Co-founder of the Woodstock Moto Co. (previously Woodstock Man Cave) Devin Paisley says people are “losing touch with modern motorcycles” because of the increasingly complex technology involved in production. As a result, minimalistic 1960s café racer-styled motorcycles are rapidly re-emerging on cosmopolitan city streets worldwide. Paisley and his business partner, Simon Rice, took it upon themselves to create a platform for this evergrowing subculture.
Last June, in a previously abandoned warehouse around the corner from Cape Town’s hipster headquarters – that is, the Old Biscuit Mill – they opened the Woodstock Man Cave. Here the pair are set on helping “put the romance back into motorbikes”. The original concept was to create a safe haven for bikes from the Mother City’s chrome-stripping South Easter and thieving “tikkops” (methamphetamine users) for bikers who do not have access to indoor parking.
It is also a working space for those who are still forging their café racers, which generally begins by buying an ugly, old 1980s bike, and then stripping it down and shining it up to look like something that Steve McQueen would’ve ridden as a youngster. However, astute entrepreneurs Paisley and Rice have grown the venture to include several other things.
April 2015
Woodstock Moto Co: for the love of motorcycles
Co-founder of the Woodstock Moto Co. (previously Woodstock Man Cave) Devin Paisley says people are “losing touch with modern motorcycles” because of the increasingly complex technology involved in production. As a result, minimalistic 1960s café racer-styled motorcycles are rapidly re-emerging on cosmopolitan city streets worldwide. Paisley and his business partner, Simon Rice, took it upon themselves to create a platform for this evergrowing subculture.
Last June, in a previously abandoned warehouse around the corner from Cape Town’s hipster headquarters – that is, the Old Biscuit Mill – they opened the Woodstock Man Cave. Here the pair are set on helping “put the romance back into motorbikes”. The original concept was to create a safe haven for bikes from the Mother City’s chrome-stripping South Easter and thieving “tikkops” (methamphetamine users) for bikers who do not have access to indoor parking.
It is also a working space for those who are still forging their café racers, which generally begins by buying an ugly, old 1980s bike, and then stripping it down and shining it up to look like something that Steve McQueen would’ve ridden as a youngster. However, astute entrepreneurs Paisley and Rice have grown the venture to include several other things.
A coffee bar has made it a popular Sunday morning spot for vintage motorcycle riders to congregate before they head off to ride their classic bikes around the peninsula. Craft beer on tap, PlayStation 2, foosball and beer pong provide for the evening’s entertainment. A big screen projector offers movie nights. Woodstock Moto Co. also offers miscellaneous services required by those tinkering with motorcycles.
This could be anything from locating a tricky-to-find part to providing information on bike detailing. In essence, the business has a long list of contact numbers for everyone in Cape Town who might be able to help build the prefect café racer. The venture is not, says Paisley, about “hipsters who just want to be seen with classic motorcycles, but rather about enthusiasts who want to get their hands dirty”. The Woodstock Moto Co goes deeper than a few pretty Instagram pictures; it’s about the love of motorcycles.
• 7 Barron Street, Woodstock, Cape Town, 021-447-2623
• This article was updated July 2019.