moto

turism and everyday use
Estoril 97 Ota 98

todays bike - BMW K 1200 LT
before - ST 1100 PanEuropean, Kawasaki Ninja 750R ...

tech	associations	clubs	magazines	miscellaneous	renting
sec	ADM	CPEP		md	fr
CLASS	FNM	APE	MCO	travel	pt
TT	BMF	FCTUNL	MCW
TAC	ABD	PC	MAG
Grupo		motard	MM
C2		HOG	MN
RL-TR

Motorcycle Curriculum

My motorcycle experience has begun at 16 years old, riding a national brand 50 cc. At that time it was not so usual to go to school on a bike, but it was what happened with me. In 1970, just after my birthday, I took my driving license, both for cars and for unlimited cc motorcycles. I bought a CB-360, a calm way of looking to motorcycles. Some years and kms later, in 1986, I bought a XJ-600Yamaha and two years and thirty thousand km after I bought a Kawasaki GPZ 750R. That was a superb bike I’d always remember. It was smooth, comfortable, very nice, safe and effective. In 1991 I bought a ST 1100 PanEuropean. That bike was for me a revelation. It changed my bike paradigm. Instead of using the bike on weekends, I started using the bike on an everyday basis. The panniers and the softness of the bike, the wide range allowed, the ability to cruise with full luggage in plain rider and pillion comfort, all these attributes helped me to shift into an everyday use, with some long traveling through Europe. I went to Italy and did a round tour, I went different times to France and did “les Chateaux du Loire”, “La Dordogne”, “La Camargue”, all the Mediterranean coast, and I went several times to Spain and toured all around. In 1999 the PanEuropean was still great but already with 150.000 Km and I decided to switch to a BMW – a K LT 1200. This is my bike these days and it is now in its fourth thousand something Km.

In my bike trajectory I was the founder of the PanEuropean Club in Portugal (in 1993), I organized at least four tours in Portugal to the Club. These tours were attended by an average of 30-50 bikes (in this case all ST 1100 plus two journalist with bikes arranged by Honda Portugal). These tours usually started on Fridays, and ended on Sundays.

Starting on 1989 and ending last year I wrote to different magazines, writing motorcycle tests, tours, articles on road safety, defensive riding, market analysis etc. In 1999 I had (author, producer and pivot) a TV program on Road Safety in witch I used motorcycles and cars. Both these activities allowed me to take acquaintance of most part of the Two Wheels sector professionals in Portugal. In 1997 and 1998 I organized riding courses (defensive riding) in the Estoril track (our motorcycle GP and F1 track). For both this courses I contracted the guys from TAC, a Barcelona riding school. On 1999, and because the Estoril track was in repairs, I organized a similar course in OTA, a military aero base. That year I also contracted the six guys from TAC to the Saturday course and I instruct on “my own course” on Sunday.