing facility west of Pretoria, which gave us the opportunity to test the bikes to our hearts’ content without having to worry about traffic, pedestrians and the myriad of other dangers of public roads.
The difficulty of making the choice was compounded by the fact that the finalists represented a balanced mix of bike categories, with two sport bikes, two adventure tourers, four nakeds, two full-dress tourers, and two sub-500cm³ machines.
There were a number of pleasant surprises among the 12 finalists. Kawasaki’s little Ninja 400 turned out to be surprising fun on the track, opening the door to track riding for novice riders.
Honda’s slimmed-down Gold Wing was no less impressive, especially through the early-morning rush hour traffic on the way to Gerotek – I would never have thought I would be able to lane-split on a full-dress tourer.
Perhaps less surprising, but no less pleasant, was the Kawasaki H2 SX. Like its single-seat sibling, the SX is remarkably accessible for such a powerful machine.
Balancing the performance scale was the Panigale V4, which offers phenomenal performance and handling, but is strictly for advanced students.
Two bikes that were very similar both in performance and general fun factor were the Triumph Street Triple 765 and the Ducati Duke 790.
Both turned out to be tremendous fun on the track and while I felt that I lapped faster with the Duke, in the end the Street Triple pipped it in my mind with its all-round competence. Among the finalists, the Triumph was the bike on which I felt I would most likely spend my own money.
The two adventure tourers, Ducati’s Multistrada 1260 and the Triumph Tiger 1200, both impressed – the Ducati with its lively performance and the Triumph with its comfort that promises miles of fatigue-free riding.
Once again it was hard to choose between these two, but in the end my vote went to the Triumph as the one that spoke to my soul.
The Pirelli Bike of the Year Award almost never fails to create controversy, and it will likely be the case again this year – South African bikers seem to be extremely loyal to their favourite brand.
But the controversy is not something that the organisers shy away from – it keeps people talking about motorcycling, and the enthusiasm shows that our industry is far from dead.
And that means that while the Panigale V4 may have ridden off into the sunset with the award, the real winner of the competition was motorcycling as a whole.
https://www.wheels24.co.za/BikesQuads/and-the-2018-sa-bike-of-the-year-of-the-year-is-20181026
The Ducati Panigale V4 was awarded the 2018 Pirelli SA Bike of the Year title at a function in Sandton, Joburg on 25 October.
The two runners-up were the Triumph 765 Street Triple and the Kawasaki Ninja 400. With the entire range of engine sizes were represented on the podium, this is an indication that the process doesn’t favour bigger or faster bikes.
This was the sixth award since the inception of the competition in 2013, and the fifth on which Wheels24 was represented on the panel of judges.
As in the past, choosing this year’s Bike of the Year was no easy task, with the 12 finalists, each in its own right, having had a fair shot at the coveted title. But there can be only one, and it was up to the judges, drawn from the ranks of motorcycle publications, to decide which one would walk away with top honours.
For the second year running, testing took place at Gerotek’s excellent vehicle testing facility west of Pretoria, which gave us the opportunity to test the bikes to our hearts’ content without having to worry about traffic, pedestrians and the myriad of other dangers of public roads.
The difficulty of making the choice was compounded by the fact that the finalists represented a balanced mix of bike categories, with two sport bikes, two adventure tourers, four nakeds, two full-dress tourers, and two sub-500cm³ machines.
There were a number of pleasant surprises among the 12 finalists. Kawasaki’s little Ninja 400 turned out to be surprising fun on the track, opening the door to track riding for novice riders.
Honda’s slimmed-down Gold Wing was no less impressive, especially through the early-morning rush hour traffic on the way to Gerotek – I would never have thought I would be able to lane-split on a full-dress tourer.
Perhaps less surprising, but no less pleasant, was the Kawasaki H2 SX. Like its single-seat sibling, the SX is remarkably accessible for such a powerful machine.
Balancing the performance scale was the Panigale V4, which offers phenomenal performance and handling, but is strictly for advanced students.
