Scooter (motorcycle)
The global popularity of motor scooters dates from the post-World War II introductions of the Vespa and Lambretta models in Italy.
Scooters are popular for personal transportation partly due to being more affordable, easier to operate, and more convenient to park and store than a car.
[2] The US Department of Transportation defines a scooter as a motorcycle that has a platform for the operator's feet or has integrated footrests and has a step-through architecture.
For all legal purposes in the United States of America, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends using the term motorcycle for all of these vehicles.
Studies have found that two-stroke 50 cc mopeds, with and without catalytic converters, emit ten to thirty times more hydrocarbons and particulate emissions than the outdated Euro 3 automobile standards.
[6][7] In the same study, four-stroke mopeds, with and without catalytic converters, emitted three to eight times more hydrocarbons and particulate emissions than the Euro 3 automobile standards.
The British - ABC Motors Skootamota, the Kenilworth, and the Reynolds Runabout debuted in 1919, with Gloucestershire Aircraft Company following with its Unibus in 1920.
[21][24] The reputation of first-generation scooters was damaged by a glut of unstable machines with flexible frames,[21][25] and more substantial examples like the Reynolds Runabout and the Unibus were too expensive to be competitive.
[33] Small numbers of the 165 cc (10.1 cu in) Harley-Davidson Topper scooter were produced from 1960 to 1965 using the engine from their line of light motorcycles based on the DKW RT 125.
Inspired by Powell scooters used by American servicemen, the S1 was designed to use surplus military parts, including the tailwheel of a Nakajima bomber, re-purposed as the front wheel of the S1.
The smaller wheels and shorter wheelbase provide improved maneuverability through narrow streets and congested traffic.
Heinkel stayed in business by making bicycles and mopeds,[47] while Messerschmitt made sewing machines and automobile parts.
It provided good weather protection with a full fairing, and the front wheel turned under a fixed nose extension.
Other German scooters made by motorcycle manufacturers included the DKW Hobby, the Dürkopp Diana, and the TWN Contessa.
In Eastern Bloc countries scooters also became popular in the second half of 1950s, but their production was a result of planned economy rather than market competition.
Since the 1980s Japan, and latterly China and Taiwan, have become world leaders in the mass production of plastic bodied scooters,[59] most often with "twist-and-go" type transmissions (where gear selection and clutch operation are fully automatic).
Advertising campaigns in the USA featured popular stars like Michael Jackson (Suzuki), and Grace Jones and Lou Reed (Honda),[60] and sales of Japanese scooters peaked there in the 1980s.
Some of these scooters have comfort features such as an alarm, start button, radio, windshield, heated hand grips and full instrumentation (including clock or outside temperature gauge).
[66][67][68] During World War II, Cushman made the Model 39, a three-wheeled utility scooter with a large storage bin between the front wheels.
This arrangement improves handling by allowing bigger wheels and less unsprung weight, also tending to move the centre of gravity forwards.
A twenty-first century example of variance from the typical scooter layout is the Suzuki Choinori, which had both its engine and its rear axle rigidly bolted to its frame.
Motor scooters are very popular in Asia, particularly in countries such as India, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan and Taiwan where there is local manufacturing.
[75] Parking, storage, and traffic issues in crowded cities, along with the easy driving position make them a popular form of urban transportation.
[citation needed] In Taiwan, road infrastructure has been built specifically with two wheelers in mind, with separate lanes and intersection turn boxes.
The extensive range of cycle tracks in the Netherlands extends into parts of Belgium and Germany and is open to all small powered two-wheelers.
[80] A common reference for the glamorous image of scooters is Roman Holiday, a 1953 romantic comedy in which Gregory Peck carries Audrey Hepburn around Rome on a Vespa.
For young mods, Italian scooters were the "embodiment of continental style and a way to escape the working-class row houses of their upbringing".
[84] They customized their scooters by painting them in "two-tone and candyflake and overaccessorized [them] with luggage racks, crash bars, and scores of mirrors and fog lights",[84] and they often put their names on the small windscreen.
Engine side panels and front bumpers were taken to local electroplating workshops and plated with highly reflective chrome.
The cover of The Who's album Quadrophenia, which includes themes related to mods and rockers, depicts a young man on a Vespa GS with four mirrors attached.
