Around the World on a Panigale

gman74 said:

In hind sight, you should have just bought one from the factory. Would have been faster by this point.

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Two years ago I tried to do just that.
Can't buy a US-spec bike in Italy.
Can't buy an Italian bike in Italy without being a resident.
Can't import an Italian spec bike back into the US.

Phl said:

Have you adapted to the Italian riding style yet?

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We'll see once I get my bike under me. But driving/riding in Italy isn't that much different than San Francisco (well, at least how I ride in SF). It's definitely more frenetic here, but all the principles are the same. A couple very strange intersections confused me while driving, but when in doubt, I just follow the flow. The highways are a pure joy to drive on. Slower traffic stays right and everything just flows unrestricted.

Is the bike out of customs yet - we need our update fixx

It's besides the point now, but there other EU countries you could have purchased & registered

Hope you can get your bike soooooon

It's besides the point now, but there other EU countries you could have purchased & registered

Hope you can get your bike soooooon

Slower traffic stays left and everything just flows unrestricted.[/QUOTE]

I wish it was like that here. I can't stand the way most people drive.

AntiHero said:

Two years ago I tried to do just that.
Can't buy a US-spec bike in Italy.
Can't buy an Italian bike in Italy without being a resident.
Can't import an Italian spec bike back into the US.



We'll see once I get my bike under me. But driving/riding in Italy isn't that much different than San Francisco (well, at least how I ride in SF). It's definitely more frenetic here, but all the principles are the same. A couple very strange intersections confused me while driving, but when in doubt, I just follow the flow. The highways are a pure joy to drive on. Slower traffic stays left and everything just flows unrestricted.

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Oh yeah! I miss splitting the lanes, go around cars, trucks and buses. I drove/rode so many years in Milano.

GONMAD510 said:

Slower traffic stays left and everything just flows unrestricted.

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I wish it was like that here. I can't stand the way most people drive.[/QUOTE]

Ooops...stays right.

In any case, my bike was transported on a truck from Rome to just east of Milan, then north and west of Milan, then back down to Bologna, then up to Milan west again, then back east of Milan. Got me wondering if the truck was perhaps being controlled by a voodoo child playing with a voodoo doll semi.

In any case, the GPS beacon stopped here this morning:

Great news!

On a side note, as the GPS tracker has been active all this time, I wonder how much more your battery can take.

IdZer0 said:

On a side note, as the GPS tracker has been active all this time, I wonder how much more your battery can take.

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Battery was disconnected for the flight and 4 shiny Energizer Lithium AAAs were worth every penny.

Well hell time to get this party started, looking forward to your updates. I hope the new bike is as reliable as the old bike.

Bike being prepped at Ducati Milano:

whooohooooo!!!!

i give a bet, you will get pulled over at least 20 times for that tag position.

Phl said:

whooohooooo!!!!

i give a bet, you will get pulled over at least 20 times for that tag position.

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I bet much less, they are very picky and they normally get your bike 'confiscated" not mention the 750 euros fine ... unless you are a foreign I guess ;-)

Great!
Where are you headed Dennis?


PS: My bet, license plate will get stolen at one point

......

Dennis if you go towards Cortina we stay in a village called Bosco verde at hotel Il Cirmolo. In the Dolomiti lots of superb passes there to enjoy. We had the multistrada EMM meet there 2010 for the superb roads. Stefano the owner will look after you well it's a small bed and breakfast hotel high standard and reasonable with best breakfast around ,garage new and large. I will be there with my Panigale from evening of 25 August-fri 5 Sept
Maybe see you in the Dolomiti

AntiHero said:

Bike being prepped at Ducati Milano:

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Awesome news! Btw...the light in that pic makes your paint look like the color on a SL

Scorpio66 said:

I bet much less, they are very picky and they normally get your bike 'confiscated" not mention the 750 euros fine ... unless you are a foreign I guess ;-)

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Which countries are that severe?

I'll be heading down to Rome for a few days. I'm trying to get Pompei to let me into the ruins with my bike prior to the official opening time in the AM, but so far I'm not having any luck.

All, the only places I have experienced "confiscation" practices are at either big venues like Intermot or a race track. In Germany it is routine to set up a gauntlet of Polizei and you have to pass through to enter or depart.

In the case of Hockenheim they saw my American U.S. Military plate and waved me on, though I guess they could have harassed me a bit.

In the case of Intermot in Dusseldorf, they fed every rider into a corral for parking and had set up a TüV and Polizei van at the end of the Halle that you had to pass through. Anyone (EU Member) who could not substantiate the changes or modifications to their vehicle immediately surrendered their keys and got to stepping back home or to find suitable replacements, which includes tires!

In the case of Assen TT, there were literally bikes everywhere and from all kinds of EU countries laying in the grass ditches that were impounded or abandoned by their owners while they made off to retrieve the stock parts from home or a dealer.

I my case I ran Yoshimura RS3 exhaust and remote battery kits, PVM wheels and after almost 13 years on the Autobahn I was never ticketed or pulled over for noise or lights or TüV issues. This may be in fact because I was in the military. However, I lived in near the center of the Black Forest near Stuttgart and was never pulled over for riding in a noise or Lärmshutz areas either.

Keep a handful of Euros in your pocket, since cops in Germany can demand payment on the spot, and in many cases they will discuss with you what they are gonna hit you up for.

My ex-wife is a German lawyer and went to law school in Tübingen so I got to bounce all the legal questions off her and her classmates for many years.

Don't forget even a tinted visor is illegal in Germany. They can get you for anything.

You will be fine!