It is the sensation of speed, not speed itself, that we lust after. We need to go faster the farther removed we are from wind and vibration and the outside world spinning past our peripheral vision. 700 miles per hour in a jet doesn't seem fast when you're locked in a cigar tube staring out a rounded rectangle with a mouth full of peanuts as the world moves by in a blur. But you can feel like Chuck Yeager going down a steep hill on a scooter with drum brakes because the sensation of speed is omnipresent.
If you are a European under 18 years old this is your first bike. A 50 cc, two stroke motorcycle limited to less then 33 hp. This particular Derbi Supermotard has only 8 hp but what it lacks in power it makes up for in style. A light bike with over-sized brakes, this Derbi SM is built to hit potholes, fall over and still keep riding.
You never own a bike like this. You buy the bike used, ride it around for a couple of years and try to sell it for what you pay for it. America doesn't mandate that riders learn to ride on bikes like this nor are bikes like this available in America. Whereas in Europe, bikes like this are a right of passage. In America, bikes like this aren't a right you can exercise.
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