Hello from Vienna/Austria

Hello and (austrian-german accent ON) Servus (austrian-german accent OFF)!

May i introduce me - i'm Willi from Wien (Vienna), 53, all year-round biker, often two-up and working as a communication consultant.

When i registered here, i was in the process of deciding whether i should replace my dead but beloved Aprilia Atlantic 500 with an AA500 again or go for a SiWi - which i have bought in the meantime (600 from '02 with 40,000 Km / 25,000 Mls)

As we live near Austria's capital, my wife and i have both switched over 7 years ago to mainly biking again, first with motorcycles (Suzuki 1250ers) and then with maxi scooters for better storage and no parking problems.

After many years of need for speed, i've discovered, that camper-van-driving (we have one for touring with our dog) and scooting at moderate but relaxing 75 mph make me calm down, think clearer and enjoy life much more.

7 years of "no more suit and tie", my clients have to cope with me turning up in biker's cloth.

I (we) love long rides and camping/touring as well as everyday scooting - always a smile on our face. And i love motorways / highways, i really do - for hour after hour rolling along, having breaks at truckstops, feeling "on my way".

Well, that should be enough
Have a good ride every day!

Best,
Willi

Howdy and welcome from Texas y'all!!!! (sorry, unable to disable Texas accent)     :flower: 

Hi Willi, Welcome to this site. My Grandfather was from Austria. My Mother's heritage is Finnish and French and I have her birth certificate which is written in Finnish. She once told me that there was a French Princess way back on her side of the family but I've never seen any of the benefits from that. No grand inheritance or fancy title. I'm just a low-life slob with an 08 SWing. But I DO have an 08 SWing!!! What more can an old man ask out of life other than to keep both wheels on the ground and the SWing upright.

And I suppose I could use my Minnesota Scandinavian accent and say, "Ya Sure By Golly" but I won't... LOL

Willi, thank you for the nice introduction. And welcome to the best Silverwing forum on the net.
   

Willi,

Welcome to the site and congrats on your Swing. I think you will enjoy your SWing as much as your Atlantic, although I knew someone with the Atlantic 500 and he just loved it. My brother-in-law is from Steyr, Austria and went to get his PHD in Wien. I always wondered why we call it Vienna and the Austrians call it Wien? You would think we would call it the same as you do. Funny how things work.

Again, welcome and congrats. Also, look through the maintenance and pictorials to see how you can do maintenance and save yourself some money.

Welcome Willi. I had a Bandit 1250 also and just loved the thing but downsized to a V-Strom 650 and a Majesty scooter which I loved but sold to a friend then realized, after 50 yrs of riding, I liked not having to shift during commutes so got a SW600 at a good price. My wife and I would love to tour over there one of these days (motorcycle or bicycle). I'm also in IT (networks) and lost the tie/suit over 18 yrs ago and never looked back. Anyway, welcome to this great forum which has some awesome tech articles and folks.

Welcome Willi! Enjoy your bikes and the site. From Nebraska

Thank you all for your friendly welcome!
Greetings, Willi

Welcome Phineas!  Hello from south Arizona. Would love to ride Europe some day. Your idea of a peaceful ride at 75 for long distance sounds great. I plan to do exactly that in a month or so. Rains will stop and temps will drop into the 90s. This pus our scenery makes for a great ride. Enjoy your travels and check in with us. Post a pic or two of the Austrian Alps.