Monday, September 6, 2010

Vancouver OlympiaBad 2010 Scooter Rally

The Worst Scooter Club Ever (WSCE) presents the OlympiaBad Scooter rally. Everyone was there, even Orin . . .

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(Orin: Scootin Old Skool, with his Vespa GTS)

The Vancouver Scooter Rally is one of the oldest rallies in the country attended by many from as far away as Alberta and Oregon. Orin has ridden up from Bellingham which is just a short 1-1/2 hrs south of Vancouver. All Riders are welcome as was evident by the many makes and models of scooters from Vintage manual shift Vespas to modern Honda Ruckii (ie: many Ruckass's), while others came on their motorcycles.

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(Liz with her Triumph Thruxton)

Most of the Honda Ruckass's are heavily customized, being lowered, wheelbase extended and some with large wide rear wheels

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This rider also likes to take 'rolling' video

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Modern Vespas, like this GTS has a very usuable storage under the seat

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Having a cooling source under your seat is a great way to keep cool in the summer .
Many owners also personalize their rides with friendly adornments

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I noticed a few other tiddlers like this pristine Suzuki 250

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Even then, back in the old days, Suzuki managed to include a Tachometer as standard equipment

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As Vancouver was the host city for the 2010 Olympic games, it was only fitting that the Vancouver OlympiBad Scooter Rally should follow in their footsteps by having a friendly game of Scooter Hockey (which was only one of many events held during the weekend).

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Joel, a member of the Ruckass club decided to use his muffler as a heat source to cook his bacon snack. After the scooter hockey it was time to check the contents of the foil wrapped package

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It was a wonderful weekend to catch up with friendships, go for rides and have a few meals

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And in fine Jack rIEPE tradition I asked Heidi if she would open her jacket . . . and imagine my surprise, she did

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13 comments:

  1. Awesome pics Bob, and what a great event!

    That Suzuki twin looks suspiciously like a T20. My Best Man had one and wrote it off retuning home from university when he fell asleep and rear-ended a parked car. He was basically undamaged but the T20 was terminally injured.

    Oh, and Liz has impeccable taste with her Thruxton :-).

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  2. Cool Photos! I love Vespas, had a PK50XL back in 1988. If I could justify one, I'd get one. Maybe one day ... ;-)

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  3. Great pictures.

    I enjoy the inclusiveness of many of the scooter clubs. The local club I ride with has a slogan: "We don't care what you ride only that you ride." Seems like a good philosophy to me.

    ~Keith

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  4. Great pictures! What a fun event. Just how does one play scooter hockey? How does backing up work? :)

    Love the little Honda with the wide tire. I can just imagine rumbling exhaust.

    -Lori

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  5. Your blog content is changing. No Croc pictures nor food unless the foil wrapped bacon on the muffler qualifies.

    It looks like a fun event, thank for the write-up.

    Richard

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  6. Liz's Thruxton also has a tachometer...

    Nice seeing you, bob!

    __Orin
    Scootin' Old Skool

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  7. Dear Bobskoot:

    Well, the scooter clubs are alive and well in the land of the Maple Leaf. I love it when folks like this get together to celebrate a common passion. And speaking of passions, please thank Heidi for supporting one of mine.

    And did Heidi mind giving us an outline of the old profile? Not at all, apparently. Sometimes we make things harder to ask about than to achieve.

    Fondest regards,
    Jack • reep • Toad
    Twisted Roads

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  8. What a great event. Cool pics of all the scooters. I want the little Suzuki! I'll have to show Ron the "Ruckii" with the wide tires. He's a fan of the Ruckus. You never said how the exhaust warmed bacon turned out?

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  9. Not sure I would like to try scooter hockey, but it looks like fun. Glad you got to see Orin at the event. The scooter cannonball run is taking off from Vancouver as well on a cross country race of sorts to Portland ME. That race starts today or tomorrow. They passed through Wichita two years ago and a SYM like mine was a winner in of the classes.

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  10. Geoff: I wouldn't mind having that Suzuki. It was also a 250cc in original condition.

    Are you saying that the rest of us don't have any taste? or only Triumph riders are KOOL.

    Guido: If it weren't so ungreen with 2 stroke smell and smoke, I wouldn't mind one either.

    Keith/CircleBlue: I find that you can mostly ride whatever you have. Many scooter riders also have motorcycles. I still have two scooters but were not insured this year.

    Lori/BeemerGirl: I have video footage to assemble on the next rainy day, then you will see some "action"

    Richard: OKay, you have talked me into it. Crocs and food I know are your favourites.

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  11. Orin: Always nice to see you too, and some of the SOB's that managed to make it up from Bellingham. I tried to find the place on Powell Street but I may have gotten there a little early so went home. Scooter time was too late for me.

    You should have gone on the "clothing optional" ride to scooter beach. Now you will have to wait until next year

    Jack: Heidi is a recent transplant from San Francisco where she was a scooter girl

    http://www.sfscootergirls.com/

    Her profile view has adorned many of their prev calendars wearing her Maid Marion outfit.

    It felt funny asking her to lift her jacket, but then again I don't have the sad Seal Puppy eyes

    Kari: Most of those Ruckii have lots of mods on them and their engines have been reworked. They sound like miniature Harleys.

    cpa3485/Jimbo: I just love typing JIMBO. I wanted to see the Cannonball start but it was on Thursday morning around 7am down at Jericho Beach but I had to go to work around that time. There was suppose to be a BBQ on Wed night but at the time, no one knew where it was going to be. A few riders from the scooter club were participants a couple of years ago.

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  12. Bob quote:
    "Are you saying that the rest of us don't have any taste? or only Triumph riders are KOOL."

    No, I most certainly am not *grin*.
    I'm merely commenting that Liz AND the Thruxton have a certain appeal.

    I'm definitely uncool. Wasn't it Huey Lewis that said it was hip to be square?

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  13. bob, the clothing optional ride got rained out. It started sprinkling at ~11:00 pm, and was full-fledged rain by the time people rode off. Found out it got bagged on Facebook...

    __Orin
    Scootin' Old Skool

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