Here is the third and final post about the Isle of Wight scooter rally in 2018 and it concentrates on just the custom show.  This year’s custom show was held in the marquee which for me was good because I much prefer natural light for the photos, although some of the scooters were parked quite close together so I couldn’t get decent close-ups of them. The results are posted near to the bottom, in green, if you’d like to see which scooters won the various classes. As well as the photos, I managed to get some video footage before it was properly open, so although not all of the scooters are in situ it did give me great access to the majority of them!  I actually didn’t realise it wasn’t open until Tori started shooing people out in a very firm manner, so that’s why it speeds up towards the end while I was manically trying to get as many scooters as possible.  Any that were missed are hopefully covered below, and vice versa if I missed getting still photos then they are in the video!

Video footage of the Isle of Wight custom show 2018

As this page is just about the custom show, you can read about the rest of my Isle of Wight story by clicking on the links below :

• Isle of Wight Friday, including boarding the ferry, the Smallbrook stalls and a few scooters on the green
• Isle of Wight Saturday, including some lovely scooters at Smallbrook and top custom scooters on the green

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Isle of Wight Custom Show 2018

Rule Britannia is owned by Don Garratt from Ilkeston Britannia SC.  It’s such a gorgeous example of the classic AF Super ‘S’ Type styling.   The spec is long but includes a Cyclone 5 speed RB240 engine, a 62mm race crank, 6 plate Surflex clutch, 71mm Wossner piston and Diablo tank.  It was originally built by Ben Kemp, sprayed by Ray Kemp, and some parts were added more recently by Rob Miller at Simply Retro including a Varitronic ignition and 35mm Mikuni carb. The eyecatching paintwork is Vreeble over full flake and Don is very much in the ‘ridden not hidden’ brigade which I fully support! The display at the top of the show features Brain Freeze in the foreground.  The attention and detail of the paintwork is impeccable, with the bodywork gaps at an absolute minimum and all the intricate lines finished to an exacting standard.  The credit for this goes to Riding Dirty Customs, who did a superb job. Top Banana Re-Peeled is a Vespa chop owned by Daz from Leicester.   It was a great display which includes pictures, patches and banana-flavoured alcoholic beverages! There are bananas everywhere on the scooter, including hanging off the handlebars! I love the exhaust!       Next is Majestic Realms, a stunning Lambretta with a ton of engraving and beautiful paintwork. I love the fact that it still has a tax disc holder, and it now contains a skull! There’s great attention to detail on the murals. Here is The Troubles, designed and owned by ex-soldier Aaron Mitchel, with the theme representing his time in Northern Ireland, including his own regiment as well as both sides of the political divide there. Murals include Unionist and Nationalist figures, with their respective symbols. Aaron’s uniform is cleverly weaved into the theming too, with medals, buckles and badges included.  You can see the realistic buckles on the toolbox door in the photo below. Ratfink is a cutdown Lambretta with the theme inspired by the character by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, a hotrod car builder.           This Vespa PX pays tribute to Detroit soul stars from the Motown era. There are fantastic murals of various singers, and lovely theming throughout. Another PX, this custom Vespa is This Is England.   The Beast is an example of awesome engineering, and is a hybrid which includes a Piaggio X9 500cc auto with Vespa bodywork. It’s certainly a scary looking machine! Keith Newman, of K2 Engineering fame, built this street racer Lambretta.  You can see much better photos of it on my Friday write-up here when it was parked by the K2 stall. Another Keith Newman Lambretta, with many K2 accessories.   Meet Bettie!  She is a beautiful example of a restored Lambretta LD150.       From a classic Lambretta to a vintage Vespa.   This GS is in pristine condition with a navy and white finish, and described as ‘well ridden’ by its owner! Another GS, this one is in black and chrome. There was a big display by the Lambretta chopper owners club, with Incognito below.   There was a great turnout of choppers this year. This orange chop has a Warner Brothers cartoon theme with Betty Boop, Mickey Mouse and Woody Woodpecker featured!   Discworld is a tribute to author Sir Terry Pratchett     Twisted Soul is a psychedelic Vespa with hypnotic paintwork!  It’s owned by Paul Le Brocq from Purple Hearts SC in Jersey.  It’s a Rally 200 Electronic and was originally a £200 barn find.   The paint is by Dave Dickinson, with engraving by Adi Clarke and Quality Chrome supplying the shiny bits.  