The next Bike Week?
It's no secret that since 2022, motorcycle enthusiasts have been eagerly awaiting news about what is happening surrounding the annual Bike Week extravaganza that used to take place in Margate on the South Coast. Sadly, the event has become dormant, with no news as to whether it will happen in 2025 or even occur again. This has left the biking community with a big hole to fill.
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This is where an intrepid group of motorcycle enthusiasts from the SWDMCA devised a master plan to revive the same event but make it all about bikes, the community, and riding. This group invited us down to the stunning Klein Karoo in the Western Cape for a rally that would make or break the project.
CF Moto introduces its two-wheeled lineup
So what's it all about?
The SWDMCA is well familiar with the Oudsthoorn region and decided that this would be the perfect base of operations for a week-long bike fest. Manufacturers would bring their bike lineups to a central area, essentially getting a captive audience to showcase their bikes. This would culminate with a weekend motorcycle rally that bikers from all over South Africa would attend en masse.
The whole plan makes perfect sense when you think about it, Oudtshoorn is a rather central place, 8 hours from Gauteng, 5 hours from Cape Town, 6 hours from Durban and boasts some absolutely stunning scenery as well as some of the best riding in the country. There is something for everyone, gravel passes and offroad for the Adventure crowd, twisty mountain passes for the sportbikes and just about everything in between.
The region is also primed for tourism, with an abundance of guest farms, B&Bs, hotels, and camping to cater to all. It also has a number of tourist spots, such as the Cango Caves, Wildlife attractions, and spectacular nature.
So what's the hold-up?
The catalyst for this event will be De Grootvoël Rally hosted by the Biker Heart Riders MC. 2024 was the first year that this rally took place under their tutelage, and they needed to achieve an attendance of over 1000 people for several things to happen that will eventually crystalise into the new bike week. The municipality of Oudtshoorn will be involved, as will several other stakeholders, and all want to be assured that bikers will make the trek from all over the country. This was realised at the inaugural event as bikers from Durban, Kimberly, Cape Town, Gauteng and even as far afield as Amsterdam, Holland were in attendance.
Just over 1300 people crossed the gate, proving that there is an appetite that can only grow if the rest of the dominoes fall into line. The next steps will be to get the local OEMs on board, with the likes of Honda, BMW, Suzuki, Yamaha, KTM, CF Moto, Triumph, Harley Davidson, and Kawasaki all needing to bring their products for buyers to test on the stunning roads of the Klein Karoo.
This is a case of "if you build it, they will come" and after having spoken to several people involved, everyone agrees that there are only upsides to hosting an event like this that is sure to build the same reputation that the old Bike Week had without any of the bad. It will be good for the municipality and everyone in it, and bikers will be able to visit one of the most friendly and picturesque regions in SA and access some of the best riding roads in the country.
A special thanks to Prez Alex of the Bikers Heart SMC and Prez Johann from Coded MCC for the warm welcome and cracking event
