Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

collin wrote:

whojamfan wrote: It reminds me of when I really in to the Mod thing. There would be these big scooter runs with a judging contest at the end for different categories, and they were always won by these little rich boys who would bring their scooters in trucks on trailers. If you didn't go on the ride, why the hell should you be allowed in the contest?

Scooterville? Scoot Expo? Pow Club? LA scene, right?

Ya have me laughing, Mike. It's like the other half of my hobby-life is crossing over.

I was usually on the judging side of the scooter rally custom shows.....and I always gave out trophies to riders.


(sorry....thread drift! )

Glad to hear that Collin, it's a rally, you are supposed to ride the dang thang. I even knew a few kids who paid other people to design and deck out their scooters, then pretend that they had. I thought the whole point was to do it yourself, at least the designing of it, as painting needs to be done by a pro to look right, unless you really have a talent for it. "Excuse me sir, how much to purchase some originality?"

Yep, LA Mod/scooter deal-On Klub, Stardust Ballroom and Studios, Lhasa, Fenders,Action, Ginos,Cavern(where I used to watch a fellow forumite play), Mama Browns, Bruce Lee Club, and a slew of other places that held gigs and hosted rallies. Before the security got way out of hand, we used to hold a SuperScoot in Pasadena every year where we would all drive down Colorado blvd the night before the Rose Parade on the route. We had over 400 bikes the last year we did it(84). After that, the parade was littered with police convinced gangbangers and thugs were going to terrorize the tourists

Scooterville, oh yeah, bought a verticle tire rack and a flyscreen from them, as well as a custom seat cover, and went on all of their rallies I could. When they burned down, my band played a benefit for them at Fenders, along with No Doubt(when they had 2 singers)and others. This was back when she had a brown bob and dressed like a rude girl. All of the girls hated her because all of the guys were checking her out. Short tartan skirts and fishnets will do that you know Their main singer, John, was one of the best frontmen I have ever seen. This guy did backflips and all kinds of stuff, as well as had a great voice. I really don't remember her singing much of anything but backups. Not really a fan of theirs, but I know that they certainly paid their dues for many years before making it. I was really surprised to see that they were still together, since so many bands of that era had long since broken up. I was also very unhappy to be talking to one of my friends from the band "The Untouchables", who were basically like an LA version of "The Specials", to hear that they wouldn't even return any of their calls about doing some gigs, or possibly a support tour, with ND. The UTs are a great band and have always done what they could to help other bands with gigs and such, including ND. If you ever watch the movie "Repo Man" with Emilio Esteves and Harry Dean Stanton, "The Untouchables" are the rude boys on scooters that beat Emilio up when he tries to repo their moms car.

Pow Klub? Don't even get me started on those guys. Everywhere they went they caused big trouble for fun. More places got closed and people having parties evicted than any other group of people I have ever seen. Very much of the "Clockwork Orange" mentality. Some of those guys were ok on their own, but get a few together and something bad was going to happen without question.

Yeah, talk about thread drift, I could go on all day about this old stuff, but I'd rather do that somewhere you don't have to follow guidelines. Lots of funny goodies not fit for print here. I'm sure we know a lot of the same people Collin, despite the cobwebs between my ears, I'm probably not that much older than you are.

Ok, back to Ebay-haha-I still have an old stadium mirror off of my Silver Special in a box somewhere, what do you think I could get for it Collin?

I sniped something last night with auctionsniper, I won it while I was asleep this morning, another advantge of these services. I used to feel the same way you did Mike until I realized I was just POed because it kept happening to me. I remember the first time I got sniped, I had bid on something "I just had to have", I was watching it end for about an hour thinking, man I can't wait until I get that thing,and with about 5 seconds to go, snipe! I couldn't believe it. I had heard of sniping before but thought it was some kind of software you had to buy, when I found the websites and starting using them and winning I was ecstatic.

ricardo_vicente wrote:I understand the frustration you may feel at being outbid late on but I can't agree that there is an unfair advantage to be gained by bidding at a specific time.

I personally have found bidding at the last minute/second the best solution for me because it prevents me from getting into a bidding war.
I decide how much I am willing to pay and bid that amount. If someone else bids more or already has left a bid for more, I have no time to bid again and don't get caught up in the heat of the moment and bid more than I'm willing to pay.

My sentiments are along this line, also. Since Ebay will automatically bid for you up to your maximum, the buyer should bid the most they are willing to pay for the item. Anything bid above that maximum (whether it's 3 days or 3 seconds before the auction ends) is more than you're willing to give for the item.

whojamfan wrote: Glad to hear that Collin, it's a rally, you are supposed to ride the dang thang. I even knew a few kids who paid other people to design and deck out their scooters, then pretend that they had. I thought the whole point was to do it yourself, at least the designing of it, as painting needs to be done by a pro to look right, unless you really have a talent for it. "Excuse me sir, how much to purchase some originality?"

