Modern Vespa

I would love to participate in some scooter rallies. For example, Scooting The Ozarks. But, how do I get myself and my scooter there? The start is thousands of miles from me. Recently I thought of creating some kind of collapsible shipping crate for my scooter. I'd set it up, ship my scooter to a freight depot near the rally start. Fly there. Take the scooter out. If the rally has a different end point, ship the crate to another freight depot. Then eventually, ship the scooter home. I know it sounds pretty complicated, but what are the alternatives? I'm not into days of pulling a trailer back and forth. We only have one cage, and I'd have to leave it with my wife anyway. Could I ride to the nearest railroad station, check the scooter onto a baggage car (do they even still have those?) and ride the train to the rally local? Ideas?

What about creating your own rally?

People would love to come to Vegas to ride, etc.

I think you would find the cost to ship your scooter would be prohibitively expensive. You can get a rough idea of the costs by estimating the total weight and crate size, then calling a local shipper to see what they would charge. Shouldn't be that hard to do...

Ride it, haul it or ship it...not many other possibilities it seems to me.

Ride your scooter to the rally or get a trailer and pull it behind you car. The only train option is the Auto train, which goes from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL and back, with no stops. I guess that is not an option for you since you are in Las Vegas.

Agreed. I've done both. I've only trailered the scooter once due to time-off-work restrictions, but it worked out well. If you are renting a trailer, make sure to reserve it well in advance.

For me, if I had to jump through as many hoops as would be necessary to crate, ship, fly, uncrate, ride, re-crate, re-ship, fly, etc., I'd just write off the event as too much, too far, too big of a chance something will go wonky, and be done with it...

...Which is why I still haven't done my dream trip of riding/camping the Ring Road in Iceland. I just can't (reasonably) get there from here.








...Yet. 8)

High rollers rally

http://www.lvscooterrally.com/

Hop on your scoot and ride your ass there!

Look local....tons of rallies around

Great, now I can't get "Viva Las Vegas" out of my head.

Mr. F

Logistics, logistics. Let's see.

Lost Wages to Eureka, AR.
Near 1,400 miles, mostly highway, which your scoot can handle...but which most people's butts can't. Unless you have experience and are properly prepared for it (You'd be carrying your gear along), it would be a very tough ride to do in less than two & 1/2 to three full days.

22 Hours in the comfort of your car if you trailer.

I once drove more than that in one stretch...Once...and I would not do it again, ever, unless I was trying to out-ride the spread of the pending Zombie Apocalypse.

So figure on two + long days if your aim is just to get there, fast. Rental for the trailer: Cheap. You'll have to get some tie-down straps, also cheap.

Summary:
Riding your scooter there is doable, but it would be a rough if you are in a hurry or are not physically or mentally prepared.

Trailering your scooter is very doable.
I think flying and shipping would cost more in time, preparation, expense, and migraines than renting a trailer and driving.

I've attended the Scootin' the Ozarks rally at least five or six times, dating back to the times when it was primarily a Honda Helix Rally. All but one I've trailered the scooter over, but five or six years ago I rode over on a Burgman 650/Texas Sidecar rig with daytime temps in the 110 range. This was a distance of 925 mies each way.The last time I went, three of us trailered the scoots over.

Whether riding or trailering, it's a good two days and one night from here in Las Cruces. I have driven, pulling a trailer, in a single day, but that's not in the cards for me at my age.

I'm 76 years old, and I think you are quite a bit under that, so it is possible that you could do it, either riding or driving. I've looked on a map, and you are not that much farther than me, maybe 3-400 additional miles from Eureka Springs. Maybe less.

And, you can find rallies, such as the Great Southwest Scooter Fiesta in Phoenix on December 1 that are a lot of fun, and certainly within a days ride for you. I rode over three years ago. The Fiesta draws maybe 60-70 scooters, which as I remember, the last Scootin' the Ozarks rally I went to drew about that many. The roads there are fantastic for scootering. And there are a couple a year in Tucson as well, and also in California there are bunches of them that are within riding distance for you.

Good luck with your rally planning.

karlu
las cruces, nm

One of the folks here in Houston did a tour of the pacific northwest on their Mojitos a few years ago. Riding up wasn't an option if they wanted to have time in the area. They had one of those shipping pods dropped off at their house. Put down a plywood floor with chocks attached. Rode the scoots in and settled them nicely in the chocks. Then loaded their riding gear and everything except what they'd carry on the airplane. Called the pod company who picked it up and took it to their storage facility near Seatac. They flew in and took a cab to the storage place. Rolled the scoots, etc. out mounted up and road away to fill up the tanks.

10 days later they rode back to the storage facility, put the scoots back in the chocks. Put the rest of their stuff back in the pod and took a cab to the airport. A little later the pod was delivered back in Houston. Said it cost them less than renting two scoots and they had their own. I have a friend from Australia who is considering doing the same thing with his motorcycle for a month long visit to the US. I told him to do it and I'd ride at least part of the month with him. Depending on when my husband may even come along too.

Amtrack, select a destination somewhat near and then ride to it.


well this won't work now will it.

Good ideas above... Also - look at car/trailer-pooling options. If you are wanting to do a scooter rally away from Vegas, maybe others from there, or CA/AZ/UT would give you space on a trailer/in a truck to travel with them... Make some friends and save a bunch of money to boot!

Best,

Desi B.

