Scooterist Meltdown is no more; the popular German event ran for the final time in 2024 after new owners took over the Kalkar site.
That doesn’t mean the organisers have been sitting twiddling their thumbs; German scooterists love to party just as much as we do, and they worked hard to get a new, different but altogether better venue.
As a result, the ‘Spirit of ’84 Scooterists’ are back with a bang, with a brand new all-inclusive event at a German holiday resort.
We sent Booga over to Germany on his PX for a 900-mile ride in the middle of winter; you can read his report further down the page. First up we have a few words and photos from the Spirit of ’84 organisers, Marcus and Mareike…
A few words from the organisers, Spirit of 84 Scooterists:
As many of you might know, we lost our venue at Kalkar in Germany. Fourteen years had passed since the launch of our previous event series. They were good, wacky years. An era we will always look back on with a smile. It truly deserves to rest in peace. Farewell, Scooterist Meltdown.
But it ain’t over till it’s over, so we set about organising something new.
Hello, MadMoselle Scootacular. The femme fatale replaces reinforced concrete. Not only does it sound different, but it is different. Of course, there are generic similarities like the date, the all-in concept, the dos, and the trade & custom show – but that’s about it.
The new venue, Resort Moseltal, is a little smaller (about 70% of the beds we had before, plus plenty of space for day & night guests), but more refined. The setting is simply picturesque; in the middle of a vineyard, on the banks of the Moselle and surrounded by mountains.
Better facilities
Food and drinks are significantly better. Guests reside in their own houses (3-4 twin rooms) and a communal space with afterparty potential. It features exclusive party locations, a cocktail bar in the gallery above the main floor and even an indoor swimming pool for the pool party. People who booked three nights had the option to take a coach trip to Germany’s oldest city on Sunday.
But did it work?
It did, and we were overwhelmed by the response. To be honest, we had a gut feeling people would like it, but we were still nervous due to the sheer size of the Meltdown. Would people criticise us for downsizing?
They didn’t. On the contrary, the feedback we received on any aspect of our debut event was better than we could have wished for. But before we brag on about it, simply ask your mates who attended, look at the comments on social media, or read Booga’s write-up below.
VIDEO | Nightimes at Mad Moselle
Thank you!
We would like to say a very big Thank you! to all our guests, the scooter exhibitors, the traders, the staff at Moseltal, all the DJs, the Back Street Band, the Flatliners Dyno crew, and, most of all, the best team in the world – our Spirit of 84 Scooterists-Crew.
Marcus & Mareike
Road trip
Our plan was for four hardy (read stupid) scooterists, John, Dave, Jolliff and me riding three Lambrettas and one Vespa PX to the new replacement for Scooterist Meltdown in Germany.
We’d head from Portsmouth, and ride across to Dover to catch the 11:30 am ferry, then ride to Ghent (Belgium), and stay the night. Finally heading to MadMoselle Scootacular on Friday.
As usual, the weather forecast was being monitored closely in the preceding days. By Tuesday, it was clear that waterproofs would definitely be needed.
Biblical
We met up and left Portsmouth at 6 am. The weather was horrendous, with wind, rain and dark roads, making for a very unpleasant ride. And this was supposed to be the easy part!
After riding in what can only be described as biblical weather, we arrived at Dover with time to spare. However, there was a problem. John had major issues with his scooter and, sadly, had to give up. One man down.
In better news, the ferry didn’t sink, and we headed off from Calais. The weather, whilst still pretty horrible, wasn’t a patch on what we suffered on the other side of the Channel, and after about four or five hours, we arrived at our overnight stop.
It’s wise to give yourself handy reminders if you’re not used to riding on the ‘wrong’ side of the road
Mind your head
We were off fairly early on Friday morning and had the first of our ‘slight issues’ soon after. Struggling through rain and road spray, I saw something large and black bounce past me. It wasn’t until the next fuel stop that we realised Dave’s end can had parted company with his exhaust and was making a break back to the ferry!
Fortunately, aside from being a little loud, it didn’t cause any problems, so we continued.
We got into Germany, where every driver then became Michael Schumacher (pre-ski trip, of course). The weather finally started to break; it was now just grey and bleak instead of grey, bleak and wet.
An uphill battle
As we rode through the German part of the Ardennes Forest, we began climbing hills and encountering fog, the hills steadily growing steeper… and then came our next hiccup. Crawling up a particularly steep hill, we made it to the top, only to realise I was at full throttle, doing about 40 mph, and was slowing down. Expletives followed as I was convinced I’d knackered the piston (as I did on my only trip to Scooterist Meltdown in 2016), so it was on to the hard shoulder with more swearing. I saw Jolliff and Dave pulling over, too. We were all convinced that we’d knackered our pistons until it slowly dawned on us that we were still going uphill! Not as steep, but definitely still on an incline. Oh, how we laughed…
About time too
Safe in the knowledge we weren’t going to be stuck on a German hill, we set off again with an incident-free last 60ish miles, finally coming off the motorway and riding up through the picturesque municipality of Leiwen. We arrived at our destination at about 5 pm. At which point the sun came out. The first time I’d seen it since Wednesday. We’d covered around 450 miles since leaving home.
