Ataste of freedom
Avery wise scooterjournalist(Ig gy)once wrotesomething alongthe linesof“The more someonewritesabout scooters thelesstimetheyhavetoridethem.” Whilemylovefor allthingssmall wheeledremains undiminished,whenitcomes to planning my weekends off, hiswords oftenringinmyears. After all, howmanyplasterersreallywanttospend the weekendskimmingtheir ownwalls?
However, this past monthhas broughtevery scrapofjoy back into theworld of scooters forme, andsurprisinglyitdidn’tinvolve turninga wheel. Afew weeksago,myneighbour askedfor some advice.His 16 -year- oldson,Josh, hadjuststarted hisapprenticeshipand needed to gettowork. As I’ve mentionedbefore, Iliveina villageonthe edge of thePeakDistrict, whichhas many perksand privileges.Unfor tunately,accesstoreliablepublic transpor tisnot oneofthem. Thenovelty of getting up at thecrack of dawn to drop himatthe nearest busstation so he couldtraveloveran hour to work andthenrepeating theperformance in theevening hadwornver ythinver yquickly forthe whole family DidIthink amoped wouldsolve theproblem,they asked. Theobvious answer was“yes”
Havingdiscussed abudget, whichbeing 16 was tight, andgetting confirmationthatheneededit “justfor work”, thesearchfor somethingsuitable began. Fortunately, oneofour regularcontributors, Brad,had just acquired aver ytidy2tVespa S50. It wassomething of aunicorn,havinghad only one owner, came with afullKegra servicehistory and hadonlyeverbeenusedfor afour-mile roundtrip each daybyits adultrider Adealwas struck;somegearfromthe ‘testpile’ wasdonated to thecause andJoshwas offonhis
waytowork. Except he wasn’t.It’ sfairtosay that from themomenthefirstwound on thethrottlehe washooked. Otherthanreturning home occasionally to eatand sleep, it’s rare to findJoshathomethese days.I’llhearhim return from work andthenwithin thehourhe’soff again; sometimestosee friends, butmoreoften just riding forfun,withnoreal destinationinmind.
With thesalecameawarning that thereartyre wasgetting thin andwitha30-mile dailycommute, he’d need to keep an eyeonit. At theend of thefirst week 600miles hadbeencovered,afigure repeated on weektwo andatotal that just keepsgrowing Consideringhe’scommuting fornomorethan150 miles, that’s some goingona’ped. With thetread patternrecedingmorequickly than my hairline, we askedour tyre guru,Rhodz,torecommend somethingthatwould take ever ything a16-yearoldcould throwatitand he recommendedsome AnlasTournee.I’m abig fanofAnlas rubbers, butI suspectthese areinfor oneofthe hardeststintsof anytyrewe’ve ever tested!
Purchasedasatooltoget to work,the little Ve spahas turned into Josh’s most prized posses sion,mostlybecause he’s tasted freedom forthe first time.However,weall know that once thewindhas been in your face,it’sa joythat’shard to shake. Hone stly,I’d forgot tenhow much Iloved my 50 Special, andhis fre sh passionmademe realisethatinevery daythere’s time to stop and take pleasure in thefantastic worldweinhabit. Whetherit’s tinkeringorriding, Ireallydo love scooters.Itnow seems that I’mnot theonlyone on our street to thinkthatway…
Don’tforgettosendinyourrally reportsand snapsofyou outand aboutthissummer. Just drop a line to stan@scootering.comand we’lldothe rest ■ stan@scootering.com
ww w.scoo tering.com
Scoo tering Magazine
@scoo teringmag
CO NTENT S
3Welcome Stan’sn eighbou rg ets at aste of the open road
8Big 7
Fun in the sun at Ardingley
16The Knowledge
All you ever wanted to know about cables but were afraid to ask
22News
Updates from the world of scooters
30Stomping
Stu brings atouch of culture to our pages
34The Tokyo ModFather
We continue our look at the Japanese Mod scene by interviewing Koichiro Kawaguchi
40Empire building the Lambretta way
Part two of our series charting therise of Lambrettainthe UK
44Down in theDelta Saigon Scooter Centre’sMekong Delta ride
68Atestament in black and white Unboxing Scooteroller’sSerie Speciale #400
74Designed with abite
