The Longest Motorcycle Journey Ever Recorded

In 1985, a 33-year-old Argentine named Emilio Scotto rolled out of Buenos Aires on a fully loaded Honda Gold Wing GL1100 he called the Black Princess.

He wasn’t chasing a hashtag.

He wasn’t building a brand.

He simply left to see the world.

Ten years later, he was still riding.

The Longest Motorcycle Journey Ever Recorded

What followed became the longest motorcycle journey in history, earning Emilio Scotto a place in the Guinness World Records.

But this isn’t just a record story.

It’s a story about obsession, endurance, risk, and what happens when “I’ll ride for a year or two” turns into a decade on the road.

The Trip in Numbers

Let’s pause for a second and look at what he actually did:

• 10 years, 2 months & 19 days on the road
• 6 continents crossed
• 232 countries, territories, islands & colonies visited
• 485,000 miles (≈ 735,000 km) traveled

Now the mechanical side:

• 13,000 gallons (50,000 liters) of fuel
• 250 gallons (960 liters) of oil
• 86 tires
• 12 batteries
• 9 seats
• 1 spare engine

That’s not a weekend ADV trip.

That’s mechanical warfare.

And yes — the “232 countries” includes territories and non-sovereign regions, which explains why the number exceeds the 195 recognized sovereign states.

Still… the scale is unreal.

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It Wasn’t Romantic. It Was Brutal.

We often romanticize RTW (round-the-world) journeys.

Scotto’s reality?

• 6 times jailed
• Shot at twice (Nicaragua, Somalia)
• 5 robberies
• 2 major accidents (Yugoslavia, Tanzania)
• 2 tornados
• 4 hurricanes
• 3 serious illnesses (including malaria)
• 15 traffic tickets (mostly in California — of course 😅)

He collided with animals.

He endured insects by the millions.

He survived political instability, natural disasters, and the constant uncertainty of borders in the late 80s and early 90s.

This wasn’t Instagram adventure.

This was raw, analog exploration.

The Machine: Honda Gold Wing GL1100

Here’s what makes this even more interesting.

He didn’t choose a lightweight dual-sport.

He rode a 1980 Honda Gold Wing GL1100 — a heavy touring machine not exactly built for mud tracks in Africa or broken roads in remote regions.

But that’s the thing about real adventure:

It’s not about the “perfect bike.”

It’s about commitment.

The Black Princess became more than a motorcycle.

It became a survivor.

Today, it’s preserved as a symbol of endurance — a mechanical artifact of what long-distance motorcycling looked like before GPS, before satellite trackers, before YouTube monetization.

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What This Means for Us

As someone who loves touring and adventure bikes, I find this story grounding.

We debate:

• 21-inch vs 19-inch front wheels
• 50/50 vs 70/30 tires
• Tubeless vs tubes
• Which bike is “the best for RTW”

And then you remember:

A man crossed six continents on a 1980 Gold Wing and just kept going.

For ten years.

No content strategy.

No sponsorship machine (at least not at today’s level).

No algorithm.

Just motion.

The Real Takeaway

Emilio Scotto’s journey isn’t about mileage.

It’s about duration.

Most of us dream about a big trip.

Few of us commit long enough to let the trip change who we are.

Ten years on the road doesn’t just test your bike.

It rebuilds your identity.

The Black Princess survived.

But more importantly - so did he.

And that might be the greatest record of all.