Scooter Expo Photo Galleries

If you read my post about Scooter Expo 2019 then you’ll know that there are very few scooter photos in there. That’s because I took over 600 on the day and it takes time to sort them out and organise them properly. I’d love to have written about each one too, as they were all winners having been invited to take part in the first place.

So here are my galleries of the 98 scooters shown on the day, along with a few details about some of them, either from the Scooter Expo programme or from chatting with the owners to find out a bit more. If you click on the thumbnails then you can use the arrows or swipe to see larger versions of the photos in each gallery.

Rally Guides
If you’re planning your scootering calendar for 2021 then check out my 2021 Rally Guide to get the best choice of accommodation.

For an in-depth guide to the biggest scooter rally in the world, here is a link to my Isle of Wight rally guide.

Wake

Wake was one of Jeremy Howlett’s top custom scooters in the 1980s and was restored by Jason Stephenson ready for Bridlington in 2018 where it won Best Of Show. It’s hard to find words to describe the top custom scooters because they are so stunning. The work and money that has gone into them is phenomenal, as is Wake’s paint, plating and engraving.

Paul Karslake’s original paint was restored by Garage Artwerks and the engraving is by Don Blocksidge.

It was so nice to see it from all angles, and at close quarters.

Breaking Rocks In The Hot Sun

Amongst the classic 1980s scooters which were on display at Scooter Expo was this brand new one, lovingly built by its owner Gary Wickham from Misdemeanours SC. He’s a massive fan of The Clash and so this scooter is a tribute to the band, with lyrics and song titles displayed all over the paintwork and in the engraving.

Gary managed to pay tributes to his children as their names appear in Clash songs, and also mentioned his wife in the paintwork too. For the engraving he didn’t want scrollwork, but instead asked Adi Clark to focus on the lyrics which he did with some really nice touches. The throttle has ‘start me up’ on it and the Casa 5 Speed cover has ‘take the fifth’ engraved.

His seat features the Straight To Hell skull and guns which is on my own club patch. Coincidentally one of my club members has just had his Scomadi seat recovered by Corky, with the skull on it – just a couple of weeks after Corky did the same design for Gary!

The chrome is by Karl and Keith at Quality Chrome, the paint by Ty Lawler and the engine was sent to JB Tuning. Keith Newman fabricated some special parts and Dark Arc Engineering did the frame alterations.

It’s a really special scooter and I’m looking forward to seeing it again at the Isle of Wight!

Dazzle

Possibly the most famous custom Lambretta ever is Dazzle, and its new incarnation excites scooter people as much as the original did. Paul Dizzy bought the frame and set about re-imagining this classic scooter, with paint by Paul Karslake and engraving by Adi Clark, Don Blocksidge and Jason Lock.

Click on the gallery below to see more photos of Dazzle, including its protective cover from the rain, Drizzle!

Ceremony

Ceremony is a tribute to the song by Joy Division, and later New Order. Owned by Jason Stephenson, he originally built it in 1998 but then restored it in 2013 after meeting Peter Hook for a photoshoot. It was a joint winner of Best Vespa as voted by the punters at Scooter Expo which is a huge honour with such stiff competition.

Little Rascal

This was the first time I’d seen the restored Little Rascal in person and I wasn’t disappointed. I’d first photographed it when it was unveiled in 1984 and it’s so much more sparkly than I’d remembered!

One of the first cutdown Vespas to hit the custom shows, it featured cutdown legshields, panels and back end, with 4.5” extended forks and a petrol tank in front of the seat. The paintjob is a lovely candy blue, with metalflake applied over the top. It has a ton of chrome and the obligatory 1980s pike nuts.

Sign Of The Snake

Another 80s classic, and one of my favourites from back in the day. Sign Of The Snake was created by Mick Howard of Wakefield and first shown at Telford in 1985. Its paintwork is the work of Maca from Down Town Custom and is still going strong some 35 years later. The engraving was done by Don Blocksidge and the chrome was originally from Prestige in Barnsley.

Captain’s Revenge

When Dean Percival pushed his Captain Pugwash-themed chop into Hall 2 he was accompanied by Reverend Mick Brotherton aka The Mad Bishop. It turns out that Mick had owned Captain’s Revenge previously, when he was the Royal Navy chaplain based in Portsmouth. As a keen scooterist already he spotted the chop in Scooter Scene magazine in 1989 when it was owned by Gary Curtis from Norwich. Mick wrote to him, asking if he’d sell it, and he agreed.

Mick then owned it and kept it in Portsmouth, except when he was at sea when he stored it in a farmhouse in Wales! He showed it at a few events, including Doncaster where it won some trophies. Two years ago he sold it to Dean Percival as he wanted to keep it in the scene. Mick’s new hobby is restoring old lifeboats and he’d seen a Pentland that he wanted to buy as a new project.

The murals were painted by John Spurgeon, the engine is a Taffspeed 225 and the chrome was by RCM Custom. Mick was delighted to see Captain’s Revenge on show at Scooter Expo, in the company of other 80s classics.

Among the photos in the gallery below are the story of the scooter and also correspondence from the Captain Pugwash illustrator John Ryan.

You can read the highly entertaining story of owner Dean Percival’s first rally here.

So Many Sides Of You

This lovely scooter is owned by Johnny and Jane Cambridge from Scoots And Soul, a business they run together making bespoke Lambretta seats. So Many Sides Of You is a tribute to Bobby Womack and is a 1959 Series 1 with a Monza 240cc engine. The artwork is by Paul Yeoman and the scooter features a seat by Scoots and Soul.