King Cobra Lambrettas, an almost forgotten dealer special
80London Styl,Parisstyle
The 1980s Mod revival through French eyes
86This month in thegarage
Dan reflects on highwaymen, helmets and head-scratchers…
Our Series 2gets enginemounts and atop end
104GTS 300
It’stime to tackle another crucial but often overlookedupgrade: wheels andtyres
110Race Chat
BSSO Round 4: Pembrey, June 14/15, 2025
116Buyer’sGuide
Stats on new scoots
Doorstep delivery and savings too! 56Send Us aPostcard
Avery specialLambretta collection in Benalmadena and atrip to the IsleofWight’s Lambretta Day
60In rust we tr ust
Aperfectly patinated Vespa from Poland
92Scooter spanner sanctuar y
The final step in settingupour home workshop; essential tools for modern autos
96PX-treme tuning
What difference does skimming the barrel make? Quite alot…
100Italian stallionrolling revival
120Tales from the vault
Rescued by Mr Benson and Mr Hedges
128Final Word
Agold-standard Vespa cutdown
130Next month
If you can’t get enough smallwheeled action, he’sataster of what’s coming up next
Funinthe sun:
Big 7NationalScoot er Rally, June 27-29, 2025
As Sturepor ts,thisyea r’sBig 7Nationa lScooter Ra llycameroa ring back to life at theSouth of EnglandShowg round, Ardingly
After beinghostedinMargate last year,the Big7 National Scooter Rallyreturnedtothe spacious andscenicvenue of theSouth of EnglandShowground, whichonceagain proved to be an excellentfitfor around 2000 scooteristswho visitedthe eventoverthe course of theweekend.Rallygoersstarted arriving earlyonFridaymorning andit wasn’t long before aqueue hadformedatthe main gates. WhileIwas speaking to others waiting forthe gatestoopenitwas clearthatthere was ahighlevel of excitement aboutthe weekend ahead, whichwas goingtobesupported by clearand fineweather
Af terthe gate sopened, Iheadedfor the uppercamping area andpitched my tent next to Dart fo rd So cial SC whowereinfine
fo rm.Inthe me antime,other rallygoers were arriving in st yle, stre amingintothe rallysite on allt ypes of scooters,repre sentingthe diversit yofthe scooters cene we alllove andappreciate.
Havinghad acoffeeIset offtocheck outwhatwas goingonaroundthe rallysite. Camped near to themainarena were South CoastMods, Mark,Shady,Gar yand Luke “We’re part of agroup of scooteristswho’re broadlybased along thesouth coastand we meet at theVolks in Brighton ever ySunday. The ride here’s nottoo farand should’veonlyhave takenusaroundhalfanhour, butwithGar y puttinggearbox oilinhis petrol rather than twostroke oilittookaroundtwo hours!”
Over in themainarena wasacontingentof Jersey scooteristsfromthe 79ersOld Timers SC
and‘Lone Wolf’rider,LiamFont. Talkingabout theirridetothe venuetheysaid: “Wearrived earlyfromthe ferryinPortsmouth; then when we setoff to gettothe venueour groupsat nav must have been operatingonFrenchsoftware becauseitwas sendingusinthe wrong direction; back towardsFrance! Andonthe wrong side of theroad!”
Also in themainarena were Hornchurch FAB SC members, Lee, Scott, Leeand Pete who were relaxing having adrink andplanningtheir activities forthe weekendahead
Nearby in theglamping area were fir st-time ‘glamper s’,members of theDir ty DevilSC from Hastings.“Thelasttimewewereatthis venue, af terthe heav yrainIwokeupin2ft of waters othistimewethought we’d give glamping ago. When youarriveevery thing’s
The consensus was clear; Big 7has found its per fect home.
allset up foryou,we’ve gotanelectrichookup in ourtentand there’splent yofroom; we’relooking forwardtothe weekendbut fir st we need time to unwind af terour leng thyridein!” Jimlaughed
Over in thefar corner of thecampsitewere theMedwayAce sSC, who’d ridden in on some amazingsco oter s; oneofwhich was Adrian Carter’s fantasticcustomTucano Urbano LambrettaGPstreetracer.“Acouple of ourclubmembers arehereinacampervan andtonight we’reall meetingupfor acharity barbecue.We’ll allpay abit ex trafor our fo od andthe moneyraisedwillbe donatedto SarcomaUKand Demelzachildren’scharity.”
