'Cars can't reach us': Giant motorbikes are the workhorses in rural Cameroon

Laden with eight people, the vehicle heads down the dirt road, turning the heads of everyone it passes.

Eight up is hardly a big number for a truck or even a car in western Cameroon -- but this is no ordinary form of transport.

The head-turner is a giant motorcycle - an outrageously customised leviathan more than three metres (10 feet) long that has been specially adapted to meet a gap in Cameroon's transport market.

The beasts are used to take farmers and crops to market and bring goods back to outlying villages.

Farmers in Baye say the giant bikes are a lifesaver for getting to market in Bafoussam, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) away, on roads that are no more than tracks.

"These bikes help us a lot. The cars don't go out to the countryside. It's only the benskineurs (motorcycle taxi drivers) who come out for us," said Elisabeth Ninkam, a farmer.

"if we didn't have them, our plantains, our taro roots, the corn or the beans would rot in the fields. Where we live, cars can't get through because of the state of the roads. It's only motorbikes like these which can get our crops to market," said another grower, Makam Rose.

A "benskineur" with a super-sized rig can make a good living -- two or three times more than an ordinary motorcycle taxi, which typically brings in about 5,000 CFA francs ($9 / 7 euros) per day.

In Bafoussam, two mechanics, Emmanuel Wembe and Kuate Bachile, work in an earth-floor workshop to put the mega-bikes together.

The motorbikes are essentially tailor-made -- the mechanics weld together a new chassis for a powerful motorbike and upgrade the suspension.

"We make it according to the order -- from four-seaters to 10-seaters," said Wembe.

The converted bikes may be useful, although the ride is hardly comfortable and road safety is rather a roll of the dice.

"There are many risks, especially when it comes to managing the balance," said Ngaleu Michel, a teacher in automotive engineering at Bafoussam's technical college, pointing to the danger from punctures or a passenger falling off. 

AFP