Dig Out Your Soul

Having seen Dig Out Your Soul unveiled on social media it was great to see it in person. Owned by John Henderson from Scunthorpe Silhouettes SC, this 1979 GP is a tribute to ‘the greatest band on the planet’, Oasis, with lyrics on the legshields and floorboards, from Bag It Up and Soldier On.

It features an Imola 198cc engine built by a mate, Dave Kirk, engraving by Kevin Adams (designed by John himself) with paint by Colourworks, specialised parts by K2 and a Retro Refits seat.

Stellify / FEAR

Stellify is owned by one of John’s Scunthorpe Silhouettes clubmates, Ian Westmoreland. The paint is by Dave Dickinson and features Ian Brown in various poses. It won punter’s choice at Bridlington in 2018 and a Best Lambretta trophy at Scarborough this year.

Dead Mans Shoes

Memphis Belle

Faithful Friend

This scooter is truly a faithful friend for its owner Nick Pegg as he bought it new in 1980 and has owned it ever since! He built it in 2001 and it has won many trophies since then.

Phantasmagoria

Amongst all the classics was another fresh new scooter in Phantasmagoria which is incredibly eyecatching, with the lights of Alfreton Leisure Centre perfectly reflecting the metalflake and chromework. It is owned by Gary Dickinson who built it as a tribute to The Damned, with paintwork courtesy of Riding Dirty Customs and artwork by Col at Garage Artwerks.

Meat Is Murder

Lee Richards bought Meat Is Murder as a chopper in 1987, radically altered it and it was on the road in its first incarnation in 1989. It is a 1971 Italian GP125, and features a Taffspeed TS1 225 engine with a B Race tuning expansion pipe and 30ml Dellorto carb.

Lee took it off the road in 1990 and stored it in boxes until 2006 when it was repainted by John Spurgeon, who had done it originally, keeping the original mural on the petrol tank. Lee re-engineered many of the features including a new seat and back box, with help from Pete Robinson for some of the fabricated parts such as the flywheel cover and rear disc arm as well as redoing the engraving. The new version was unveiled in 2008.

Since then it has won Best Chopper two years running at the IOW, won two trophies at the Antwerp Custom Show, and other various trophies including at Hayling Island, Surrey Custom Show, and Best Chop two years running at a local biker custom show.

The 10” frame extension was made using two other frame tubes from Italian frames.  Lee says that Indian frames were too thick and therefore unsuitable, and nobody wanted Italian frames in the 1980s!  Nowadays he’d just ask someone to machine an extension piece but in those days they just worked with what they had.

Lee came off the scooter last year on the way home from the Isle Of Wight, injuring 6 pike nuts, the petrol pipe, handlebar grip and rear disc bearing, as well as his dignity.

He would love to take it off the road AGAIN and re-paint it but has decided to keep the 80s look going and instead is building a new Vespa chopper (which I’m hoping will be on the road next year, but it probably won’t!).

Read about Lee’s first rally story here.

The Sentinal

The Sentinal is another scooter owned by Gary Wickham. He bought it in 1985 and since then has had a number of revamps, the most recent in 2011. the paint is by John Spurgeon and the legshield mural has survived since 1989. Gary has upgraded the engraving and chrome and has a Malossi 210 engine.

Hall Of Fame

When I last spoke to Nick Jolly about Hall Of Fame it was sitting in his garage awaiting some TLC. Fast forward 18 months and it’s now back on the scene and show-ready. Originally built in 1989 as a tribute to Nick’s love of baseball, the striking pink paint was done by Nick himself. Keith Barnes from Bognor added the murals and the engine was built by Nick and good friend Mark Halsall.

You can read the story of Nick’s first rally here.

Strange Times Are Coming

Exiled

Brassy Bitch

Brassy Bitch is a 1980 AF Rayspeed S-Type which won lots of trophies in the 80s. It’s owned by Russ Watkin who bought it from a friend and restored it last year. It is mostly the original paint which Russ says is its greatest achievement!

Brassy Bitch

Rule Britannia

Resurrection

Seig Heil

Route 66

Vegas and Luis

Mad Manx

This Is Ull

Florida Girl

Top Banana

The Titan

Classic Scooters

Scooter Expo Gallery

And finally, here are my Scooter Expo photos which aren’t shown above. I would have loved to have written more about each one – but if you are an owner and would like to send me details then I will do my best to add them.

Once again, a massive well done to Andy, Iggy and the whole ScooterNova and SLUK teams for their superb organisation.

Rally Guides
If you’re planning your scootering calendar for 2021 then check out my 2021 Rally Guide to get the best choice of accommodation.

For an in-depth guide to the biggest scooter rally in the world, here is a link to my Isle of Wight rally guide.

More My First Rally stories

You can read more about Iggy, Sticky, Norrie Kerr and many others’ first rally experiences by clicking on their names below.

Read more My First Rally stories using these links (in alphabetic order)
– Ali Richards
– Bill Mac
– Dave Lloyd
– Dean Percival
– Dizzy Holmes
– Iggy Grainger
– Jo Jackson
– Lee Parker
– Lee Richards
– Mike Oxley
– Niamh Pennington
– Nick Jolly
– Norrie Kerr
– Roger Williams
– Sandra Smith
– Sarah George
– Sean Robinson
– Stacey Gardner
– Steve Bone
– Sticky
– Stuart Owen
– Vince Wooloff