Now on route to Mike Hopkins Motor Cycles. @ R 124 995.00 - First arrival Black only.



Turn heads with the aggressive new styling of the Ninja 500. Experience legendary Ninja performance and set the tone with a 451cc twin-cylinder engine that is designed to lead the crowd.



Smooth, powerful acceleration is available with a twist of the wrist from a new 451 cm3 engine. With well-balanced power output and strong acceleration throughout the rev range, the combination of this engine with a lightweight chassis makes the machine well-suited to a wide variety of riding situations including everyday riding.



The bodywork on the new Ninja 500 offers a fresh impression, while sporty elements give the machine a purposeful, race-inspired look that owners will be proud to own and show off.



Engine Capacity 451cc

Engine Type Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke Parallel Twin

Power 33.4Kw

Torque 42.6Nm

Drive Chain

Gearbox 6-speed

Weight 171kg

Tank Capacity 14L

Ground Clearance 145mm

Seat Height 785mm

Front Brakes Semi-floating ø310 mm Disc

Rear Brakes ø220 mm Disc

Front Suspension Telescopic Fork – ø41 mm

Rear Suspension Bottom-Link Uni-Trak (adjustable preload)

PHONE : Mark , Tony or Jannie on 021 9100535 for pre-orders

Winter Day`s Ride

Monday took advantage what appears to be the only nice weather day of the week and went for a winter`s ride, the chosen bikes, classic muscle from the 1980s; the Honda CBX1000, the Kawasaki Z1300 and the Yamaha V-Max 1100.

From MHM we went up Bottelary Road and through to Stellenbosch, then over Helshoogte, on to Franschhoek for a stop at the Hoek Coffee Espresso bar, where great coffee and cookies were consumed. Conversation over coffee enthused about how the Franschhoek valley was awash with new rivers and streams, particularly the large river viewed to the left of the road just before the river bridge, never see that before. Then, as with most South African conversations, talk drifted into the deteriorating state of our country, and I think our UK visitor found it a little difficult to grasp sitting in the, shall we say, Franschhoek luxury bubble.

Coffee done it was then up and over the pass, at quite a sedate pace I might add, old muscle bikes are not renown for their bend swinging abilities, plus the road was also a bit damp from the low cloud. Stopped to admire the wow really, completely full, Theewaterkloof Dam and take some pics, see above or below. After that, concern. The sky was darkling as we passed through Villiersdorp and then as we climbed up the small pass to towards Worcester, we ran into rain. As an aside, I bet not many people know that the small one hairpin pass is named Rooihoogte (Red Height, English translation). Looking ahead the sky appeared to be clearer, so being the hardy, optimistic biker types that we are, we pushed on.

For once our optimism was proved right, by the time we stopped to refuel in Rawsonville the sun was again breaking through the clouds. From Rawsonville we headed along the Slanghoek valley road towards Wolseley. Normally a lovely winding country road but this time the heavy rains have left their mark, quite a few places in the road had red mud all and at one spot a heavy truck rescue was being performed. A large three axle truck had slid off the road and ended up on its side seemingly half buried in mud, that certainly rang the caution bells. Then, the river at the Wolseley end of the road crossed by a single-track ford type bridge was also rather dramatic, wide, in full flow and nearly up to the level of the road.

By now lunch was high on our priorities so we headed sharpish to the Winterberg Mountain Inn, at the bottom of the Michell’s pass into Ceres, been a few times before, good food and a warm fire, just what we required. Disappointed, closed, not sure because of being Monday or what, Ok on to my second choice the Fynbos Café on the road to Tulbagh, also closed. What is this, did they get wind that rough tough bikers were coming to town? Finally we sneaked into Tulbagh and the Olive Terrace Bistro in the Tulbagh Hotel, a modern stylish restaurant with a warming enclosed fire and, as it turned out, good food, gourmet burgers, fish and chips all round.

