Rally Report: Meltdown 2020

A scooter weekend in a never-used nuclear power plant? Episode 8 of the international scooter extravaganza left little to desire...

A scooter weekend in a never-used nuclear power plant? Episode 8 of the international scooter extravaganza left little to desire...

When I first saw the Scooterist Meltdown advertised I knew straight away I had to go. I am glad I did. Everything about it was different; the location, the pre-season date, the unusual mix of people with many familiar and new faces alike plus a real all-in concept that allows you to eat and drink all you can of anything – even down to the cocktails. This was eight years ago. Did I like it? Well, let’s just say I haven’t missed one since. The organisers, Spirit of 84 Scooterists, hold their event in the Wunderland holiday park situated in Germany just over the Dutch border. It has various themed bars, clubs, pubs, a massive restaurant, several hotels and some big halls for the custom show and dealers’ stalls. All of it has been built in or around a nuclear plant with cooling towers and the rest of it. For those of you who have not attended yet, imagine the location to be something like a ‘Butlins on acid’ as a friend once put it. After a (fairly) sober January I was really looking forward to an extended party weekend, so I had already arrived on the Thursday for the warm-up do. I like this early start because you get the chance to acclimatise and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere among a smaller group of fellow scooterists.

Shiny parts

Friday came and with it the usual influx of scooterists from the UK and all over

rode on Vegas, trying to escape a blizzard moving north. After meeting many old friends for the first time in this new decade and catching up over supper and a a few aperitifs, I went to see the first l ive act of the weekend. The Wonk Unit from f London played a loud and energetic mix m of punk/power pop with the crowd going g mad in the mosh pit. The Friday night n seemed busier than ever before and, a as always, went far too quickly. The show sh during the Saturday daytime has come a long way. I remember the first year when it was merely a custom show with only a handful of traders. Over time it has become the most obscene display of scooter porn I have ever seen and is my favourite part of the event. Across three halls tuners, customisers and other scooter-related businesses from the Spanish Balears to Scandinavia exhibit their shiny parts.

Wide shaft

Just some of the highlights: from the UK Gran Turismo presented a new generation of engine kits for Lambretta. These new cases accommodate a wider crankshaft and two different top ends – an air-cooled Simonini barrel or, alternatively, a liquid-cooled Rotax barrel. Not only a great concept for reliable and torquey road engines, but also very affordable, since the cases are cast and the performance parts are mass produced and cheaply available. They also showed a prototype for the Vespa GTS combining new cases with the liquid-cooled Rotax top end and the automatic transmission. KR Automation from Germany offers similar Lambretta conversions, albeit with CNC machined cases and electronic injection. They also have machined cases for large and smallframe Vespas for use with a variety of barrels. Another new Lambretta casing was presented by the aforementioned Italians. Casa Performance/RLC had a beefed-up derivative of their RSS/RST engines on display. This casing was developed for their streamliner project and, again, accepts a range of very powerful cylinders.

Not to forget their brand-new and very interesting performance parts for the Vega and J-Range. Last but not least, Targa Twin showed their new 275 engines and a variety of new components. While Lambrettas seem to have moved beyond the 40hp mark, German and Italian Vespa tuners really have taken the power race to the extreme. Pinasco’s new wide body complete engine and barrel kits allow performances never imagined on an old 1950s Vespa Faro Basso. German specialists Nagy Blechroller use a combination of Pinasco’s and their own parts to achieve close to 28hp – only to be beaten by their Italian friend and tuner Carni with 33hp.

Electronic injection

Renowned Scooter & Service from Hamburg build custom Vespas from scratch though prefer to keep their BFA engines to a ‘moderate’ 40+hp for usability. For the first time I saw Motorino Diavolo’s twin-engined PX in the flesh (see Scootering 401). The two Quattrini equipped lumps hhave a didisplacementlt of f 488cc and an output of 58 at the wheel. German sprint racers Kingwelle displayed their latest version of their rotary disc valve motor using their own cylinder designed with CAD software and then 3D printed in aluminium (!) by a large automotive R&D company. Result: 67hp in a Vespa PK. Anyway, this was not the end of it; SIP’s PX dragster Something Special was clocked at 72hp on the dyno. By the afternoon I decided not to risk my personal meltdown due to over-stimulation and started turning to the beer. A well-timed move to enjoy a brilliant gig by the Skatuesques, an excellent all-female ska and reggae band from Dublin.

Blowing Ciara

Saturday night saw another great underground garage and beat band from Bristol called the BullyBones. The dance floors were packed until the early hours of Sunday – and then we all woke up to Storm Ciara, making it challenging for people to get home. But that’s another story.t TTo putt a verdictdit on thithis year’s ’ Meltdown I have to say I liked it best in terms of numbers, atmosphere and the custom and trade show. For me it has evolved into a tribal ritual, an annual family gathering I wouldn’t like to miss any more, and I hope to see you all again for many more years to come. Words: Cheeky Chuck

Photographs: Lit