patata patata

Yippee! After waiting 11 weeks for the motorcycle to arrive from stateside, I have finally finished becoming 'legal' to ride the Harley here in Italy!

The actual receipt of the bike, along with taking off all the protective foam packaging material that I'd previously used to cover the chrome and other vulnerable bits of the bike, refilling the bike with oil and gasoline, and purchasing a battery charger that will work here to charge up the battery prior to starting it again, and actually starting it - those were all just basic tasks that had nothing to do with the actual legalization process of getting to be able to actually ride the thing here in Italia. (Although the purchase of a gas can and a battery charger at the local auto parts shop was a minor victory, linguistically-speaking! I had to learn to say buona sera, signore. ho bisogno di una damagiana per la benzina to get me a gas can, and anche una caricatore per la batteria di motocicletta to also ask for a battery charger. Then it was off on LeAnn's bicycle to get the gas can filled at the local station, and home to put it all to use.) And just for kicks, I adjusted the front and rear suspension settings to my liking, recalling that in New York it still rode kinda funny, like it was more spring preload and not enough compression damping.

But actually getting the bike - and myself - legal to ride was another matter. I had already taken the first step back in May before I flew back to NY, and that was to pass the test for my SETAF (allied forces in europe) driver's license with my motorcycle endorsement. The motorcycle endorsement part was simply a transfer from my stateside drivers license. However, the drivers license office on the base won't give you actual permission to ride a motorcycle until you've taken one of the motorcycle safety training courses. And you have to have your motorcycle legal so that you can ride it to and from the class as well as ride it during the class. So, how do you do that?

Well, it's what I like to call 'shuttle bureaucracy', wherein you bounce back and forth between several offices and agencies until your task is complete. There seems to be a lot of that out here. Basically this is how it went:

I had the motorcycle, so that part was taken care of!
First it was off to the local insurance agency in town that represents the company I wanted insurance from, to tell them I want insurance. In Italy they can put the motorcycle on the same policy as the auto, so I just had to add the bike to our existing auto policy. To do that, I called the insurance company 800 number from the local agency's office (it was nice they had that service) and agreed on coverages, then asked the insurance company to email the agent a temporary proof of insurance. The local agent then printed out that form to take to the Army's vehicle registration office.
Then it was off to the vehicle registration office with any and all papers I could think of (vehicle title, NY registration form, my drivers license, my govt ID, etc) plus the temporary insurance certificate, fill out their registration request form, and they set aside a license plate for me. Then they told me the license plate number and a corresponding registration number, but at this time they couldn't give me the license plate or actually register the motorcycle. Oh, and since LeAnn is the government employee and hence my sponsor here in Italy, the motorcycle is registered in her name, not mine. Hmmph!
So then it was back to the insurance agency to tell them the plate number and registration number. Actually, as before, I called the insurance company's 800 number to tell them, then they emailed another proof of insurance form to the local agent then and there, and the agent printed it out for me, only this time it was a 'real' / 'permanent' proof of insurance document with my license number and registration number on it.
Then I went back home to register online for the Motorcycle Safety course appropriate to my previous experience and skill level. After a day or two, I received an email stating that I was provisionally enrolled in the appropriate training course. (Later on, a few days before the course date, I would receive another email stating I was actually enrolled in the course).
Then it was back to the vehicle registration office to give them this 'actual' motorcycle insurance form, and a hardcopy of my training course registration email. At that point, they could actually register the motorcycle, and collect the various fees from me ($20 in US dollars, and another fee in Euro, plus my Italian road tax in Euro). At this point, they still couldn't give me my license plate, but they did give me the registration and road tax documents that I need to carry with me on the bike.
Then I had to wait two weeks for my training course to come around.
Then, the business day prior to my training course, I went on base to the driver's licensing office and got my SETAF drivers license reissued, with effective dates for my motorcycling privileges on the back, covering the time period from that day through the day after the class. This allowed me to actually legally ride a motorcycle in Italy on my license, for the purposes of taking the course.
Next it was back to the vehicle registration office with my 'new' SETAF drivers license, to show them that it was updated with effective dates, and at this point they gave me my new license plate for the motorcycle. Yippee! I went home and mounted the license plate onto the bike.
Since this was a Friday, and my motorcycle class was on Monday, the drivers license folks had to make the effective dates Friday through the following Tuesday, which allowed me to take the nice day Sunday before my class to go out for a quick spin on the bike, so that I could verify that it worked ok, and that I was able to shake a little 'rider rust' off of myself and not have Monday morning rush hour be the first time I'd ridden the bike since July! It felt good to be back on the bike, and it wasn't too foreign-feeling. The strangest thing that happened was that I rode past a youngish couple walking their dog, and after I went past, the woman turned around for another look like I was a space alien. But, I wasn't - just an American wearing a British motorcycling jacket and Japanese helmet riding a Harley in Italy. Nothing to see here.
Monday rolled around, and I spent the day going through the training course with some soldiers from the base. 8 riders - 6 Harleys, one KLR600 and an R1. The course followed the MSF Experienced Rider Course curriculum and it was taught in a parking lot by two instructors that came down from Germany to teach the course(s) for the soldiers. I must admit that it was good for me, since I'd never done much slow-speed stuff on my Harley, and so I needed the instruction to get used to doing these things on the 'new' bike. Anyway, I passed the course no problem! So I received my course completion card from the instructors proving I passed.
Then next day it was back to the drivers license office on base, where I presented my course completion card to get my SETAF license updated once more, this time showing on the back the full 3-year dates for being able to operate a motorcycle.
Finally! e poi! 'Shuttle Bureaucracy' at its finest!

One thing that's strange is that there's no vehicle safety inspection required on motorcycles up front like there was with our car. I do need to have a safety inspection completed at registration renewal (2 years), but not up front when I initially registered it. Hmm. Oh well, morally I'm fine with that, as the Harley dealership in NY did the inspection when they installed my new tires, just before leaving the country. And although it sounds strange bringing Pirelli's back to Italy, I'm certainly glad to be riding on them instead of on those old Dunlops that came with the bike originally. 5 years of age on tires that were hard to begin with, just made them even more awful.

As far as riding in Italy, well, it's pretty crazy! But motorcyclists out here are allowed more freedoms, and car drivers will move aside for you expecting that you'll pass them in the lane, or by straddling the centerline - even if there's oncoming traffic. Yikes! In town, riders will motor up the centerline to pass multiple cars, and overall it seems that the only limitation is the rider's talent for doing these things without, I assume, getting tangled with anyone else or falling down. For right now, I ride like a local without getting too crazy over it - the Harley isn't a sportbike, after all, and really I'm not in THAT much of a hurry - especially not to introduce myself needlessly to members of the medical or law enforcement communities.

That's all for now! Remember, mantenere il lato di gomma giu' !!!