This time the talk over lunch was a lot more serious, what did we think of the bikes. All agreed the Z1300 was super smooth and all day comfortable but needed quite a bit of effort to make it turn. No doubt it`s a big bike, plus the modified rear wheel, widened and sporting a lowish profile tire thus dropping the back end, plus cheap aftermarket shocks were not exactly doing it any favours. The V-Max, great motor, pulls strongly from very low revs, then goes manic at about 7000, and the sound it makes, wonderful. But like the Z1300 also a bit of a hand full making it turn, and only I found it long term comfortable, must be build funny. So that left the CBX, and I never thought I`d say this in a CBX sentence, compared to the other two it felt smaller, sprightly, agile and with better performance. Downside, possibly not a comfortable as the Z1300.

So with that all sorted and after a slight fight about who was going to ride the CBX, me, we headed back to Cape Town and had a very unpleasant ride from Tulbagh to Wellington. A berg wind was howling from the side pushing us sideways and making overtaking exceeding exciting, actually, more like bloody dangerous. Fortunately after Wellington and around Paarl rock it became more manageable and we got back, a bit cold, but with after very memorable winter`s day ride.

This rather large Kawasaki came into the workshop this week, nice condition but has been standing and now would not start, no real surprise there. Happily, the fix was simple, jump starting the battery got the motor sort of running and further investigation revealed a broken fuel tap vacuum pipe. Easily repaired by the nimble fingers of Robin, the motor was soon purring beautifully again.

Manufactured from 1979 to 1989 it was seen as Kawasaki’s answer to Honda’s CBX 1000, only water cooled, shaft drive and bigger, but with only two valves per head as opposed to Honda’s four. Like most Z1300 in SA, this 1983 model one has had a few modifications, the rear wheel has been made wider to take a bigger tire and a hydraulic clutch has been fitted, plus, of course, short exhausts, smaller indicators, and mirrors. Not too radical and for the most part looks and rides as original.

I’ve aways wanted to ride one of these beasts to feel how they compare to the CBX, so taking advantage of the clear weather, I took it for a bit of a spin this morning, of course purely in the interests of workshop quality control. First impression, once up off the side stand it’s a large motorcycle but no way as intimidation as initially perceived, next the motor is silky smooth, more so than the CBX. Slick it into gear and away, nice smooth positive gear change from the five-speed box and no clunk-click from the shaft, BMWs and Honda Gold Wings should take note. Once warm and on a clear road open it up a bit; ok, well, that was a bit underwhelming. Lots of torque and pull but no dramatic rush as the revs climb, very unCBX like, more Goldwing like, rather surprised. Handling is also not as expected, actually not too bad, no sports bike, but reasonably light and stable, confidently tracking through sweeping bends, its weight does become apparent in tighter S-bends however. I think the CBX is a bit nimbler, but it does have a tendency to weave in a straight line at higher speeds where as the Z1300 is dead steady, although I didn’t go that fast with it, honest.

So, to sum up, the CBX was launched with a moniker of SuperSport which I think it lives up to when compared to the Z1300. The Z1300 is a powerful, steady, stable motorcycle that is easy and enjoyable to ride all day, even has self-cancelling indicators, but its no CBX, what I am actually describing here is a Goldwing and that I believe is what Kawasaki were actually building, a competitor from Honda’s Goldwing, especially since they started development of the Z1300 before Honda started on their CBX. Make you think does it not

Been looking forward to this all week. Awake early on Sunday morning, too early it’s still dark, toss and turn until the first new rays of light creep under the blinds. Up then and into the kitchen, make some tea and feed the cats, can feel the excitement, anxiety climbing. Quietly back to the bedroom, best to avoid waking the wife, shower and dress, special long-ride-boots for today.

Out into the garage, bike is waiting next to the door along with my jacket, helmet, and gloves. Tire pressures, oil, fuel all checked, and helmet cleaned yesterday afternoon in preparation. Open the door and push the bike out into the developing sunshine. Still a bit early to meet the other guys, so grab a duster and give the bike a quick once over.

Finally, gear on, fire up the bike. Down the drive and onto the road, bit chilly this morning, but I can feel the sun starting to warm. Gently at first let the motor and tires warm up, already I start to relax, worries dissipating, it’s going to be a great ride.

There is nothing better than going for an early morning ride with some other likeminded mates, then enjoying a good breakfast and chin wag. Been doing this for decades and I still get the same buzz, it just doesn’t get old, and I hope it never will.

