Tuned to provide smooth power across a very wide rev range, while producing impressive horsepower numbers

Andrew Mather is a man of many mistresses. His youngest is 41 and the eldest turned 100 quite recently.

"I think I have 22 old girls. Well, that is as many as I'm prepared to admit to, to my wife. It has all got a bit out of hand over the past few years, because they tend to take up a lot of my time and money. But I think the family is getting used to my arrangements," he said.

Most of the girls are cooped up in the garage of Mather's home in Durban North, while a few have been stashed away at the homes of friends. The latest arrival is living in a pick-up trailer in the garden, waiting for space to open up in the main harem.

Mather's multiple mistresses include a 1936 Excelsior Manxman, a 1922 Matchless 1 000cc V-twin and a 1948 Triumph GP Racer, one of only two in the country.

But his favourite old gal by far is a 1908 Triumph, whom he has tended lovingly for the past five years to restore to her former beauty.

Early next month Mather hopes to ride her up to Egoli in the annual Durban to Joburg "DJ" motorcycle rally - the oldest entrant.

Unfortunately, Mather hasn't been able to license her.

"My agent told me there is a strike at the licensing department in Pietermaritzburg and all sorts of new paperwork hassles with old bikes - and if he can't sort it out very soon, there is no way I will be able to enter this year's rally," he said.

The event starts in Hillcrest on March 12, finishing in Joburg the following day after an overnight stop in Newcastle.

Mather, executive head of coastal engineering projects in the eThekwini municipality, has spent several years restoring the 1908 Triumph.

The machine was ridden around Joburg by its first buyer until 1917, when mechanical failure forced it off the road. It stood in an old shed until 1971, when it was bought by an East London resident, who described it as "a reddish mass of rust, but still standing firmly on its rear carrier".

Mather bought it in 2005 and began restoration some time later. Finally, it burst into life again last week.

A journey to Joburg will not be easy. For starters, the 467cc Triumph has a top speed of only 60km/h and has no gearbox and no clutch. It also has to be pedal-started. This means Mather will have to get his robot-crossings synchronised to avoid stalling, and he will have to supplement the engine power with pedal-power on some of the steeper hills.

And when he rolls down towards the finishing line, Mather will not be relying on rubber or steel to slow down - the brake blocks are made out of wood.

The DJ Race began in 1913, with the last race in 1936, after which the authorities banned the increasingly faster machines from racing on busy public roads. It was revived in 1969 as a commemorative rally and is regarded as the Comrades Marathon of classic motorcycle rallying.

Carl E. Boler said he is often told, "Say ... I've heard about you." He likes to think he's inspired those who tell him that."I just hope they're able to get out and do it," he said.What Mr. Boler does may be the envy of anyone dreaming of a free-wheeling lifestyle; thoughts that may seem especially far flung during these frozen north country days.

