Persy Adler (left) won the 2011 edition of the Mad Bastard Scooter Rally. Congrats!
The organizers of the Mad Bastard Scooter Rally have announced that this year’s event will be the last.
The reason for the change is announced in a post on the rally’s website, which we’ve inserted below. BECO Motors, previously the organizers and sponsors of the rally, are no longer importing Kymco scooters to Canada. As Kymco was the rally’s title sponsor, this leaves the event without a significant portion of its funding.
As per the rally’s website, “The cost of the rally and lack of sponsorship makes it an incredibly costly event and much (scratch that) ALL of the time that we put into the event is completely voluntary. Putting together this rally is a two year affair, and though it is a labour of love, we have made the difficult decision to forego planning any future rallies at this time.”
So, that’s that—if you’ve always wanted to ride the MBSR, then you’d better get it done this year. Registration is supposed to open March 1, and details about the route and hotel HQ are supposed to be coming shortly.
Of course, longtime CMGers know the rally was started by CMG founder Rob Harris in 2004, when he and some deranged associates rode scooters all around Lake Ontario, taking 22 hours to complete the task, due to the woefully low speed of a Honda Ruckus. Editor ‘Arris put BECO Motors in charge of the rally in 2015, when he began focusing more closely on the Fundy Adventure Rally.
Although the rally has evolved a bit over the years, the main idea has been the same: 500ish km on step-throughs in 24 hours, while wearing a costume. The video below gives a good idea of what to expect:
See more details in BECO’s announcement below.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
​Happy New Year to everyone! We know that you have been patiently waiting for news about the 2019 Mad Bastard Scooter Rally, so we are writing this post with some news.
FIRST, THE GOOD
​We are working diligently behind the scenes with the hopes of opening registration on March 1st. We are so excited to bring the MBSR to the city of Peterborough and explore this part of Ontario on two wheels. In the coming weeks we will release further information about our hotel HQ, details about the weekend itself and pricing. So stay tuned!
THE BAD
​Although we love this rally with our entire heart and soul (and we know that you do too), we are sad to announce that this will be the last Mad Bastard Scooter Rally. As we/BECO Motors are no longer the importer for KYMCO in Canada, KYMCO is no longer the title sponsor of this event. The cost of the rally and lack of sponsorship makes it an incredibly costly event and much (scratch that) ALL of the time that we put into the event is completely voluntary. Putting together this rally is a two year affair, and though it is a labour of love, we have made the difficult decision to forego planning any future rallies at this time.
THE UGLY
​That’s you! (kidding). We couldn’t be more excited about MBSR2019 and are really hoping to see everyone come out for one last hurrah. All of our heart and soul will go into planning this amazing weekend and we are counting on you bringing all of your amazing energy and enthusiasm to this event that is so close to all of our hearts.
​So – start prepping those scooters, getting your teams together and planning your strategies (if you haven’t already) because the Mad Bastard Scooter Rally 2019 countdown has officially begun.
A more normalized rally for scooters may have had an apeal to more normalized scooter people.
The ” mad bastard ” logo seems to have insured failire of the event.
It was because of Mark Richardson’s article in the Star on the ’07 rally that i convinced my wife to let me sell my Focus and get a 150cc scooter for me to get around on.
I looked forward to every rally, managed to get my wife to join in the fun(last 3 rallies) and i will sorely miss the fun/madness.
A more normalized rally for scooters may have had an apeal to more normalized scooter people.
The ” mad bastard ” logo seems to have insured failire of the event.
Then you failed to see the tongue in cheek humor of the event. The logo also changes from rally to rally.
It was because of Mark Richardson’s article in the Star on the ’07 rally that i convinced my wife to let me sell my Focus and get a 150cc scooter for me to get around on.
I looked forward to every rally, managed to get my wife to join in the fun(last 3 rallies) and i will sorely miss the fun/madness.
And I’ll be there for this final run! Maybe with a whole CMG team. Looking forward to it!
I will enjoy meeting you again as well as your writers