The picture below, or above, showing Gavin and his Monster and my Tuono, taken at Toeka Stoor on the Vryguns Road, lots of interesting old stuff, including tractors, and a good breakfast buffet.

After my post on Wednesday I thought Id better ride my X4, so dug it out from the almost back of the garage, and thankfully it fired up no problem. Better than yesterday when I got stranded at Mac Donalds with my car because the Tracker unit stopped. There are worse places to be stranded at, but it was still a day wasted resolving that small dilemma, anti criminal technology, wonderful.

Back to the X4, most decidedly different from the V-Max , as I said very Honda, smooth, quiet, pulls like a train from about 2000 rpm but strangely there does not appear to be any great gain in revving the motor to its 7500rpm redline, better to short shift and ride the torque. These bike where manufactured exclusively for the Japanese market which has all sorts of odd laws restricting motorcycles performance, so the speedo only goes to 180km/h which seems a bit low for the 1300. Ive not tried, but David who owns a black X4 assures me he has wound the speedo well past the 180 mark, so I guess black ones are faster then red ones, interesting, the V-Max is black.

The only criticism I have is that the short straight drag type handlebars make slow speed turning very heavy, which is a little off putting when you first start out. From then on the bike handles fine, no sportsbike by any means, but it response well to negative steering input and feels very planted on the road. The large tacho and smaller speedo make a nice styling touch and the idiot lights are concealed behind a translucent brushed aluminium panel which is cool.

So which one do I prefer, difficult, and kind of depends upon my mood. The V-Max is fast and scary exciting, the beast in it just wants you to twist that throttle and see how fast you can pull away from those lights, a real drag bike and not men in womens cloth type. The X4, while aspiring to be a muscle drag bike is in essence a muscle cruiser and as such more relaxing to ride, not so much a snarling beast more a lazy lion, can growl and roar but mostly likes to laze around.

Rode my 1986 Yamaha V-Max to the shop this morning, has not been run in a while and I was feeling guilty about that. The ride reminded me of a recent read article in UK’s Practical Sportsbikes magazine, 2023 March issue, comparing the V-Max, the Honda X4 1300 and the Honda Sabre V4, all classed as muscle bikes. By the way, Practical Sportsbikes is no longer, giving up after their 150th issue, possibly a sign that people are no longer interested in sports bikes. Sad, but back to the comparison, the Sabre did not really feature, too expensive and its chassis showing its age, the X4 is a much more modern and capable motorcycles but it lacks the edginess and bite of the V-Max, which for excitement was still rated the best.

By chance I also own a X4, also badly in need of a run, and although I’ve not ridden a Sabre, I completely agree, and this may annoy a X4 riding friend who swears by his X4. My X4 is a 2021 model and is smooth, reasonably quick, handles and stops well, typically Honda and nothing wrong with that. However, the much older V-Max is also smooth but with a rough V4 guttural snarl, pulling very cleanly from low revs but then, when the revs climb, and the throttle is opened just a bit more, the beast makes an appearance, more commonly known as V-Boost, and the bike takes off like someone has stamped on its tail. Every time, I must remind myself that this is not a modern bike but 38 years old, no wonder it gained reputation it has. Stopping is also good, just a well because as you approach 200 the steering starts getting a bit vague, I find it prudent to back off, those with more courage can push on to a top speed of 230. The magazine’s reviewer found the V-Max he was riding went into a very unnervingly violent weave when he backed off from high speed something I thankfully, have not experienced.

The picture, above or below, taken at Oudekraal, was from 2021 when I first purchased the bike. Since then then I’ve replaced the read mudguard, the original was cracked around the mounting and a lucky find on eBay sourced good one from the UK. The flat handlebars and aftermarket raisers have been replaced with more original looking bars, actual from a CB750 as I cannot find any originals. Restored the wiring to the twin coils with proper motorcycle type plugs and sockets, somebody previously had let loose with those horrible, coloured crimp connectors, moved, and fitted a new regulator from underneath between the exhaust pipes to the correct place behind the left passenger footrest. For some strange reason the old regulator had burnt out.

Now all I need is a ride on a Honda Sabre V4 to complete the comparison test, so if anyone out there owns a Sabre and fancies a ride on a V-Max and/or an X4 let me know.