As noted in today’s other story, I was in Italy for the press launch of the Aprilia Tuareg 660 – great bike, by the way. The launch was in Sardinia, and I had a day in Rome for a layover so I explored the city by foot and grabbed photos of motorcycles (and a couple of cars) that caught my eye in a sea of scooters. Enjoy!
The reason I was in Italy:
In vaguely alphabetical order, here are some of the motorcycles that caught my eye in Rome:
BMW C1. This is the Executive version, thank you very much. That gave you a large storage compartment, extra luggage attachment, reading light, and mobile phone holder. Fancy.
BMW F800R.
A BMW custom couldn’t identify (super helpful, I know):
BMW R1100S with city lids on the luggage.
I was very surprised to see a Buell 1125R, one of which we recently sold over on Iconic.
Ducati Multistrada V4.
Ducati Monster (with a bonus appearance from Jensen Beeler of Asphalt & Rubber on the left).
Honda CBR600F2.
Honda CB500.
Honda CB650R. Stylish shoes to match a stylish bike.
Honda Transalp.
Honda VT500 Custom. I was shocked any time I saw something vaguely cruiser-ish in Rome.
Honda X-ADV
A couple of Kawasaki KLE500s, something we never got in the US.
This was in a little café I grabbed a sandwich at, but I couldn’t identify it. Can you?
The new Moto Guzzi V7.
My favorite find of the trip – a Moto Morini Corsaro 1200! These were never sold in the US, but they really appeal to me as someone who loves V-Twin naked bikes. This was Moto Morinis attempt at coming back into the limelight with new owners back in 2006 – MCN called it “light, flickable, wheelie-prone and fun on the road”, which basically sounds like my perfect review, however there were some electrical issues, the gearbox was poor, and the forks were incredibly stiff. The 1,187cc V-Twin produced 123 horsepower. It was hand built and featured Brembo brakes, Marzocchi forks, and the giant undertail pipes which presumably kept the passenger’s legs warm.
No comment, but it’s liquor, In hindsight I should have bought one and toasted Rossi’s final race with it.
Someone bought a Royal Enfield Meteor.
When this first went by I thought it was a Kawasaki Z750S, but that’s not right. Who knows what this is?
Awesome piece of artwork at a Vespa rental shop.
They also had a few classic Vespas on display (not for rent).
A couple of Yamaha Super Tenere 750s – the white one had over 70k kilometers on the odometer.
Yamaha TDM900.
Yamaha XT600.
There were also a few cars that caught my eye. By far the coolest one was this Ford Escort Cosworth that was randomly being driven on the street. So cool!
I love old-school Mini Coopers.
And to wrap it all up, a few Fiat 500s.
I got my camera out just to take a photo of the vines on the building in the background, but then this couple pulled out of a parking spot in their orange Fiat 500 and it seemed like the perfect “Rome” photo to me. Hope you enjoyed this Picture Intermission!
