Two wheels good, four wheels bad.
A brief history of my motorbike life
Although I would never considered myself to be a “biker” in the traditional sense, when I look at my motorbike history so far, I realize that they have played an important role in my life, often defining the different stages of my life, or my state of mind at the time. They never changed who I was, but they certainly changed the way that I experienced life, and still do so today.
I think that due to the danger associated with riding motorbikes, one needs to remain in a hyper state of awareness, and this excludes or at least limits the “noise” of the worries and concerns of our day to day lives. This forced meditation must have some positive impact on our mental state, which explains why the hells angels were such gentle, accommodating folk, full of brotherly love and the joys of spring. Ok, so maybe I am only referring to myself, which is in any event, a better strategy when talking s**t like this. Maybe I can put it like this:
I don’t think I have ever started a motorbike journey without a feeling of nervousness and uncertainty, and I don’t think I have ever stopped at the end of the day without a feeling of deep satisfaction, achievement and contentment. There, that’s better.
What follows, is a brief history of my motorbike journey from the very first bike I owned, up until my two current bikes. Looking at the list now, I don’t think I can escape the label of “motorbike whore”, especially during 2009.
Enjoy the ride!
Yamaha RD200
1977-1979 (18 years old)
This was the first bike I ever owned. I bought it 2nd hand from my brother-in-law for R400 ($27 in 2021 terms). I was still in the army serving at 11 SNT base in Wynberg, before I go myself posted out to Grootfontein in Namibia. I would struggle to get it up to the power band, spluttering and smoking and almost choking off, especially on hill starts, but once you hit that power band she became as smooth as silk with almost unlimited acceleration. It was a joy to ride when you rode it hard, a real pain in the arse at low revs.
My friend and I crashed into an island at an intersection and landed on the grass with no serious damage, and in a moment of silliness, I turned the handlebars upside down because it looked cool. Maybe so, but it was almost impossible to control as your hands hit up against the tank, jamming the throttle wide open. I sold it once I came back from the army.
Honda XL 500S
1983 - 1986 (24 years old)
I bought this bike completely based on the skills of an excellent salesperson. Working in Cape Town, I phoned Honda centre to ask if they had any 2nd hand bikes, and after a brief conversation, the salesperson picked me up from my shop on a Honda CD 900F and took me to bike showroom. The Honda XR range (pro-link suspension) had just come out, and he was trying to sell the XR250 to me. Unfortunately for him, I saw a bunch of now redundent XL500’s on sale to make way for the new model. By the time he dropped me back at my work, I had bought one, R1,500 ($103 in 2021 terms) brand new!
I used it to compute to work, first in Cape Town, then out to De hoop Nature reserve when I joined conservation. Later, we moved to Springbok, where I drove it around the Hester Malan Reserve where I was stationed. It had a bit of a history, as my friend Steve wiped out on it on the way to a job interview in Cape Town. I broke a rib and put a hole in my leg on her while attempting to pull start her behind a Landrover on a gravel road. I also had a good solid fall on the gravel when I panicked and grabbed too much front brake on a winding corner on Hester Malan Nature Reserve. For many years after I sold her, I would dream that I found her standing in the garage of whatever home we were staying in at the time. I guess I really must have loved her.
Kawasaki. KDX 175
1991 - 1993 (32 years old)
This was a purchase out of necessity, a very cheap 2nd hand bike for me to commute to Salmonsdam Nature Reserve after we bought a house in Stanford town. The commute was around 15km’s on a dirt road, and as I got to know the road during the daily commute, I got faster and faster, sliding the back wheel out on the long loose corners.
One morning, as I came sliding around one of the narrower corners, I was met by a sea of sheep being herded from one camp to the other. With no escape on either side of the road, I hit the brakes hard and came to a forced stop about 5 rows inside the herd. The bike never ran smoothly, obviously having some serious issues, but it served its purpose in the end.
