Handlebars

The first weekend of October, the Hill City United Scooter Club (Chattanooga) held a rally in Ocoee, Tenn. Truth be told, I’d really been looking forward to it. We haven’t gone to many rallies this year and it was Hill City’s first camping rally after having thrown two city rallies and then Amerivespa last year. Full story »

At the beginning of August, I went to the Motor City Shakedown Scooter Rally in Detroit. It’s actually my third time in a row attending this rally, and over the years I’ve become quite good friends with a few of the Rovers (the scooter club who throws the MCSD rally). This year, like everyone else, I almost didn’t make it because of a lack of funds. After much prompting by several Rovers, including assurances that I would be well fed, I ended up relenting. Full story »

Lately several people have asked me, “Mel, why don’t you throw a scooter rally???” Maybe it’s because I’m not getting to go to a ton of rallies this summer or because I want to hang out with other scooterists so badly, but… honestly, I’m getting a little jealous of my husband and all the like-minded old motorcycle enthusiasts he hangs out with. Jealousy is never a good thing… or is it? What if I channel that energy into getting off my ass and putting together a rally after all? Full story »

Knoxville doesn’t have that many scooterists and unfortunately we’re a very loose-knit bunch. Despite desperately wanting to go ride around with my fellow scooterists, I end up hanging out and riding around with motorcyclists more than anything else. I think it’s a product of the fact that they’re always at our house given that my husband enjoys making old bikes run. I’ve learned a couple of things from riding with these guys that other scooterists may find helpful. Full story »

A couple of friends of mine who happen to ride modern twist-n-go four-stroke scooters always smirk at me when I start talking about vintage scooters because they think I’ve got a bit of an attitude towards their modern bikes. I always try to explain to them that there’s something fundamentally different about riding a dirty old two-stroke Lambretta scooter that most modern riders will never understand. The difference can be boiled down to what I like to call the not sure if you’re going to make it factor. Full story »

Since we’ve been having these warm winter days, I’m really looking forward to getting to ride more regularly this spring. Rally season begins this month (typically for me, it starts with the WKRP scooter rally in Cincinnati thrown by the Ten Year Lates SC) and there’s a lot to do to get ready. It’s oil-change time, tow vehicle check-up time, and emotional preparation time. Full story »

By now I’m sure you’ve noticed that the number of scooters on the road has greatly increased in the last few years. Whether people are drawn to scooters for fuel economy, because they want to quickly buzz around town, or because they’re drawn to that great vintage styling, many people have begun to appreciate these funny little, step-through motorbikes. Full story »