In the early 60's, at the University of Delaware in Newark, cars were essentially banned from the city - for resident students. This kept the roads and parking areas clear for the commuters. So everyone had a motorcycle or motor scooter of some sort. Remember the sales pitch "You meet the nicest people on a Honda"? The 50cc bike in the ad came in 4 different models, and only 1 model had a clutch.
Because the newest dormitories had all lineoleum floors, they were real popular with "bikers". You only needed to have someone hold open the door and pop a small wheelie to enter the building. The two man dorm rooms were just big enough to park a bike in the study area, without causing a significant traffic jam.
Early in my sophomore year I upgraded from a 125cc Yamaha to a 250cc Honda scrambler, and had just moved to the third floor of the dorm. When it came time to change the oil in late fall, I had my roommate hold the door open, made the front of the bike as light as I could (Honda's old scramblers were extremely heavy), and started up the concrete-treaded stairs. Was great sport at each landing since you kind of had to powerslide the bike around the landing to get set for the next 1/2 flight of stairs. Got a little tricky at the top landing since it was only half as large - kind of had to wedge the bike on the landing catty-corner, until the roommate could catch up and open the top floor door.
Long story short - The scrambler had completely open pipes. Made lots of noise. Dorm mates soon found they could ride the stairs on their bikes to "relieve tension", even on a 50cc Honda if they were careful to keep the revs up. Guys from other dorms soon joined the fun, and ran an endless loop through the building with just one short piece outside (and wired the doors open to make it all easier). Far too much fun was had by all. Attracted the attention of the part time retired gentlemen the college referred to as "campus police", who detained all of the "round trippers" they could find, and searched every room in the place for illicit bikes. Got caught changing my oil and had neglected to drain the gasoline (I was between laps, and the oil was nice and warm!). Resulted in a very delicate conversation with a very pissed off Dean of something or other, and I got put on disciplinary probation for the rest of the year.
Moral of the story - lineoleum is best, but drain the tank first to eliminate the fire hazard. And don't ride inside the building with open pipes.
- - - Happy Trails, Jim