South Coast Mods.
Something different…
VCB Midlands daytrippers Steve, Andy and Neil.
FAREWE LL MARK
It is with greatsadness that we must report Mark Howlettofthe DirtyDevilsSC collapsedand went into cardiacarrestat therally on Saturday morning. Security was quicktorespond andimmediately initiated CPR, closelyfollowedbythe on-site medicalteam, who arrivedwithinminutes Afterbeing stabilised,Markwas takento hospital wherehelater died
Mark wasakeenscooterist, strong supporter of Big7 andloved by many;our thoughts are with hisfamilyand friendsatthistime.
Jersey contingent.
Something for the weekend
Eveningaction
From thegeneral vibe I’dbeenpicking up during theafternoon it wasclear that it was goingtobeagreat weekend. Later, as the Friday ‘after-work’ rallygoers arrived, the bandscould be heardtuningupand,inthe meantime,agentlewaftofKourosaftershave
Medway Aces SC.
driftedacrossthe campsite.The evening’slive bandsopenedwithSharp Classwho delivered afantastic performanceand gave 100% to get theaudienceenergised readyfor thefollowing act, theSex Pissed Dolls.
Main day
Withouttoo much shouting of “Alan” across the campsite during thenight Iwas up earlyfor a coffee andatouch of breakfastcookedonmy camping stove. This wasaccompanied in the background by what soundedlikenoisesfrom theSerengeti,but wasinfactthe usualrally site sounds of scooteristssnoring!
Browsing throughthe eventitinerary,the attractionsfor theday included dyno testing, an organisedrideout,customshowand more live bandsand DJs. Also,throughoutthe course of weekend, acomprehensive traders’ market was availabletovisit,which wasconvenientlylocated near to theentranceofthe rallysiteselling scooterparts,memorabilia,new andvintage clothing andamong them wasScooter Clinic who were on hand to assist with scooterfixes.
Next year ’s Big7r ally will be held at theS ou th of EnglandS ho wg roundfromJune2 6t o2 8; make sure it ’s in your diar y.
Dyno action.
FABSC.
Dartford SocialSC-Best turned-out club.
BIG7CUSTOMSHOWRESULTS
Best Lambretta: Soul Boy. 457KWA
Best Vespa: Cheeky Little Devil. DEV1L
Best Auto:AbsolutelyBuzzin’.LD63OSF
Best Chopper/Cutdown: WorldFreak Show. P200 LEV
Best Rat: Vega Legshields.560 XVH
Best ClassicScooter:Olympic Lambretta Series 2. 553XUL
Best Street Racer: O’Neal Mayhem.KCH 317N
Best Accessorised:LD125 (1954).MVB 295
Furthest TravelledMale: Stephen Gourley
Furthest TravelledFemale: KarenSoulsby
Best Turned-Out Club:DartfordSocialSC
Best in Show TerryWhitbyTrophy: Past & Present. BHM618H
TheBig 7DynoShoot-Out:Vespa LT02 YRC (59.2bhp)
FIRSTTIMEINTRODUCTIONS
Rita,Claire, Mark,Alanand BevfromEssex.“We’veknown each otherand we’vebeenintothe scooterscene foraround50years,but it’s Rita’s first rally,”theysaid. “Overthe yearsI’veheard howmuchfun scooterrallies are, so Ithought:‘Whynot give it ago!?’ Aweekend away,drinks, musicand good company; Ididn’trealise howmuchI’d been missing!”Ritasmiled.
LOVING THEWEEKEND
IT’S ALLINTHE NAME
Charlie, Pantsand Leefrom, Fat, Drunkand Stupid SC.“We’rebased in Gravesendand our club name is takenfromthe storylineofthe movieAnimalHouse;soasyou canprobably guesswe’re here foragoodtime, themusic andthe beer!”
Bats andNew Malden
S.C(S.WLondon) Jim Enrightsaid, “We’ve ridden in on avariety of scooters andI’m on my TV20 0, which is also thenameof my band andwe’re availablefor bookings! TheBig7isalways agreat rallyand this venueisper fect!”
