Bumps in the Road: A Father-Son Moto Adventure

An unforgettable KTM 990 journey through South Africa’s wild terrain — filled with scenic passes, mechanical mishaps, and father-son grit.

I recently bought a new-to-me KTM 990S whilst up in Johannesburg. Seeing as I live in Cape Town and loathe shipping motorcycles, my dad and I thought it a great excuse to plan a trip. My dad could ride the bike down to the Western Cape, link up and do some spectacular riding East to West with the Baviaanskloof as the starting point. Simple! Right?!?

Day Zero: A Change of Plans

Initial plans to meet up in Steytlerville quickly morphed into a rendezvous in George due to a series of miscommunications and misunderstandings. Equally relieved and excited that my dad had safely navigated the 1,500km solo trek in a day and a half, we set out to conquer the infamous Montagu Pass before making our way to Wilderness for the night. See Day Zero video.

At dinner, we considered and discussed various plans before plotting our grand route for the next five days. In summary, we planned to ride the Baviaans South to North and then East to West. Thereafter, meandering back to Cape Town via Swartberg and perhaps Seweweekspoort. I could hardly contain my excitement that night and slept terribly as a result.

Day One: Mechanical Mayhem

See Day One video.

We leave Wilderness towards Knysna, up Simola hill onto Kom se Pad with a not-so-quick stop at Angie’s. Onward via Prince Alfred’s Pass and right on the N9. The Baviaans is calling. On the border of the Eastern and Western Cape, we are pulled over by traffic police and issued a stiff fine for my non-existent number plate (which had dislodged itself from my bike on the previous day). Shortly thereafter the 990S cuts out and won’t budge.

The starter swings but the bike simply won’t start. We tow to the next town, pull into the CoOp’s workshop and commence diagnosing the issue. With about 50% conviction, we determine that it must be the fuel filter. We’re just about precisely in the middle between George and Port Elizabeth. We tow to Joubertinia, find accommodation and reach out for help on a couple WhatsApp riding groups.

I receive a message from “Bennie” who advises that he’s in Jeffrey’s Bay (about 90km away) and has a spare 990 fuel filter kit for us. Before I can get a word in, he says he’s on his way and to meet him on the road. It’s 19:00, we’ve just had dinner and so I jump on my bike and head towards Humansdorp. I find Bennie roughly halfway along the route. He graciously hands over the filter kit (together with a couple other useful spares for good measure). We chat about 990s and his recent trip on the roadside in the pitch dark for the next 45 minutes. What a gem! I make my way back to the accom and fit the filter kit late that night. We can’t fire up the bike until the next morning (don’t want to disturb the neighbours). Will just have to hold thumbs!

Day Two: Baviaans Bound

See Day Two video.

The bike starts and purrs (after being jumpstarted as we’d run the battery flat). We’re back on the road. Bennie is still on leave and joins us in Kareedouw. Turns out he’s a pretty good rider too. We plan to enter the Baviaans via the “side-entry”, make our way through the Park and exit at the Eastern Gate on the Patensie side. Then Elands to Steytlerville for the night.

We’re treated to superb riding and scenery. The Side-Entry is something special but our plans unravel just before the Baviaan’s T-junction when my battery pops from overcharging due to a faulty regulator. We overnight at Rus-en-Vrede with farmer, Chris Lamprecht as our host and champion braaier. That night I resolve to collect a replacement battery and rectifier in J-bay the next day. If all goes well we can ride out that afternoon.

Day Three: Racing the Clock

See Day Three video.

I dash through the Baviaanskloof solo and make my way to Jeffrey’s Bay. Absolutely stunning scenery and loads of wildlife. I’m having an incredible time.

On arrival in Jeffrey’s Bay, I drop the faulty rectifier at Bennie’s. He is going to rewire the connections to an aftermarket rectifier he has as spare. I dart to the local battery supplier, pick up a replacement and then head back to Bennie’s to collect the freshly soldered aftermarket rectifier.

I refuel in Patensie and collect a water pump at the CoOp for farmer Chris before rushing back. Roughly halfway I realise that there is no chance we’ll make it out of the Baviaans today – there simply won’t be enough time.

I arrive back at the farm, fit the replacement battery and rectifer. I take the bike on a short test ride to check everything works fine. It doesn’t miss a beat. Dinner and bed.

Day Four: Flat Again

See Day Four video.

We wake up with excitement and eagerness to finally continue our journey after much tribulation. Nope – my bike’s battery is once again flat. We charge and jumpstart before finally setting off. About 20km later my electronics die and the bike cuts out. The battery is flat again. It must not be charging. We realise then that the replacement rectifier never was charging to begin with – the battery would simply run itself down. What follows is a long series of charges, jumpstarts, tows and freeing to finally reach Wilderness late that evening. We are absolutely exhausted and deflated. We’ll try make a plan tomorrow. We are too tired to deal with it tonight. Dinner and bed.

Day Five: A Helping Hand

I again take a few shots in the dark on some 990 WhatsApp groups at breakfast. A couple leads but they’re dead-ends. Local legend Werner Zwang in Hoekwil offers us a rectifier off his 950 SuperEnduro. His place is a mere 20km from where we’re staying. He says I can just ship it back once we arrive home. We can’t believe it!

I collect from his foreman and head back. We fit Werner’s rectifier, charge the battery one last time and ride back to Cape Town without fault.

Final Thoughts

It was a challenging trip but one we won’t soon forget. We saw some breathtaking scenes, became acquainted with the new machine and bonded over our never-ending struggles. No regrets.

#LekkerMoto