Bikes of Milan (pics)

[mojobreakfast]

My wife and I were in Milan for a few days earlier this week. Milan is bike crazy because you can't really have a car, at least not in the city center. Consequently there are bikes (scooters and motorcycles) parked on practically every square inch of spare sidewalk, and teams of bikes surge from intersection to intersection.

The most popular motorcycle brand by informal observation seems to be BMW, followed probably by a tie between Honda and Suzuki. Ironically you don't see as many Italian motorcycles as you might think (although, plenty of Italian scooters). A surprising number of Harleys.

Motorcycle edge-traps abound with the trolley lines embedded in the cobblestone streets. It's nearly terrifying watching the bikers hop curbs, slide over trolley lines, filter around cars... they are good city riders. We did see a car take out a scooter (left in front of bike that had right of way), but didn't grab a picture. The guy was OK though.

People there treat their bikes like commuter cars. They are mostly dirty and well used, and rashed up. They park them bar end to bar end in seemingly impossibly tight spaces. If you can't get a stand down, just lean it against a wall (see the pic of the 1000RR).

The pic last pic of is of Biaggi's 2010 SBK alternate bike. Piaggio had a neat little showroom setup to promote their bikes right near our hotel. There was also a 2011 Dorsoduro 1200 in there but for some stupid reason I didn't get a pic of it.





















Anyways, just a time waster thread for your Thursday morning.

[schleppy]

Great pics, thanks!

When I went to Milan I was amazed at the number of bikes flying around downtown. People over there are NUTS when it comes to driving in the city.

[OreoGaborio]

Hehe... Sportster (correction, XR1200r) with termi pipes & galfer wave rotors. Love it!


Cool pics, dude.

[Garandman]

Nice work!

[KawiSmurf]

I really like that KLE500. Pretty awesome how common dual-sports are over there. Lot of trunks/tail-packs, too.

[mojobreakfast]

Hehe... Sportster (correction, XR1200r) with termi pipes & galfer wave rotors. Love it!

I really like that bike. I saw a few XR1200R's running around. I didn't get to hear one with the Termis though.. Youtube video of XR1200R with Termis here:

YouTube - Termignoni 2-1-2 racesystem Harley Davidson XR 1200

I think it sounds pretty good.

[mojobreakfast]

I really like that KLE500. Pretty awesome how common dual-sports are over there. Lot of trunks/tail-packs, too.

I think the dual sports come in handy for getting up/off curbs and stuff. Also helps they are narrow. A very popular bike is the Honda Transalp. Saw a ton of those.

[r6rammy]

awesome pics, more pics of the RSV alternate bike?

[mojobreakfast]

awesome pics, more pics of the RSV alternate bike?

This is really the only one I have:



Here's an RS 125:



And if you're on a real budget but still want to rep Biaggi:

[Slyder]

People in cages are nuts over there. Good luck trying to cross the streets at times, there were no crosswalks that I remember.

I saw a lot of 2 stroke bikes when I was there in 2007. CR's and stuff like that, MX bikes with street tires and lights / blinkers. Aprilia RS125s, and other GP type bikes. And if someone wasn't on the bike, it was chained. Having come from Munich, it was a crazy change of pace, nothing was chained there.

Sweet pics though, some look familiar

[mojobreakfast]

People in cages are nuts over there. Good luck trying to cross the streets at times, there were no crosswalks that I remember.

I saw a lot of 2 stroke bikes when I was there in 2007. CR's and stuff like that, MX bikes with street tires and lights / blinkers. Aprilia RS125s, and other GP type bikes. And if someone wasn't on the bike, it was chained. Having come from Munich, it was a crazy change of pace, nothing was chained there.

Sweet pics though, some look familiar

At least very close to the Duomo we found it relatively civilized. We didn't see too many private cars down in the center, mostly cabs (most are Priuses) and they weren't as aggressive as cabs in New York City, at least with regards to getting lights, etc.

Once you get a little further from the Duomo, yeah it gets a little crazier. It didn't take long for us to see this happen:

[Slyder]

At least very close to the Duomo we found it relatively civilized. We didn't see too many private cars down in the center.

I saw a few personal cars down there, Ferrari and a Lambo...some others.

Up the road in Monza however, I got to see 2 of the most expensive Ferrari's ever built

[ninjachica250]

This is really the only one I have:



Here's an RS 125:



And if you're on a real budget but still want to rep Biaggi:

[2v2Ducati]

When i lived in southern Italy I only saw a few ducatis and italian bikes, a friend had a 01 900SS, saw few monsters and and old guy with a Guzzi. Heaps of scooters, Honda Hornets and motards. Harleys were kind of a status thing and people with money had sportsters.

[dankatz]

Alan123 and I flew to Milan this summer and rented bikes in Milan (me a BMW F800ST and he rented a Vstroom). Riding in Milan is as much fun as it seems - a blast. Soon enough you forget about all the rules, split lanes, go over the double lines and just use your throttle judiciously! We went to Andermatt, Switzerland and the Dolomites for some of the best times ever. Stelvio was as good as advertised! Coming back to the states I had to really tone down my riding before I got a ticket. Tons of bikes....even more scooters...such an awesome selections of models!

[mojobreakfast]

Alan123 and I flew to Milan this summer and rented bikes in Milan (me a BMW F800ST and he rented a Vstroom).

What outfit did you rent from? What did it cost? Did you bring your own gear? I'm interested in doing this sometime.

[dankatz]

Brought my own gear, textile pants and jacket that were waterproof. Also, waterproof boots. Gloves were not as waterproof. Rented from BiancoBlu (Renato) and would recommend them. I brought a large bag with all my equipment and put clothes into 2 gallon ziplock bags in case it would rain. All went well. It was expensive. Something like $1200 rental for 10 days all miles inclusive and insurance included for my BMW F800ST. Vstroom was a little cheapr - I think $1050