My Fabuloso trip to Milano from the UK

 

 

Nov 2006

So on the Wed I set off for Folkestone to begin my trip.

On the way to there, I picked up my new security chain lock from a dealer    I  arranged to meet on the rd.

On arrival at the Chunnel terminal, I was directed to my loading bay.

Then the bike was secured. When moving off,  what no one tells u is: The takeoff is so smooth, you don’t even realise your moving, until you see the scenery gently flowing past!

I arrived at Calais Terminal, then got a room, just on the edge of the town, an had a local bike shop fit the new lock. It was designed to be fixed to the chassis an locked to the handlebar.

The mechanism is secured by the three bolts that normally hold the hinge for the seat, they replace the middle one with a recessed t nut, so u need a special t-nut driver to remove once, u manage to open the seat.

My bike was now secure.

I tried a 125 Mp3 in Calais and it was very comfortable, just under powered.Its very nice tho, to stop at the lights with your feet up, waiting for them to change, then a twist of the throttle and away u go....

On the way to Paris, I had the chance to open the X9 up, an got it to a 100 on their "motorway". Shortly after, the engine didn’t seem to be running the same. So I found a local dealer nr the airport (Goussainville) and booked the machine in to have some work done.

Found a place to stay over, ready for my flight the next day.

Now the trip begins:

Thurs morning:
Taxi picked me up for the early morning flight from Charles de Gaulle airport then flew to Milan airport (Malpensa) it only took 1hr and 15 min, caught the Malpensa Express outside the terminal to Milan city, looked around, went on a tram, then took the Metro to Fiera Milano Exhibition Centre.
Walked from the East gate to the West gate, it was a long walk, thought I'd never reach the end! On the way thro, I inquired at the tourist info office about accommodation in the area, was told it would be expensive, due to the show being on.
Spoke to security guards outside the center, they told me there was a pensione (cheap B&B) to stay at, just up the road.
Booked into room, only cost 30 euros for a double, only room available at the time, went for a walk to nearest town Pero.
Walked back then rested in preparation for the next day's visit to the show.
The show is open on the Friday from 10am till 10pm, so I'll have the whole day to explore, that's why I chose that day.

Woke up nice and early, couldn't wait to see the show, had my digi camera (5 megapixels)with spare batts, Went to the entrance saw literally, a sea of people all queuing to get in.

I had already booked my ticket online, I simply had go to a machine, punch in my number and voila! Instant access via the ticket, that was then printed out.
There weren't that many visitors when I went inside, that would certainly change as the day went on.
There was so much to see, I went to some of my favorite manufacturers stands and then started initially in a systematic way to try and get around all the stands.

I sat on a Piaggio 250 and 400 Mp3 at the show and they were very comfortable.
As regards safety this is definitely the way scooters are going, with no less than 3 different manufacturers offering 3 wheeled versions.
It wont be long before the Chinese start bringing them out.
I also saw an automatic bike, completely encased in panels, how they service it, is beyond me.

It was the biggest bike show I have ever seen, the amount of space that was occupied by the show was awesome.I have never seen so manufacturers in one complex. It was held in three large buildings each containing 2 large halls that were connected with one another.
There were plenty of test rides going on all day, I took advantage of the Vectrix, this amazing electric maxi scooter type machine looked conventional, like a 250, was anything but, it had reverse built into the throttle, just twist the throttle forward and u start to go backwards, it has its uses, but the best was if u were going into a bend or a turn and u wanted to slow down, instead of using the brake levers, just throttle back and u start to slow down as the system is linked to an ABS system. Very novel and practical, wonder if its gonna come to the UK.
It has a limited range and that's to be expected, there was plenty of room for luggage or helmets under the seat as well. Now if they could just bring out a 500 version!
There were about 7 of us allowed around the test track at any one time, we were given specific instructions, this had to be ridden with a small modicum of sensitivity, as the throttle was very responsive, just a little twist of the throttle and u could be up the road before u know it, the acceleration was impressive, and it made no noise being electric. You just felt u were gliding along with no effort, these bikes were designed in America and built in Poland apparently.

I also visited the Advia stand where they had the AD250 roofed bike,  sadly no test rides were available, they are in the process of setting up UK dealers to sell them in the Uk, mainly the London area at present. They are expanding their distribution network very slowly as more countries start to take an interest in them, there was plenty of interest at the show.
 I had the Adiva AD 125 back last year, but had to give it up as it was too small for me and the wife, plus it was under powered for general motorway use.
They have certainly upgraded it now, having larger wheels, longer wheelbase giving more seating room which has created a step up seat style, like most maxis these days and also the ability to take the roof assembly off giving u more storage space.
I spoke at length with the Nicola Pozio the President and CEO of the company, He gave me his business card as he seemed very interested in my views about the present model and the possible future 500 version, now that would be something to see and experience, using one of the Piaggio engines.
Moving on I visited the various stands, each one showing the level and state of technology and design criteria being produced today.
I called at Biondi which produce various accessories for bike and scooters, they have a windscreen which is a sort of wrap around type to fit the X9, sadly its not tall enough and they have no plans on producing one either, they were however quite willing to sell me one direct from the factory. I saw some winter screens with a swept back design. I didn't feel like a visitor at the show as I had some interesting conversations with many of the exhibitors at the show.

 I spoke at length to Piaggio as they had the 250 MP3 on display with a screen which went over the top of the riders head, I mentioned that perhaps with a bit more thought, it could be turned into a roof, with support pillars for the windscreen and and panel at the back rising from the back of the seat. I mentioned to them that I would like a taller windscreen for my Piaggio X9 as the standard model is too short, also a wiper unit from the Ape would be appreciated, they said they would see what they could do. It was very exciting to see these possibilities possibly being made realities.
I then had to take a break, so I'll leave it there and resume after lunch.

Oh yeh, so back to the show.
I visited the Caberg stand, for those of u who don't know, shortly before I left for Milan, I ordered and received the Caberg Justissimo Flip up in Metal Titanium finish, very nice.(recently sold in 2024)
I love this helmet, its so warm, almost air tight, feels comfortable and despite reading reviews and test online u do not get rain running down the inside of the visor, anyway, I mentioned how pleased I was with the new helmet and the exhibitor proceeded to show me the new improved version, this had a small push lever at top part of the helmet, so u could remove the side covers for the visor, they have streamlined the flip up section to make it look more like an enclosed helmet, very neat design, but I already bought the old one, waah I want one!
I mentioned that it would be nice if they had stronger tint for the inner visor, so he spoke to his colleague who disappeared to the back room and came out with a front clear visor and promptly handed it over to me, wow, A replacement external visor for free, thanks Caberg!

 I saw the following product on another stand, apparently we are not alone in skidding on metal drain covers and grids, they got it bad in Italy as well, this is an indigenous solution which should immediately be adopted all over the world by all road surfacing authorities and councils.

One enterprising company has brought rubber moulded covers out for all types of drain covers, grills, u name it, they can make it.
www.brevetticorporation.it
This should save many lives and prevent many unnecessary accidents (check em out some of the road photographs on there, they look lethal!)and spills if it can be adopted, now if we could just get the rest of the decision makers on our side....

I came across a guy who had the idea of designing an enclosed bike/ scooter type vehicle which looked a bit primitive but worked very efficiently, it consisted of a complete shell mounted on a scooter?, which had a sort concertina style stabiliser on both sides, u stepped inside, closed the door, started the engine which retracted when u moved off, it looked very good, he was let down by some poor design, but that's just a styling issue, the concept really worked. I have a photo of the vehicle, if anyone is interested, he needs back up and support, it could be quite lucrative if someone decided to invest in it, but he does need the backing of the Chinese government for it to succeed in the marketplace
He said he had no one to help him and couldn't get any help from his government and he didn't have much time, as I expressed interest in what he was doing , he got excited and started to "gush forth" about ' how he designed it in order to save lives and needed some help, could I arrange some media/publicity in the Western world. His command of English was very limited and I had to write down what I wanted to say and he would use an electronic translator to help him (there clever those Chinese).It was an interesting exchange! I told him I would see what I could do, but I couldn't promise anything.
So I have made a start, by informing this owners club about it.

I saw on another stand, what looked like a standard pair of denim jeans, but that's where the similarity ended, these were no ordinary jeans, by carefully weaving a special fiber (that was designed to be used for the space industry as well as the military and off shore industries) with cotton they had managed to produce a fabric that was almost indestructible, called "Armalith", they demonstrated its strength by using a pair of their jeans to lift a 4 ton Hummer, using a special jig to hold the jeans, it was an impressive demo.
They're strong!!
Check em out:
www.esquad-jeans.com

On the Polaris stand off road and utility sports vehicles, I was impressed by one having silicon grips on the handlebars, I tried to find out who made them all they would tell me was that the local dealer had them made by special order for that model of machine. I was thinking they would be good on the X9 or any other powerful machine as they had anti-vibration properties, that's why they were mounted on there.
 
I saw some cute/neat little pickups by Casalini called a "SulkYpick-up" with a Mitsubishi engine.
They looked very stylish and practical, the Italians will love em, using a 538 cc diesel engine with various options regarding bodies, they looked like a smaller version of Ford Transit.

 On the Piaggio stand I was informed they had test rides on the 250 mP3, on a track outside the building, however by the time I queued for a ride it was too late to try, anyway. I had already had a test ride on 125 model when I was in Calais, so I wasn't that bothered.
There was so much to see and do, I just can't remember it all, this, therefore was just a brief impression of the show, I hope u found it interesting and informative, now where did I put my bike. (Oh yeh, I remember, it's back in France waiting for me to collect it, after having a new belt and rollers fitted, so it purrs. And it did)

I walked away from the show exhausted, tired and very satisfied with what was the best bike show I have ever seen, ah bliss.
Finally got back to my pensione and collapsed into bed, to get ready for the next day.

The next day, I caught the bus outside the center, then got the Malpensa Express to the airport. I flew back to Paris the next day, then a taxi to the dealer, then picked up the bike.

 Then rode back to Calais, arriving there at nite, slept over an took the Chunnel back, in the morning.

 On arriving back in the Uk, I had a call on my mobile, asking if I was still looking for work. It was my ole agency. So I said yes, an started work on the Thurs .

New bike an now a new job, after having a wonderful trip an seen the Milan Bike Show.

 Purrfect!

Thank you Lord!

The Caberg is an amazing helmet its so warm and almost air tight, "help I can't breathe"! lol

I had to trim some foam from the cheek pads on the Caberg in order to get the speaker pad to fit comfortably in the helmet.
I paid out a lot of dosh initially to get everything ready for the "European trip". but once everything was fitted, the bike took on a character of its own.
I felt completely confident and safe on this fabulous touring machine, I have had a few bikes in my time, but nothing, repeat nothing could match what I have now in terms of comfort, speed and acceleration.
Its far superior to the Burgman 400 (my last bike)
If your looking for a powerful touring machine, its gotta be the X9 500.

Bike has since been scrapped due to a minor collision (don’t ask) so I am on cars now.

 

See "My Chariots"