Posts Tagged ‘small’
Scooters
Scooters are popular in cities and towns for traveling or commuting whether they are Tank scooters or Retro scooters.
Scooters are a smaller version of the motorcycle but with some special individual features such as an integrated platform for the driver’s feet, footrests and a special step-through. Motorcycles are heavier and normally have larger wheels. Plus, scooters are a lot cheaper and easier to use as compared to cars and motorcycles. These are lots of other reasons that have led to the extensive use of scooters in crowded urban areas where public transport and driving are a nightmare because of the traffic.
The first scooters were invented before World War I and they were part of the first motorcycle lines such as Lambretta and Vespa. In fact these models made the history of the vehicles we have today, and the first real progress became obvious during World War II when Lambretta and Vespa increased their popularity. Small wheels, level floorboards and reduced storage space were the features of these early scooters. The continuously variable transmissions were introduced in later years, and the four-stroke engines replaced the two-stroke gearbox unit.
Personal transportation has always been the main purpose of scooters, and a cylinder capacity between 50cc and 250cc is suitable for the purpose. There are producers that manufacture larger scooters with more powerful engines than these traditional categories, but they are not as popular as the small versions. Moreover it is very advantageous to use scooters because of the traffic conditions and the rest of the legal obligations they involve. Just think of licensing, registration and insurance: the regulations corresponding to scooters are a lot more advantageous than for cars.
For many Europeans and Asians, scooters are the most popular urban means of transportation because the low costs, the comfortable sitting position and the time saving are remarkable. In fact, while the sales of automobiles have decreased, those for scooters have gone up. This is explained by the fact that scooters involve a smaller investment than the amount needed for a car.
Besides the navigation through heavy traffic, scooters have another great quality: they require a smaller fuel consume as compared to a car, and they are considered more environment-friendly than other vehicles. Manufacturers have also designed hybrid scooters that work both on gas and on batteries, and in the coming years a powerful electric design is expected for release. The green alternative is a bit more expensive, but the costs are still low if we make a parallel with hybrid cars for instance.