In 1964 in Brighton, England there was a Rumble between two factions of the youth culture of a country under rapid changes on many fronts. Mods VS Rockers! In simple motorcycle speak it was scooters vs motorbikes. In music speak it was Soul, Ska and Rand B vs the Rock and Rollers. Today in Seattle we see our city changing quickly as well. Most of the dynamics are quite different but in some ways there are similarities. For some, it's a burgeoning utopia and for others, it's just a challenge to pay the bills in an unrecognizable city. This is definitely nothing for us two wheelers to resolve with chains and stillettos. And all sides of the Seattle coin ride both Scooters and Motorcycles. So this "Limey" conflict that was captured so well in The Who's movie " Quadrophenia " is moot. So why do so many riders in American cities celebrate this iconic "Rumble" of the past? Well, because it is cool and fun to get together and unite on two wheels. Backfiremoto has always been about multiple factions of two-wheeled communities coming together under the love of Motorcycles and Moto-artistic expression. In Seattle, The Cretins MC kicks off the tribute with a ride and party THIS SATURDAY JUNE 10th.
What to expect ....... Scooters meet up at one place, Motorcycles at another .... Both take a short/medium ride that meets up at a third location. Then we ride together to the Cretins Clubhouse in Magnolia to hang out and party. If you can't make the ride just show up for the party. Traditional garb encouraged but not necessary at all. Everyone is welcome! Even Cars......
RIDE DETAILS-
5pm, Rockers Meetup at Drunky Two Shoes located at 9655 16th Ave SW, Seattle, Washington 98106. Kickstands up at 6pm.
5pm, Mods will meet up at The Blu Grouse located at 412 S Orcas St.
Group Ride leaves The Blu Grouse for the Clubhouse @ 7:30 pm.
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Well, It was a rustic Pacific Northwest  Spring opener as usual.  Planning the spring opener is always a gamble. Every year, we have to study the weather and wait as long as possible to decide whether to make a go of it in March or not.  The Groundhog in Pennsylvania doesn't usually help us out with the decision. The weather reports can often be wrong this time of year.  All we really need is a four-hour window of decent weather to draw out all the hibernating  PNW moto-folks.  Actually, over the past nine years, we have been extremely lucky in terms of weather.  We have only had a few rainy spring openers and maybe one with snow and hail.  In the past, we have postponed the date to April a few times. The April option always puts us on or around tax day. Which is a bummer.  And then there is the daylight factor. Waiting till April definitely helps with having more time to see. But, everyone is anxious to get their " Spring on ".  So in the past, if the weather looks bad,  we have made the March Spring Opener an informal and un-official  "meet and greet ".  That works too  , but the next month it might rain again as well. So, all in all, it is hard to win.  Or maybe we will either way.  Just about now  I can hear all of the " soggy bottoms / "I always ride in the rain" people saying," that is what rain gear is for!" ... And now I can hear that guy saying " Rain gear is for wussies!".  It doesn't matter where you stand on the matter ..... If you ride out to Backfire and it is too Dark , too rainy , too cold , and too windy to chill out and  walk around outside and mix it up with your friends and see the sweet bikes, then it's just not as good.  And that is why we try to pick the best date to have the spring Opener.  This time we were kind of lucky because we just had inclement weather meaning a few sprinkles and wind in Ballard. But, It was raining all over the area north and south of us.  So the turnout was pretty small, but as they say" the people who did show had a great time! ". Below, you will find a few highlight from that evening. ​

​There was definitely enough attendees to have a good time and see some interesting bikes. It was not a 500-600 person turn out like in the Summer, but a good time was had for sure

Nice BMW side car showed up. ​

​Nice ! Hey, put that down.....haha....

When in doubt, roll up on a classic Cafe Racer! ​

We even got a classic PNW rainbow for the occasion! ​