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Scooter rallies attract two-wheeler fans who don't take themselves too seriously

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Scooter riders turned out in force for the 2017 Skegness Scooter Rally. Like other scooter rallies in the U.K. and the U.S., Skegness is all about the people, tent and van camping, music, and loads and loads of scooters.

Skegness is a seaside town on England’s North Sea coast of Lincolnshire, with a population under 20,000. When the scooters descend on Skegness, well ahead of England’s summer season, the two-wheelers and their riders stand out.

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A wide variety of scooters showed up at Skegness. Some were fairly new models with little if any visible modification.

Some people festoon their scooters with mirrors and lights. Putting extra lights on your ride surely can help oncoming traffic see the relatively small scooters, but extra mirrors are a unique adornment with no apparent practical benefit.

While still others convert their smaller rides chopper-style.

Camping is a big part of U.K. scooter rallies. From the event photos it looks like motor homes and vans line up around the camping area perimeter while the majority of attendees stay in tents. At least one rider gave his bike first preference for tent space, demonstrating his priorities clearly.

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If you missed Skegness, it’s not too late for more scooter rally fun in 2017. The same group that puts together the Skegness Scooter Rally is running the Boston “Run to the Stump” Rally August 4 to 5, 2017. However, this is Boston, Lincolnshire in the U.K., not the one in Massachusetts. Details will be available on the Skegness Scooter Rally Facebook page.

The biggest U.S. scooter event this year will be AmeriVespa, held in Seattle, Washington from July 5 to July 9, sponsored by the Vespa Club of America. You don’t have to drive a Vespa to participate in AmeriVespa, all scooter owners are welcome. And if you want to attend to see what all the noise is about, you don’t even have to own a scooter — you can rent one at Scoot About in Seattle.

Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown Contributing Editor   As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…
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