I agree with the comments of most others here. Trailering is the only practical way to attend rallys and other events at a distance. If you have no interest in driving your own vehicle and owning or renting your own trailer - then it is time to cultivate friends that attend rallys, go with them, and share the costs. Seems like that would be fun.

Check with Amtrak. They are full of rules and regulations regarding shipping a motorcycle. Gotta be totally empty of gas and oil, in a proper crate, under 500lb, blah, blah blah. I could not find details on their web site.

http://www.amtrak.com/planning-booking

George, have you though of renting a U-haul truck? Nail the scoot down inside, and off you go. If you ride to someplace else, leave the truck and rent another to come home.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117973

There is a forum for everything.
http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?showtopic=22681&mode=threaded&pid=107818


I once found a forum for converting stuff, e.g. inches to meters.

Ride it there, after all it's built to do that.

Trailers are for pussies.

Bill X

Hum .... now why didn't that occur to me? Probably a good way to go.

Yes, I'm aware of the Las Vegas rally, and I hope to ride with them, although I have no interest in hitting the bars and casinos which I suspect is a big part of the out of towners' plans. Basing that on online photos of the past rallies.

Check out the solution sharpchick and I have to take our scoots to warmer weather, or fun places like mountain routes, without having to navigate our way there.

Transporting GTV and LXV - Trailer In A Bag Dual

Our "Trailer In A Bag" can be assembled from a subset of the parts to carry a single scooter. The trailer fits in a single duffel bag.

When we arrive at a destination, we can actually disassemble the trailer in 15 minutes, put it away into the bag, and store in a truck, SUV, or even hotel room.

That's definitely a sweet trailer setup you have there, Sharpcolorado. But I don't have access to a vehicle to pull it. Our one cage would have to stay at home with my wife. I used to do a lot of highway riding on my motorcycle. But it was a much bigger, heavier, more powerful machine than my 300. And, I was a lot younger then. Riding a few days in a rally with a scooter group sounds doable and enjoyable to me. Riding solo across the country to get there doesn't. I wonder if there are any rallies where a local dealer will rent you a scooter for the duration?

I've got a trailer in a bag as well and it is a lovely trailer. However, I actually prefer to ride solo or with no more than 3 others. I find solo riding to be very peaceful and zen like. Granted most of my 1,000 mile plus rides have been on a bigger scooter I have done one on my GTS - to Amerivespa and back in San Antonio. Since I had to be in Austin a couple days before Amerivespa started I rode there first. Total round trip was just under 1,300 miles.

Going to DC earlier this year was 3,700 round trip and Amerivespa in Lake Geneva 4,400 all of which was solo. Last year my husband and I rode to California 1,700 miles then later in the year I rode solo back another 1,850 miles (different routes after leaving the other scoot with my son in California.)

It has been my experience that riding is the best and quickest way to get there. The GTS300 is the perfect touring scooter. Of course I've had reservations about long distance riding. So what I did when I went to AmeriVespa involved a great deal of planning. Networking with other scooterists is essential. There is a lot of nice people on this forum who share the same concerns (flats, sudden break-downs, running out of gas, etc.) and they all come together as a group. So on my way to Lake Geneva I made a pit stop in Lincoln, NE and met up with the local scooter club there. From there we proceeded to Iowa City with a support vehicle able to trailer two scooters. Needless to say that was a huge relief for me. I also had the contact numbers of several MV members who I could call in case I had scooter problems between Wichita and my destination. From Iowa City to Chicago I was on my own so having those friends to back me up was vital. In Chicago I met with another MV member and we happilly rode to Lake Geneva together. By the time I was ready to return I had developed enough confidence that I rode solo all the way back.

I agree, especially considering the bike the OP owns. Even though I have an ideal transport vehicle (a retired rear-entry wheelchair van with built-in ramp and hold-downs) I only use it to transport a disabled scooter or when I need to take a scooter somewhere along with a whole lot of stuff that won't fit on the bike. The scooter tour involved in getting to the event will undoubtedly be just as rewarding an experience as the event itself.

+1
If I was retired, I would have more time to ride there and back.

Or try something completely different and do what dozens of MVers have done. Fly to Italy and tour Tuscany with a great crew on a rented scooter. Coming again in Sep 2013 if all goes well. Or Spain in June?

Ride it there! US Bike/scooter stuff is turniing into "trailer biker heaven"=no thanks in my book. The ride is the fun.
The last thing I want to do at a rally is go for a ride with a bunch who trailered in....think of their skill levels.

Years ago when the Eureka Springs thing got going, most Helix were ridden in. Later on as the trailer bikes came into play---it was fun watching them fall down on the Motel parking lot, either just trying to ride or falling on the loose surface.

I rode up to Eureka Springs Scooter rally last year----knew it was not for me when I saw 4 scooters with training wheels parked. Left after 20 mins.

Cheaper than a trailer... Plug the rack into the trailer hitch receptacle, roll the scooter on, attach tie-downs, jack it up into the raised position, screw the security bolt in, and roll on to your destination. The rack's made in California, not free but less than a trailer and easier to store. The big advantage is loading and unloading can be done by one person, even one of advanced years.

LL75

PS - I read that part wherein you stated you'd have to leave the cage at home for your wife but you might be able to rent a smallish car for less than the cost of shipping, etc. Thus Plan B...

What model/make is that tongue trailer?