Amerivespa 1994
2nd Annual National Rally
June 2nd - 4th
Springfield, Missouri
In 1861 during the Civil War, Springfield witnessed the bloody Battle of Wilson's Creek. Again the troops came from both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, from Union states like Michigan, home of Custer's cavalry brigade of Gettysburg fame, and from Illinois, home to and final resting place of Abraham Lincoln. And they rode in convoy from Texas and other Confederate states to rally in Springfield, Missouri, in the shadow of the Ozark mountains. They came from as faraway as California, the Bear Republic, and Seattle, Washington, on Puget Sound,. As they bivouacked at the KOA Campgrounds, Robert Cantrell saw to it they were comfortable quartered. There were no sounds of battle, however, just the rattling staccato of two-stroke engines and the softer tones of camaraderie.
They were members of the Vespa Club of America, and on June third and fourth they met in Springfield for their Second Annual Rally. Last year that city welcomed the club's first rally, attended by about forty scooters and their riders. This year the number had doubled. Present at both was a fully restored Vespa 400, the car designed by Piaggio, but built in France for only two years. Of the seventy plus scooters, just a minority looked used or in need of restoration. And most of these were looking for new homes. "For Sale" bikes ranged in price from $300 for a faded, red Sear's Cruisaire, to $3,400 for a like new 1993 Cosa Series II, and finally to $7,900 for a 1950 Handlebar 150. For a skilled restorer the best buy was a basket case GS VS5 complete with rebuilt engine. Total price: $385. Among the non-Vespas looking for new homes was a Ducati Brio.
Although all restored bikes did not take trophies they were all, nevertheless, winners. Noteworthy to this reporter was a coral Primavera with Quadrophenia windscreen. A Vespa 90 in shiny, new red paint was a show stopper. Also present was a beautiful gray P200e with sidecar. Other P-series bikes included an updated two hundred with custom high performance exhaust. The P-series immediate predecessor, the Rally 200, was also in evidence. Judging by numbers, the Rally 200 Electronics are coming on strong among collectors. Less evident because of extreme rarity is the Rally 180. But the model was, nonetheless, represented. There was also one beautifully restored 180SS. The elusive GS models were also on hand. including a GS150 in metallic blue, imported into the States by Cushman Motors in the 1960's. An Immaculately restored handlebar 150 was probably the oldest restored bike. Lambrettas were less evident. Most bikes were either Series II scoots or Series II bikes of Bertone design.
The oldest bike belonged to Victor Voris. It was an original 1948 rod model with a headlight on the front fender. Only 19,400 were made during a six to eight month production run. Worldwide only two hundred examples remain. Victor's is the only one in the United States. A World War II veteran brought it with him on his return from Italy. Victor got it from a dealer in Portland, Oregon.
The newest bike at the rally is probably also the newest in the country, a black 1993 Cosa Series II belonging to Eric Dutra, who bought it last summer in Lisbon. He went to Europe for the Eurovespa rally in Abano Terme, sixty miles west of Venice (for the full story, see VCOA magazine 2-1). After the rally, he shipped it home to San Diego, where he finessed it through Customs, the EPA and the California Secretary of State.
With so many beautiful bikes to evaluate, judges obviously had difficult decisions to make.
Besides the cours d'elegance, the legion of Vespa riders engaged in other maneuvers. On Friday afternoon, President Randolph Garner from Texas led a charge of Vespas to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, a national park. A little later a few intrepid souls tried scooter polo on the picnic grounds. Beginning at 9:30pm Friday evening it was time for the music all night long at the Regency Showcase on Olive Street.
On Saturday reinforcements, affectionately known as "The Young Riders" arrived from St. Louis, Minneapolis, and other outposts, some riding 250 miles by scooter. Their preferred mounts were, for the part, well-designed and executed P-series customs, tastefully chromed and bedecked with mirrors and lights after the influence of the British scooter mods. Replete with gas shocks, performance kits and exhausts, the rides were as capable as they were beautiful. Each was an expression of its owner, a form of folk art in steel and chrome, a sculpture where form followed function in a unity as hermetic as music or dance. The afternoon saw the awards presentation.
Following the awards, President Garner, ably assisted by a young, fellow Texan, conducted the raffle. Among the prizes were such goodies as a new scooter seat, compliments of Big People Scooters; some NOS scooter mats and a Rally T-shirt, complements of Peter Crowl; The Vespa Story video, compliments of Scooterville; scooter posters, compliments of Moto Psyche Ink; and a set of Pirelli tires, compliments of Vespa Supershop.
Both days club members shopped for spares and bits from various dealers around the country. Moto Psyche Ink brought a collection of posters and postcards along with miniature two-wheelers. Robert Cantrell provided pas issues of the VCOA Magazine and Vintage Motorbike Club. Scooterville offered an interesting variety of scooter bits including ceramic ashtrays, refrigerator magnets and banks. Scooterworks supplied a variety of unusual accessories, including a VIP seat whose passenger portion folds forward to become the driver's backrest. And along with a genuine Norrie Kerr engine, Big People's Scooters offered performance parts for P-series bikes, especially custom-built exhaust systems.
After a Saturday afternoon ride and a "photo opportunity", it was eventually time for President Garner to discharge the troops. During the whole weekend, the only hostilities came from the weather, which Friday night assaulted campers with heavy volleys of rain and an occasional round of thunder, "rimmed with red lightning and impetuous rage." But by Saturday morning, the heavens had called retreat, but taken no casualties.