My Motorcycling Year, 2012

12 months and 56 bikes have made for a varied and interesting year’s riding.

It has been a fascinating year, one way or another, with a wide variety of machines sitting in the garage awaiting appraisal. Some have been ridden for thousands of kilometres, some for only a few hundred; some simply around and about Johannesburg and some around South Africa. A few bikes also unexpectedly made it to Mozambique and back. All, however, have been interesting and fun to ride; a heartening state of affairs in this day and age of homogenisation in road vehicles.

Gilera Fuoco; brilliant handling, but it'll never catch on.

I would say, having also attended several car launches through 2012, that there is more character and variety in the biking world, even among bikes in the same category, especially when it comes to styling. Cars really are becoming amorphous blobs, some barely distinguishable from others.

Looking through my notes, I see that I rode a total of 56 bikes this year, not missing out any of the major manufacturers. Kawasaki tops the list with ten bikes, followed by Triumph and BMW with seven apiece and the rest following in ever smaller numbers. What must be noted is the absolute willingness of all the importers to support the motorcycling press – be they regular or freelance – with machines to test and, in the case of BMW, invitations to join them and their customers on the various events that the German marque organise in order to foster brand loyalty.

Naturally, there is no way I could choose a ‘best bike’ as they all were great in their own way (well, they did all have two wheels…) and it would be impossible to rate between the categories. But, what I can do is to recall a few highlights; the bikes that stood out for whatever reason.

KTM 990R Adventure; Only the tall need apply

The 3-wheel, 500cc Gilera Fuoco was a very different machine, with two wheels at the front which, through clever front suspension, leaned into the corner while both wheels stayed in contact with the road. The amount of grip that they afforded was remarkable and, once got used to, gave a very high margin of safety on loose or slippery surfaces.

Adventure bikes are, of course, the next big thing in motorcycling, to the exclusion of growth in almost any other category. Naturally enough, there were plenty of examples in the garage throughout the year, from all the big manufacturers.

The KTM 990R Adventure was a physically imposing machine through its sheer height that left me, even as a lanky 6-foot plus rider, stretching to reach the floor; clearly a very competent machine that would need an equally competent rider to get the best out of it. The Kawasaki Versys was a strange hybrid of adventure styling with four-cylinder engine and road wheels and tyres; not, to my mind, entirely convincing.

GS and K1600GTL BMW; both frighteningly competent

The GS BMW, in both 1200 or 800cc guise, could not fail to impress with its complete mastery of any conditions on- or off-road. But they found their supremacy in the market being challenged by great machines from Triumph – also in the 1200 and 800cc categories – and Yamaha with the latest version of the Super Tenere.

If direct comparison between Triumph and BMW adventure bikes were to be made, I would say that Triumph made the more convincing road performers while BMW had the edge off-road. Yamaha sit somewhere in the middle.

Mozambique; 1500kms in four days was more fun than
any of us expected; and we survived!

Great fun was had during a ride to Mozambique and back on scooters. The idea was to take them out of their natural habitat in a city and expose them to a more rigorous test in order to see if a scooter really could be an ideal all-round bike; one that could handle commuting, weekend fun and a long trip each year. For this we chose Chinese import scooters from Puzey, Sym and Gomoto and matched them to a similarly priced Yamaha Mio and a completely out-of-our-price-range Vespa, which came along as a comparison bike.

While all bikes made it there and back with no attention whatsoever, it was clear that the Vespa was streets ahead on quality (expected at the price), while the Yamaha made a very good case for itself against the Chinese bikes and was actually running better at the end of the trip as the engine bedded in (it was brand-spanking new). The trip was worth it alone for the looks on people’s faces when we told them where we were headed for.

Aprilia Tuono APRC; mental, but in a great way.

I do have a soft spot for naked sports bikes and I would be hard pressed to choose between the Aprilia Tuono, Triumph Speed Triple and Street Triple. The Italian bike was completely bonkers but brilliant to ride and the brace of Triumphs were works of art and also deeply impressive on the road. Have all three in the garage? Oh, alright then!

The BMW K1600 engine was a masterpiece; silky smooth power and an intoxicating howl when revved, fitted into a remarkable chassis to create the ultimate tourer. The level of equipment gives you plenty of toys to play with on long journeys and you can tailor the bike to your exact tastes and requirements.

Triumph Thunderbird 1600; why can't all cruisers feel like
this?

While the Kawasaki Vulcan was a pretty dire affair, the Triumph Thunderbird 1600 was a hoot! Bags of power and torque from the parallel twin motor in a chassis that allows you to use all of it. I’m not normally a fan of cruisers but Triumph has gone down the road less travelled once again and come up with a stonking motorbike. Having said that, the Rocket 3 was so ridiculous and thirsty, I wasn’t sorry when I had to return it earlier than expected.

Fast, Red, Italian and Sexy; what more is there?

The MV Agusta F3 gave a glorious insight into temperamental but brilliant Italian engineering, styling and performance while the Honda NC700X was as bland and uninspiring (although still a very good motorcycle) as the MV was inspiring.



And the last bike that made an impression this year? Well, the Harley Sportster 1200 really impressed at the end of a day spent riding all the 2013 Harleys in Cape Town. After flopping around on an Ultra Glide, the Sporty felt taut and punchy and great fun along the flyover into Cape Town. I could have ridden it all day and had fun.

 So, it’s been a pretty interesting year altogether. Let’s hope that the local bike market picks up in 2013 so the importers may consider bringing in ever increasing numbers of new models.