Africa. The Dark Continent. Where magic is practiced daily. Where seawater is considered “strong medicine” by the sangomas (traditional healers).

 

About a mile or so from the magic seawater lies a dark cavern, where the Wizard Henry and his apprentice, Alan, ply their craft as alchemists. Although not yet able to transmute base metals into 

gold, they have the ability to transform a rusty old nail into a sweet-handling Cafe Racer. 

 

Southside / Troika Machines is the cavern’s name – Southside handles the routine care and maintenance of machines “of a certain age” while Troika deals with the creation of the Cafe Racer 

bikes.

 

To round things off, a coffee machine was installed, and riders (generally also “of a certain age”) gather to swop lies about handling, performance, etc.

 

Henry served his apprenticeship in the car industry, before seeing the light and switching allegiance to all things two wheeled.

 

He worked at various dealers in Cape Town before buying his own shop in central Cape Town. Alan, his son, grew up surrounded by nmotorcycles and naturally gravitated into 

the business.

 

After selling up and moving to the UK for a couple of years, where Alan gained invaluable experience working for the London Suzuki and Yamaha dealers, they could take the cold and wet no longer and 

returned to the sunnier clime of the Cape Peninsula. Southside Cycles was opened (not at its current premises) while Henry and his two mates, Arthur and Kobus, plotted the opening of a custom shop 

specialising in Cafe Racers.

 

Arthur had long had his eye on a unit in a small industrial estate on the outskirts of Fish Hoek, a coastal town in False Bay. The untimely demise of Cobus prompted the remaining two  to open the custom shop early in 2014, naming it Troika in honour of Cobus – the 

horse that was cut loose from the three pulling the sled when threatened by wolves in the Russian forest.

 

Arthur has since retired from the business, leaving Henry and Alan to continue the creation of Cafe Racers.

 

Meanwhile, we will leave the Wizard and his apprentice to continue brewing their dark potions (Columbian coffee and 

Ceylon tea) and making magical transformations.

 

Henry and Alan can be contacted on Troikamachine@gmail.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CREDIT TO PAUL BUBEAR & CLASSIC BIKE GUIDE