Many moons ago....

[Wayne]

Gerrard, when you were at Midnight's, you remember a guy Paul Parez? He always joked that the Midnight Club had a lawyer to get them out of trouble

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[Wayne]

These are not my pics. They from a friend on Facebook who did a trip down memory lane with pics.

Toppie in the third pick on the red honda. Legend on the club and rally scene. We were together at Midnight club. Cant remember his name.

Wonder if he is still alive

His name is Jackie. I almost seem to think he has passed away.

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He was already old when I knew him in the eighties

@G�rrard , Jackie is still alive. He must be like old as dust by now

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[Amsterdam]

Hi Dorsland, nice thread this.  And cool to hear that the newspaper article may have contributed in you getting an XT500, so Yamahas sponsorship (33% of the new price of the bikes and spares at importer's cost) paid dividends for them after all.  If ever there was a trip that changed my life, that was the one.  Twenty years old, get on your bike and disappear into Africa.  As you said, no GPS, cellphone or a bloody clue as to what was ahead of our lives at that stage.

I don't think I have that newspaper article anymore.  The photo was taken in the garden of a guy (Geoff Fry) that we met in Johannesburg.  We ended up staying with him and his family for a few days, September 1979.

I still look at old XT500s and think I need to get one more, just for sentimental reasons.  I had one of those yellow Bell Moto helmets (100% sponsored by Yamaha) as well but will pass on that.  I swear that bloody helmet gave me a headache from Amsterdam to Cape Town.

And Wayne, I thought I recognised Teacher with his Z1300 and the confederate flag on his jacket from a few Buffalo rallies.  Seem to remember him standing on the drag strip, waving his flag to let the drunk guys drag down some narrow strip.

Ah memories!  Maybe I should at some stage start a ride report of that trip.  It is somewhat overdue I suppose, although there was an article in BikeSA at the time and Rob wrote a series of articles for the Dutch motorcycle magazine.

[skydiver]

Ek het ook nog so vintage helmet. Ek kan net nie die naam van die vervaardiger onthou nie.
Dit is tans by my vriend se huis so ek kannie kyk wat die naam daarop is nie.
Hierdie foto van my op my XR200R is in 1986 geneem

[Wayne]

@Amsterdam please do that ride report.

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[Sabre]

Ek dink ek het sulke posters agter my slaapkamerdeur opgeplak eerder as Scope dollies.

Ja Dorsland, ek het 2 groot plakkate teen my kamer muur gehad. Een was daai eerste Rooi/donker rooi Kawas 900, en die ander 'n Moto Guzzi Le Mans
Ek kon ure na hulle le en staar

[Dorsland]

@Amsterdam, it truly is a small world. Great to get some background on that pic from the horses’ mouth. That is an RR that you have to write, when adventure riding truly was an adventure. It will surely take the record for the longest gap between a ride and the RR

[Dustbiter]

Dankie vir die deel, Dorsland.

I always enjoy seeing older photos, and how we travelled in the late 1970s and early '80s.
Keep them coming!

[jaybiker]

Really, I mustn't go boring everyone with a Monty Python type memoir, starting "You kids in the 80's didn't know you were born. Back in the 60's, we.....

But the freedom we enjoyed then, looking back soberly was more like irresponsible licence. It was fun at the time but horrifying and even a bit shameful at times.

17 years old, and some weekends my parents had no idea where I was or what I was doing from Friday afternoon until Monday morning. If they asked I would just say I was 'out', and it was the same for whichever even younger chick had hopped on my pillion. Only years later did I consider what worries we must have put the old folks through. 

[Fario]

We all at some stage had a Nava, Lafe or a Bell helmet

"Lafe".  I'd forgotten about that helmet brand.

What about Supertrapp exhausts?  They still around?

I had a Supertrapp on my 950. Worked well

[BuRP]

Ah memories!  Maybe I should at some stage start a ride report of that trip.

Amsterdam, PLEASE do?
You yourself say so, others clearly want you to do this too, and if it helps.... I wanted to do same in '85 but could not, nul centen! 
Indeed into the unknown, foggal clue as what will lie ahead but going anyways, what can go wrong eh?
Would have choosen the same bike, it was THE bike back then.
Met a guy later, '86 I think, who did same, indeed also on a Yammie - think his name is Hans, not sure.
He stayed here in Pta, was a colleague for a while (IT then), and moved to CT, married and got lost in the fray.
I seem to remember he did the sub-saharan part alone because his friend turned around there, could not cope with the problems or something like that.

So there you go: open a Word document and work on it when you have a chance or feel lus.
It'll grow with time and then you can post it here - rest assured I will devour it! 

[Welsh]

Really, I mustn't go boring everyone with a Monty Python type memoir, starting "You kids in the 80's didn't know you were born. Back in the 60's, we.....

But the freedom we enjoyed then, looking back soberly was more like irresponsible licence. It was fun at the time but horrifying and even a bit shameful at times.

17 years old, and some weekends my parents had no idea where I was or what I was doing from Friday afternoon until Monday morning. If they asked I would just say I was 'out', and it was the same for whichever even younger chick had hopped on my pillion. Only years later did I consider what worries we must have put the old folks through. 

I jumped on a flight to here in 1981 at 22 years old, I didn't know a soul in JHB but I had a job offer. 

I phoned home some months later to say I was OK, in the interim my Mother when asked "have you heard from Ian" she would reply, no, no news means there is no bad news. Tough old duck that one.

[Welsh]

We all at some stage had a Nava, Lafe or a Bell helmet

"Lafe".  I'd forgotten about that helmet brand.

