It could be considered extreme couples therapy with a motorcycle twist, and for one pair it has only made their relationship stronger.

Travelling the world by motorcycle can be stressful at the best of times, but both riding on one motorcycle makes the trip even more challenging.

Adventurers Pascal Bosshard and Arja Gullvik have journeyed round the world together, spending hours each day sharing the same motorcycle – their BMW R 1200 GS.

But while some couples would have found so much time together tough to take, Pascal and Arja have seen their relationship go from strength to strength.

“Riding together on the same motorcycle for twelve straight months, spending 24 hours a day together we had nowhere to escape to, you can’t hide from confrontation and each challenge we had to deal with together,” says Pascal. “Through all of this we formed a special closeness in our relationship. Traveling creates many more opportunities to get to know each other in a shorter amount of time. You learn quickly what the other person is really like and how they react to different situations.

“Deciding to travel together was one of the easiest choices we ever made. We happily share a common personal outlook on life and making the decision to travel long-term was ultimately about time – our only real commodity.”

The twosome, based in Australia, decided to take a route to Europe via South-East Asia. But despite being blissfully happy together, both admit that there is a third ‘person’ in their partnership – their beloved motorcycle, whom they have named Francois.

“I tested many motorcycles until I found one that was truly confidence-inspiring and forgiving for an inexperienced off-road rider,” explains Pascal. “When I found Francois, who hadn’t a name at that time, he was the demo model at our local BMW dealership in Sydney. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up and thus the deal was made. We christened him Francois, as we toasted with a bottle of Château St François white wine in his honor.”

“Now, Francois is definitely a part of us. After almost 65,000kms around the world, and through 25 countries, he has been exceptionally reliable given everything we’ve thrown at him. He coped fine with Cambodian dust tracks, over rugged rocky Nepalese mountain passes, through deep river crossings in India, in sand-storms in Pakistan, and on all kinds of roads imaginable.”

The trio’s trip has taken them from below sea level to altitudes of more than 5,600m, and from temperatures ranging from -10°C to 47°C. Their adventures have also incorporated a few frightening moments – there were occasions in both India and Cambodia where they had to dodge head-on collisions. Another time, in the Nepalese mountains, a combination of a steep uphill gradient, hairpin bends, rocks and a deeply-grooved track led to them almost losing control. In Thailand, Pascal suffered a bee sting and his whole arm swelled up so much that using the clutch was nearly impossible.

“One of the hardest things about riding two-up is knowing that I have the responsibility for both of us,” says Pascal. “We do think about what it would be like to travel on separate bikes,” he adds, “But financially and logistically it would be more complicated. Arja doesn’t have a motorcycle license and isn’t physically able to ride Francois. The R 1200 GS is just too big and tall for her. She’s shown interest in gaining her motorcycle license but for the moment at least we are content with our mode of travel: riding two-up.”