krister
Race Dog
THE BACKGROUND
For those of you who don’t know, I had an accident with my 650GS on the 18th of October last year and my bike was written off – a mere week or so after I got it. I also injured my shoulder and could therefore not ride for quite some time. Details here: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=39937.20
The crashed 650 at Northside Motorcycles - R99K worth of damage, and it looks like I could ride it away:
While back at home on sick leave, I started contemplating what to buy next. While I loved the 650 to bits (literally!), I felt it was a bit small. Also, seeing that my accident involved a pedestrian that didn’t notice me / care about me approaching, I reasoned that I should go for a bigger bike.
Seeing that I was sold on a BMW, I started surfing around looking for GS’s – 800s, 1200s and 1150s. I had to look for a bike newer than 10 years in order for it to be financed, and therefore 1100s and older bikes were out of the question. Furthermore, my budget was initially around R50K and that took care of the 1200s and 800s. Thus I was left with one option: The 1150.
Being accustomed to prowling the interwebs for bikes, I utilised the usual suspects: BikeFind, JunkMail, Gumtree, BMW Motorrad etc. Just one time, however, I decided to use AutoTrader and, voilla, I found a 2001 model 1150 with relatively low mileage (59 000km) – and in silver. I immediately phoned the seller (who was actually a car dealer in Randburg) and enquired about the bike. I had to explain that I was injured after my off and could not even drive there to have a look, but asked him to let me know if anybody else was interested. He agreed and, like a madman I continued searching – almost as if it psychologically helped me cope with my useless shoulder and the fear that I would not ride again. It became an obsession...
It went on like this through the rest of October and November, until I got a plan. Why not ask a Wild Dog to take the bike for a test ride for me – as I could of course not ride it myself! I posted a request (see: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=41120.msg801654#msg801654) and Miepels came to the rescue! He took the bike for a test drive and was very chuffed, apart from slightly abused grips and a backfire. He suggested I speak to Welsh about the backfire and I did just that.
Early in December I did the finance application and was approved immediately, but because the financing agency needed the sale to be a private one, the seller had to “buy” the bike from his dealer and re-register it in his own name. Here the waiting game started...
My dream was to be able to ride around Potchefstroom (where traffic is little and familiar gravel roads are many) while we were holidaying at my parents in December. Also my birthday was the 20th so I was hoping to ride the new bike then... Needless to say, the weather was also perfect but alas, the bike was not there. The seller’s dad had a heart attack in Plett and he was out of town. Also, there were issues with the registration – it needed a police clearance first. I understood and we agreed that I would get the bike on the 23rd – at least before Christmas!
When the seller returned from Plett he took the bike to the AA for a 101 point check – on of WesBank’s requirements. It failed – due to the grips and a bust fork seal. He phoned me and I made the (very tough!) decision to rather wait until Lyndhurst BMW reopens after Christmas... I agreed to pay for the standard BMW heated grips if he pays for the rest, and so it was settled. The bike was picked up on the 28th and he got it back soon afterwards.
To make a long story short(er), I eventually received the bike last Thursday (see: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=42955.20) and after a few short rides around Jozi and a commute to work on Friday, I decided to go for a longer maiden ride over the weekend.
First pic at a nearby soccer field in need of a post-Christmas trim:
Knowing my limitations due to the shaky shoulder, I decided to make it a relatively short ride with at least some gravel (but nothing too technical). The obvious choice was Venterskroon, an old “boeredorpie” in the Vredefort Dome. Growing up in Potchefstroom I have been there for camps and other outings since I was a young boy. We promptly booked a farm house for Saturday night and were ready to go...
THE MAIDEN RIDE
Day 1: JHB to Venterskroon
We left Jozi at around 10:00 on Saturday morning – my wife and 3 yr old daughter in the cage and I on the 1150. Knowing the frustrations of riding in tandem, I suggested we meet outside Parys and take different routes there. The ladies opted for the N1 to Parys and I took the N12 and then via Losberg past Fochville.
After getting on the N1 at the Gordon Road offramp, I actually first discovered the “E” gear of the 1150 (6th gear). With low-end torque this gear is excellent – you can literally accelerate from 60km/h to tops with ease in traffic – something that helps a lot with the roadworks on the N1! I was again pleasantly surprised with the ease of handling and power of the 1150 and promptly took the N12 off-ramp close to Southgate and, after the mandatory risky sections to Soweto and Lenasia the road became more civilised past the Krugersdorp / Vereeniging intersection.
I took the Losberg turn from the N12 and started to get into it. I was in the “platteland” now and I sommer decided to cruise slowly with my helmet’s face open – inhaling the fresh air and admiring the green scenes after the recent rains. The cool air on my face and the purr of the bike left me in a truly euphoric state... Come to think of it, I should have stopped and taken a picture of this section... (Note to self...)
