Hats off to Binder brothers, as bikers show how far we’ve come

A true biker, so they say, will ride anything with two wheels … because, of course, the thrill of a motorbike is not in the speed you achieve, but in the way you are almost at one with nature as you waft through the countryside.

MotoGP racer Brad Binder proved the point eloquently at the weekend by agreeing to ride in the annual DJ Classic Bike Rally on a 1935 Sunbeam 500 motorbike, a somewhat more leisurely ride than his current racing steed, a Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM RC16.

And hats off to Brad for joining the old-timers (bikes and riders!) for the two-day ride from Hillcrest in KwaZulu-Natal to Benoni in Gauteng.

In Pictures: Binder brothers take part in DJ Classic Bike Rally

These old machines are not fast, not well weather-protected and can be a handful in tough conditions, so the DJ is an achievement for anyone who finishes.

It is also good to see someone from the younger generation, like Brad, helping to continue the living history which is embodied in these old motorcycles.

Each one would have many stories to tell, if it could talk. But the mere sight of them is a tribute to the ingenuity of humankind and how technology has made all of our lives easier than they were.