Scooterist Meltdown Germany
A ‘superlative’ report from band member Jamie.
Based in Wunderland Kalkar, Germany, just north of Dusseldorf, this is an all-inclusive scooter rally in an old nuclear power plant that has been transformed into an amusement park. It’s like a holiday camp with added quirkiness and yes, I said all-inclusive. A standard ticket from Friday to Sunday will cost you 219 euros, it might seem a little pricey at first but what you get for that is extremely good value. Here’s a little breakdown of what’s included.
There are two major food halls providing a variety of cuisines all day long, the quality is as good as you get in any restaurant (well, the ones I eat at!).
Drinks are served day and night in the five on-site bars, with more than adequate bar staff to accommodate the 1000+ heavy drinking rally goers. The alcohol of choice was either Grolsch or Leffe Brown, however, if you fancied a change there were a range of shots and mixers (or without the mixers), Prosecco, cocktails and soft drinks.
A large double bedroom is provided in the on-site hotels. There’s also a bowling alley, the custom show, dyno, games, live bands, and DJs... all included in the package.
The ferry will cost no more than £100 (on a scooter) and a bit of fuel money; in total, the rally costs roughly £300, which I know is an easy spend at any local scooter rally.
The distance from the Euro port, Rotterdam to Kalkar is only 120 miles, however it consists of long straight roads (motorway) with no exciting scenery, making it an extremely dull ride. I’m sure a scenic route would make a more interesting ride, and worth looking into if going over during a different season. A large number of people had flown or driven by car, which is understandable considering the time of year. I noted a distinct lack of scooters on the ferry from Hull. The weather was dry and not too cold for riding, but the journey back was colder and icier.
One person said, “The lack of scooters makes it more of a party than a rally.” This wasn’t a complaint, and while there was clearly a superb atmosphere, it was both party and rally.
There were enough scooters, technology segments and stalls to satisfy all the scooter enthusiasts’ needs though. Some of the most talked about scooters past and present made an appearance in the main hall on Saturday. The Scomadi TL200 and TL400, plus the world record-breaking Lambretta Siluro.
These scooters, however impressive, didn’t manage to steal the show. The quality of the machines in the custom show and on the dyno was insanely high. Kingwelle Drag Race small frame came out on top with a whopping 61bhp on the dyno and the Vespa VBB Brown Sugar was one of my personal favourites.
The Scomadi TL400 is big news at the moment, and the prototype was on display at Scooterist Meltdown’s custom show. It certainly got a lot of attention. Here’s what we managed to find out from the kind folk at Scomadi Ltd: “The single cylinder 400cc water-cooled 4t model should be available to buy in 2018. It will have a 12-litre fuel tank which is slightly larger than the TL 200. It will be fuel injected to meet Euro 4 regulations and it has a potential of reaching around 30hp.”
All very exciting stuff and it was great to see it in the flesh. There were plenty of people talking about it, taking pictures and pointing it out to their mates.
This year was the first time Meltdown decided to add live music into the event; both bands went down extremely well. On Friday night The Superlatives headlined a jam-packed room. The crowd was incredible and really appreciated the Leeds based bands’ own songs; and the fact that they had ridden over on their scooters, made them all the more loved.
On Saturday night, The 45’s headlined. A three-piece band from Bristol blasted out an amazing set to yet again another packed room. Their varied set included old covers from bands such as Nirvana, Shocking Blue and The Stooges. A friend described them as “bringing old school songs back from the dead to life again,” and they did, in their own extremely fast-paced, energetic way.
Saturday day we had short sets from both of the bands in the main hall while everyone wandered around the custom show and the parts fair. With trade stalls from KMT Precision Jets, Rimini Lambretta, Pinasco, RPM Scooters and much more.
The music continued into the early hours with DJs satisfying all tastes; whether you fancied the intimate ska bar, main room with great selection of northern soul, wine bar for dance tunes or the indie room. Wherever you found yourself, dancing and singing were on the menu.
The games, aptly named Battle of the Titans, consisted of electric scooter drag racing, sumo wrestling, dyno shootout and helium karaoke. Cheering crowds and roaring laughing accompanied each one of these.
Unfortunately, we had to leave on the Sunday afternoon, missing the Sunday roast, wine tasting, bowling matches and a showing of the film Northern Soul in the on-site cinema.
This was potentially the best rally we’ve ever experienced and it has certainly made us think about going on more European rallies. Hats off to Marcus, Mareike and the rest of the ‘Spirit of 84 Scooterists’ team. They put on one hell of a rally, and are already taking bookings for 2018. I strongly recommend people to give it ago. You’ll not be disappointed.