>Trade Expo 2K10
> 24-26 January 2010
As the name implies, the Motorcycle Trade Expo is an annual business-to-business show. T&G popped along to the NEC to see what is currently on offer.
Although Expo isn’t officially open to the public, it’s always a good indicator of what we can expect to see filtering down to customer level at some point over the next year.
It’s also a good guide as to how the bike industry itself views the current market.
In common with other motorcycle show events of recent months, the number of stands had diminished slightly, but given the current climate, that was only to be expected. Looking beyond that, the vibe around the hall was distinctively positive with numerous traders reporting increased interest in their products.
All the signs point towards an increase in UK agents for a variety of goods – perhaps a sign that the motorcycle industry is coming out of
the recession.
Over the three day period, the show seemed to develop a pattern, commencing with a flurry of visitors on the Sunday, who appeared to be the sole trader end of the business. This was followed on Monday (the busiest day of the show) by the larger trade customers who provided a hive of activity throughout the day. Tuesday, by comparison, proved to be a fairly leisurely wind-down towards the end of the event, giving stallholders time to reflect on what they had achieved over the period. All-in-all, another good show from the Expo team, with a positive vibe being provided by the participants.
• Full report in issue 73 of Twist & Go magazine
• Loads more Rallies & rideout reviews in the magazine!
IoW International Rally 2009
> August Bank Holiday 2009
More people than ever are now making this ‘massive’ IoW event a mini holiday. The August Bank Holiday has been associated with scooter rallies since the 1950s and since the island has been the chosen destination for the event, numbers have both peaked and troughed. In recent years, a surge in scooter ‘favour’ and popularity has occurred, resulting in the explosion we see today with well over 6500 attendees.
We left for the 180 mile ride early on the Thursday morning and succeeded in our goal of meeting up with a group of fellow GTS and Gilera owners at the M3 Fleet services just after Farnborough. After the obligatory greetings we made the final dash, just making our booked ferry passage across the Solent from Southampton to East Cowes at midday. It was good to see a packed ferry (even at this ‘early’ hour), sadly however, it was made up in part by quite a few vans and trailered ‘trad’ machines – we even saw a modern GT strapped to the back of a camper!
Once on the isle, it was obvious that the previous days had seen an early ‘invasion’ and this was confirmed as we arrived at an already busy Smallbrook Stadium to set up home on the surrounding campsite. A quick review of the site showed the now popular Vespa auto range was well supported and it was nice to see the capital's New Breed SC boys and gals ripping around the area on their two-stroke auto creations. There was also a group of Southern French and Spanish riders who had ridden their converted Lambretta auto-engined machines a considerable distance to attend this now ‘International’ event. Throughout this and the next day more and more scooters poured off the ferries and by Friday night the site was busting to capacity, creating an electric atmosphere.
Several bodies organise various events during the weekend, but we decided to stay faithful to the organisers of the rally, VFM, and follow their menu of entertainment! This meant after a Friday night at the Ice Stadium with DJs and an excellent ‘Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ tribute band, we readied ourselves for both an amazing indoor custom show and mass rideout around the island. The custom show once again threw up some beautiful machines and some excellent pieces of engineering. Included in this was a very trick ‘twin’ Runner (featured elsewhere in this issue) which not only looked very professionally done, but also sounded the business when it pulled away after the event! That night we were back in the Stadium for a medley of Ska tributes in the form of singers from the original 1980s Two-Tone acts ‘The Specials’ and ‘The Selector’; these were backed up with original tunes from specially flown in American Skanksters ‘The Aggrolites’.
After three nights on the razz, heads were a little sore on the penultimate day; but this for many is the highlight of the event – the mass rideout. From early morning riders start to congregate along Ryde seafront waiting for the lunchtime exodus. We arrived just in time to see the flag drop and thousands of machines brought the road system to a complete standstill. For almost an hour machines of all capacity, size and make set off to the cheers of the massed crowds. Although of course, many of these were ‘classic’ Vespas and Lambrettas, I was amazed how many newer model autos joined the melee.
