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.

Bassan uses a car for regular commute but maintains the Vespa for this once-in-a-year sojourn. “It is not much difficult to maintain; I service it just twice a year,” he said. “On rally day, however, I oil this beauty and cover the ignition coil to prevent water from entering.”

Andrew James of Belapur, who had done a diploma in superbikes from the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute, Arizona, listed the advantages of a scooter from his seat on a 1996-make Bajaj Chetak. “It’s pretty cheap to maintain but is very strong and reliable. Also, since it has manual gears, it is good for climbing on tough terrain,” says the 42-year-old.

Every year he looks forward to this rally. “My neighbours look down on me since I move around in a scooter but I don’t care,” he said.

Kersi Patel of Byculla, 63, doesn’t think age is an issue. “I run a garage, so it is not a problem for me to maintain it,” says Patel.

First-timer Mohammad Shamun couldn’t resist joining a rally where he could meet others with a similar passion. “It has a 12-inch tyre at the front and 10-inch tyre in the rear which no other scooter has,” the 30-year-old said of his scooter.

The Santacruz resident is regular at drag rallies but wanted to enjoy the thrill of a monsoon scooter rally. “It’s unique. It’s really challenging and great fun because here you meet people on two wheels without a lot of the angry, competitive energy you sometimes encounter at motorcycle events,” he added.