Yamaha FZR 400
2008 - 2009 (49 Years old)
So many years had passed between my last bike, that this bike represented the beginning of an entire new era in my life. After more than 20 years of marriage, my wife had just left with the children so they could complete their education in the city. Alone and with no transport, I had to figure out a way forwards. The answer eventually came through photography, and I started taking on some good photo work for a publisher of school and university books.
In a brief space of time I could pay off some of our immediate debt, and found that while I didn’t have enough funds for a car, I could afford an “ok” 2nd hand motorbike. I found this bike in Swellendam and quickly bought it. It was definitely not the right bike for me, but it opened up an entire world of possibilities. I could travel to Cape Town to visit my family, go for weekend rides. Hell, I even attended a few bike rallies in the local area. The bike was extremely difficult to ride, and even more difficult to maintain, so I developed a good relationship with the local bike mechanic. Almost impossible to start, then struggling at lower revs, only to come into her own at around 8000 RPM.
She was just too much of a racehorse, but it was a start. It awakened in me the possibility that I could still experience some level of freedom and independence, some individuality. In the end, I sold her because she was just too unreliable to be practical.
Yamaha FZR 1000 EXUP
2008 - 2009 (49 Years old)
I bought this bike from a guy who imported containers of 2nd hand bikes from Japan. The bike was in pristine condition and 100% original. I only kept the bike for a few months, because it was a death machine. The acceleration was so fantastic, so addictive, it was difficult for me to rein it in, and although I started every trip determined to take it easy, I would soon find myself at 200 km/h on a narrow Karroo Road frequented by small and medium-sized animals who loved to scurry across the road at a moment’s notice.
Like the FZR400, she was difficult to maintain, and my relationship with the local bike mechanic flourished during this time. It was with this bike that I came to terms with the fact that I am not a speed junkie. My imagination is too vivid not to see and feel the downsides of coming off at 200+ miles per hour. The racing position, the attitude you need to have to make the most of a bike like this, was just not in my nature. It was time to move on, so I quickly sold her at no financial loss to me.
Yamaha Tenere 650cc
2009-2009 (50 years old)
Now. Finally, I was on the right track. An off-road capable bike with enough power to go anywhere I chose. Warning, destiny ahead!
I never should really have bought her. I am not a mechanic, and I did not have the means or time for a project bike. I did my first longer off-road trips with her, and the experience cemented the understanding of what type of bike I should be looking for. She stayed with me for around 4 months before I sold her to a farmer who was restoring old bikes just like this one.
BMW 1100 GS
2009 - 2013 (50 years old)
After owning 3 bikes in less than 12 months, I was getting tired of messing around with bikes that were both wrong for me and so old that they needed constant attention. So I sold ALL my bikes and decided to look for one bike that was both fit for purpose and young enough to be reliable and mechanically sound. I went to see this bike in Riversdale, and it was in perfect condition, not a single mark, scratch, or blemish. With 55,000 km’s on the clock, and from the general condition, it was obvious that they had never taken the bike off-road.
The day I went to collect it was in the middle of a massive cold front, and the gusts of wind on the N2 back to Swellendam were terrifying, almost blowing me completely off the road on more than one occasion.
On this bike, a switch went off in my head and became an off-road junkie. I travelled around the country, seeking every dirt road I could find, using my GPS to discover areas I had never been to before. I found out that there were dirt roads running parallel to many of the main roads offering a completely different experience. There were trips to Naude’s Neck, Biviaansfloof, Sani Pass, across Lesotho, across the little karoo, big karoo, wherever.
It wasn’t always an easy bike to manage on the dirt. It was heavy and had a long first gear that forced you to attack any steep, rutted trail at high speed, to prevent it from choking off halfway up, due to low revs. Man, but she was a beauty to ride, especially when loaded with camera and camping gear on a long country road.
She was written off in the city when a lady turned across 2 lanes into her driveway without looking and forced me onto the pavement and into a lamp post stay. Even though I smashed into a garden wall with my head and body, I got up without a scratch. On the day of the accident, the bike had 85,000 km’s on the clock. In the space of 2 years, I had added 30,000km’s of some of the best riding I have ever done on a bike. It was truly a sad day.