Allthe at tractionsreceivedplent yof at tentionand therideout waswellattended, with participants beingtaken on awonderful trip throughthe scenic surroundingWest Sussex countr yside. In themeantime, the custom show boastedmorethan55entries whichweredisplayed like worksofart.The levelofcreativit yamong themachine swas incredible andasone onlo oker said:“Ever y scooterherehas astory to tell,and you cansee that in each de sign,build,theme andpaint.”
Outsidethe custom show building,the free dyno te stingallowed scooteriststotestthe performanceoftheir machines andadded an at traction of mechanical theatretothe technicallymindedonlookers
As the30- degree mid-af ternoonsun began to co ol,rallygoer sstarted to getthemselve s readyfor theevening’s entertainment, which featured threebands:The Jam’d, Heav ySol Band andSka -Per whoall deliveredpower ful performances engaging theaudiencewith commitment andenerg y.
CUSTOM SHOW INTENTIONS
Thesesouth coastand Isle of Wightscooterists hadriddeninonsomeinteresting scooters.“We’llbeputting some of ourscootersinthe custom show, among them is Giles’ enduranceracer themed LambrettaSeries1,a home-grown,fabricated, tunedand vreeblepainted cut-down Lambrettaand a smartEgigsmallframeVespa.”
ADIFFERENT TYPE OF ORNITHOLOGY
Broken Co ck SC -No Turkey s, were in fineform.
“The Big 7’sa great rally, it ’s well or ganisedand therally staf f aregre at. Thevibeis always chilled andrelaxed, whichspreads throughout theweekend Youalway s makenew friendsand meet old ones here.”
Homeward bound
On Sunday morning, priortothe ride home, formanythere wasa final groupcatch-upand de-brief over breakfast; andasthe last scooters left Ardingly thesiteslowlyemptied andthe consensuswas clear; Big7 hasfound its perfecthome.
Over thecourseofthe weekend, theevent struck an idealbalance betweenretro charm andmodernevent execution, whichwas down to thefactthatitstays true to thespiritofthe scooterscene;friendly, inclusive, loud and proudlyindividual.
Wordsand images: StuSmith
TheKnowledge Pulling power
It’s notuntil they seizeorsnapthatmostofusg ivecontrol ca bles asecondthought.Venhill hasbeenmak ingupg radedcablesinits Surrey factor yfor more than 50 years, so we askedthe company’sadv iceoncar ingfor th is vita lconnectionbetween ridera nd mach ine.
Q: Have cables changedmuchoverthe past centur y?
A: Thecoredesign, patented by Ernest Monnington Bowden in 1896,hasn’tchanged agreat deal.Aflexible tube containing asliding wire allows movement around curves without pulleys. Therehavebeensomeadvancesin materials, like theintroductionofnylon and Teflonliners, stainlesssteel andgalvanised wires, etc, butamoderncable looksand works much thesameasone from the1920s
Q: Are allcable sbasically thes ame?
A: Most cables shareasimilar design: Innerwire: This is thepar tthatmoves It’s either aflexible wire rope forthrot tles, or astretch-resistant corded wire strand
forclutche sand brakes,designedto transmit movement
Conduitliner:Asmoothnylon tube that allows theinner wire to slidefreelywith minimalfriction.
Outerconduit:Thisactsasaprotective layer, typicallyasteel spiral wrappedin weatherproof PVC. However, thequality of components and manufacturecan vary.Higherquality cables will usealow-friction‘maintenancefree’ PTFE (Teflon)liner andthe ends of thewires will be bird-caged forstrengthand durability
Q: What do thenumbers on OE cables mean?
A: OEM(Original EquipmentManufacturers) numbersare codesthatare used to identify the
correctcomponent forapar ticularvehicle,and they canbeespeciallyhelpful when ordering replacementpar ts.Due to theamountofdir t andcrudcablespickupovertime, thepar t number canoften be obscured,sogiveita good wipe down if youcan’t seeanumber anywhere.Itmight also be hidden underadust coverorspring, so some detectiveworkcould be called for.
OEMnumbers follow aunique‘langua ge’ fo re achmanufacturer, allowing them to identify specificpar ts.Typically,anOEM number hast wo or threes egment s. One part identifie sthe item it self,while theother part sindicatethe specificmotorcyclemodel it fit s. Fo rins tance, in frontofmeI’vegot a
Hondaclutchcable that carrie sthe number
22870- KRN- A4 0:
22870- signifies it’s aclutchcable
KRN-A40indicates it’s fora Honda CRF250R2012model.
