Modern Vespa

Has anyone ever shown up a a serious motorcycle rally with their scooter?
How was the reception? Much is made of the cultural differences between the groups but I wonder if it is really such a divide.

I once ended up riding in a pod of Harleys by accident on my Honda Met and we all had a good time.

this what happens:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMoRZNoQ8Bs

too funny! thanks for posting this. good times.

Unless they know you also have a big bike, they will completely ignore you. It's funny, because in Puerto Rico, my GTS will do most everything their big cruiser will do, and better, and I will have more fun, with less weight, stress, gas, noise and heat. Last sunday, I was leading with pillion, a pack of a few cruisers, sport tourer, and even an R1 through the mountains. There's nothing they could do better on this ride. I think ithe Vespa even had as much or more ground clearance than the R1.

Since I have the GTS (oct 2007), I am having so much fun going out with the big bikes I used to ride with. Since they'd seen and ride with me before, on an FJR1300, they can know understand how much fun, safe and reliable a Vespa can be.

The video is a keeper

I may be a motorcycle this weekend for the Salton Sea run..I hope you hooligans will be nice to me!

Accountants of America meeting or a Dentist weekend on the town thing?

I've done several charity rides on my GTS - and been the only scooter. It's kinda fun, and intimidating at the same time. (MV'er jfredrik wrecked the one for me by getting a bunch of you to show up and raise a ton of money, and I didn't feel special anymore.)

It was fun to be told that 'you know the ride goes on the freeway,' (told him he should try and keep up) and then a big burly guy said he rode his Vespa to his job at the jail, although he had the HD for the weekend cool club rides.

I tell people from the huge bay area sportbike forum that meets for dinner locally about twice a month, that I ride a Vespa. If the still talk to me after that I admit to having appropriate vehicles for the gathering as well, although I haven't had the guts to ride the Vespa to one of those dinners.

If you wanted to be harassed and ignored, sure go poke at some 'bikers.' If you want to meet some really nice people and talk about bikes go to a charity ride.

Pics:
http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic3354.html

http://www.modernvespa.com/forum/topic5472.html

Yes it is. I just downloaded it ! It's funny seeing the bikers with all their heavy set looks, leather, etc, vs the simplicity of the scooterist.

Power corrupts.

OOh!! Make it one of the scramblers!!

that video is hilarious. I would love to take my gt to a motorcycle rally.. that would be hilarious!

Our club will be heading out for the second year to the big bike rally round here, Friday 13 in Port Dover. The group that went last year had a blast and plans are proceeding for June this year.

Here's the album from last year.

All rallies are not created equal, you have 'biker' rallies, and you have motorcycle rallies.

If you'd ride your scooter to a BMW rally, you'd likely find a large measure of genuine interest in your machine, and a lot of positive conversation about it from the 'motorcyclists' who attend such affairs.

If you'd ride to a rally dominated by Harley Riders and metric cruiser riders, you might hear some demeaning remarks here and there, but you'll also find some curiousity and interest in your bike too.

I ride a 650 Burgman, and I live close to the epicenter of the Sturgis rally and I've seldom heard anything derogatory said about my bike, mostly comments on it's relatively large size more than anything else.

Real jerks on bikes will always be there, but they are getting fewer and farther between than 'the old days', most of them are too distracted by their swollen prostates to give anyone too much crap anymore.

However! while at the Sturgis rally, unlike 'Moped boy' don't f$&ck with anyone wearing 'colors', and don't f%&ck with the police, neither will usually tolerate any BS, especially at their expense.

It was a blast riding en mass as a group of 20 scooterists. The second scooter in our group was a metallic pink GTS. You can only imagine the looks we got from the Harley Davidson riders which this rally basically is made up of. The town was packed to the rafters with HD's and there was no where to park until a woman with a big yard saw us and offered her well manicured lawn to us to park on. A very kind and generous offer which included cement blocks for the side stands/center stands if wanted. We actually got an article about our club written up in their local newspaper as we kinda stood out amongst the thousands of motorcycles.

showing up at a mototrcycle rally on a vespa is a good way to meet some other people who will rib you, but you'll make some friends etc.

showing up at a biker rally on a vespa is a good way to get your ass kicked.

i know someone who was shot in the head after sturgis 3 years ago because he made fun of a guys paint job, and i saw someone get knifed 5 years ago because he made fun of a guy's wife's sportster. then there was the guy on 'da bus' who made news i think 2 years ago because he killed a guy on the bus for spilling ber on him by accdent.

i don't think most people have any idea the 'bad' element that is at sturgis. it isn't all funny like a moped guy video. there are some serious problem people there. i can't even begin to tell you the number of beat downs i have seen there.

This is great. My first topic and it is generating some fun discussion. Hey over there, how does this translate to events in the old world?