Honda Dream EX5 100cc
2010 - 2018
This was my first bike after arriving in Laos, South East Asia. All of 96cc, a big change from a BMW 1150 GSA to be sure. I told my landlord I was looking for a bike, and within the hour this was at my door, and so I bought it. I didn’t know then, but the Honda Dream is one of the better “step thru bikes” as they call them here. An evolution of the iconic Honda Super Cub, they are very popular in Vietnam and known as true workhorses in Asia.
I made a fool of myself when on examining the weak headlight on starting (kick start only), I told them I would buy the bike only on condition that they replaced the battery. They diligently took the bike away and came back less than an hour later with the work done. To be honest, I couldn’t notice much difference in the headlight's strength. A few weeks later, I discovered that the Honda Dream does not have a battery!
It was a great bike for running around town, which I did in tee shirt, shorts, flip-flops and a peak cap…. as is the custom. I eventually gave it to my partner’s brother to use on their family farm.
Honda Sonic CBR125
2011 - 2013
The Sonic was one of the only models of bike in Laos that had regular motorbike controls. A CBR125cc engine, with clutch and 5 speed gear box, not the semi-automatic or fully automatic bikes that made up most of the bikes in Laos. My plan was to adapt one into a true off-road bike to use (as an example) by our forest rangers for patrols inside the national parks.
I ordered a pile of parts from Thailand and adapted it as best I could, with spoked wheels, enduro quality shock, off-road bars, knobby tires, stronger clutch and some other stuff. It worked in a fashion, although the achilleas’ heel was its ground clearance. While conducting bear surveys deep in the forest, the monsoon rains would completely cover the trails, turning them into rivers. Driving in those conditions was insane, as we would be brought up short and tumble over the handlebars every few 100m as the engine hit a submerged rock or tree root. I used it extensively in the field where it was light enough to half lift and carry across the many river crossings we encountered. I once drove it on broken muddy forest trails for about 60km without a clutch after the cable snapped.
It was good fun though, and if I lay down on the tank on a slightly downhill tar road, I could almost reach 120 km/h! I sold it for a proper off-road bike once I moved to Bolikhamsai Province.
BMW 1150 GSA
2014-2020
I really wanted to replace the BMW1100 GS using the insurance money from the accident. I found this bike on “Gumtree”, also in immaculate condition. I added a full set of hard paniers, new tyres, and nothing more was ever needed. Even more than the GS 1100, this bike looked and felt massive, although once underway, she handled like a butterfly. When I would come back from Asia on my annual home leave each year, it was always a shock to see it for the first time in my friend’s garage. It was with sweaty palms that I would climb aboard and start her up. But after less that a km down the road I would relax, and the smile would return.
For around 4 years, I came back home annually and took her on road trips to places like Namibia and the Wild coast, but then I got deeper into my cycling and only came down to visit my family, choosing to rent a car rather that commute on the BMW. A BMW 1150 GSA is not a good city commuter. Eventually I could no longer justify keeping her and had to sell her.
I believe that this was the best adventure bike of its era, and I feel so grateful and privileged to have owned one during my life. After this model, things have taken a more electronic path, a road I am quite happy to have bypassed.
Honda XR 250
2014 - 2020
After moving to my new position in Bolichamxai Province, I rented a “proper house” and the time felt right to get a motorbike with longer legs than the little Honda Dream, which was only ever meant as a town commuter. I bought this bike from a local expat in pretty good condition for bikes of this age. In Laos, motorbike’s engine capacity is limited to 250cc, although there are plenty of larger bikes around, albeit illegally. The Honda XR 250 and Honda XR 250 Baja are the most common off-road bikes found in Laos for use by foreigners, so spares and repair facilities are all readily available.