Two bikes that were very similar both in performance and general fun factor were the Triumph Street Triple 765 and the Ducati Duke 790.
Both turned out to be tremendous fun on the track and while I felt that I lapped faster with the Duke, in the end the Street Triple pipped it in my mind with its all-round competence. Among the finalists, the Triumph was the bike on which I felt I would most likely spend my own money.
The two adventure tourers, Ducati’s Multistrada 1260 and the Triumph Tiger 1200, both impressed – the Ducati with its lively performance and the Triumph with its comfort that promises miles of fatigue-free riding.
Once again it was hard to choose between these two, but in the end my vote went to the Triumph as the one that spoke to my soul.
The Pirelli Bike of the Year Award almost never fails to create controversy, and it will likely be the case again this year – South African bikers seem to be extremely loyal to their favourite brand.
But the controversy is not something that the organisers shy away from – it keeps people talking about motorcycling, and the enthusiasm shows that our industry is far from dead.
And that means that while the Panigale V4 may have ridden off into the sunset with the award, the real winner of the competition was motorcycling as a whole.
https://www.wheels24.co.za/BikesQuads/and-the-2018-sa-bike-of-the-year-of-the-year-is-20181026
Y'all Qaeda
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It's because of **** like this that I can't take these things seriously.
In my opinion, the winner for this year should've been the Ninja 400 or maybe the 790Duke, as these are bikes that plenty of people will actually buy and use. Hell, maybe even the H2SX. Stupid choice picking the Panigale.
Agent_Smith
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A 1299 Panigale pulled up next to me at the robot this morning. Sigh...
Nobody Important
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Nobody Important
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When a boytjie pulls up next to me in his styling cab or bike, I admire and give a thumbs up. Sometimes they are a bit douchey and wanna race so I pull a Marty McFly on them, pretend like I will then don't.
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
Also do they take maintenance and running costs of actually ownership into the equation On any level?
Not only is the Panigale stupid expensive to start with but the first major service is in excess of 25k to complete due to a ridiculous design.
They are also much more trouble than they are worth as a whole. More reliable than years gone by but still not in any acceptable league.
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
Don’t feel bad.
Especially if it’s the same one I often see with a cheap Chinese helmet and no other kit making it quite clear he is struggling to afford the bike or is just very stupid.
Agent_Smith
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Haha, didn't notice the kit. It was at the Bayside robots so he seems to live up in Blouberg/West Coast side.
Y'all Qaeda
Username approved by US Airforce
25K? WTF. I'm sure the manufacturers pay the journalists or something. Can't see how else a bike like this won against more worthy competitors. Can't even call it the track bike of the year, cause I doubt the people that can afford those will actually risk it on a track.
SykomantiS
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You mean that Ducati Duke 790?
Yeah no... No self-respecting motorcycle journo would slip up like that.
All those contrarians regarding the bike of the year.
It is the bike of the year. Not the commuter bike of the year. Not the affordable bike of the year. Not the cheapest to maintain bike of the year.
Have any of you even ridden one? Try it one day. You will walk away mindf*cked.
I rode one at Phakisa a while back. It is truly incredible.
It is the bike of the year. Not the commuter bike of the year. Not the affordable bike of the year. Not the cheapest to maintain bike of the year.
Have any of you even ridden one? Try it one day. You will walk away mindf*cked.
I rode one at Phakisa a while back. It is truly incredible.
SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
It’s designed so that the entire bike needs to be stripped from the headlights back to do the valve check.
I **** you not.
It’s what happens when someone thinks about look pretty first over functional.
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SauRoNZA
Honorary Master
To me bike of the year encompasses the “ticks every box” motorcycle of a given manufacturer year.
Doesn’t need to be absolutely awesome at all of it but it also can’t just do one thing very well while failing at everything else.
I’ve ridden every Ducati except the Panigale and it’s by choice. It’s a beautiful thing to look at and for that reason if I owned one it would be parked under lights on the garage so I can have a bottle of wine with it.
I would probably never ride it.
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