Cheers - Drew

Funnily enough,I know a guy whose scooter won "best of show" at a Hells Angels rally in England....They loved it,and his bottle for entering...

been lurking for a while but had to register for this topic- i have a good story for this.

a local restaurant held a "bike day" every year, that somehow became a get together for the wannabe biker crowd. me and mt friends went every year (i either took my Buell or Ducati, they had Harleys) and it was pretty stale.

i acquired a box of what used to be a P200 and assembled it into a pretty nice scoot and decided to take it to the bike day. i got pointed at, laughed at, and heard many "comments". even my friends were like "dude, wtf?" i entered it in the show and rode into the parking lot like i owned the place. to make a long story short... the P took part in burnout shows, wheeelies, running the girls from the radio station around, etc...

the show judges were wow'd by something that was done well and different from the cookie cutter bolt on chrome bikes (or custom choppers that were merely purchased) and the scoot won 1st place. there was some grumbling in the crowd and my friends couldnt believe i had pulled it off (on what they called a moped).

all in all, i had more fun going to the "biker" meet on a scoot than i ever did on a bike.

A quick answer to your inquiry -- Yes, I do it all the time. But then again, everybody in my "club" knows that I'm "not right" (aka crazy).

Both my wife and I have been known to take our et4 & Stella Atomic Fireball, respectively, to rallies, "biker bars", Harley Dealership Open House events, and our "club rides". No big deal, since most motorcyclists say that it doesn't matter as long as you are on two wheels. That being said, yes we also own "Big Bikes" too.

An "American Express Moment" occurred in the little town I lived in on a Sat Am not too long ago when a group of HOGS (aka Harley Owners Group) had stopped at the General Store for coffee. One hollered out Get a Harley to me as I past by. I flipped him "the bird" and rode home, two blocks away. Jumped on my HAWG and rode back and said hey big mouth got any more funnies. Stone silence!!!! Priceless!!!!

A couple more funny stories here. The first time we rode over to the Harley Dealership, the head salesman rode the the Stella Atomic Fireball around the lot a half a dozen times. While everyone laughed, he told me that when he was a teenager in CA, a vintage Vespa was his first ride. Last Spring, we both rode on a "club ride". We earn respect by keeping up with the pack. In fact the "tail gunner" almost wrecked, twice, laughing at us.

Still Crazy after all these years.

Kingfish

If I go solo, it will be the CL450 Scrambler, if the mrs. goes it will be the Triumph Scrambler.

We rode our Mets to the Big Dog rally in Wichita, KS, home of the Big Dog. We were the only scoots there but lots of people stopped to talk to us. (we lived in Wichita at the time)

That man was cleared of all charges in the killing, and rightly so. The drunken SOB who spilled his beer on him was also beating him half to death, the man pulled a knife in desperate self-defense and stabbed the drunken lout, who proceeded to die from the wound. The man who stabbed him was a family man who had never been in any kind of trouble before. He went home soon after the Rally with no charges filed against him. What kind of people do you hang with there? There's an enormous police, presence at the Sturgis rally, and they're don't take crap from anyone there, and if they even get wind of a problem, they're 'on it' like flies on you-know-what. I've lived in Rapid City since 1993, and effectively attended every Sturgis rally since, considering that the rally draws from 500,000 to 700,000 motorcycle-riding (read 'RV' driving) 'visitors' each August, it's a remarkably peacefull event.

Believe me, if it was that many 'cowboys' concentrated into the same area, there'd be a ton more drunken mayhem than the bikers could generate. Like a lot of things, trouble is there if you go looking for it, but if you go about your own business and don't get too stupid, the Sturgis rally is not going to be a problem for anyone, even scooter riders.

Yeah, I've been to Sturgis on a bike a few times, and my dad used to go there every year. He was a cop and a Harley rider. He said he saw the Hells Angels escorted out of town once, but neither of us saw any real trouble. It's just like anywhere, don't be a dick and you'll be fine.

Viewed all the pics and it really did look like a blast.

i just don't want people to get the idea that they can show up at biker rallies as 'moped boy' and everyone will think it is funny and ha ha ha.

the enormous police prescense at sturgis is on the strip, not at the 8 billion campgrounds around town, nor anywhere near any of the local places you can go for a day ride. although, i guess you're right, that really isn't the rally per se.

i just don't want people getting the idea that 'hey all harley biker guys think vespas are cute,' becasue some of the bad element doesn't, and will remind you of it.

You're right Chad, it's okay to mingle with the lions while the lion tamers are in sight. Probably not a good idea to go into their cage at night.