A fresh start
First off, this is NOT Scooterist Meltdown Mk. 2, as The Spirit Of ‘84 Scooterists go to great lengths to point out. MadMoselle is definitely its own beast, with a different, more relaxed vibe and no underground bunkers.
Our Friday started with checking in, getting to our chalet and freshening up.
The chalets are self-contained flats, comfortable, clean, and most importantly, warm. They’re grouped around the main complex with just a short walk to it.
All-inclusive
Off to dinner, and it’s a great one, self-serve and all you can eat. This is one of the few similarities to Scooterist Meltdown: all-inclusive food and alcohol. I really don’t think the managers of these venues quite realise just how much alcohol scooterists can drink, especially when it’s free!
A great set up
Friday night was an absolute blast, two rooms of DJs, northern soul in one and alternative in the other and bars dotted all over the place.
Liquid Heaven
It was at one of these bars that I was introduced to my new favourite drink. Hazelnut vodka. Oh God, it’s heaven in spirit form. Imagine a liquid Ferrero Rocher, and you have hazelnut vodka. The only downside is that the next time I have Ferrero Rocher, I’ll expect to get hopelessly drunk.
The evening was spent bouncing between the bars, the DJs and mates we haven’t seen since last year. It was a great start to a brand-new rally.
A hearty breakfast
Saturday morning, there were a few woolly heads trudging round the breakfast bar. I was like a spring lamb ready to take on the world, but I decided to start with a good breakfast first, one step at a time, as they say.
After breakfast, I took a wander round the custom show and the parts fairs (there are two). One is a showcase for new trick parts, the other with those second-hand parts bins that you can often find treasure in, if you’re prepared to look.
German style
The custom show had some great scooters, and being so far from home, it featured scooters that were new and different from what I normally see.
VIDEO | Daytime at Mad Moselle
Enter The Hoff
There was a great cross section of scooters as well, ranging from unrestored scoots (the ‘Hoffman-Werke Rennstaffel’ Vespas being my favourite), brilliant custom scoots, and that German speciality, mega-motored Vespas. A great turnout for a new rally and well displayed, too.
A quick check of the dyno, then it was time for more food and off to the chalet for a short rest.
Budgie smugglers
One thing I didn’t manage to check out was the pool party, unfortunate for the readers, but fortunate for the participants, as the sight of me in budgie smugglers would’ve probably had whalers trying to harpoon me.
Rockabilly vibes
Saturday evening had live music from the Back Street Band, and they were really quite good. They have a bit of a rockabilly vibe to them, and they went down well. I suspect they have a bit of a following.
(Much) more hazelnut vodka was drunk, and I seem to have started something, as there were more and more people enjoying this nectar from the Gods, just as long as they leave enough for me.
It was another great night, and we still had another day to go.
No room
Sunday saw, as you’d expect, a lot of people heading home, but we were staying till Monday, so another day of fun. This was a completely different setup, with ‘culture’ involved. Spirit of ‘84 had organised a coach trip to Trier, the oldest city in Germany, a bit different from your usual shenanigans on a scooter rally, but why not?
OK, one problem, the coach was fully booked. Off on the scoots it is then. It was a scenic ride to Trier, and we absorbed the local culture and enjoyed some very good coffee and cake.
Chilled out
On Sunday evening, we had the meal and then the disco in the same room. Frankly, I was a bit dubious about this. Whilst it made sense to keep everyone in one place as the numbers had dropped, I couldn’t see how the DJ would work with everyone still at the tables.
I needn’t have worried; it worked brilliantly. The music was loud enough to enjoy and dance to, but not so loud that you couldn’t chat if you wanted. It turned out to be a perfect ending to a great weekend.
Monday morning: breakfast, then time to head home. A ride not without incident: Dave and Jolliff were dive-bombed by Peregrine Falcons while riding through the Ardennes. Then, I lost an exhaust nut, with a desperate search (fortunately successful) for a replacement on my PX.
We got home with stories to tell and a virgin rally under our belts. I’m glad we rode, though next time I might fly.
Main words and photos: Booga
Additional images and video, Marcus
Well done for riding over boys. I was with the other bunch of idiots who rode from the UK. As far as I could make out only 9 ridden scooters there (even counting the GTS!). F**cked stator plate, snapped exhaust and a holed piston between us made it a challenging ride but a great weekend and we all made it home safe & sound.