Photo-a-Day  (Saturday, 25th May, 2024)

They might be a pensioners scooter club heading for Southport

Scooters keep you drier than motor bikes and you don't need to be clad from top to toe in leather. The down side to scooters are the engines are sat towards the rear of the vehicle and this could cause the rear end to step out on braking or going round tight bends in the wet. You do not see has many scooters with the front end filled with 20 plus mirrors nowadays

Really good photo Rev David Long this is what PaD is all about. We can all relate to this, it's what happening today not years ago.
I remember scooters from years ago like icons Lambreta and Vespa. Does anyone know if any make of scooters were made in Britain. Did you take the photo from your bedroom window Rev David?

Interesting photo ..thousands of them in Rome in the alleyways and main roads.

Note - the motor cycle in the pic I sent in was just by the back of the rearmost (blue) car... it's been edited out!

It's like Quadrophenia all over again! What a nostalgic sight on a sunny morning. I remember lads in parka jackets riding those in the sixties. My son went out with a girl when he was 21 in the late 1990s and they both had a scooter. Jamie's was a 1960s Vespa and he had it stored in our garage until only a few years ago when he sold it. They used to go on "Ginger's Easter Egg Run" where a huge amount of scooter-riders used to take Easter Eggs to Alder Hey Children's Hospital every year; I don't know if the tradition is still ongoing.

Mick's reference to the pensioner's outing to Southport reminded me of when Peter and I stopped at a popular roadside stop near Kirby Lonsdale where there is a burger-van, tea-wagon, ice-creams etc. There were a lot of scooters parked up when suddenly a load of motor-bikes showed up with the riders wearing helmets and leathers. With memories of the "mods and rockers" fights in the 1960s, I must admit I was a bit apprehensive. When the bikers drew up at the tea-van they removed their helmets and they were as old as us!! (And all was peaceful amongst the teas and coffees!),

Probably Wigan Scooter Club who meet every Wednesday.

That's because Lambretta and Vespa scooters are Italian, Veronica.
Lambretta ceased production in 1972. While Vespa today is owned by Piaggio.

David that brings back memories I had a BSA Sunbeam 250 twin scooter reg was TBN152 and returning to work on the farm after picking scooter up at Kings in Bolton my peak corduroy cap blew off but picked it up.Arthur I’d say that scooter was made in Britain by the British Small Arms BSA for short.

Very clear photo Rev Long, is this School Lane? The picture looks to have been taken from the roof of Albert's.
The Scooter Club used to meet at the Cherry Gardens but I haven't seen them there for a few years.
Thanks for the dig Arthur, another appreciative comment!

Woops, I have just realised its taken on Almond Brook Road!

Once it was Mods v Rockers, but those days have long gone.
Now scooters and motorcycles join together, on the Fred Hill memorial run.

Owfen was a Rockers territory, the railway bridge on Hart Common had "Kill the mods" in white six foot high letters for forty or so years until it was demolished ,and strangely it was repainted a few times over the years , obviously someone didn't like scooters. ':-)

In the early 1960s I was a member of the then Wigan Scooter club. It was run by Tom Howard who was a travel agent. We went on runs every weekend and had a great time . One Christmas a dance was held at the Monaco ballroom in Hindley and it was called A Pier Prance. Some years later Tom became my brother in law, because I married his sister. I do wander whether any members at this time are still around.

Piaggio always owned Vespa. They were made under licence in Uk by Douglas in Bristol.

We had a similar experience Irene, in Bakewell. Great that all ages can enjoy riding a motor bike/scooter.

A superb photo of a swarm of scooters David, hope they had some good rides out during the recent warm and dry weather. (according to Collective Nouns the word to describe a large group of motor scooters riding together on the road is a swarm.)

peebee it’s a good job I changed to the triumph 650cc brigade and only last year sold my Honda 600cbr but nothing seems to faze me I was never classed as a mod or rocker.

Has a SX 200 in the day in the Navy…summer of 69 on the IOW…

Well said Irene and peebee!

Irene, never fight the gift you have - few will reveal their inner selves like you do , why because it leaves them naked ! 123 is easy and basic , emotion , is not - it reveals who you are and leaves you open to attack !
You are stronger than you know or willing to accept - and rare on WW !

Rock n Roll Irene , I admire you hugely !

John Noakes, no they wasn't.

Colin it certainly is Almond Brook Road but another 100yds and your on School Lane as back in 1964 numbers 83 and 85 School Lane didn’t have a stone wall and brick wall they had edges as I ended up with my motorbike stuck in them after avoiding running over 2 lads and there motorbike that they had fell off.There was a big white pigeon cote in the field facing those 2 houses at that time does anyone remember that pigeon cote.

Well. Dave, I'm a bit confused with your comment but it sounds very complimentary, so Thankyou!

John I know who you was out riding with.

One of my mates is 78 years old but he still rides his motorbike when its sunny and dry. He has a black Kawasaki 1400 cc bike which is 401 cc more than my car

Confused.com

Mick, Eddie is a comedian he risked us getting trapped in the tide visiting Sambo’s Grave a foot of water if we carried on and the same if we turned round and rising fast at Sunderland Point.

Petrolhead I think the film ‘Roman Holiday’ with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn did a lot to advertise the Vespas and Lambrettas in the early fifties. The film was ‘ awash’ with the scooters.

Piaggio was parent company to Vespa. That's all.

Yes, Petrol Head. Rather like Cadbury is parent company to Dairy Milk and Santus is parent company to Uncle Joes Mint Balls.

I never had a scooter as I never liked them, but my younger brother owned a Vespa followed by two Lambrettas. Lambretta, which was made by Innocenti, was designed by the same engineer who later designed the Vespa for Piaggio.