Behan Boshoff

“There have been a couple of really difficult situations, but most of these are more mental than physical. The Roof Of Africa Rally obviously comes to mind. A navigational GPS race where you are likely to spend ten to thirteen hours per day struggling through the most brutal, rocky and mountainous terrain imaginable, burning nine thousand plus calories each day, for three days. Or out in the desert, low on fuel, tired from getting stuck multiple times, having fixed nine punctures in one day, and knowing that you have no choice but to keep going to get to the next spot where you can find water.” – Behan Boshoff

Behan is the founder of ‘In Search Of Stories’ and lives and rides from Bloemfontein, a provincial capital in central South Africa. He sums his life up in the best way possible; “I ride bikes and tell stories.” His love for motorcycling has been a passion since childhood. “My father bought us motorcycles when I was six years old so that we could have something to do together and bond over. I’ve been riding ever since.” However, as Behan grew older, he started getting disinterested with the race-orientated riding of his early youth. “I was getting tired of racing, always trying to beat the next guy. It started taking the fun out of riding, and I found myself being drawn to the mountains and the wilder places. My dad had always been riding adventure bikes and happened to have two bikes in the stable at the time, so when I was 17 years old, after my first Roof Of Africa enduro race, we went on a trip to the East Coast of South Africa. That trip turned out to be the first of many.”

“We tend to cover a lot of distance on the bikes because the local terrain lends itself towards that, so too many kilometers to count. We use to do a lot of over-landing as a family in our Toyota Land Cruiser when I was a child, so by the age of twelve; I had been to pretty much all the countries in Southern Africa. On the adventure bikes, I’ve been to about four or five of them. As an example in July 2017 we went on an expedition to Western Angola and Namibia, to cross through the Death Acre “Doodsakker” and ride Van Zyl’s Pass. It was one of the best experiences of my life. This year we are planning another expedition, but this time to head up through Eastern Namibia, cross into Botswana through the Caprivi, turn up into Western Zambia, cross into Eastern Angola, and head back down to Namibia.”

“Each country and trip is unique in its own right, one highlight that I can pick out was about a week into our Angola Expedition. We had camped in the dunes on the coast the previous night and were packed up and moving before dawn to catch the low tide. This was important because we had to pass through the Death Acre that morning. This stretch of coast is notorious for claiming vehicles because the dunes lead right up to the ocean, so for about 25 mi / 40 km the waves actually break on the dunes, meaning that if you time the tide wrong you have no escape and will lose your vehicle, and be stranded in the middle of the Angolan desert. The sea was particularly rough on that day, so even with the low tide, we were often riding in the water, keeping the throttle wide open to avoid getting stuck. It was wonderfully exciting and stressful. From the end of the Death Acre, we turned back inland, into a stretch of desert with absolutely nothing in it.”

“No dunes, no plants, no animals, just flat white plains. The change in terrain was so sudden it felt like we had been teleported on to another planet. This carried on for a few hours, then the terrain changed again, just as suddenly, to classic West African arid grassland with massive Baobab trees dotting the landscape. That day was the perfect set up for my highlight. After overcoming the day’s challenges, we were gifted the best sunset I have, and probably will ever see. We made camp in a dry river bed, lit a fire and watched the stunning orange and pink hues fade to black. It was absolute perfection. I think each person needs to define ‘successful’ adventure riding for themselves. For me, it is to experience as much of the world as possible while I am here and to share my perspective to motivate others to do the same. The more we all learn about nature, different people and different cultures, the better off we’ll be.”

Behan also works for an organization called Country TRAX where he specializes in off-road motorcycle training, touring and events. “We have courses ranging in difficulty from complete beginner to complete race professional. I think riders should objectively assess their current ability and experience level, then identify what they would like to be able to do on the motorcycle. For example, that may be to tour through Africa, comfortably ride a smooth gravel road on a Saturday morning or to make their country’s GS Trophy team. Each of those requires a slightly different skillset, and once you know what your objective is, then you can find a course to get you there.”

Country TRAX is the official training partner of BMW Motorrad in South Africa, so thus it is no surprise that Behan gets his hands on the top models from Bayerische Motoren Werke. “We have a great relationship with our local dealer, Sovereign BMW Motorrad. They make it easy for us to ride their bikes. I find the BMW R1200 GS Rallye to be nimble and easy to handle over technical terrain, and the R1200 GS Adventure handles better again on the smoother gravel roads. So I mainly ride those two, or I pretty much just ride the bike that my father isn’t riding…”

Generally, Behan doesn’t get to add to many “upgrades” to the motorcycles that he rides. “We don’t add too much stuff, everything that you bolt on will rattle off first. That being said, there are a few necessities though.” Touratech headlight guards along with a Rumbux bash-plate and crash bar combo does a good job of protecting the motorcycles vitals. Machineart Moto’s tappet cover guards is another great addition for keeping rock strikes and gravel skids away from the engine. To protect the hands and levers from mishaps, the go-to hand-guard is made by Australian company Barkbusters. Motorradical supplies fuel and water cans. “These are a lifesaver, I’d give them 10/10 and would highly recommend them. I also like the BMW pannier frames for carrying the extra fuel and water while serving the dual purpose of added protection.” Along with these items Behan also firmly believes in adding a BMW differential guard and Rallye Seat whenever he can. “The only thing I do wish I could really ad though is Touratech suspension. I’ve ridden it on another GS, and it turns it into an enduro bike, it’s amazing!”

“I always use GPS, and it just makes life safe and easy. On the adventure bikes we use either the BMW Navigator or Garmin Montana, and on the enduro bikes, I use the Garmin eTrex 30. I’ve found that all these models work well for their respective purpose. Make a route, or potential routes, where you want to or might go, slap the GPS on your bike and hit the road.” With luggage, his philosophy is less is more. “Hard luggage bends, breaks and falls off. You can live for months with the stuff you can fit in a 40l duffle bag. Everything else you can find on the road, underwear included! Soft luggage also doesn’t cause everything inside to rattle into pieces. It really is the way to go for any off-road trip.”

Tires are always a point of dispute between riders of all disciplines, especially on the forums, so Behan usually chooses not to give an opinion, however; “Look, the science is simple. Hard compounds give high mileage and low traction, soft compounds give low mileage and high traction. You must find the compound that fills your need regarding those two variables, then consider the puncture-resistance factor as well. This is important. We got it wrong in Angola by running tires which didn’t have a steel protective lining. This meant that we fixed seventeen punctures in fourteen days. Right now, we only use Metzler Karoo 3 tires. They give the best combination of traction, mileage and puncture resistance for the riding that we do. They’re the only tire I can confidently recommend to anyone, and we’ve tried pretty much all of them!”

“Coming from an enduro background, I didn’t expect the riding to be too difficult, but I was surprised at how well these big bikes handle in the dunes for instance. For me the worst part about them is definitely the price, these things have become very expensive in South Africa. But then again, the best part of the bike isn’t the bike. It’s the freedom and memories that the bike brings. That and the sports suspension of course. There is so much stunning riding available in the South East of Africa that it’s sometimes hard to find reasons to go elsewhere!”

To see more of what Bahan is up to follow In Search of Stories or check out his YouTube Channel.

Images by Behan Boshoff with images of Behan riding by Vanessa Blankenhagel.