In Paris, motorcycles
get front row grid position at every intersection. The competitors awaiting
the starter's flag include a couple on a GSXer, a business man on scooter
with rear luggage box, a naked Suzuki sportbike twin, and a cute babe
on her little scooter. Bikes and scooters also get to park anywhere they
want including on all the sidewalks, anywhere, 2-3 bikes deep! There are no parking meters in Paris
for cars, either. Viva la France!
The
2001 Paris Motorcycle Show page
2
Story
& Photography by Jim Gianatsis
Here
in America we tend to think we are at the center of the motorcycle universe,
but that's far from the truth. The reality is we are a distant outpost
on the fringe of what's really happening in the world of motorcycling,
getting limited access to just some bikes only 1-2 years after they've
first proven themselves in the European market.
Paris
is a great motorcycle town with almost as many people on motorcycles
and scooters commuting to work and play, as there are cars. Hopped up
naked sportbikes are the normal, not the exception. And motorcycles
get to park anywhere they want to on the crowded city sidewalks. Not
once in an entire week did we see a Harley-Davidson on the street -just
a few sportbike Buells. At a busy traffic circle on the Avenue De Champs
Elyees jammed with mini cars and tour buses you'll see a business man
on Ducati 996 dicing with a kid on a naked Honda CBR900, a pretty secretary
in a BMW roll cage enclosed scooter, and a cute schoolgirl on a Vespa.
Such is how life should be in America!
The Aprilia Blue
Marlin concept bike had premiered the previous week at Milan, and had
French fans drooling as well. This futuristic naked bike features an
RSV1000 Superbike V-twin engine and looks like it could easily go into
production.
Left: Aprilia's
Marlin from the front. Right: Max Biaggi's 500cc 2-stroke GP Yamaha
with the new M1 4-stroke.
Notice how the carbon bodywork changes from grey (below) to gold (above)
in the light.
Of course our favorite
photographer couldn't go to Paris without experiencing the world reknown
cultural and artistic delights the City of Lights has to offer. Front
row tables at the Moulon Rouge and the Cracy Horse with a bucket of
iced champaign proved a lot more fun than looking at boring old paintings
at La Louvre. Mona Lisa had nothing over these beautiful Crazy Horse
girls in incredible performances correographed to different music and
light shows.
Below: More of Laetitia's
ad campaigns on the Paris tour busses.
Pit
Lane News • Paris Show
page 1 • Paris Show page
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