Q: What ar ethe common causes of cablef ailure?
A: Waterand dirt /dustare majorcable killers. Avoidpressurewashers,astheyremove lubricationand force in contaminants.Ifyou must usethem, direct thejet away from cable ends andconnections anddry your scooter thoroughly afterwards.Ensurecablesmove freely, withoutsnaggingorbinding when turning handlebars lock-to-lock,because improper routingnot only shor tens lifespan butcan be a safety hazard too.
Q: Do Ineedt omaint ainmycable s?
A: Like chains andsprockets,cablesare a consumable part that requires maintenance andeventuallyneedtobereplaced. Formost scooters,aim to give your cables an annual ‘ser vice’. FlushthemwithWD- 40 untilclear, then lubricatewithlight oil. Steerclear of thick greases, whichattract dirt.Apply copper or silicone grease to exposedconnections for protection andyou’regoodtogo. Premium options, like VenhillFeatherlight, feature durablestainless steelwireand low-friction PTFE (Teflon)liners. PTFE cables area ‘maintenance-free’ choice,eliminating theneed forregular lubrication.
Amoder ncable looks and works much the same as one from the 1920s
Q: Howdo Icheck my cables forwear?
A: Acommonsignthatyourcable is damaged andneeds replacingiswhenyourbrake,clutch or throttle operationfeels stifforsticky. This couldbecausedbysnagging, so move on to a visual check. Canyou seeany rust or corrosion wherethe cableconnectstothe lever, twistgrip,etc?Thenfollowthe leng th of theconduit, lookingfor kinks, cracks or scuf fing.
Q: What is bird-caging?
A: Bird -cagingisamanufacturing technique that prepares an innercable wire fo r soldering. By carefullyt wistingand shaping thewire, amorep oroussur face is created. This allows solder to penetratedeeperinto thecable’s we ave, fo rmingas tronger, mo re reliable connection to thenipple. Although it increase spro ductioncos t, bird -caging significantly bo os ts durability andreduces theriskofcable failure. Fo rthisreason, all VenhillFeatherlightcable sfeature birdca ging as standard.
Replacinga controlcable isn’td if ficult, butcor rect instal lation is vita lfor smooth functiona nd longevity.Here’sa simple guide:
Document theroute:Photographor sketch theold cable’spatharoundthe frameand forks.
Matchlengths:Confirmthe newcable’s overalland innerwireexposed leng ths matchthe oldone.
Lubricate(if needed): Fornon-PTFE cables,lightly oilthe innercore.
Feed carefully: If possible,threadthe newcable alongside theold onefor easier routingbeforeremovingthe old.
Avoidheat: Keep cables away from hotenginepar ts like cylinder heads andradiators
Loosecable ties:Don’t over tightenties; they restrict naturalcable movement
Checkfor pinches: Ensure thecable doesn’tbindduring handlebarmovement.
Throttle tip: Forpush-pull throttles, connectand adjust the‘pull’cable first
Lubricatenipples:Sparingly apply copper or silicone grease to lever nipples; avoidheavy greases.
Finalchecks: Verify full handlebar movement andpropercontrol operation. Recheckrouting and adjustersifissuesarise.
Q: CanI make my ow ncable s?
A: Providingyou have access to asoldering iron andknowhow to useit; youshouldbeableto make your owncables. Youcould crimpthe wirestothe nipplesatthe endofthe cable, but this wouldonlybeatemporary fix,which would fail with repeated use. Solderingisessential At Venhillwesellarange of universalclutch andthrottlekits, containing allofthe commonly used components.Wealsooffer workshop kits, whichare popularwithpeoplewho have several classics or customsintheir collection or help outfellowridersregularly.Weevensupplya bird-cagingtool, forpeoplewho areseriously into theirDIY cables.
Replacementcablesare relatively inexpensive, so there’snosignificantcost saving by making your own. Themainreasons tend to be custom builds or modifiedscooters, wherethe cablelengthdiffers from theoriginal par t.
Words: DanSager Images: Venhill
Find outmoreabout Venhillatwww.venhill.co.uk wherethere arelotsoffreeadvicefeatureson thecompany’s News blog.
AVenhill cable kit.