What about Supertrapp exhausts?  They still around?

I had a Supertrapp on my 950. Worked well

Supertrapp's were clever, like a Norton exhaust of that era, they used peripheral discharge and that is less energy, better flow etc etc therefore quieter than central discharge, BUT the big market advantage for Supertrapp was that the disc discharge system was FORESTRY Approved in the USA without a spark arrestor. A massive market advantage in the USA. 

[Gerrard]

Really, I mustn't go boring everyone with a Monty Python type memoir, starting "You kids in the 80's didn't know you were born. Back in the 60's, we.....

But the freedom we enjoyed then, looking back soberly was more like irresponsible licence. It was fun at the time but horrifying and even a bit shameful at times.

17 years old, and some weekends my parents had no idea where I was or what I was doing from Friday afternoon until Monday morning. If they asked I would just say I was 'out', and it was the same for whichever even younger chick had hopped on my pillion. Only years later did I consider what worries we must have put the old folks through. 

I jumped on a flight to here in 1981 at 22 years old, I didn't know a soul in JHB but I had a job offer. 

I phoned home some months later to say I was OK, in the interim my Mother when asked "have you heard from Ian" she would reply, no, no news means there is no bad news. Tough old duck that one.

My father had the same approach. If he does not hear from me its going well. When he did hear from me its I wanted money and he would send me a money gram.

Now who remembers that and their post office savings book ?

[Amsterdam]

Ah memories!  Maybe I should at some stage start a ride report of that trip.

So there you go: open a Word document and work on it when you have a chance or feel lus.
It'll grow with time and then you can post it here - rest assured I will devour it! 

Yep, that is the way to do it.  I will make a start soon-is.

And proof of that yellow Bell helmet.

[steveindar]

Many moons ago there was an article in the Bark SA about a Euro couple on two XT500's that toured South America.
On some big river they mounted the bikes on a barge and rigged a waterwheel to the back wheel of both bikes to power the barge. They even had a mistspray water system to cool the bikes down cause they worked at idle speed.
In Patagonia they rigged the two bikes together and put a sail between them and traveled like that because of the constant high winds in that country. Riding on one bike was just too dangerous because of the winds.

I have searched the internet but cannot find anything about the trip.

I remember that article. Asked my mates who worked at Bike SA or close with Simon. One recalls but tossed all his mags ages ago. Will have to ask the Fourie's. Or send a mail to the new version. I remember every copy was filed by year in hard files. Must be somewhere. Also got me lusting after an XT. When years later I got one it was a love/hate relationship. Riding to the mine at 5am off road with 6v electrics! I eventually borrowed a miners lamp and bodged it my spikerish lafe just to see past the handlebars.
Did many trips around Rhodesia on an old XL350. Will dig deep to find those pics.


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[Welsh]

Really, I mustn't go boring everyone with a Monty Python type memoir, starting "You kids in the 80's didn't know you were born. Back in the 60's, we.....

But the freedom we enjoyed then, looking back soberly was more like irresponsible licence. It was fun at the time but horrifying and even a bit shameful at times.

17 years old, and some weekends my parents had no idea where I was or what I was doing from Friday afternoon until Monday morning. If they asked I would just say I was 'out', and it was the same for whichever even younger chick had hopped on my pillion. Only years later did I consider what worries we must have put the old folks through. 

I jumped on a flight to here in 1981 at 22 years old, I didn't know a soul in JHB but I had a job offer. 

I phoned home some months later to say I was OK, in the interim my Mother when asked "have you heard from Ian" she would reply, no, no news means there is no bad news. Tough old duck that one.

My father had the same approach. If he does not hear from me its going well. When he did hear from me its I wanted money and he would send me a money gram.

Now who remembers that and their post office savings book ?

No I don't, but and a BIG BUT, do these kids ever lose mummy's apron strings, do they go days, weeks, months, without parents interacting? do they really gain independence? or is it a long daily chat with mum? is this part of why they no longer move out and live forever with mum and dad, because they haven't got the balls to go out and face the world Alone?   

[katana]

Many moons ago there was an article in the Bark SA about a Euro couple on two XT500's that toured South America.
On some big river they mounted the bikes on a barge and rigged a waterwheel to the back wheel of both bikes to power the barge. They even had a mistspray water system to cool the bikes down cause they worked at idle speed.
In Patagonia they rigged the two bikes together and put a sail between them and traveled like that because of the constant high winds in that country. Riding on one bike was just too dangerous because of the winds.

I have searched the internet but cannot find anything about the trip.

I remember that article. Asked my mates who worked at Bike SA or close with Simon. One recalls but tossed all his mags ages ago. Will have to ask the Fourie's. Or send a mail to the new version. I remember every copy was filed by year in hard files. Must be somewhere. Also got me lusting after an XT. When years later I got one it was a love/hate relationship. Riding to the mine at 5am off road with 6v electrics! I eventually borrowed a miners lamp and bodged it my spikerish lafe just to see past the handlebars.
Did many trips around Rhodesia on an old XL350. Will dig deep to find those pics.


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@2-Stroke ?

[Mother]

My father had the same approach. If he does not hear from me its going well. When he did hear from me its I wanted money and he would send me a money gram.

Now who remembers that and their post office savings book ?
[/quote]

my father was the same.....

not to hijack this post my father got me into biking many moons ago.........when i saw your thread just brought back those memories as a kid i looked up to my dad (on the right) he was a real old school biker

[4 Kays]

"was dit 'n uiterse uitdaging om my deklus in toom te hou".      Ou Dors, jy het my nou lekker laat lag 

Jy het nie oor die jare veel verander nie