A social bunch
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Maxitag History
Trip through Glasshouse Mtns
Ivan, Barry, Smoko
Maxitag was formed by foundation member Bob Venn, affectionately known to all "Taggers" as Smoko Bob.
"The original start up of this group of riders goes back to 2002 when I (Smoko Bob) went on my first group ride on my 50cc Bug to Straddie for the weekend on a ride organised by Joe from Scootopia.  Judy M was also on that 11th May weekend ride.
coffee-fix"By the following weekend I had upgraded to a 250cc Yamaha – a maxi – and eagerly awaited the next outing.  On 6th Sept 2002 a group of 2 or 3 dozen riders did a ride through Samford/Dayboro/Petrie/Home and included a number of maxi riders – Carol and John from Redcliffe, Judy, and Frank.  Carol, John, Frank and I kept in touch and rode up to The Montville Coffee Pot on a fairly regular basis until the end of 2002.
"During 2003/2004 we spread our wings and found new and interesting destinations and circuits.  Rides were organised by phoning around as there were not many of us.  Our group slowly grew to more than a dozen, with 5 to 8 riders on each outing.  To recruit new members, I used to chase down and pull over maxi riders when I saw them in traffic.
"I knew one rider passed near my house south bound on Lutwyche Rd early in the mornings.  We had been passing each other for weeks in opposite directions, exchanging bikie nods as we headed to early morning work shifts.  I waited in ambush for a couple of mornings and finally lit off after him.
"As a new member Ivan became invaluable as he had vast knowledge of places and destinations.  It became a bit embarrassing, because I chased him down on two separate future occasions.
"Barry E was also destined to be a member of our group of riders – Joe suggested I contact him, then I came across him a couple of times at the local shopping centre.  It was Barry who became fascinated in 2004 with the idea of forming a club.  My determined reply was "No thanks!"  In an effort to satisfy his yearning I bought him his own tee shirt and baseball cap – MAXI SCOOT TAG TEAM...  But no – it had to be real club status.
"I relented and in October 2004 with the help of Admin Matt ( who lived 2 states away and had no direct interest in maxi scoots) set up a web page on the Vicnet Community Website.  (State Library of Victoria)  As a group we did not have to have the ties of official club status with meetings, minutes, financial statements etc.
"Eventually we discarded our old name "Moreton Area Maxi Riders" as it was a bit of a mouthful and restricted our intended area of interest (Australia, if not the world).  But we were bewildered as to what to call ourselves in the future.
Maxitag Logo"An English magazine of the time "TAG" (Twist & Go) prompted part of the name and when added to Maxi the name "Maxitag" was created.  This was in July 2005 as I drafted a reply to a request by a local newspaper doing an article on the upsurge of interest in scooters (Sadly, the article wasn't printed).
"After 9 months on Vicnet, the group needed greater flexibility and a more functional gallery.  Using the new name Maxitag, Admin Matt developed a new website and in August 2005 Maxitag was officially launched."

Grateful acknowledgement is given to Matt – Smoko's son – for his efforts in establishing the Vicnet site, and later for creating a Maxitag site.  After several years of managing the site, family commitments claimed his time and Matt relinquished his role as administrator.  Thank you Matt for your generous contribution to Maxitag.

2007:  With Matt's resignation, site management became the responsibility of the technologically skilled within the Maxitag membership ranks – and so Maxitag had a new management team.
Thanks Team – many hands make light work.
The business of maintaining the Maxitag site settled into an easy routine and the look and feel of the site and the forum changed and evolved to better suit the needs of scooter & bike riders.
2008:  Animated icons and smilies were created: New topic headings added: Addition of extra thread moderators: PM's enabled: Experimented with online chat: Disclaimer added: Notes on ride ettiquette added.
2009:  News header established: Effective block to spammers: Scooter Icons added to Avatars (according to no. of messages posted): Admin icons added: Implemented a policy of alternating north-side, west-side, and south-side rides on successive months wherever possible: Membership increased, particularly with Brisbane south-side residents: growth of UHF radio use by Taggers: Brisbane-based ride numbers increased, and convoys of up to 20 bikes became common.
2010:  Some Brisbane-based rides hit the 30-bike milestone!  Log-in forum requirements put in place.
2011:  New ISP internet host: Noosa-based Scooter Style became the main Maxitag sponsor.  Forum traffic increased with the introduction of 'Photo-Tag' and 'Where is it?' threads.
T-shirts, Plate FramesLogos: In the early years, shirts and number plate frames featuring the Maxitag name were organised and made available to Taggers.  Taggers still proudly wear the shirts and purchase the frames for their bikes.
Patch LogoDuring 2009, after much online discussion, the admin team designed and produced a patch logo which now adorns Tagger caps, and jackets.
The logo was combined with the initial wording used on the shirts, frames, and site – Maxitag Scooter Tourers – to create a banner which is displayed on significant Maxitag rides.
Rides:  Maxitag activities became more inclusive than they had been previously, appealing to a wider spectrum of members, from a wider spread of localities, riding a variety of scooters and bikes.
Rides have become more varied in both the duration and the destination – growing from the original short day rides held either midweek or on the weekend.  Planning (often including a posted map of the planned ride route) and leading was undertaken by willing members, with a ride report posted following the outing.
As the number of maxi scooter tourers increased so did the variety of rides including:
  •  short day rides
  •  longer day rides
  •  "moonlight" rides
  •  rides with overnight stays
  •  scooter rallies
  •  scooter musters
  •  road trips
  •  feature rides eg curry run; pizza run
Recruiting members:  In their travels Taggers were noticing more and more Maxi scooters.  To promote the Maxitag forum and its benefits the admin team developed  business  cards that members were able to distribute to other maxi scooter riders, (sometimes via their scoot in a carpark) or add to bulletin boards in popular rider haunts.