An atmosphere of pride at South African Bike Festival 2018
Attendance was just over 20 000 for the three days, which is very good, even though it was slightly down on the 2017 figure.
The distributors and retailers of motorcycles in South Africa continue to battle against rising prices and a shrinking market, but once again put on a brave face at the third South African Bike Festival staged at the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit in Midrand.
Imagine operating in an environment where sales have collapsed from a high of 84 053 units (1982) to only 15 854 bikes sold last year. But these thoughts were far from the minds of those people minding the stands. They were smartly dressed, full of enthusiasm for their products and very keen to hand out business cards!
Most of the world’s major motorcycle brands were on display, with the big disappointment being a no-show by BMW, the country’s market leader.
Another well-known brand not at the show was Triumph, which is being restructured under a new national distributor and was not yet open for business at the time of the show.
Generally, the displays were simpler and obviously less expensive, as one can expect with the low profit margins on motorcycles and the slow sales tempo.
This was the third year that this annual motor show has been staged at Kyalami by Clarion Events of the UK. Their confidence in the event and in the SA motorcycle industry has resulted in attracting a big-name sponsor, Auto Dealer, which was the naming sponsor this year and has signed a three-year contract to continue backing this show.
The organisers said they were happy, as the slight drop in feet is in line with national par for this type of event.
There were also plenty of buyers about, with Harley-Davidson reportedly selling 20 bikes over the weekend, while Husqvarna was another brand to report good sales at the show.
There was only one of the traditional new model unveilings for the media at last week’s show. This was Honda’s reveal of its latest Gold Wing, with local MD Toshiaki Konaka orchestrating the lifting of the silver bike cover from the gleaming red cruiser.
Redesigned from the wheels up, this new Gold Wing still features a flat-six engine of 1.8-litres,but is now offered with Honda’s unique, dual-clutch transmission with seven speeds in addition to the normal manual gearbox.
Smaller and lighter than its predecessor, the latest Gold Wing, which is the seventh in the series, now aims to appeal to a wider section of the market, including reaching out to the younger generation. Pricing is R367 000 for the Tour with manual gearbox and R392 000 for the Tour with DCT.
However, although there were no other formal unveilings, all the stands featured new or updated models. The array of variants is amazing when one considers the small size of the market in South Africa.
Several Harley-Davidson dealers clubbed together to put on a most impressive “Harley Village” which reflected the lifestyle associated with these famous American machines. Rivals Indian also had a big stand with a wide spread of models.
In addition, there was plenty of other action to keep the visitors interested, including stunt riders and national motorcycle races on the Sunday.
Matthew and Rene Cummins (Mbombela)
It’s the third year in a row that we have attended the SA Bike Festival at Kyalami, and every year we have enjoyed it more. To be sure, we have been disappointed, but only in that every bike manufacturer isn’t represented on the track.
For us, that is the highlight of our weekend! We get to book and ride (almost) any bike we want, at a reasonable cost, ride around Kyalami at racing speed (it does sometimes feel that way) with a marshal in the safest of environments. Who could ask for more?
Having our choice of manufacturer, with a qualified marshal to keep you honest, this is the cheapest track day ever! Notable in their absence this year however, were brands like BMW, Kawasaki and Ducati. For some riders this is the only opportunity they may ever have to ride these brands, and among others, a cruiser from Harley-Davidson and Indian or a superbike from Yamaha, Suzuki or Honda or an adventure bike from KTM. So, it is disappointing that some of the larger manufacturers were not there.
Every year, we have selected a variety of bikes and brands, and even when the bike hasn’t suited us, or we commented to each other that it has no “soul”, or it was too powerful or not powerful enough, or the bike just plain blew our socks off, nowhere else does one have the opportunity to take such a variety of bikes for a real test ride – back-to-back!
But the experience doesn’t end there. More manufacturers, accessories and motorbike dealerships are represented than just those on the track.
And the live entertainment isn’t limited just to the track. If you want to spend the day out on a brisk autumn day, with the sun shining, the sound of fun, racing bikes and laughter and above all the sound of different bikes having a blast, then get yourselves to Kyalami next year! It’s worth every rand spent!
