As of 2009[update] he holds the Guinness record for the world's longest motorcycle ride, spanning 10 years, 214 countries[3] and a total distance of 457,000 miles (735,000 km).

[4][5] [6] The ride was done on a 1980 Honda Gold Wing GL1100 motorcycle Scotto calls "Black Princess",[7] which now sits in the Don's Riverside Car Museum in Laughlin, Nevada.

In 1985, Scotto quit his job as a Buenos Aires sales representative for the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to see the world on his five-year-old 1100 cc Honda Goldwing Interstate.

[better source needed][10] In late 1986, when he was stranded in New York City, a television news report helped bring in donations that allowed him to cross the ocean.

[better source needed][10] Scotto was able to personally present a letter to Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, and Libyan leader Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi provided him with $300 for the African portion of his journey.