Who are the Rovers?

The Rovers are a scooter club (SC) dedicated to the riding, restoration, preservation, and celebration of vintage scooters.  The club was founded in February of 2004.  Up until this time, a number of the Rovers had been meeting under the auspices of the Scooter Meetup.com group on a monthly basis for about a year before the Rovers SC's creation.  In Feb. of '04 the club declared itself an organization, created the message board and website for the club, and began meeting weekly. 

At the club's inception there were no formal rules for membership - anyone who hung around was inducted.  This went on until around July '04, when a huge amount of scooterists of all types began attending the meetings.  At this point it was deemed necessary to develop some sort of rule system to limit who could join, and with what types of scooters.  It was feared that the club would lose the vintage-specific focus if allowed to grow unabated.

Near the end of July '04 the club met to create the bylaws, define formal membership requirements, and galvanize the current membership roster.  Months later, under the legal representation of Scott Decius, the club was legally declared a Non-Profit organization in the state of Michigan.

What does the name mean?

At the club’s inception, we were meeting in and around Royal Oak, Michigan, particularly at Gusoline Alley.  The Rovers initially was an acronym for Royal Oak Vintage Recreational Scooterists (ROVeRS).  With people in Windsor, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and scattered around the city of Detroit it no longer is an acronym for anything.  The definition of a Rover is a traveling person full of wanderlust and need to see and experience new things.  As people who spend our time traveling all over the country on the backs of and in the name of vintage scooters, we find the name very appropriate.

How do I become a member?

You hang around us long enough to prove your dedication to scootering and loyalty to the club.  Our updated bylaws for the Detroit / Windsor chapter state that you have to have been attending meetings and club events for 1 year before we consider you eligible.  Previously we stated that you have to own and operate a vintage or vintage lineage scooter*, but we have since eased our rules to allow people who are exceptionally dedicated to the club but perhaps don’t operate their own scooter so much as ride on the back of a spouse’s.

What type of scooters does your club ride?

Our club is focused on Vespa, Lambretta, Zundapp, Rumi, NSU, Fuji, Maico, Gogo, Heinkel, Parilla, BSA, Triumph, and any other pre-80’s step through design scooter, particularly of European origin.  We also promote “Vintage lineage” style scooters, which would include NEW vespas, the Genuine Scooter “Stella” model, and the Bajaj Chetak, as they are manual shifting, cable operated scooters designed around the Vespa P-series design. Though these newer models are tolerated, the focus and intent of the club was on the Vintage models, so much greater emphasis is placed on these types of scooters.

My scooter isn’t listed.  Can I ride with you?

Anyone is welcome to attend our meetings, rides and events.  We only ask for safety reasons that you have a scooter greater than 125cc if it’s a 4-stroke, or greater than 50cc 2-stroke, and that you have some previous knowledge of road courtesy in regards to group riding.

Some of the clubmates began attending before they had a scooter of a type listed above, but eventually got one once they were introduced to the vintage models.  This is why we encourage all to attend and meet and ride with us.

Why would I want to be a member?

There’s tangible and intangible benefits to being a clubmate.  Members wear the rovers logo on the backs of their jackets, identifying them as members of an elite group of scooter enthusiasts.  They get member profiles set up on our website, displaying images of them and their scooter(s).  Clubmates have access to the private side of our forum, can vote on new members and have a say in the direction of the club or in decision-making matters. 

The club has an entire set of Vespa factory tools that prove very useful in rebuilding or restoring vintage vespa models.  When it all comes down to it, you’re a member because scootering is a big part of your life, just like it is with the other people in the club, and there’s a large sense of loyalty, generosity and comradery that goes along with it.

Where do the Rovers Meet?

The Detroit Rovers meet up at several places in the Berkley, Royal Oak, Clawson area of Metro Detroit each Thursday. The Windsor Rovers usually meet up at the Kildare House on Wyandotte St in Windsor on Wednesdays. The Cleveland Rovers meet up at the Melt Bar & Grilled at 14718 Detroit in Lakewood, or the new branch of Buckeye Brewing on Madison ialso in Lakewood on Friday evenings.

Make sure you check the Forum for Details on these locations a day or two before the Meetings as they are subject to change.

What is a Scooter Rally?  What is Motor City Shakedown?

A rally is a scooter-centric event thrown in cities across the country.  It’s a big weekend long party that attracts scooterists from all over the US and sometimes international guests.  Rally’s tend to have at least one long ride, as well as Friday and Saturday night entertainment events with Dj’s, live music acts, games, etc.  They’re addictive and fun, and many of the members of the Rovers SC travel all over the country to attend these events year after year.

Motor City Shakedown is a Rally thrown by the Rovers in Detroit the first weekend in August.  This year marks it’s third year.  With the Rovers being a vintage club, each year we make it a point to give away a vintage scooter at the rally to encourage someone else in sharing our passion for these machines.

Going to scooter rally’s is something that the Rovers SC really tries to encourage and facilitate within our members, as it brings together clubs from across the country, unifying the hobby into a national and international lifestyle, and overall promoting the scene.

What’s next for the Rovers SC?

As we enter our 4th riding season in 2007, the club is focusing on organizing more club-centric weekend long-rides and retreats, planning for Motor City Shakedown 3, choosing which national rallies to focus on attending as a club this year, and trying to help our clubmates with non-running bikes in their collections back on the road…. As well as promoting the vintage scootering scene and helping out new people share our enthusiasm for riding and wrenching.