Modern Vespa

This looks fun! You been to this rally in the past?

I have. Typical turnout is over 200 bikes (all makes/years/sizes).

The ride route includes winding roads and great ocean views.

That sounds amazing!! I'm planning to go 🛵 😃

Already ordered my rally pack.

I'm planning to do both rides (Friday night and the Saturday main event).

I've never been as this is the first summer with a scooter instead of a motorcycle in 20+ years.

I am planning to go. The sponsoring club is a fun group that I've joined on their last two rides in May and June. Great folks.

Definitely going for the Saturday ride!

I bought my rally pack and I'm riding there Saturday with LA scooter group. If you see a black GT200 with 89 on the sides - that's gopam, rider 89 from cannonball 2018. Please do say hi. I don't bite 😃

Last edited by gopam on Thu Jul 11, 2019 1:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

Hey, can someone tag me when to be where on Saturday? I'm planning to go 🛵

http://swervencurve.com/snc_rallyinfo.html

and Los Angeles Scooter group (through meet up) is doing group rides to the rally.

I'll miss Friday, but I'm riding with LASG on Saturday morning.

cheers!!

See you there!

LASG Rides-to-the-rides (Marina del Rey to Torrance):

Friday Night: https://www.meetup.com/LAScooterGroup/events/262936002/

Saturday: https://www.meetup.com/LAScooterGroup/events/262960852/

Night ride tonight and bigger ride tomorrow.

I'll be the overly handsome gent on the white Vespa 300 with the "SKY FORT" license plate. Please come over and say hi if I don't beat you to it!

Friday night ride went surprisingly well, all things considered.

Was planning to use my Burgman 200 for that, since getting up to Marina del Rey for the LASG's ride-to-the-ride meant a half-hour freeway burn. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's perspective) that bike's spark plug wire came loose again at precisely the same intersection about five blocks from home that it did a couple of days (and 50 miles) ago, and the same location it did the same thing a few months (and few thousand miles) ago. Annoying that it happened, glad it happened there and not on the ride.

Fortunately, I'd prepped the orange 150S for the Saturday ride so it was ready to go after swapping over the toolkit and stuff from the Burgman. Made it to the starting point with a few minutes to spare, while re-confirming that the little old bike could do an honest 65MPH when out of the wind*. Alas, I didn't see 65 all that often because most of the ride was out in the open. But I did make it on time! And our little ride-to-the-ride group made it to the starting point on time as well, by way of Playa de Rey and Dockweiler Beach.

The night route was nicely winding roads and presented a great view of the South Bay's city lights from the mid-route stop.

Rode the 150S again to the main rally on Saturday (and before that, another ride-to-the-ride from Marina del Rey to Torrance with a couple of dozen bikes). The event was a bit smaller than it's been over the past few years, but much of that's because it wasn't promoted as heavily as usual this year. Still, there were about 125 bikes -- fewer classic Vespas and motorcycles, more Groms and Ruckuses. The group kept together through the splendidly scenic Palos Verdes part of the ride, including the usual suspiciously-specific-attention from the RPV gendarmerie**, but traffic and lights broke it up on the surface-street grind through Lomita and Torrance. I'm pretty sure everyone who wanted to go to the destination brewery finally got there, though perhaps not by the designated route...

Didn't see any crashes (which was a pleasant surprise, given the disregard that the Ruckus crowd generally has for formation riding), and only saw one bike fall out for mechanical issues (probably a fuel line break). Not bad.

Saw a few folks I hadn't seen for ages -- some not since last year's Swerve -- and it was good to get caught up. It's one of the best things about these big events.

I could nitpick about organizational details, but on the whole it went well and everyone had fun, and that's the point.

Hope to see everyone there next year!





* Bike's a stock 20k mile '09 150S, with only aerodynamic mods: flyscreen, plus tail-bag and pillion-bag to clean up the airflow behind the rider.

** They always watch the one big intersection at Malaga Cove. They know we're coming, we know they'll be waiting there in particular, and the local residents see the police doing their job.

link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jdQbE4liFQ&t=4s