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Message: [QUOTE="motometal, post: 222389, member: 24727"] just got back from Spain. wow, europe is much different than here. I enjoyed studying all of the differences. We could learn a lot from them, and vice versa. In Spain, you can ride just about any type of motorcycle on the street! In the bigger cities, parking is a problem with cars, but a scooter or a bike is much easier to park. "Enduro" bikes with street tires on them are popular, but I also saw several full blown mx bikes racing up and down the streets. It is either legal, or accepted as ok (there may be a rule on lights, but not enforced). Also, they have several brands you won't see much of here, such as Aprillia, and Derbi. How bout an RMX 50! This was not a mini bike-full size! The sound of two stroke scooters and bikes echos in the streets all night. Very different. There are speed limits posted, but it's basically a "reasonable and prudent" thing... on the interstates, if you are going 100 mph, you'd better watch your mirrors, sooner or later you WILL have to get over as cars zoom up behind you. I have heard that they actually have a safer accident record than us, but I can't back that up with statistics. So, while we argue in congress about raising the speed limit 5 mph, other countries just leave it up to the individual's common sense. Out of the 10 days I was there, I saw very few bone head drivers (like we are plauged with in the states). Not a place for a beginner driver to go. People know how to drive, and are comitted. You don't see many elderly folks behind the wheel, but you do see them out excercising. I didn't realize how overweight many americans were until I traveled to Spain. Wow! It took me at least two days to spot a pickup truck (all cars and vans). They are much better about conserving energy. For example, most hot water heaters are on-demand with no tank. Also, public places use motion sensors to turn off lights when not needed. My flame? 1. We are crappy drivers 2. We are lawsuit happy 3. We are overweight 4. We are lawsuit happy 5. We waste alot of energy 6. In the U.S., dirt bikes get picked on by the e.p.a. while semi-trucks belch more smoke in a day than all of out dirt bikes in a year! Pick one (or more) of these, and let's get some good discussion going...I see the flame board has been way too mellow lately! By the way, I'm about as pro-American as they get, but I just think as a country, we need to look around, and learn from what works for others. p.s., please don't ask me about the funny toilets there.:uh: [/QUOTE]

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