Around the world on a Honda Monkey

The dream of travelling the globe on a motorcycle is on many a bucket list.

For many, the bigger the motorcycle, the better, but the dream of Yosuke Shoyama (43) from Japan was to take on the world on a similar bike he rode as a 16-year-old. 

Top Revs spoke to  Shoyama while he was taking a break at a local lodge before departing for the rest of his journey. 

Shoyama’s ride is a Honda 125cc Monkey bike, which was very popular in the early 1980s due to its robust and adventurous appearance. 

With its thicker-than-normal wheels, it is the ideal machine for rugged terrain. 

Shoyama modified his Monkey bike to accommodate his sleeping bag, tent and clothes – and even a small jerrycan for extra fuel.

With the standard 6,5l tank, Shoyama can reach around 300km on a single tank. 

He says he has worked as a part-time mechanic and truck driver, and has done other odd jobs to finance his adventure. 

His real adventure, however, started when he reached Africa, he says. 

“Before starting this journey in Africa, all I knew about Africa was poverty, bad roads and harsh weather.

“I’ve learnt that even though people think Africa is a country, there are actually many different countries, races and people,” Shoyama says.

Most of the people on his route were friendly and nice, with only a handful being hostile, he says. 

Experiencing a mechanical breakdown in Nigeria and again in Angola, he says he was assisted by villagers who loaded him and his bike on the back of an old truck and took him to the nearest town where he got help.

In Namibia, a local bikers’ club assisted him again to fix his bike and continue the rest of his journey. 

But it was Namibia’s roads and other infrastructure that amazed Shoyama. 

Roads in Cameroon, Nigeria and the Congo were a nightmare, he says.

He and his bike often had to be transported on a back of an old unroadworthy truck to reach some of his destinations, he says.

Shoyama says the one item he dare not travel without is his smartphone, since it can be used as a GPS and to communicate with his family at home. 

Language barriers are not an issue since his phone’s translator application helps him share his story, he says. 

Russia, Asia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan are a few of the areas Shoyama has travelled. 

After returning home from his Africa adventure, he plans to travel North and South America. 

Since he started his very first trip in the mid 1990s on his Monkey bike, Shoyama says he has clocked around 60 000km in the saddle of various motorbikes.