I've always felt safe in Sturgis, not sure if I'd feel the same way hitting the campgrounds on a Vespa.

wouldnt take a bike to a scooter rally, so why take scooters to a bike rally?

im gonna turn up to an electric eco friendly vehicle rally in an suv.

and theres too much leather at these bike rallies, although theres too many bald owld fat buggers at scooter rallies. ye can't win!

i duno were all on 2 wheels. the only differences are the frame designs. we have storage, they dont.

the line between motorcycles and scooters is no more, just look at the gp800 and the aprilia mana.

Completely agree. My 250cc is faster, handles better, is more stable at high speeds and is more comfortable on long rides than my Suzuki Savage (650cc).

I've told this story a few times but don't think I've posted it here...

I went to a local bike apparel and gear store one evenining when I was just learning how to ride my Honda Met 50 cc. The lot was full of Harleys, BMW's and Ducatti's. I felt a bit strange pulling up to these giant machines. As I was putting on my helmet later to leave I said in jest "Loud Pipes Save Lives." The mean looking HD guy next to me just had a good laugh. He asked me about the MPG on the Met (100 MPG) and said back to me "I'm luckey if I get 38 MPG". I told him I was luckey to get 38 miles per hour. He gave me an even bigger laugh.

A lot of the replies have been correct that if you treat people with respect and humor they will usually reply in kind. If you're an asshole, well you get what you deserve.

Still, poking a stick at Hells Angles or the Police is just plain dumb.

Cheers - Drew

No offense guys...but I can't have this kind of fun on my scooters:

Scooters are cool, but there are some instances where I prefer 1,200cc to 250cc.

I got the first MP3 in San Diego..I had an ex pres of the HA's look at it and you can't impress them..But wait till they find out Harley will come out with a tiltilting 3 wheeler...But he did notice my rear rim was bent..I like the HA's Maybe because I can be crazyer then them...

Oh C'mon! just get out there and mingle, talk trash, and look like you own the place.

This is my now wife, Teresa, in downtown Sturgis during the rally a few years back (the electric scoots aren't ours, but we couldn't pass up on the opportunity for such a wonderful 'photo-op')...


And here's a shot of Keystone, South Dakota...about fifty miles from Sturgis...three days before the rally officially even begins. Look under the 'The Indians' sign across the street and you'll just be able to make out my white 650 Burgman parked alongside the curb.


And here's my 'little' scooter parked next to a big, bad, Harley at the rally.

Thanks for the PR for the "Ride for Kids", ritchj. How do you make a bike event into a scooter event? Show up! Last year we had about 100 bikes and about 25 scooters at the "Ride for Kids". This year my goal is to have 100 scooters show up for the San Francisco Bay Area "Ride for Kids".

To help that happen, I've left RidePackets at some of the most enthusiastic scooter haunts, including: Rockridge Two Wheels, Vespa of Walnut Creek, Vespa of San Francisco, San Francisco Scooter Center, First Kick Scooters, California Speed-Sports aka Vespa of Livermore, Cycle Specialties aka Vespa of Modesto, Scuderia West, Concord Motor Sports, Marin Cycle Works, San Jose BMW aka Vespa of San Jose, Revolution Moto, among many Honda & Yamaha Scooter Dealers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

So, go get your RidePackets and overwelm our biker friends with your presence on June 29, 2008 at Pleasanton Middle School, 5001 Case Road, Pleasanton, CA. Stay tuned for more details!!!!!

No offence Badpenguin but you can't have this sort of fun EXCEPT on a scooter


That would be ice, snow, 7' tree, - 10, 20km/h winds and riding: Some things just require a Modern Vespa

but to get back on topic: At T.M.S.C, as Benny said we were well received by the almost 2,000 bikers at the Port Dover Rally last year.( about 2000 Harley's and 20 scooters)
Much better than I was when I tried to ride amongst another group of Harley riders later in the summer. I rode a little way with them and when they pulled over - very impressive by the way, I joined them by the curb, then snapped the below picture before being asked 'what do you think you're playing at' then told quite sternly to leave.- but it was fun whilst it lasted.


15 police bikes and one Scooter

That's not fair, I live in Southern California!!!

wanna trade?

In May of '04 I did Rolling Thunder in DC with about 30 other scooterists. It was great fun and in general we were warmly received by the 250,000 motocyclists(!) who were there. Sometimes it was along the lines of "aw, isn't that cute?" though others were genuinely interested. There were a few scowls, but not many at all.

During the parade from the Pentagon across the bridge into DC and around the National Mall we actually got more cheers from onlookers than most others. I mean, after you've seen THOUSANDS of Harleys go by at least we were different!

Below is a photo taken at the Pentagon parking lot. If you look carefully, about a third of the way down the photo are two rows of scoots (the vintage green GT with the top case is particularly visible).

More pics from that day are here: http://kevjot.com/photos/040530thunder/

Kevin

I kinda like this pic, too.

Kevin, that sounds like amazing fun. For the most part, my scooter and I have been well received by MC's when I've met and chatted with them.