The final night was spent in a smaller venue, namely the Balcony Club (again on Ryde seafront). As well as the usual punters it’s nice to see many of the people who give up their time to stage the weekend letting their ‘hair’ down, thus creating a chilled out atmosphere that everybody seems to enjoy.
In no time, four days had passed and it was time to pack for home and assemble back at our transfer port to be squeezed onto the returning ferries. This event has become an institution and if you only attend one large scale rally, IoW is the one I would suggest. Roll on 2010!
Dinnertime Dave
• Full report in issue 71 of Twist & Go magazine
• Loads more Rallies & rideout reviews in the magazine!
Weston-super-Mare (BSRA 5)
> 31 July - 2 August 2009
Having already ridden over 2500 miles to various events this year, you’d think the last thing I would be looking forward to would be another 500 mile weekend excursion – wrong!
To be honest, larger capacity autos could have been developed with the BSRA season in mind. Good fuel range and efficiency, adequate cruising speed and rider/passenger comfort 2/400 mile days are not only achievable, but in some conditions actually enjoyable.
This event saw us heading west towards the impressively named Weston-super-Mare on the Somerset ‘Riviera’. Organised by the SW Scooter Clubs Alliance, this rally meant a long overdue return to one of the 1980s favourite rally ‘Mecca’s’. The last time I rode to WSM in 1988, Bros and Phil Collins were ‘riding’ high in the charts and our riding wear consisted of sockless Kung Fu slippers and bleached dungarees, no photos please!
This time bedecked in more sensible Frank Thomas textiles and composite boots, the journey saw us follow the motorway system across country.
After a heart-stopping moment on the London Orbital when the car in front of me decided to hit the central reservation and slide sideways completely blocking my 80mph-plus direction, new underpants were fitted and the remainder of the journey was thankfully fairly uneventful!
With a campsite at the local Rugby club and numerous guest houses, the town filled with riders from all over the UK, once again the GT’s made up the lion’s share of the autos.
SWSC had also thought out a good value entertainment package, with a weekend pass allowing entry into three different venues over both nights for only £10 – bargain! Friday saw two live bands (King Kurt and The Communicators) play to packed audiences and these were followed up by The Jam DRC on Saturday.
We decided to stick with our 1980s roots and see the infamous King Kurt experience in the ‘compact’ Hobbits Nightclub; probably not the best display I’ve seen from them, but the atmosphere was still electric.
The venue choice also gave you the option of finding your favourite sounds, so everybody was happy with a complete range of music from the 50s to present tracks...
Dinnertime Dave
• Full report in issue 70 of Twist & Go magazine
• Loads more Rallies & rideout reviews in the magazine!
BSRA Easter rally
> Scarborough
After a seemingly never ending winter I couldn’t wait to get back into the saddle for the Scarborough Easter Bank Holiday Rally. This three day VFM event on the North Yorkshire coastline heralds the start of the 2009 rallies, and as the weekend includes two bank holidays it always guarantees a good turnout.
After four years cramming myself, my ‘bird’ and our outfits onto my faithful Dragster I had taken the plunge and invested in a much more ‘roomy’ Gilera Fuoco for this season. Although the journey was over 300 miles, the ample four-stroke soon ate up the distance and with meet-ups en route in Peterborough, Lincoln and the Humber Bridge; I can actually say the trip was a pleasure and only took six hours to complete.
After our final rendezvous on the Yorkshire outskirts our numbers included ourselves, three GTS 300s, two GTS 250s, a GT 200, three Italjet Drags, Twinnys’ Wideboy Vespa auto, three Lambrettas and an 80s cutdown Vespa acting as rear gunner! It was also really good to see loads
of other riders, many of them adopting the pulley, with the same holiday intentions as ourselves. It soon became a relative sprint up to the host town – albeit a little scary at times especially on the plunging hills near Driffield – ‘You just hold on there boy!’
