luna landing 3

:: foreword ::

the isle of wight rally 2006 was another scorcher...luckily for those camping! ryde was packed for the weekend with scooter fans enjoying themselves at what is possibly the biggest scooter event in the world.

nine lunas in total landed on the island. seven were lined up outside the ice rink before the sunday rideout, with four of us going on the ride together. both czechers and i had had engine troubles, but thanks to a lot of help from our friends, we were able to go on the rideout :)

it was great to see friends such as czechers, cezeta, kylie, doug, adam, andy q, danny, jim brierley, jimmers, greg and paul waterfield...also to meet other luna owners for the first time such as jem booth, af andy, afra, and bart from belgium.

the prize for the furthest travelled luna owner though, must got to marc d (yankeevega), who joined us at the isle of wight, all the way from california!

vegagirl

:: luna-crew ::

enlargements are captioned

the above and following photos were taken by marc d (yankeevega), dennis (denisiw), czechmate, donegal paul and ringwoodrob. if you/your luna aren't here, but were at the rally and got snapped, send in your photo to be included!

:: luna prizewinner ::

andy quail of the east midlands scooter alliance was a custom show prizewinner
with his lui with a vespa engine: luna-tic.

:: luna line-up ::

above: adam winstone, czechmate, vegagirl and doug miller caught on camera at the sunday ride out, by dennis (denisiw of the lcgb forum).

:: luna journal: doug miller ::

This was my first visit to an Isle of Wight rally in nearly 40 years, so I wasn’t sure what to expect and was a little concerned that I might be a bit of an outsider and perhaps even get bored with the proceedings. How wrong could I be?

I decided that driving from Leicester to Portsmouth on the Vega was not really an option (I know, its just a jaunt for Adam) so arranged to stay with friends in Cheam and ride from there, I didn’t fancy riding on my own so a plea for company was immediately responded to, (thanks Czechers) and plans were made to meet Kylie, Nick and Dan on the A3 at Guildford. Any concerns I had about the Vega were dispelled by Nick whose instructions to “ride like you’ve just stolen it” resulted in a positive response from the engine and the ride to Portsmouth although not fast was quite enjoyable. We even managed to get on an earlier ferry.

Although not staying at the campsite, most of the afternoon was spent helping to unload,set up tents,and look around the parts fair. It was also a chance to meet up with Sarah and Justin. A major surprise was seeing the White Vega being ridden. All became clear after an inspection of Justin’s tent. He had completely rebuilt the engine in the tent on Friday morning, a major feat bearing in mind the amount of alcohol consumed the night before.(did the lost washer ever turn up ?) Following a pleasant meal in Ryde with Czechers, Sarah and Justin I met up with AF Andy and Timbo from the Luton club, who had kindly offered me a place to stay in their accommodation. The evening was spent meeting more people and soaking up the atmosphere in Ryde.

Saturday morning our scooters were parked on the green by about ten-o-clock to be joined by many thousands during the day. I didn’t feel the need to do anything other than wander around looking at the largest gathering of scooters I had ever seen, and meeting friends old and new, including probably one of the most enthusiastic people there. Mark,(yankeevega) who had travelled from the USA on his own just to be part of this event. (hope to meet up with you again sometime).

Sunday morning parked at the Ice Rink ready for the Luna gathering, the sky looked a bit ominous but we were assured that it would not rain. Adam was the first to arrive and we were informed that we would probably be at least one short on the rideout as Czechers was at his B&B in Sandown having destroyed his piston the previous evening, and left the Vega at the campsite. What he didn’t reckon on was the Luna pit crew (Nick, Dan, plus support team). They had scoured the parts fair, found a piston, fitted it, and delivered the bike to Czechers ready for the rideout. Super stars or what !!.

The line up of Lunas totalled 7 – Adam, Czechers, Sarah, Nick, Greg, Lad from Belgium, and Me. It was good to spend some time chatting with everyone before the “clutch burning” started. Leaving the Ice rink in formation was quite a challenge, threading our way through the crowd on the road outside was something I was not prepared for. I suppose several thousand scooters in a line would attract a number of onlookers, but the crowds seemed to continue almost all of the way. The Luna posse managed to stick together and arrived at the rugby club outside Sandown where we attracted more attention and comments from the assembled crowds.(Whats that? Where are the side panels? Etc.)

Unfortunately I had to leave for the ferry home so could not stay long after the rideout but I have to say that the 40 year wait was well worth it. The ride home was just as enjoyable, staying on minor roads all the way to Epsom and then getting totally lost, the last 10 miles took nearly an hour. Despite the delay I still arrived home with a smile on my face, and of course the obligatory Luna pain in the backside.

A great weekend.

Doug

:: iow rally 2006: magazine articles ::

source: shed magazine (issue 21, 2006)- reproduced courtesy of shed mag


source: scootering magazine (issue 244, oct 2006) - reproduced courtesy of scootering magazine

back issues available from classicissues.com


:: other iow 2006 shots ::

taken by marc d (yankeevega)

if you have anything to add - an account of your weekend, pics or just a simple quote then send them to mail@lunabase.co.uk and we will include it in this page - cheers.
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