Scootering in Tayside and Fife is currently enjoying a prolonged golden age.
Motor scooters emerged in the late 1950s and remained popular the following decade as the vehicle became synonymous with the Mod subculture.
The Dundee and District Scooter Club was set up and the hip young things of the era stylishly got around in their parka jackets on a Lambretta or a Vespa and enjoyed listening to music bands such as The Who and Small Faces.
Rallies were held across Scotland, the UK and Europe.
Towards the end of the 1960s the scene waned as Mods increasingly gravitated towards pop art and psychedelia.
In 1979 Quadrophenia was released to spark a Mod Revival that made scooters hip once again. Locally the Dundee Stars and Stripes – name and helmets emulating Easy Rider – and Monifieth Arrows groups were established as a whole new generation joined the movement.
The second wave lasted until the late 1980s when the scene became the preserve of the die-hards.
In late 2007 the latest renaissance began. Classic Vespas and Lambrettas were restored and regular ride-outs and rallies were re-established.
In Tayside the A92 Vespa Club was set up and this time popularity has not waned. Scooters are here to stay.
Ride-outs take place throughout Scotland every weekend during the summer and it is not uncommon to see dozens of scooter riders parading through our beautiful countryside and iconic streets.
“There are three types of scooter rider,” explains Paul Hird, who helped start the A92 Vespa Club.
“You have the stalwarts who got into it in their teenage years and have never left the scene.
“There are the born-again people, such as myself, who got into it as a young adult and have now returned to the scene.
“And then there are those who are now part of the scene having never been involved previously.”
This is a story about the birth – and rebirths – of scootering in Tayside and Fife.
‘There were all sorts of competitions’
Jim Smyth is a privileged member of the founding generation of local scooter riders.
Jim, now 71, moved from Glasgow to Lochee aged seven when his parents split up.
He lived with his mum, May, who found it more economical to commute by scooter than bus to her job at former Dock Street jeans manufacturer Hamilton Carhartt.
She began this job in 1957, just as the scooter scene was about to explode.
“She got a Vespa and joined Dundee and District Scooter Club,” says Jim.
“I was a pillion on my mum’s scooter and when she wasn’t working she used to take me to rallies.
“We used to meet up with other clubs and there were all sorts of competitions.”
Scooter parades in Dundee city centre
These were usually fashion shows, with owners adorning their beloved scooters with accessories including badges, chrome, whip aerials, fur and anything else that could make a big impression.
“There were competitions held at the old ice rink in Dundee,” says Jim.
“There would be a parade to start and then they would judge categories such as the best prepared scooter.
“People would go to town and take great care to make theirs look the best. It was similar to having a classic car.
“There would also be parades in Dundee city centre.”
‘In one holiday we visited seven countries’
May used to ride Jim across the UK and Europe on her scooter.
“We would climb hills and did a lot of camping.
“In one holiday we visited seven countries. Mum put the scooter into the guard’s van on the train to King’s Cross and then we headed to Dover for the ferry to Europe where we visited Luxembourg, Germany, Holland and other countries.”
Given Jim used to practice riding off-road from the age of nine it was inevitable that he would get his own pair of wheels as soon as he could.
“Mum gave me her old Vespa for my 16th birthday,” he says. “I was a real Mod and a very happy young boy – Jack the Lad with his scooter in Dundee.
“In 1966 I went on my first solo trip and crossed Tay Road Bridge which had just been opened by the Queen Mother in 1966.
“That was great fun.”
‘It is great to see the revival’
In 1969 Jim purchased a Morris 1300 GT car and his scootering faded.
He no longer rides but still regales his tales of the first wave to the current crop of riders through his pictures and anecdotes in the A92 Vespa Club Facebook page.
“I have always loved the two wheels and it is great to see the revival of this,” says Jim, who now lives in Dundee’s West End. “The guys are fascinated by my stories and photos.”
‘Boom area for scooters’
Paul Hird was the right age and in the right place at the right time when the Mod Revival was in full swing.
Paul, 56, grew up in Broughty Ferry and moved with his family to Monifieth just as he was leaving school in the early 1980s.
“At that time Monifieth was a boom area for scooters as lots of people from Dundee came over to ride,” he recalls.
Paul soon got involved in the scene and at the age of 17 got his hands on a second-hand Lambretta GP 150 for £350.