FReplaying Disc ’85
This month Paul reflects on an iconic event, one that will long be remembered by all who attended.
or me, 1985 wasn ’t jus tt he year that Scootering hit the newsstands, it also marked ab it of aw atershed w here Is hi fted from be ing ar egular ral ly -going scooterist to be ing more involved in racing. In early June what came to be au nique scoote rin ge vent was held at D onington Park race circuit. The Don ington International Scoote rC lassic, or as we all know it, Disc ’85.
I’d beenaregular visitor there for afew yearswatching everything from motorbikes to Formula 1and was pretty excitedinthe run-up to the event, which was heavily advertised and had the corporate backing of Vespa UK. It was to be the biggestevent of the year,taking over the massive facilities at Donington, and Vespa was even giving away a scooter to aluckyattendee.
At the time it had the potential to be the biggest scooter event ever and promised everything. Arallyweekend of camping and drinking to the soundtrackoftwo huge scooterist bands, Bad Manners and the Meteors, withtop soul DJs of the day.There was ahuge customshow in theexhibition halls with ALL the very best scooters of the day.The Sunday was to feature scooterracing on the classic Donington circuit and ashorter, twisty sprint was promised as well as a scooter gymkhana
As the date drew closer,itlooked like Donington would be the Glastonbury for scooters and Icould see the potential for it to develop into afull-on festival.Agoodybag and printed programme were handed to us in apack on arrival, along with ashiny round patch to say that we’d been there.
Yes, there was an element of ‘corporate’ but Ithought that it was done in agood way. Even better,all of this was available for the princely
sum of £5! To put that into perspective,atthe time apint was 70-80p, and fuel around £1.95 agallon for comparison, and formeit was just 30 miles to get there!
Unfortunately,myoverriding memory of the weekend is the rain. It rained alot. We spent most of Saturday looking at custom scooters, where Ifirst had the chance to examine Dazzleclose up. What ascooter that was when it was first revealed, but it was just one of many incredible scooters at that show.
Somehow,I managed to persuade my girlfriend (later my wife) thatitwas agood idea to spend her birthday weekendinthe rain lookingatscooters. Even more amazing,I managed to persuade her to join me on Sunday (in more rain) marshalling for the racing.
Ihad been marshalling regularly at that point and wasstarting to form ideas of racing myself, so helping out wasasclose as Icould get at that point. However,wewere abit(!) unlucky and were allocated amarshalling point on the outside of Craner Curves. The good news was that we got to see the racing from trackside at one of the fastest sweeping curves of Donington as it started to swoop downhill. The bad newswas that nothing happened. It was one of the safest bits of track, Idon’t think we even got to wave aflag, but we needed to be there, just in case.Itwas acase of drizzle or heavyrain pretty much nonstop and we wore waterproofssitting behind the barriers in asmall hut with afew flags and afire extinguisher.
Lunchtime arrived andbeing cold, wet and hungry we were horrified when thevan drove past us as we sheltered in thehut. The van containedour packed lunch, theymissed us! Beingyoung Ididn’tlike to leave thepoint and get food;sowewent hungry,and thirsty, and increasingly despondent sitting in the rain while my heroes raced by.The likes of Dave
Webster,Norrie Kerr,MalcAnderson, Terry Frankland all raced by.A moment Ioften think about occurred before the racing started and that was seeing Ian Frankland inhis unique bright yellow fairground dodgem car that had been fitted with aLambretta engine. I’ll never forget that! So, while others were on the main rally site caked in muddy clothes and wet tents, Iguess it could have been much worse for us, but it didn’tfeel like it at the time.
Looking back now,itwas probably an opportunity to be at afestival-type event including virtually every aspect of the scooter scene. It’scertainly something that’snot really been repeated since, certainly not on the same scale and with the samelevel of success.
Scootering has aproud history of themain events being organised from within the scene. Iremember the ‘official’ patches lookingvery corporate while the ‘unofficial’ Paddy Smith patches were 50p and spelt incorrectly,saying ‘Donnington’ with adouble N.
The camping fields were full of theheartof the scooter scene at the time. Youngstersin sodden tents, wetcombats sitting in themud, and Vespas with no exhausts. Classic.
Were you there, and if so… have you dried out yet?
Amoment Ioften think aboutoccurred before the racing started and that was seeingIan Frankland in his unique bright yellow fairground dodgem carthat had been fitted withaLambretta engine.