Luckily, the destination is also the home town of my good mate and fellow Gilera owner Scarborough Col, and his offer of free accommodation was eagerly accepted, Cheers mate!
Once parked up at ‘Cauliflower Castle’ and our safe arrival toasted with a couple of beers, it was into the town centre to take advantage of what the BSRA weekend had to offer. The pubs did a brisk trade and with both YSA and VFM offering entertainment throughout the weekend, we sampled both. To be honest you were spoilt for choice. Both venues were packed and the mixture of live acts and DJs gave everybody something to boogie to!
Saturday also saw a large parts-fair take place in the Spa, an impressive Victorian facility on South beach. This meant the surrounding roads were packed with machines as scooterists congregated in this area to goggle at the latest machines and gadgetry on display. Sunday there was also a mass rideout and custom show organised by the Yorkshire lads – as always this spectacle brought the town's road system to gridlock, RocknRolla! Quality of machines was as impressive as ever and it was nice to see the Wideboy auto taking a trophy at the ridden event.
After an excessive weekend the return leg seemed to drag slightly, each mile adding to bum-numb. This may however have been down to swollen livers and the lack of arrival adrenalin.
Southern Monkey
• More reports in the July/Aug issue of Twist & Go magazine!
• Loads more Rallies & rideout reviews in the magazine!
First anniversary rideout
> Smethwick-Bridgenorth-Stourport
The Central Scooter and Motorcycle Club was started on 1 March 2008 and for our first anniversary, a bit of a celebration was in order.
When we first started the club up we were told many clubs don't last more than three months before they died out. This was something we were sure wasn’t going to happen with our club because we have such enthusiastic people. In just one year we have amassed over 130 members and are enjoying better statistics than ever on our website and in attendees on our rideouts.
We planned to repeat the original first ever rideout we had done, which was from Smethwick in the West Midlands to the food stop bikers' café in Bridgenorth, Shropshire – a big bikers' haunt that most riders travel to on a Sunday. Then, for a bit of fun and enjoyment after, we took a ride to Stourport in Worcestershire, a lovely riverside town with a large amusement complex.
Our rideout attendees consisted of some old regulars who were there from day one and also some ‘newbie’ riders, who (I have to say) rode exceptionally well for their first-time ride with a group. The first leg of the journey took us around an hour to complete (a mixture of dual carriageways, single lane roads, country lanes and A-roads).
At the end of this leg the riders were ready for food and the café was a welcome site. In between food orders, there was time to have a walk round the café car park to drool over some of the fine machinery that was on show. Food was consumed and drinks taken on board and a natter ensued. Then we saddled up again to head for Stourport, which took us about another 45 minutes. It would have been a bit sooner, but we stopped for a small maintenance job on one of our rider’s bikes.
Ten minutes with the spanners and we were off again – the pub was calling.....
Rob Griffiths
• Full report in the May-June issue of Twist & Go magazine
North-West Scooter Rally (2008)
> Morecambe Bay
As a double celebration to both signal the end of the 2008 rally season and 25 years of event promotion, VFM organised their end of season party in the Lancashire town of Morecambe Bay.
After a long day travelling up mainly on the laborious M6, we arrived in the ‘out of season’ resort, the quiet streets questioning our efforts. However, with a substantial scootering history it wasn’t long before the roads started to fill with scoots, the increasingly popular auto Piaggio models presence being evident.
After a quick clean-up and ‘interrogation’ from our landlord, it was straight out and into the seafront establishments. These had obviously eagerly awaited our prodigal return as their jukeboxes were already pumping out the tunes they thought would keep us located and spending. Of course we were happy to oblige and it was with a steady swagger (stagger) when we eventually left to make our way to the main evening event.
The Carlton Nightclub has hosted numerous scooter events since the 1980s and once again it opened its doors to give us VFM’s nostalgic rose-tinted look over their history. With two separate rooms of sounds (playing pretty much the same) and a large projection screen showing various rallies throughout the past 25 years, there was soon a great atmosphere. Mid-evening live act came in the form of ‘King Kurt’. It’s hard to easily describe what you get from KK unless you’ve experienced one of their concerts – but both the audience and the band were as energetic as ever (checkout You Tube)!
