bikes in Rome

[Creekside]

I took these shots while I was there. I am no where near as good as my wife & friends, so pardon the fuzzy shots and lack of good light, angles. It was very cool to see so many moped riders, like Paris. Young girls with fixed hair, dresses, sharp shoes barreling into traffic with a "leather skirt overlay" to keep the dress down and dirt off. They kamikaze into slower traffic with the best of them. Everyone white lines up to the stop sign and fills in front of the lead car. Young couples flying down packed roads out to see the sites. Yeah I was getting a bit of bike envy after walking for two weeks around on foot.

Our condo renter had an old BMW R80 something airhead. Very few GSs, F800s, 990s, 690s or anything for that matter bigger than 500ccs.

I would just have a banged up Vespa. Otherwise it would be stolen and it will get dented in a few days anyways. I saw people moving, shoving into and scratching others bikes just to get theirs out of the stack to go home at night. The really bike packed spots made for lousy pics. It was just a seas of bikes packed in together in the shade.

#1 bike shop a few blocks from where we stayed over by the fountains and Pathenon. Note - this is the entire store, parts and shop you see. There were alot of KTM and Duc dealers that looked just like this one tiny room with a garage door.
#2 A 50cc KTM? Waiting outside the shop to for a repair
#3 another one room dealer/store/parts/repair. This was a few doors down from our condo.
#4 typical Rome street filled with bikes
#5 Yamaha "Africa Twin"?
#6 our street full of mopeds at 9am weekday. One was almost into our door & I smacked the door into it getting out. I moved it away
#7 a partial shot of a parking area
#8 Honda something?
You guys are better at knowing bikes than I. I think half of you reading this have owned/own 20+ bikes in your barn and some of you have one in front room.

[Creekside]

decided to stick my Paris pics here. Again sorry for the bad shots, thats just me. The shots of interesting bikes were too dark to make out.

#1 typical Paris street full of bikes. Note the step thru yellow moped with the roof. Its the one with the ripped seat. Those can come with zip up windows like a tent has. Truly strange. Some had 4 wheels and where super tiny cars, and sometimes with two bicycle seats side by side. Saw those in Rome too.

#2 typical Paris sidewalks are bike park zones. You have to be awake. They drive on the sidewalks with you at speed. Deaf people would die here. Amsterdam is like this as well but packed with bicycles, they have their own lanes at least. Mirrors fly by your elbows at 30+. Its a steady stream of mopeds and pedalers zipping around you.

#3,4 electric mini car. 4ft tall at the most.

[troy]

Thanks for sharing the pics! I took my wife to Paris for our 20th anniversary (5 years ago), and I was struck by how many motorcycles (including scooters) you see on most every street corner in the busy areas. Like you noticed, I'd see ladies dressed for work in nice dresses and riding 2-up. It's a different culture or sure.

[Stu]

I was in that motorcycle shop in Rome at the end of October last year. There were several mostly disassembled Ducati twins up front that looked abandoned. The owner was very friendly. There were a lot of sports bikes running around and a lot of 390 KTMs. One rider on a KTM 1190 Adventure I talked to was from Germany. Mopeds were everywhere and used because at least you can find a spot to park them.

Stu

[Creekside]

I was amazed at the bike traffic in both cities. They swarm around buses like fish around a whale looking for scraps. The way they all white line it up to the light and take the light would cause major road rage here with cagers. I just don't know that I could ever ride like that. Its one thing to drive like a nut out on freeways, back country highways and gravel. But in dense urban stuff? I guess you 'd get used to it. I just wonder how long before you'd be down?

The scenery is amazing. I love it there.

.