Circling Fochville I took the road to Parys. This is also a scenic route with some nice little bends and ups and downs, but also with a few dangerous potholes to circumnavigate! Anyway I enjoyed it a lot – not a lot of traffic and the odd “boer” greeting me from his muddy bakkie... Getting to Parys I went to refill and phoned the wife who was getting supplies at the Parys Spar. We agreed to meet outside of town – just over the Vaal River.
We met at the Kopjeskraal turn-off and on a friend’s advice we decided to take this route which would be mostly gravel all the way to Venterskroon (probably around 35km). And was this route scenic! I had never ridden it before and the views and scenery of the Vredefort Dome koppies were amazing. You could actually feel entering the dome itself and the landscape changing from flat Western Transvaal / Free State to acacia-filled kopjes with birds. It was also still wet from the recent rains and the road turned out to be quite technical for the wife in the cage – not to mention me with the previously disadvantaged shoulder! Stand up, look up and open up!
Soon we came to the Venterskroon / Potchefstroom crossing and promptly turned left and followed the gravel highway to our digs for the night – Knopberg:
Some pics after we arrived:
One of the big pro’s of Knopberg is that you get free firewood – and it gets delivered by tractor!
We had a nice big fire and a braai to finish the day:
Day 2: Venterskroon to JHB
The next morning we had a hearty breakfast, a quick swim in the “plaasdam” / swimming pool, and a brief hike. We were packed and left at around 13:00 with ominous clouds forming in the direction of Jozi.
Some pictures taken with my wife’s cellphone while driving the gravel section back to the main road.
Do you recognise the riding pants, Wes? :thumleft:
We took the same routes back and it was clear that I missed a big thunderstorm that passed over Parys towards Fochville and Vanderbijlpark. As I passed Fochville, I decided to show my new bike to a friend who owns a garage there. We enjoyed a cold drink and a few ciggies there and I left at around 14:30. I only caught a few droplets along the way and arrived home at around 16:00.
In total I did 333km there and back:
REFLECTIONS:
It was a wonderful experience and I am very happy with my decision to buy the 1150. I love its on-road capability coupled with fair off-road prowess. I did realise, however, that I still need to do some physio and gym work to get the shoulder right before doing serious gravel and technical riding. Ultimately though, riding a bike is one of the best psychological experiences one can have! I can’t wait for my next (longer) ride! :ricky:
For those of you who don’t know, I had an accident with my 650GS on the 18th of October last year and my bike was written off – a mere week or so after I got it. I also injured my shoulder and could therefore not ride for quite some time. Details here: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=39937.20
The crashed 650 at Northside Motorcycles - R99K worth of damage, and it looks like I could ride it away:
While back at home on sick leave, I started contemplating what to buy next. While I loved the 650 to bits (literally!), I felt it was a bit small. Also, seeing that my accident involved a pedestrian that didn’t notice me / care about me approaching, I reasoned that I should go for a bigger bike.
Seeing that I was sold on a BMW, I started surfing around looking for GS’s – 800s, 1200s and 1150s. I had to look for a bike newer than 10 years in order for it to be financed, and therefore 1100s and older bikes were out of the question. Furthermore, my budget was initially around R50K and that took care of the 1200s and 800s. Thus I was left with one option: The 1150.
Being accustomed to prowling the interwebs for bikes, I utilised the usual suspects: BikeFind, JunkMail, Gumtree, BMW Motorrad etc. Just one time, however, I decided to use AutoTrader and, voilla, I found a 2001 model 1150 with relatively low mileage (59 000km) – and in silver. I immediately phoned the seller (who was actually a car dealer in Randburg) and enquired about the bike. I had to explain that I was injured after my off and could not even drive there to have a look, but asked him to let me know if anybody else was interested. He agreed and, like a madman I continued searching – almost as if it psychologically helped me cope with my useless shoulder and the fear that I would not ride again. It became an obsession...
It went on like this through the rest of October and November, until I got a plan. Why not ask a Wild Dog to take the bike for a test ride for me – as I could of course not ride it myself! I posted a request (see: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=41120.msg801654#msg801654) and Miepels came to the rescue! He took the bike for a test drive and was very chuffed, apart from slightly abused grips and a backfire. He suggested I speak to Welsh about the backfire and I did just that.
Early in December I did the finance application and was approved immediately, but because the financing agency needed the sale to be a private one, the seller had to “buy” the bike from his dealer and re-register it in his own name. Here the waiting game started...
My dream was to be able to ride around Potchefstroom (where traffic is little and familiar gravel roads are many) while we were holidaying at my parents in December. Also my birthday was the 20th so I was hoping to ride the new bike then... Needless to say, the weather was also perfect but alas, the bike was not there. The seller’s dad had a heart attack in Plett and he was out of town. Also, there were issues with the registration – it needed a police clearance first. I understood and we agreed that I would get the bike on the 23rd – at least before Christmas!