Next day, first port of call after a ‘late’ breakfast was the Dome. This ‘domed-shaped’ exhibition hall mid seafront hosted an all-day parts fair, meaning you could barter the latest bargains from the travelling stallholders. Jumble sale mentality meant you had to rummage for the best deals, but I even spotted three brand new curly auto 2T pipes hidden among the garage floor ‘scrapings’ on one joker’s stall! Outside it was nice to see a good contingent of maxi-machines from the Yamaha and Gilera stables parked up and also several Lambretta auto conversions attracting a lot of interest from the soon-to-be-assimilated.
To keep people occupied throughout the day, The Carlton also held a free event with local live band ‘Sea-Side Riots’ hitting the strings. There were also live acts and music throughout the day at the ever popular Ranch Bar. It was here that a ridden custom show took place, main interest for me being a couple of Frank Sanderson conversions and an interesting monkey bike style chop implanted with a Piaggio Typhoon engine, owned by somebody I assume was called O’Neil!
As the day progressed, the town continued to fill, the location meaning quite a few day-trippers made the journey from not only the home county, but also Cheshire and Yorkshire.
Once again we finished the night back at the Carlton and with the latest arrivals, this quickly filled. A live show from Nottingham Band ‘Performance’ capped off another excellent night.
We now have a couple of month’s recuperation before the 2009 season starts in earnest – well Blackpool to be correct. Thanks to Piaggio and the Darkside for keeping it real and scootering alive!
Kerioke
• Loads more Rallies & rideout reviews in the magazine!
Mersea Island 2008
Set in ‘deepest darkest’ Essex, Colchester DVLC's Mersea Island Rally has been going since 1993.
It has always been well attended by the ‘Darkside’ of the scootering community and with the growing numbers of large capacity auto machines available from Vespa and Gilera numbers this year were as high as ever. From early on in the day it was apparent that the weather was not going to be in our favour; howling winds and torrential downpours don’t make for the best riding conditions. But after a couple of close misses and several ‘fun’ moments when my tuned Piaggio two-stroke decided to aquaplane across the dual carriageway, we finally arrived at the secluded destination.
Even here it was a matter of battling the elements to first pitch the tent and then dry off before hypothermia set in! However once housed and dry the mood changed, and it was into the bar to meet up with many of the usual suspects. Despite the distance and the weather, these included among others fellow ‘drag’ and auto-Lammie riders from both the Maidstone Jesters ‘auto crew’ and the welltravelled Exmouth Confederates.
By early evening the site was buzzing and once the skies had finally cleared the venue was a hive of activity. As well as two large function rooms with attached bars the campsite also housed a large marquee group and a ‘food court’. Live music has always been a highlight of this rally and with six live acts over the two days, the marquee was at bursting point on both nights.
This was also true of both halls and in all, attendance must have reached well over the 2000 figure – not bad for a single club event. During Saturday much of the spare field area was converted into a ‘dealers’ village’ selling all the rally related items you could require, such as replacement parts, clothing and music items. Also to keep the punters amused during the day, several scooter riding activities took place – scooter tug of war, beer and banana race and scooter chariot being the pick of these.
There was also an excellent custom show with over 40 scoots being ‘preened’ to perfection. Sadly these only included three auto engined types; however many of the trads on display had been implanted with various modern auto parts such as forks, hubs and suspension, so it was well worth viewing. In no time the evening do’s had restarted and with a ‘play till the last person drops’ policy, it was just before 6am when many of the revellers finally decided to return to their tents for a few hours' sleep. Despite the weather, I really enjoyed this event and with only a £15 complete weekend price tag it shows what a bargain our lifestyle gives.
Kerioke
• Loads more Rallies & rideout reviews in the magazine!
