Touring Mauritius in Harley style

Taking the Harley-Davidsons for a spin in the piddling rain next to the dam at La Nicoliere.

Taking the Harley-Davidsons for a spin in the piddling rain next to the dam at La Nicoliere.

Published Jul 8, 2013

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“Let me tell you the story of Fat Derek, a very stupid criminal,” says Paul Wren. “Fat Derek was an illegal taxi driver. But he told the government he was unemployed so that he could live for nothing on a government housing estate. The problem was that he’d done his house up so it was a multi-storey palace in a slum.”

Wren takes a pull of his Phoenix beer and watches carefully as a couple of youngsters flutter around the three Harley-Davidsons parked on the other side of the street.

“A couple of weeks ago, Fat Derek gets a visit from the cops, who find 200 million rupees in his lounge. Fat Derek confesses he’s a drug dealer and leads the cops to his back garden where he digs up another 400 million rupees’ worth of cocaine.

“He then gives them the names of everybody else involved in the smuggling ring, including police officers and politicians - the dominoes are still falling.”

OLD FLACQ ROAD

Wren is dealer principal for Harley-Davidson in Mauritius. He, with One&Only Saint Gèran general manager Charles de Foucault and I, have pulled into a roadside shebeen the Mauritians call tabajes in the village of Trou d’Eau Douce for a couple of cold ones after a day’s riding round the northern part of the island.

It’s a ride that’s entailed us getting piddled on by the Indian Ocean heavens near the dam at La Nicolière. One of the characteristics of Mauritian roads is that you often find yourself riding through tunnels of overhanging branches and nowhere is this more beautiful than on the Old Flacq road past the Mount Sugar Estate. Or it would be if you could see more than a few metres in front of you.

The piddle subsides to a dribble as we get to the dam and by the time we’ve finished the baguettes we bought earlier at a deli-patisserie in Grand Baie, there are fleeting glimmers of blue above.

OVER THE MOUNTAINS

So it’s eastward-ho: up and over the mountain, into sparkling sun before descending through cane-fields to the coast and our sweet waterhole.

Eventually the father of the kids who’ve been fussing round the bikes comes up on the pretence of buying boulettes (street food) from the Chinese owner of the tabaje and shyly asks Wren if he would have his picture taken with the boys and his bike - a customised, flame-decorated Fat Boy Special.

They’ve asked him because he looks the “baddest” member of the trio. Charles “The Good” de Foucault is on an extensively modified Dyna Switchback. If he ever tries to take it back to his native southern France, he’ll shatter every noise rule in the European Union law-book.

My standard 1690cc Softail Slim has such a power-band (132Nm at 3250rpm) that I’m effortlessly able to catch up to Monsieur de Foucault on those frequent occasions when he decides to Foucauf up the road.

The Softail Slim is a 305kg black beast that retails in South Africa for R210 000.

“There’s a limited market for new bike sales in Mauritius,” says Wren. “That’s why rentals are so important for us.

“We have five bikes on the road for rentals - two Dynas, two Sportsters and the Softail. The response from tourists has been so overwhelming that the fleet will have to be enlarged.

“I can see myself needing between 15 and 20 bikes on the road by December. The intention is to put Mauritius on the map as a great biking destination. The scenery is fantastic, the road quality is good and the biker scene is still fresh and friendly.”

Rentals range from 6 000 Mauritian Rupees (about R1860) plus VAT a day for a Dyna to 8500 rupees (R2650) when the dealership eventually puts a big touring bike such as a Road King in the fleet.

“That’s for a 24-hour rental and includes unlimited mileage, insurance and riding gear - helmets gloves and rainsuits. We also offer half-day rentals; from 10am to 5pm.

“There are discounts for card-carrying HOG (Harley-Davidson Owners’ Group) members, and term rentals.”

GET ADVENTUROUS

“Mauritius is a small island but the riding is diverse and you need to be fairly adventurous if you want to discover the back parts. We offer tours for up to five bikes - five riders with a passenger each - for a premium on the half-day rental amount.

“The tour includes lunch at a predetermined destination.”

There are three touring routes - typically riding 175-200km in the day. Wren has a willing accomplice in De Foucault, who’s been riding the Milwaukee monsters since working for the Ritz Carlton in California in 1999.

The hotelier said: “My first experience on a Harley was riding from Laguna Beach to Yosemite National Park. We spent a whole week on the bikes and I was hooked.

“Six months later I had my own Softail Deuce. I kept it for 10 years and moved it from Los Angeles to South Korea, Bahrain and India.”

The next morning the three of us leave the resort early for the monthly Mauritius HOG breakfast run.

Every trip has a defining moment: my time in Mauritius will forever be recalled by the sound of 30 big bikes - mostly Harleys but also a 1200cc Ducati Multistrada and 2300cc Triumph Rocket - rumbling and revving at the start of the ride.

The vibrations set off car alarms. One rider has a sound system installed and he starts playing the Marshall Tucker Band standard Fire on the Mountain.

When we finally pull in to the Le Preskil Beach Resort for lunch, I look at the tourists - even the gloriously shaped one dipping her toes in the Mauritian surf - and see them in a completely different light. Civilians, I think dismissively. Civilians. - Saturday Star

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