Salt Rock racing champion is the curator of motorcycling nirvana

Hidden in a quiet niche of Ballito’s business district, Paul Cuthbert has carved himself a corner of motorcycling nirvana.

The recent Salt Rock resident has nurtured a lifelong passion for motorbikes, both in racing and building a collection of 36 bikes that run the gamut from vintage Harley Davidsons to cutting edge Yamaha racers.

Originally from Glasgow, Cuthbert moved to Johannesburg at age 14, where he lived until making a permanent move to the North Coast last year.

“I’d always had a passion for racing, but really began to get out onto the tracks when I moved to South Africa. I’m not really sure where that love came from, because nobody in my direct family shared the interest,” said Cuthbert.

He started with dirt biking and motocross, winning a series of events before a number of serious injuries forced him onto the road racing circuit.

“I had three spinal fusions and had broken my legs, shoulders and almost everything else when I decided it was probably best to stay on the road! Recently I have been doing some off-roading in Glendale, but I only race on the road,” he said.

It is not just casual track days that Cuthbert competes in either, with riders in his Motorcycle Racing Series SA masters class (over-45) regularly topping speeds of 250kph.

Cuthbert races two modified Yamaha R1 superbikes, one of which he uses for practice and the other on race day.

He has won many races on them over the years, with a trophy shelf in his office holding hundreds of medals and awards too numerous to mention individually.

Suffice to say he is not only an enthusiast from afar, although he does love to travel to global motoring events.

“I really love the MotoGP and have always been a Yamaha fan. I was there to see my favourite rider Fabio Quartararo win his first world title in 2021. I love to watch the Isle of Man GT, too.”

Along with his wife, fellow motoring enthusiast Janine, Cuthbert also regularly takes one of a series of Harley Davidsons on trips around the country.

Their three children, Brittany (29), Tristan (25) and Travis (15), are all similarly accomplished on two wheels.

Brittany earned South African colours for motocross, while Tristan and Travis are both professional cyclists, the latter to ride the junior Paris-Roubaix in April and hoping to become a tour rider.

Their awards can be found on display in their father’s office-cum-museum which also holds a veritable treasure trove of motoring related memorabilia.

Headlining his pieces are two full-sized and working replicas of the bikes driven by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in the seminal film, Easy Rider from 1969 – which Cuthbert built.

The original ‘Captain America’ and ‘Billy Bike’ bikes went missing from set, so replicas are about as close as you can come to the vintage Harley Davidsons, the popularity of which is credited with saving the company and starting the outlaw biker movement.

“I really like Harleys because of how they can be specified, with parts from different eras and style able to be swapped in on each bike.”

He also owns the original biker jacket worn by Mickey Rourke in the 1991 film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.

This aside from a number of more current memorabilia, such as signed race-worn items from his favourite riders and signed pictures, many of which are one-of-one.

Stuffed to the gills, every corner of Cuthbert’s office offers up a new piece with an interesting history that he is delighted to rattle off with ease.

He asked us not to mention the location for obvious reasons, but if you ever do stumble across it, you will be floored by the sheer amount he has collected.

“We used to have everything on display around the house in Joburg, but Janine put her foot down when we moved! So this is where I store just about everything, a lifetime of motoring memories.”

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