When the seller returned from Plett he took the bike to the AA for a 101 point check – on of WesBank’s requirements. It failed – due to the grips and a bust fork seal. He phoned me and I made the (very tough!) decision to rather wait until Lyndhurst BMW reopens after Christmas... I agreed to pay for the standard BMW heated grips if he pays for the rest, and so it was settled. The bike was picked up on the 28th and he got it back soon afterwards.
To make a long story short(er), I eventually received the bike last Thursday (see: https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=42955.20) and after a few short rides around Jozi and a commute to work on Friday, I decided to go for a longer maiden ride over the weekend.
First pic at a nearby soccer field in need of a post-Christmas trim:
Knowing my limitations due to the shaky shoulder, I decided to make it a relatively short ride with at least some gravel (but nothing too technical). The obvious choice was Venterskroon, an old “boeredorpie” in the Vredefort Dome. Growing up in Potchefstroom I have been there for camps and other outings since I was a young boy. We promptly booked a farm house for Saturday night and were ready to go...
THE MAIDEN RIDE
Day 1: JHB to Venterskroon
We left Jozi at around 10:00 on Saturday morning – my wife and 3 yr old daughter in the cage and I on the 1150. Knowing the frustrations of riding in tandem, I suggested we meet outside Parys and take different routes there. The ladies opted for the N1 to Parys and I took the N12 and then via Losberg past Fochville.
After getting on the N1 at the Gordon Road offramp, I actually first discovered the “E” gear of the 1150 (6th gear). With low-end torque this gear is excellent – you can literally accelerate from 60km/h to tops with ease in traffic – something that helps a lot with the roadworks on the N1! I was again pleasantly surprised with the ease of handling and power of the 1150 and promptly took the N12 off-ramp close to Southgate and, after the mandatory risky sections to Soweto and Lenasia the road became more civilised past the Krugersdorp / Vereeniging intersection.
I took the Losberg turn from the N12 and started to get into it. I was in the “platteland” now and I sommer decided to cruise slowly with my helmet’s face open – inhaling the fresh air and admiring the green scenes after the recent rains. The cool air on my face and the purr of the bike left me in a truly euphoric state... Come to think of it, I should have stopped and taken a picture of this section... (Note to self...)
Circling Fochville I took the road to Parys. This is also a scenic route with some nice little bends and ups and downs, but also with a few dangerous potholes to circumnavigate! Anyway I enjoyed it a lot – not a lot of traffic and the odd “boer” greeting me from his muddy bakkie... Getting to Parys I went to refill and phoned the wife who was getting supplies at the Parys Spar. We agreed to meet outside of town – just over the Vaal River.
We met at the Kopjeskraal turn-off and on a friend’s advice we decided to take this route which would be mostly gravel all the way to Venterskroon (probably around 35km). And was this route scenic! I had never ridden it before and the views and scenery of the Vredefort Dome koppies were amazing. You could actually feel entering the dome itself and the landscape changing from flat Western Transvaal / Free State to acacia-filled kopjes with birds. It was also still wet from the recent rains and the road turned out to be quite technical for the wife in the cage – not to mention me with the previously disadvantaged shoulder! Stand up, look up and open up!
Soon we came to the Venterskroon / Potchefstroom crossing and promptly turned left and followed the gravel highway to our digs for the night – Knopberg:
Some pics after we arrived:
One of the big pro’s of Knopberg is that you get free firewood – and it gets delivered by tractor!
We had a nice big fire and a braai to finish the day:
Day 2: Venterskroon to JHB
The next morning we had a hearty breakfast, a quick swim in the “plaasdam” / swimming pool, and a brief hike. We were packed and left at around 13:00 with ominous clouds forming in the direction of Jozi.
Some pictures taken with my wife’s cellphone while driving the gravel section back to the main road.
Do you recognise the riding pants, Wes? :thumleft:
We took the same routes back and it was clear that I missed a big thunderstorm that passed over Parys towards Fochville and Vanderbijlpark. As I passed Fochville, I decided to show my new bike to a friend who owns a garage there. We enjoyed a cold drink and a few ciggies there and I left at around 14:30. I only caught a few droplets along the way and arrived home at around 16:00.
In total I did 333km there and back:
REFLECTIONS:
It was a wonderful experience and I am very happy with my decision to buy the 1150. I love its on-road capability coupled with fair off-road prowess. I did realise, however, that I still need to do some physio and gym work to get the shoulder right before doing serious gravel and technical riding. Ultimately though, riding a bike is one of the best psychological experiences one can have! I can’t wait for my next (longer) ride! :ricky:
