my motorcycle diary: Berlin

I came to Berlin not knowing what to expect from a motorcycling point of view.

At best, I thought I would meet Cathrine (whom I had online contact for about four years now), and she had a Ducati 750SS. I could ride with her and her mates (as a pillion I suppose, I don't mind), go to a local race, perhaps a rally, etc.

And in a dream scenario, she would let me clock her bike on the autobahn! Well, it is still a dream. I haven't met her yet, and she sold her bike.

So instead, I bought a bicycle. Yes, those things you use your legs to power. But my plans of exploring Berlin from corner to corner on the bike, sorry, cycle also came to nothing. I rode the thing once; the day I bought it (for 30 Euros). I came home, parked it, and forgot about it. That was more than a month ago now.

But the public transport is so efficient anyway, it will take me longer to get anywhere on the, erm, cycle. And weekend exploratory trips I simply haven't had the guts for yet, as the weather is simply to cold for me. Again, I prefer to be in a train or bus, protected from the miserable weather.

Biking, I mean motorcycling, seems to be very fashionable here. I've already seen quite a few 2004 models that I have so far only seen in magazines back in South Africa. And most riders have leathers and helmets in colours that usually match the bikes they ride.

Seems like late model machines with colour-coded cow-skins are all the rage in Germany this season

But there are lots of old bikes too, and they mostly seem to be well maintained, even though they park outside on the street. Rust doesn't seem to be a problem. I understand the bikes are not used in winter, increasing their longevity.

It is also very common to see customised bikes around.

The streets are filled mostly Bandit 600's, Yamaha Diversion 600's, ZZR 600's, GSX-F600 and 750's, GS500's, CB500's and ER5 Kawasakis.

Unlike South Africa, 400's are conspicuous by their absence. I know that the Bandit 400 and ZXR400 were officially imported here at some point, but so far I have only seen two Bandit 400s.

What is even more odd, are the quadbikes on the street. Quads are
road-legal! You have no idea how odd it is to see a quad in the street (for a South African at least), riding blissfully amongst the traffic.

What I did manage to do was to extend my motorcycle modelkit collection; quite a few BMW flat-twin bikes (1:18 scale) of which I like the red R1100GS most. A few 1:12 scale models; I am particularly proud of the Yamaha V-Max I found. But mostly, a 1998 Suzuki GSX-R 750 SRAD in white and blue is the new crown jewel of my collection. I have been wanting a model of this bike for very long, and had no real hope of finding one. And there it was, in an autobahn shop somewhere in the middle of nowhere outside Leipzig. I spent my last 10 Euros on it, and had to borrow money to survive on for the following few days.

My allowance-money might also not be enough to pay for the leathersuit I ordered at a local bikeshop. Pity. At least I will be able to pay for the helmet and gloves. I already have the boots. But there is so much more I want; a racing jacket, tent, sleeping sack, etc. etc. etc... Stuff I can't afford back home. But my money simply won't be enough. Damn!

From a shopping point of view Berlin has been good so far. I don't have everything I wanted, but I have more than I had. Looks like that is as far as my biking experience will get me here. And that is far enough, for now.