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The years 1990-93 for me were some of the best Rallies I attended be it with the Pickering S.C or the Tadcaster Stax the memories are still there from the foot of Ben Nevis to Deepest Devon or the Chopper Coppers of Wales to the Washout of Brighton, ''Kin Excellent''.
Trouble was I did'nt take many photos so here's what I've got, stick with the site though as the late 90's i put down the pint pot and picked up the camera once again.
I know what I did do in late 89 was get rid of my GP200 and go back to my first love the Vespa P200E, vowing never to own a Lambretta ever again, that vow lasted until 1991.Anyhow here's a couple of pics of my Vespa of the time a real Rally going Scooter.
Found a few pics from Margate, I could of taken them anytime between 90 and 93 but never put the date on the back, always a good rally, The 2 biggest memories were the tyre blowing out on the M11 and wearing the soles out on my Doc Martins trying to keep the Scooter upright, and getting 3 produce your documents tickets from the Kent traffic Police all on the same day, that went down well when I got home and the North Yorkshire police had to do 3 lots of paperwork.....
Fort William in Scotland, I thought I lived up North, but this was North of up North, as with most Scotch Rallies a top weekend, the world cup was on blazing sun, must admit though the Pickering S.C was certainly on the decline by the early 90's as this photo of Kid and Arthur could of passed as the club get together, minus me as I always had to take the picture.
Another good Northern Rally, Whitley Bay, thats Newcastle to you lot, Likely Lads, AUF weidersen, Ant and Dec....
Think I went to Aberystwith twice and by the look of it took 1 photo on each visit, remember this rally for the Police Helicopters hovering above the Scooter campsite waiting for the trouble to start, trouble is they were about ten years late, ''now back in the 80's when''.......
Oh by the way ''YES'' the guy on the Vespa now picks the records on the National Rallies instead of his nose.
Only 1 pic from Yarmouth, oh how I loved that rally,Talking of Yarmouth in 1990 exactly a year after I vowed to never ride a Lambretta again I found myself back in Yarmouth at a Northern Soul weekender and my unbreakable Vespa broke down,I had no breakdown cover and it was Sunday teatime, then the Saviour Picky from Tad Stax said you take my GP200 and get home and I will get your vespa back on my AA card, that was it the journey home was like heaven and the next day the search was on for another GP.
Tell you what though it was'nt easy finding a decent Lambretta in 1990, so I went to Ray Kemp and purchased a brand new GP, I kid you not, over the next 9 years that Scooter was like one of the family, I think if it had of been legal I would of married it, I have'nt visited Rayspeed for quite a few years now but when I owned that Scooter the service it received was second to none, Ray keeping it on the road in the days before the internet when spare Lambretta parts were treasured items and new ones were sometimes unavailable, it went through a few changes in it's lifetime but here it is in it's first year.
Following on the Rayspeed story, since the 1980's there have been numerous open days at the shop, originally in conjunction with the L.C.G.B and more recently with the Eastfield S.C and the Carry on Kemping events, the photos below were taken in 1990/91.
A handful of pics from the L.C.G.B run to Holland in 1991 a really fantastic rally which I could write a full page on, but won't, one person who certainly will get a mention as he unknowingly inspired me to start taking photos of Scooters in the first place was Martin Dixon whose magazine the Northern Mod Scene later to become Scootermania whose pages I read the print off even before I was old enough to ride a Scooter, Martin unexpectedly joined us on this trip and was riding pillion on a GP200, the luggage on the back of his Scoot dropped onto it's upswept tailpipe and a deodorant can inside it exploded showering the following Scooters with it's contents, the one thing that did'nt go up was a calor gas stove which expanded to the shape of a rugby ball and would of sent Martin up in smoke, we parted company with Martin in Amsterdam and it was probably the last time I saw him on a Scooter event, but it's nice to remember him going out with a bang.
The photos below were taken at Bridlington in the early 90s, it was a new venue at the time and nearly 20 years later still pulls in the Scooter crowd, still love the Scooter below called the Upsetter and it's good to see it's around on the Rally scene today.
Baitings Dam hill climb was a Rally I attended twice on the same day, I got there first time only to be told by the barstaff that the event was cancelled so set off home, I got as far as York only to see the York S.C setting off so it was turn round and back again with them, good do in the end, the Scoots below were from the Scooter strongholds of Darlington and Scunthorpe.
A suprise return to Redcar for these pics, the Classic Club International run hosted by long time and much respected DJ Tony Class, who catered for the Mod Scene at a time when it seemed unfashionable, how times change.
The traditional York run was still there in 1991, and below Ralph Saxelby gives Scooter racing lessons.
In the early 80s my dream scooter would of been a distingtively painted Lens of Shipley P200E, I made many pilgrimages to the legendry shop and had some good nights out in Shipley, these pictures were taken just before the shop ceased trading in the 90s.
A real nightmare run this one the L.C.G.B Rally to Airdrie, really badly attended and dare I say hostile, if it had'nt of been for the arrival of the Dorset Modrapheniacs i would of got back on my Scooter and gone home, I gave the event a miss the following year and was glad I did as a number of Scooters were badly vandalised during the night.
Finally a few snapshots from Southport Margate and my mate Eddie's Vespa at Whitley Bay, he actually came off the Scooter and ruined the Paintwork later that day and had to have the Scoot redone again, and it's another Scoot that you still see at the Rallies today
