Over the last two decades, during the course of a national auto revolution, the motorbike has kept evolving forever but its two-wheeler cousin, the scooter, has been largely ignored. Sunday morning saw a strong statement in support of the middle-class Indian’s favourite vehicle as Bajaj Chetaks and LML Vespas lined up in East Parel for a monsoon rally with a difference.

The event for Indian scooters ranging from 81 to 160 cc, with various categories, is the brainchild of 56-year-old auto enthusiast Shrikant Karani, who couldn’t enter rallies in his youth because he didn’t own a racing bike.

“My passion for two-wheelers could match that of anybody else but I could rarely participate in a rally, just because I had a scooter. That’s why I took on myself the responsibility for a race of scooters during monsoon,” says Karani.

At the starting line-up today were several like Karani who, before kick-starting their scooters, had an extended chat on such two-wheelers. They spoke of lack of dealers, the difficulties in getting spare parts and maintenance problems, enough to prove that the romance of two-wheelers isn’t all about riding a Harley Davidson or a Hayabusa.

Manjit Singh Bassan of Mulund, a past champion, got nostalgic as he spoke of his LML Vespa. “It is the best scooter for such an event. It is one of the very few scooters with a four-stroke engine with a very good suspension. Somehow with the advent of these fancy bikes, the scooter has been forgotten. But this rally keeps such vehicles alive,” said the 35-year-old.

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