Heinkel Tourist This is now
Raised in Bradford, a short hop from the legendary Lens of Shipley scooter shop, Riki was fascinated by scooters from an early age. “I’d watch the lads riding over to Lens, wearing RAF coats and open face helmets with road sweeper mudflaps and smart scooters,” he began. “Everything about the look appealed to me.” By the late 1970s, Riki was a confirmed Mod. “My family didn’t know what to make of it. In their minds scooters and Ska music weren’t things that Asian kids got into.” Following a few brushes with the law, nothing more serious than the consequences of riding when too young to hold a licence, Riki’s family had enough. “My sister had moved to Glasgow, and it was decided that I’d follow her. The idea was that it would keep me out of trouble. I soon met the Glasgow Globetrotters SC, if anything it got worse!”
It wasn’t long before Riki had ditched the
