Motorycles

You would think that living in a city where there are virtually no cars, only motorcycles would make anyone with “Biker Blood” happy – But it’s not quite that way here. There are some serious cultural differences between riding a Harley on the highways and byways of the US and riding a 125cc bike, whose name you can’t recognize, let alone pronounce on the crowded, noisy streets of Yurimaguas.

The size of the motor is the first problem. The largest bike that I have seen here is 175cc, and that size is reserved for the long-haul bikes that run between Yurimaguas and Munichis (14 km). Most everything else is 125 cc. It’s just too wasteful to run around town with that kind of power.

The brand names of the bikes are interesting as well. Here is a list of those that I saw on a recent trip across town – Roughly listed in order of most prevalent to least:
Zongshen, Mavila, Sumoto, Lifan, Wanxin, Honda, Motokar, Yamaha, C&C, Kingmax, Rochakar and Lingken. And there are others as well! I have yet to see a Harley (although we saw a group of Harley riders in Lima, frantically trying to make a left turn across traffic before being killed).
The other thing that is quite interesting is the number of people that you see on a single bike. The maximum that I have seen is a family of 5 (remember that we are still talking about a 125cc bike). Since nobody drives a car here, the motorcycle is how the family gets around. It is routine to see a dad, mom and infant, or toddler on the bike. The toddlers are especially fond of riding on the tank in front of the adult (I guess maybe its easier to hold on to them as well?) I have seen exactly three people wearing helmets (must be tourists), and have yet to see an accident. Praise God.