Words and Photographs by:
Sean Ridez
From Grease Monkey to Industry Pro: A Life Under the Hood:
They say in Afrikaans, "die koeël is deur die kerk".... the bullet is through the church. Once it’s done, there’s no turning back. For Sean Hendley, that moment arrived in 1974. At just four years old, he was already in the garage with his father, swinging spanners to build his very first motorcycle, a late 60s Yamaha 50cc FS1. The mechanical bug didn't just bite; it left a permanent mark.
Sean grew up in an era where speed was earned through grease and grit. Raised by a single father who balanced the demands of three children with a passion for machinery, Sean learned early on how to "make a plan." Their garage was a sanctuary of gifted projects, from a restored Norton 750 Commando to a BSA 250 Bantam. By the age of ten, Sean wasn’t just riding, he was diagnosing.
His first Yamaha eventually met its end in a rubble skip in the mid 80s, but only after a lifetime of abuse. He pushed that small road bike through Moto-X tracks until the chassis snapped, frequently seeking out neighbours to weld the frame back together. When the two stroke engine seized from long stretches of wide open throttle, Sean would hammer the piston out with a block of wood and polish the internals with toothpaste, a resourceful substitute for the Brasso he couldn't afford.
The 1980s served as a masterclass in automotive hustle. Sean rebuilt a rusted out Toyota 1200 bakkie so effectively his cash strapped Dad traded it for cash and a '68 Ford Escort Station Wagon that had been salvaged from a chicken coop. While his school mates spent their winter holidays tanning on the KZN South Coast, Sean spent his days in a workshop, stripping the Escort’s seized motor to the crankshaft and professionally fitting old carpets to replace the bird ravaged interior. By the time school resumed, his friends had tans, but Sean had a high performance daily driver.
This relentless hands on education continued through his youth, from dropping the engine out of the family’s '69 VW Kombi to rebuilding the Jaguar XJ6 differential on his father’s custom Ford Transit van. Even his marriage has mechanical roots. Shortly after his military service, he met his wife and helped her source parts to rebuild her recovered stolen motorcycle. Today, they still ride and wrench together.
With over 25 years in the motorcycle industry, Sean has transitioned from the garage floor to the forefront of automotive media. Having tested and reviewed countless bikes and cars, he brings a perspective that can't be taught in a journalism class. Because he has spent over a million kilometres in the saddle and a lifetime under the hood, he can instinctively sense when a machine is truly special, merely adequate, or simply putting on a show. Sean’s reviews are defined by this "insider" honesty, no candy coating and no brand bashing, just the raw truth from a man who knows exactly how the gears turn.