Paul’s mate, Jimmy Worboys, built it for him, and there are specialised parts from K2 and a local firm, Steve Rylance Ltd. It’s a very distinctive, psychodelic paint job. This was the only Vespa street racer on display. It’s never too late for a bit of polish! This classic LI has been on the scene for a few years and still looks lovely. So many Series 1s are simply restored, or given traditional paint jobs, and whilst they are lovely scooters I really like it when they’re given a full custom theme like this example below. It is called Keeps On Burning and has lovely blue flames with fantasy creatures woven into them. The seats are magnificent! We were on the ferry with this cute little 1967 Vespa 90 Super Sprint which still has its original paintwork. Gina, the owner, is from Littlehampton and her other half prefers a more pristine finish for his silver GS! Another cartoon theme for this classic Vespa, in the shape of Grumpy. The Sentinal is another custom Vespa with lovely murals and engraving. It has interesting engineering on the spare wheel and cutout side panel.   There are some lovely details on this Elvis-themed Vespa, not least the records in the hubs. The murals feature the man himself as well as lyrics from his songs. The display was great, including various album covers and other Elvis memorabilia. A mini Elvis status was also a feature of the display! It’s nice to see a muralled auto in the custom show and this GT125 features a Spartacus theme. Everything has been customised including the top box and seat.     Another Lambretta chopper, this one is called Old Skool. As its name suggests, it’s an old school style and with lots of chrome engine details.   This three wheeler has a pickup body, which in this case is carrying another scooter on the back!  I wonder what its top speed is? It would be ideal for a touring holiday! Here’s a still from the video footage I filmed which you can see on YouTube here. Now here is a scooter with a brilliant back story which I will be writing about more, including an interview with the owner. Gary Dodson was the voice of the slug in one of the Aardman Productions animated Creature Comfort episodes. Gary’s scooter is very personal as it features images of the characters including himself, his slug co-star who has sadly passed away, and his ex-partner and daughter.  Watch this space for a special feature on Gary and more details about this unique scooter. Here’s a beautiful example of a classic white Vespa. Soul Surfer is a TV175 Series 2 owned by Trev Mason.  The story behind it is incredible and you can read about it here.  In summary, he bought a pair of Lambrettas in 1981 for £25 and this one was then stored in a chicken shed until 2000 when Trev started customising it. It has a 50s California Caddi/surfing theme, with the blue paintjob representing the sea and the yellow on the inside of the legshields and floorboards matching Trev’s 50s surfboard. This Beatles-inspired Vespa has been on the scene for a few years and is still incredibly eyecatching with its awesome murals and engraving. The next two scooters remember fallen soldiers who have given their lives to fight for their country.  The first includes images of soldiers who fell in various conflicts, including the Falkland War, Korea and Northern Ireland.   The second, Flanders Fields, depicts graves and images from Ypres, scene of some of the heaviest battles in World War II.   Both scooters are very thought-provoking, with powerful images and words. Versions of this bright yellow Vespa PX can be seen all over Spain, as they are postal delivery bikes for the Spanish version of the Post Office.  It is the national delivery service and wouldn’t it brighten up the streets of Britain if our posties used a similar form of transport? Start Me Up has won countless trophies over the years and is one of the best custom scooters ever, in my opinion! This scooter has a great history, with the owner selling the original version and then re-buying it and building what we see here.  Scooternova has a great blog post telling the story which you can read here. The plating and engraving is awesome, as you can see here. And finally, this leopardskin-themed Lambretta!   And finally…  Although it wasn’t an official custom show entrant, I do love a rusty scooter and Daz’s Lambretta is a fine example, advertising Crusader Promotions perfectly!   I hope you enjoyed reading about the Isle of Wight custom show!  To read the first two parts of my Isle of Wight story, click on the links below :

• Isle of Wight Friday, including boarding the ferry, the Smallbrook stalls and a few scooters on the green
• Isle of Wight Saturday, including some lovely scooters at Smallbrook and top custom scooters on the green

Don’t forget to check out the photography-uk.com website for Smallbrook arrivals to see whether you can find yourself on there! There are photos of the rideout too. My most popular post ever is the Isle of Wight Scooter Rally tips, and once the 2019 rallies are announced I will be updating it with new info from this year, if the IOW is back on the calendar. I have listed the 2019 rallies here, with details of how to book each one and tips for where to stay. To get a regular update of rally news and write-ups please subscribe to my mailing list. I’ll also share exclusive content and discounts and promise not to spam you! I send out a monthly newsletter filled with exciting news and tips. I’m always interested in your news and ideas, so please comment below, especially if there’s something new you’d like to read about on this website. If you would like to advertise on this, or any of my pages, please contact me. I offer great rates for single posts and discounts for multiple placements.