Because the roads in Laos are in fairly poor condition, the bike is more than adequate in terms of power and capability. Main roads are frequently broken up, under construction or run over with landslides. Besides, villages are clustered around the road, with communities living out their lives on the road verges. Dogs, children, cattle, pigs and goats all running from one side of the road to the other. Off-road conditions are great, but river crossings can be a limiting factor as they are often done using small village boats that could carry nothing bigger that a 250. From my experience, the average speed possible on most of the good Lao roads I have travelled is around 80km/h, and 40km/h on the dirt. I would not enjoy riding a GSA 1150 on these roads!!
The bike has proved perfect for these roads, and I seldom looked for more power, except on a few long straight roads on some longer trips. She was my commuter, adventure bike, cruiser, scrambler and touring bike, and she never let me down. I sold her for the same price I bought her, but I think it was a mistake. I should have kept her, but still have bought the XR 400, and the Kawasaki W800, and..and..and!
Honda XR 400
2020 - Current
When COVID-19 hit the world, Laos immediately, and correctly, shut down its international borders. This unfortunately put an end to international tourism, including bike rental and tour businesses. My good friend and Legendary GIS map developer, fearless trail rider and Ho Chi Mhin trail expert, Don Duval, also owned a small husband and wife bike tour company. For these tours, he had built up an assortment of trail bikes, mostly Honda CRF 250s, but also a few XR400s and several KTMs. With COVD 19 having basically stopped his tours dead in the tracks, he decided to sell off a sizeable chunk of his bike stock.
I originally went to him to see if I could buy a more street legal, (read boring) licensed bike, like one of his Honda CRF’s. I was tiring of paying the police every time I had to stop at a roadblock. After spending some time in Don’s workshop however, an evil fog descended on my brain, rendering me foolish and deliciously weak minded. Instead of the shiny smooth skin of a CRF, I drove away on one of his four precious XR 400’s. The bike was very “clean”, in that it had no battery, no electric start, no instrumentation, no indicators, no legal papers and no license plates.
I had to smile at the raised eyebrow I got from Don when I brought it back a few days later to show him my fresh additions. One very Chinese analog speedometer, two review mirrors and a carrier.
I have already done a few long trips up to Hiem, Sam Neua, Long Cheng, and the bike is just fantastic! A 400cc trail bike on Lao roads makes it easily comparable to a large adventure bike anywhere else. It’s also not much larger or heavier than the Honda XR250, so it still fits onto the local boats, and is reasonably manageable on river crossings or soft, slippery mud and clay. Only problem is that it’s still “watch out for those pesky police!” Let’s go riding.
Kawasaki W800 STD
2021 August - Current
Ever since I sold my iconic BMW 1150 GSA back home in South Africa, I have wanted to replace it with some form of larger displacement bike here in Laos. As most bikes over 250cc in Laos are illegally imported, they are difficult to find. After a while, I came across this bike at a reasonably good price and decided that the time was right.
The bike is different to the style of bike I am used to, but I have reached the stage in my thinking where I don’t always want to be riding alone on trails in remote areas wondering about the river crossing ahead or the condition of the trail after heavy monsoons. Sometimes, I just want to charge up my camera, throw a few bags over the rear rack, only having to worry about if I want to turn left or right and the next intersection. This is definitely the right bike for that mindset.
When I was researching the bike, I noticed that YouTube video reviews were divided into 2 major camps:
Young people's reviews– “She is slow and boring compared to……”
Older people reviews– “She has plenty enough power and is full of character,”
My review after a 400km ride in the mountains up to Hiem? - “Leave me alone! Can’t you see I’m having a blast?!”
BMW F800 GS
August 2022 - Current
In July 2022 I did a home trip home to introduce Mina to the joys of a Cape winter. During my trip, Dylan let me take his BMW F650 for a short spin, which must have slightly damaged my brain. I started having weird thoughts about owning an adventure bike again and travelling around the country with my son on his own adventure bike. Thoughts resulted in action, and with Dylan’s help we got this second-hand beauty.
As I had not taken any home leave during COVID, I was able to take a second trip home in October the same year. Dylan helped me fit out the bike for off road travelling while I was still in Laos. We did a fantastic trip across the Karoo, and the bike is now settled in Dylan’s garage awaiting the next trip.