His hobby hits home for him at certain times when he's thousands of miles away from his Thompson Boulevard bachelor abode, such as riding on the wild unpaved roads of northern Quebec aboard his BMW motorcycle."It's just me and the bike," Mr. Boler said, as memories of the trip came back while he flipped through photos of his journeys. "I'm having to fight the gravel and the elements. But you see things from a different perspective. And I'd realize: if I didn't have a bike, I'd have no reason to go here."Mr. Boler has been going here and there, ranging from the western U.S to the eastern parts of Canada, for the past several years as a motorcycling adventurer. His ride of choice is a BMW. He averages 15,000 miles a year.He recently received a 100,000-mile award from BMW Motorad of North America, given to riders who complete 100,000 miles on BMW motorcycles. He was given the award at BMW dealer Country Rode Motowerks, Fairport, Monroe County."Most people never see that type of miles in their lifetimes, let alone in a few years," said Ronald Stone of Country Rode. Mr. Boler, 47, is an unusual recipient of the award in that he's done all 100,000 miles on one BMW. It now has 109,000 miles."It's a very good quality, well-built bike," Mr. Boler said. "They are also very comfortable. The BMW community tends to have all the gear on and we tend to camp out near our bikes."His hobby started in 1998. "I had the need of doing something new and different," he said. "I didn't want to be in bicycling anymore, so I got a motorbike and I took to it like a fish in water."His first motorcycle was a new Honda Shadow. "My experience up to that point had been a collection of bicycles and a 50 cc Honda Express scooter, which I rode at a startling 28 miles per hour," Mr. Boler said.After putting 12,000 miles on his Shadow, Mr. Boler purchased a 1995 BMW model K100LT.But it was the purchase of a book that really fired up his sense of adventure. After reading Gregory W. Frasier's "Alaska by Motorcycle," he purchased his current machine, a 2001 BMW "adventure" model R1150GS. He also owns a 1995 BMW R100RT."All of a sudden a light went off," Mr. Boler said. He wanted to make his motorcycling more than "drive-by trips.""I wanted to slow down," he said.By that, he meant stopping whenever and wherever the urge hit him. He packs his motorcycle with a tent, a folding chair, a small cook stove and other basic camping necessities. He sometimes stays in hotels."There's a lot of less-traveled roads out there," Mr. Boler said. "On the back roads, I like to meet the people. I've never had a bad experience. When I broke down, people offered me a place to stay. And I keep in touch with them. People are just nice — very nice."■ / / Mr. Boler also travels a lot in his job. He is a field engineer for DRS Optronics, based in Melbourne, Fla., and often works at Fort Drum. The company is part of DRS Technologies, a supplier of defense electronic systems.His goes on his bike travels during vacations. He said his job makes him especially grateful."I've been to active war zones and former war zones," he said. "The line of work I'm in has allowed me to appreciate what I have."He took his first long-distance trip in 2001 when he traveled to the Canadian Maritimes. He also has been through the Rockies, the ice fields of British Columbia (Western Canada) and to the Florida Everglades. Last summer, he trekked to Labrador City, in the province of Newfoundland near the Quebec border. After leaving Watertown, his first stop for a night on that trip was 500 miles later in Les Éboulements, Quebec. He said many people in the out-of-the-way fishing and mining towns in Canada were especially welcoming, eager to give a stranger tours of their communities.He doesn't always travel alone on his trips. He sometimes meets up with friends who share a passion for BMW motorcycles and camping. He would like to attach a sidecar to his BMW so he can take his girlfriend's border collie mix, Sweetie, with him.Mr. Boler plans two big trips a year and picks one. This year he'll either go to Oregon or deeper into Newfoundland.He's never had an accident. Mr. Boler said he's extremely safety-conscious, attending safety classes; lessons which transcend to anyone who might want to ride along as a passenger."I give them instructions on how to be a good passenger," Mr. Boler said. "I feel like I'm an ambassador, not only for BMW, but for our motorcycle sport itself."Mr. Boler sends travelogues of his journey to his friends."I want my friends to feel like they're on the journey with me," he said.■ / / Mr. Boler flips to a photograph of a young boy who spotted Mr. Boler's motorcycle at a rest stop in Michigan one morning. The boy is beaming as he grips the BMW's handlebars."This picture is worth more than what anybody can try to describe," he said. "It's the look on that kid's face."Such joy, Mr. Boler said, is the basis for his travels."People get caught up in life so much, they forget what makes them happy," he said.Mr. Boler is happy to keep on rolling, with no plans to slow down, albeit he will likely consider a different mode of vacation transportation some day."I see an RV in my future," he said. "I want to get off the ground because I'm getting too old for that." 

EAST COAST MOTORCYCLES 10 MERIDIAN DR UMHLANGA RIDGE

We have to assume that someone at that big circuit in the sky needed a performance pipe because exhaust-maker extraordinary Chris Bosson lost his fight with leukemia on February 9, a month before his 41st birthday.

Chris lived his passion for motorcycles in every facet of his life, putting more riding, more racing - and more crashes! - into four decades than most of us could in twice that.
For Chris his work, his hobby and his family were all part of the same adventure. His wife Martie is the voice of sanity at Bosson Performance Exhausts but she's also a racer - they've often competed against each other but just as often Chris would step back and act as pit crew for Martie, taking immense pride in her successes.

