Club History

The Coast Riders began as the Greater Vancouver Chapter of Virago Owners Club in February 1992. We established our pattern of group rides, regular monthly meetings (more social than business), and social events such as summer barbecues.

By spring of 1995, our membership was over 50 and we were one of the largest VOC chapters in North America. At that point we adopted the name of "Coast Riders" for our chapter to give ourselves a distinct identity.

In 1995 the Coast Riders hosted the first Pacific North-West Regional Rally at Manning Park Resort in Southern BC. It was a huge success with 65 riders and passengers from all over Western Canada and the United States attending the weekend event.

A tradition had begun, and subsequent rallies have been held in Merritt, Princeton, Oliver, Winthrop WA, and Enderby BC. Our summer rally is an opportunity to explore new roads, and swim, eat and drink with friends old and new. Visit the Rally page for information on the next summer rally.

Yamaha discontinued production of the Virago in 1999 (with the exception of the 250). Since then, many of our Virago owners have moved to different bikes. The Coast Riders has always been an open club, welcoming all riders on all bikes.

In 2003, we realized that only about 50% of our members rode a Virago. The Coast Riders felt that we had the infrastructure in place to operate as an independent club. Therefore, on January 1, 2004 we dropped our affiliation with the VOC and are now registered as the Coast Riders Motorcycle Club.

The Coast Riders today is still primarily a cruiser style club, with a few touring bikes thrown in. We are primarily a "Riding" club, with several of our members riding many kilometers each year.

Through April to October, there are regular Sunday group rides, occasional dinner rides, day trips to special events, longer day rides of several hundred kilometers, weekend overnight trips, and tours lasting several days and thousands of kilometers.

The highlight of each riding season is our annual four-day rally in July. Check out details of our current activities in the "Calendar" section of this web page.

Coast Riders provide support to new riders, share technical advice, and regularly discuss riding techniques and motorcycle safety. Check out the Club’s Group Riding Guidelines. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Coast Riders are sociable people with a variety of interests from all walks of life. We share our interest in the motorcycle at social events including a couple of club barbecues each year and our riding season close-out dinner and dance in November.

Guests are welcomed to check us out socially at a monthly meeting, or on a group ride.

Rides are listed on the "Calendar", or you can check the message on our Hot Line
604 623-5169 for last minute changes. Any questions can be addressed to: info@coastriders.ca