Sweden Loves Piaggio MP3s
Monday, April 22nd, 2019
There were a lot more bikes on the road in Budapest.
The most common motorcycles I saw in Stockholm, Sweden, a few weeks ago were Ducatis and the three-wheeled Piaggio MP3 scooters. They really like those scooters.
It may be that in late March and early April in Sweden, that third wheel makes all the difference. Nights were still getting down to freezing and if you are going to ride you’re much more confident on three wheels.
Now, as it turned out, the first bike I saw was a Gold Wing, then a scooter, a sportbike of unknown make, another scooter, then finally either a Harley or Harley wannabe. Then a BMW, another sportbike, a Ducati, a Triumph, an MP3, a V-Strom, and then another MP3.
So while there were four scooters in those first dozen, scooters were nowhere near as prevalent as they are in other European cities. And bikes in general were not as common.
Again, it may just be the season. Summer in Scandinavia may be very different.
Then we got to Copenhagen and I swear I didn’t see a single motorcycle or scooter in the first full day there. I was really starting to wonder.
At one point, though, we sat on a bench by a major street and then saw plenty of bikes. But this was rush hour and I hardly saw another bike the rest of the three days we were there.
It changed considerably when we got to Budapest. I saw more bikes in the ride from the airport to our hotel than I had the entire previous week. Of course Budapest is nearly 1,000 miles south of Stockholm, and 600 miles south of Copenhagen, so it’s full-blown spring here.
Which is where we are now, so I’ll end here. (But I actually wrote those words three weeks ago.)
Biker Quote for Today
To anyone commenting on my choice of riding in any kind of weather, “Beats driving a Prius”!