‘You were travelling with your mates’
A year later, in 1983, after getting a job at a hospital in Newcastle through the Youth Opportunities Programme he saved up for a brand new Y-reg Vespa from Andrew Hart Motorcycles in Dundee.
“That became his pride and joy,” he says. “There were around a dozen in Monifieth with scooters so Monifieth Arrows Scooter Club was set up.
“Between April and October we went on national rallies every four weeks.
“You were travelling with your mates to English resorts at the age of 17 and it was amazing.
“The bond that we built together through sharing wrong turns and breakdowns, looking out for each other if someone disappears from view… there is something special about that.
“I remember going to Scarborough, Clacton, Isle of Wight etc. They were brilliant times. It was such a big deal for us. It was a buzz and created a bond that never left us.
“I would be heading home from a long scooter rally and be exhausted. I remember thinking ‘never again’ while riding on the last leg along the Perth dual carriageway.
“But by the time I got home, had a bath and got dry I was thinking ‘when’s the next one’?”
‘You could call it a mid-life crisis’
Paul stopped riding in the mid 1980s after starting a relationship and having less disposable income.
He returned to the scene in 2007 after convincing his wife Susan of the merits of riding.
“You could call it a mid-life crisis,” he says. “My kids had grown up and I could now afford luxuries again.”
They went to London and purchased a restored 1959 Vespa GS150 from Retrospective Scooters.
‘After two years we had 100 members. It was crazy’
Later that year Paul attended a rally at Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire and set up the A92 Vespa Club with Steve Wilson.
“I always said an objective was to kick-start the scooter scene and put the area back on the map,” Paul says. “After two years we had 100 members. It was crazy.
“Since then we have had 200 members in total. They come and go over time.
“Virtually every member involved in the scene in the 1980s is part of the club now.”
‘You get much closer and personal’
Throughout the 2010s the couple travelled abroad every year for the Vespa World Days.
“Sometimes I love going in a big crowd of people,” says Paul. “But now what appeals are the places we have visited on the scooter, whether Norway, Spain, the Czech Republic…
“On the scooter you get much closer and personal to places than other forms of transport.
“For example, you can go over a bridge to the centre of Venice or be right int he thick of a mountain in the Alps. We visit some fantastic places.”
Stars and stripes come to town
What began as a curiosity turned into a passion for Steve Wilson.
In the late 1970s, when he was in his early teens, Steve observed the Dundee Stars and Stripes coming to Panmure Hotel at his home town of Monifieth.
Liking the look of what he saw, he used to meet his pals on Sunday mornings to hang out at the now defunct hotel with the older scooter riders.
The experiences persuaded him, aged 16, to get a Vespa 50 special from Andrew Hart Motorcycles. A year later he upgraded to a Lambretta GP 150.
“There were lots of scooter riders in Monifieth at this time – 15 of us of a similar age got scooters at the same time,” says Steve.
They joined Dundee Stars and Stripes before setting up the breakaway Monifieth Arrows club.
“We were together for a number of years before all drifting apart due to family and job commitments,” Steve says.
‘It makes me feel young’
His return to the scene coincided with Paul’s and together they set up the A92 Vespa Club, which has spawned offshoots Dundee Mods, Stars and Stripes and Dundee Scooter Review.
“The A92 still has 70 members, a number that has been consistent since 2009.
“We are still holding charity events; in March 2020 before lockdown we had the first March of the Mods event in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.
“Last month we in Leicester for a Vespa Club of Britain event.”
Getting on his bike helps Steve, now 57, recapture the feeling of his younger days.
“It makes me feel young,” he says. “It’s like being back in your youth again.
“Being out and about gives you a sense of freedom and you can also meet great friends.”
‘Camaraderie, fresh air and sense of belonging’
Jim Spence is back on the scene after a two-decade hiatus.
The Dundonian broadcaster and Courier columnist is a member of the A92 Vespa Club.
“I had a scooter 20 years ago and got rid of it but I have always hankered for it again.
“I bought myself a Vespa 125 last year and it has been great.
“What is great is the camaraderie, fresh air and sense of belonging. It’s not like motorcycling where you fly along at 70mph.
“It’s a cool thing to belong to.
“I sense a resurgence with all the scooters you see on the road.”