Yep, LA Mod/scooter deal-On Klub, Stardust Ballroom and Studios, Lhasa, Fenders,Action, Ginos,Cavern(where I used to watch a fellow forumite play), Mama Browns, Bruce Lee Club, and a slew of other places that held gigs and hosted rallies. Before the security got way out of hand, we used to hold a SuperScoot in Pasadena every year where we would all drive down Colorado blvd the night before the Rose Parade on the route. We had over 400 bikes the last year we did it(84). After that, the parade was littered with police convinced gangbangers and thugs were going to terrorize the tourists

Scooterville, oh yeah, bought a verticle tire rack and a flyscreen from them, as well as a custom seat cover, and went on all of their rallies I could. When they burned down, my band played a benefit for them at Fenders, along with No Doubt(when they had 2 singers)and others. This was back when she had a brown bob and dressed like a rude girl. All of the girls hated her because all of the guys were checking her out. Short tartan skirts and fishnets will do that you know Their main singer, John, was one of the best frontmen I have ever seen. This guy did backflips and all kinds of stuff, as well as had a great voice. I really don't remember her singing much of anything but backups. Not really a fan of theirs, but I know that they certainly paid their dues for many years before making it. I was really surprised to see that they were still together, since so many bands of that era had long since broken up. I was also very unhappy to be talking to one of my friends from the band "The Untouchables", who were basically like an LA version of "The Specials", to hear that they wouldn't even return any of their calls about doing some gigs, or possibly a support tour, with ND. The UTs are a great band and have always done what they could to help other bands with gigs and such, including ND. If you ever watch the movie "Repo Man" with Emilio Esteves and Harry Dean Stanton, "The Untouchables" are the rude boys on scooters that beat Emilio up when he tries to repo their moms car.

Pow Klub? Don't even get me started on those guys. Everywhere they went they caused big trouble for fun. More places got closed and people having parties evicted than any other group of people I have ever seen. Very much of the "Clockwork Orange" mentality. Some of those guys were ok on their own, but get a few together and something bad was going to happen without question.

Yeah, talk about thread drift, I could go on all day about this old stuff, but I'd rather do that somewhere you don't have to follow guidelines. Lots of funny goodies not fit for print here. I'm sure we know a lot of the same people Collin, despite the cobwebs between my ears, I'm probably not that much older than you are.

Ok, back to Ebay-haha-I still have an old stadium mirror off of my Silver Special in a box somewhere, what do you think I could get for it Collin?

Yep, as a scooter mechanic, I was always building people's show-winning bikes (including my own SS180, GS etc..), that when it came to me judging, I always went for the DIY guys..

That is so funny---I bet we do know plenty of people in the same circle. (ya know Mike Burns? )

Believe it or not, tons of guys from the scene have come back in recent years. You'd probably bust up laughing at some of the same cats showing up (and some of them are relics--never left it, but most guys bring back their attitudes!). Things have a changed a bit, but it's way more family-style these days, and most guys that are involved today were mostly around in the 80s/early 90s. Very few new people around.

I was definitely late to the party, but spent many years as a scooter mechanic at the shop that Scooterville became (long after the '86 fire), amongst others. Definitely cool stories around about the old days, No Doubt etc...good times.

I know the Untouchables guys really well---Jerry Miller (lead vocals) is in my scooter club, great guy. They still play around often....and there are rumblings of a reunion with original guitarist Clyde too...

small world, eh?


PS....Clean original Stadium Mirrors are bringing like $85 these days. Some time ago, they were over $150, but a huge NOS supply was found somewhere and flooded the market. Supply didn't last long when some jokers strap 18+ of them on their bikes.


(......sorry about the continued thread drift. Over 'n out. )

I've used a Sniper BEFORE subscription sniper services were available....Auctin Magic by Merlin is a SNIPER that you pay for ONCE. It runs on your computer. The ONLY flaw is, if you power BURPS (as it so often does here in FL) so if you computer hickups, it doesn't bid as do the online services. BUT, it was only $9.99 and I'd it for more years than I can remember. Did I mention, I'm CHEAP TOO?

Mike, there are SOME auction sites, such as ChooChoo Auctions which ADDS 3 hours to the auction IF a bid is recieved 15 minutes before the END of the scheduled auction. Personally, I hate it, but I've seen more and more services using this type of feature.

Tony, I remember software like that. I forget what I used back in the day but I do remember that type of software.

I'd have 10 or 15 auctions logged into it at any given time.

I'd never snipe that many auctions, I'd just load them up and jigger them around according to that day's wants and desires then shut most of them down.

It was a way for me to pass the time and daydream about different things.

ajish4 wrote:I've used a Sniper BEFORE subscription sniper services were available....Auctin Magic by Merlin is a SNIPER that you pay for ONCE. It runs on your computer. The ONLY flaw is, if you power BURPS (as it so often does here in FL) so if you computer hickups, it doesn't bid as do the online services. BUT, it was only $9.99 and I'd it for more years than I can remember. Did I mention, I'm CHEAP TOO?

Mike, there are SOME auction sites, such as ChooChoo Auctions which ADDS 3 hours to the auction IF a bid is recieved 15 minutes before the END of the scheduled auction. Personally, I hate it, but I've seen more and more services using this type of feature.

Of course the seller loves that feature as it will drive prices up, most casual buyers will not realize that either, i wouldn't use a site like that. ebay caters to the buyers and there are many more buyers than sellers so like it or not that is what works the best for the most and that is why it is by far the biggest online auction service. Auctionsniper is VERY cheap, it is so cheap as to be inconsequential for me.