Ifyou want to know where arally is, order apart for your scooter or look at the latest custom creation, you can do so in the comfort of your living room. Youdon’t need to move an inch; just swipe away at your smartphone, and it’sall there instantly. Youmay want to type a request or send amessagetosomeone about it, communicating for hours without mutteringaword, it’sthat easy.Before you think I’m going on about the state of modern society in general, I’m not; thisisabout how communications technology has changed the scene we know.When you start to break it down, there are so many ways ithas been affected, but becauseit’sarevolution that is now 25 years old, perhaps we have become oblivious to it all.
Cast your mind back to your early daysof scootering and howyou went about things. If youwanted to know wherethe national rallies were, you grabbed hold of acopy of Scootermania as it listed them for the season ahead.Ifyou couldn’t obtain one, that didn’t matterbecause word of mouth ensuredyou knew the date of each one. Think about it: therewas no advertising as such, but the attendance of each one was well into the thousands. Scootermania, Jet Set from LCGB and Norrie Kerr’s Scooter and Scooterist magazine were all pivotal in getting the news out there. Not just rallies, but anything from dealer adverts to pictures of the latest custom builds. There wasnoset publication date, but somehow theyarrived in enough timetogive us the information we needed.
The shops were just as importantbecause they were the centre of the information hub Saturdays were always thebig day,and while somewould naturally turn up at ashoptobuy parts, formany it was simply ameetingpoint. Anything was discussed,from what yournext scooter project was to which rallies you were going to. We all shared our opinions, butalso
Communication breakdown
The internet is agreat invention, butithas taken awayour ability to communicate andchanged the scooter scene as we once knew it.
learnedfromeach other because itwas a first-handexperience. People would pull their machinesapart in front ofthe shop if permitted, perhaps to change a clutch or something like that. Some wouldwatch on to give their opinion on how it should be done, while the rest saw it as a lessontolearn from
These Saturday meets were where therumours came from regarding what was happening in the scene. The stories,ifnot exaggerated in the first place, were embellished with telling of the story.Many times it was all pie in thesky,but more often than not, they would turn outtobetrue, even if they needed to be taken with apinch of salt. Youcould even sell your scooter there or buy one if you so desired,asthe Saturday shop meet became thefrontlineofthe scene. Oneofthe great examples was the launch of theTS1, which first broke in the press to great anticipation.Everyone would discuss it, whether outsidethe shop, at club night or arally.When theday finally came, vast crowdsturned up at AF Rayspeed to watch Ray Kemp blastpast at lightning speed, so much was theintensity that the story had built up
happening, and once there, av ir tual tour by thousands of im ages ?S imilarly,m any custom or eng ine builds are showcased in great detail if we want to watch them, so there is no mo re unve iling of machines the way they use dt ob e.
Now that has all go ne ,n ot inso muc ha s another TS1 mo me nt can’t ha ppe n, but because the informa tio no ve rloa dh as kille d it. The w orld is no wb uilt on sensationa lism, whate ve rt he subject ,a nd the scoo ter sc ene is ap er fect exa mp le. Now,w ek now everything abo ut an ev ent before it happe ns. Ho wm any posts of scooters at petro la nd mo torway ser vic e st at i ons doe si tt ak ef or us to see ar al ly is
The element of surprise hasgone, leaving less impact when we seeorparticipate in something.
As for events,they are advertised months in advance, which is fine, but it all becomes abit monotonous because we are constantly exposed to what’shappening. No one is to blame; it is the system, the way of life, that’s at fault. We aren’t guilty of doing wrong; we are just theones embracing the technology that’sbeen bestowed upon us. The element of surprise hasgone, leaving less impact when we see or participate in something. More importantly,there is the loss of talking to each other and discussingthe scene we love so much. Now,weare destined to alife of typing text, almost like some written-out film script that we can only bother to read so much of before stoppingthrough boredom.
I’m not sayingweshould all go back to living in caves or writing letters to each other, that was for thedark ages. Perhaps it’s all part of the nostalgia thing, which ironically technology nowallows us to be exposed to on adaily basis.Wecouldn’t wait for the internet and all it had to offer.First the forums, then YouTubeand now social media. It all promised so much, but Iprefer the scene the way it usedtobebefore we had all this, and the communication breakdown it has now given us