Chris was born in Zimbabwe and began racing motocross there at the age of six. The family moved to South Africa when Chris was 14 and two years later he began racing lightweight motorcycles on Killarney's "K" circuit - and the locals didn't know what had hit them.
For four years he was practically unbeatable and when he moved on to the main circuit he dominated the 250/400 Powersport Class in the same way. But he never lost his love of highly-strung two-strokes. Rather than run a 400cc four-stroke, he began importing 125 and 250cc ex-Grand Prix bikes, eventually fielding an ex-works Yamaha TZ125 that weighed less than he did and could go round the outside of almost anything in a tight corner.

His crowning achievement with the Yamaha was when he won a (very wet) regional race outright, beating off liter-class bikes in the process. In 1990 he founded Bosson Performance Exhausts, although he'd been making two-stroke exhausts on a semi-professional level for years. He was meticulous in his research, saying that designing an expansion box was not a black art but a science, governed by exact formulas and precise calculations - in fact he was among the first to use computer-aided design in exhaust manufacture Having won everything he could at Killarney, Chris went National racing in the 600cc class, scoring two seconds in his first season. Like many a shoestring racer, however, he had to make up for inadequate financial backing by riding beyond his - and the bike's limits. A series of big crashes put paid to his National campaign and he returned to Regional racing at Killarney, finishing second in the Western Province championship. After a huge crash in 2002 Chris stopped motorcycle racing for several years (he got into oval-track racing instead, but that's another story). He never forgot his love of motocross, however, and when the French passion for riding motocross bikes on tar (they call them Supermotards) came to Killarney in 2004 he was one of the first entries, finishing second in the WP championship in 2005 and 2006, and fifth in the National Masters Class in 2008. He was also involved in the administration of the sport for a number of years, giving freely of his time and expertise to help young riders - but he'll be remembered most for his no-nonsense plain speaking and astonishing lean angles. Killarney will be a quieter, somewhat duller place without him. Our sympathy goes out to Martie and their daughter.

There will be a memorial ride around the Killarney track on Friday at 5:30 for 6:00pm followed by a get together at the Clubhouse. Please join us for this occasion. To all of you with a bike of any sorts , quad, scooter, trail, mx, enduro, motard, adventurer Harley bike please come down and join us for this special tribute to our very special friend and please invite all you know as well

POPULAR actor and comedian Mandla Thabethe, popularly known as Bongo on SABC1 sitcom Family Bonds, has died. Thabethe was involved in a bike accident with one of his riding partners in the early hours of yesterday. They were on their way back to Emperors Palace where his bikers club, Sopranos Biking Club, was having their annual general meeting when the accident happened at about 5am. Members of his club said he was following David Machile on his Harley Davidson when they approached a sharp bend and Machile hit the brakes. Thabethe rode into Machile and died on impact. Machile, who sustained minor injuries, was treated and later discharged from hospital. Thabethe was also a producer who starred in several literacy education adverts. But he is best known for his role as Bongo in Family Bonds since 2007. He was a nominee for Best Actor in the comedy category in the 2010 South African Television and Film Award. His former biking captain and friend Khumo Sepeng said: “I met Bongo for the first time three years ago in Mpumalanga when bikers and celebrities did a charity gig. He rode with me the whole weekend.” Thabethe’s wife Mapula was too distraught to speak to Sowetan yesterday.

Johannesburg - Four people were seriously injured on Sunday in what paramedics called a freak motorbike accident in Magaliesburg.

ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak said the accident occurred alongside the T1 Road.

"A man on his motorbike lost control and crashed into a nearby veld...two people jogging witnessed what happened and went to check on the man.

"As they were running towards him, a woman who was riding another bike lost control and hit the joggers."

Paramedics arrived on scene to find all four had been seriously injured.

"They all sustained multiple injuries...the woman from the motorbike had to be airlifted to hospital...both bikers don't seem to have any recollection on how they lost control," Vermaak said.