The BikeShop Boksburg Burning – what happened and what happens now?
Story Donovan Fourie
It was Sunday, 23 June at 9am when the smoke ascended above Boksburg. This is a city that had Presley’s catch fire, it had seen a recycle plant go up in flames but this is personal.
Close to 200 motorcycles and a floor full of new accessories and kit saw their demise in a fiery blaze. Nothing could be realistically salvaged. The clothing and kit belonging to Bike Kings on the second floor remains unrecognisable. The tin roof melted inwardly and the walls started leaning precariously…
The lines of shiny motorcycles had very little luck. Anything aluminium melted into grey puddles, fairings and plastics disintegrated. The only material to survive was the hardest of steel.
Very quickly, arson was ruled out by the fire team, and while the full report is yet to be released, the likely cause is a fault of some kind in the electronics.
All this comes just seven months after this new store was first opened.
All is not lost, however, and the strong shall pick up from the fall and rise again.
The new workshop built adjacent to the new showroom received only minor damage, and services and repairs continue unabated.
Across the parking lot from the new building is the warehouse-sized showroom that BikeShop Boksburg previously inhabited that has since been occupied by Demo Deals appliances. The good news is that Demo Deals has signed a lease with the premises next door for a showroom that better suits their needs, while BikeShop Boksburg will move into its old showroom, one that was impressive nonetheless. This move is expected at the beginning of August – look out for more news on that. They are also still doing new Suzuki sales.
What the people at BikeShop are looking for now is new stock – some 200 motorcycles need replacing. It seems that if you wish to sell a motorcycle, now is an especially good time to do it.
Selling a used bike? 061 830 1163. 084 487 4371. 011 918 7777
