April 25th, 2005
All About the Scooter
If you know anything about me, it’s that I love scooters. I drive this to work each day, and also own one of these, and I wrote a column about scooters called “Why Geeks Love Scooters” for ZDNet that was so popular it was posted in the break room at Apple, I was told.
Today I found a great history of the scooter in of course, the geeky web magazine/website, Gizmag. Here’s a little about the Vespa and then you can click over and read the whole history. Great piece!
“The scooter was invented in 1947 as a low cost alternative to the automobile in war-ravaged Europe – it was designed as transport for the masses and it caught on so quickly that it became one of the great transport phenomena to sweep the world in the 20th century. The Vespa (which means “wasp” in Italian) was the result of Enrico Piaggio’s determination to create a viable alternative to the automobile for the masses. As the war drew to a close, Enrico studied every possible solution to get production in his plants going again.
“A motor scooter was produced, based on a small motorcycle made for parachutists. The prototype, known as the MP 5, was nicknamed “Paperino” (the Italian name for Donald Duck) because of its strange shape, but Enrico Piaggio did not like it, and he asked Corradino D’Ascanio to redesign it.
“But the aeronautical designer did not like motorcycles. He found them uncomfortable and bulky, with wheels that were difficult to change after a puncture. Worse still, the drive chain made them dirty. However, his aeronautical experience found the answer to every problem. To eliminate the chain he imagined a vehicle with a stress-bearing body and direct mesh; to make it easier to ride, he put the gear lever on the handlebar; to make tyre changing easier he designed not a fork, but a supporting arm similar to an aircraft carriage. Finally, he designed a body that would protect the driver so that he would not get dirty or disheveled. Decades before the spread of ergonomic studies, the riding position of the Vespa was designed to let you sit comfortably and safely, not balanced dangerously as on a high-wheel motorcycle.”
Read the Complete History
Read Alice’s Column, “Why Geeks Love Scooters”
degustibus says:
Makes you one of the vesparati……..
April 25th, 2005 at 11:34 pm
Grey Hodge says:
“1. Techies love efficiency
… Techies are obsessed with leaving for any timed appointment as close to the last minute as technically possible without being late.”
You read my mind perfectly.
April 26th, 2005 at 3:05 am
vance says:
now that you’ve got your training wheels outt the way, may be time to step up to some “big iron”. Harley Sportster 1200 comes to mind for you. Give it a try, you’ll love the ride.
April 26th, 2005 at 7:47 am
Al says:
I seem to recall something you mentioned about living in the San Francisco area. Do you have any problems on the hills with the smaller ones?
April 26th, 2005 at 8:35 am
Alice says:
My first scooter was a Honday Elite 80 (still have it, in fact)and I have to say I have never had a problem on the hills. The only thing I noticed with an 80cc engine is that on one of those monster stright-up-and-down hills, the scooter could only do about 30mph max and you had to get a good running start to even hit that speed. If you got stopped on a hill, forget it, it was like being on one of those elderly mobility devices, the speed woudl be so slow!
On my Honda Helix which is a 240, I can accelerate right up anything and keep increasing speed which is like sitting on a rocket after my tiny Honda Elite. The Scarbeo also has a tiny engine, but because it is a two stroke engine, it accelrated much faster and could handle hills better as well.
And yes, I considered a “real” bike, which are actually safer to drive. But the problem in SF, is that most neighborhoods have a stop sign at every corner, making driving a manual shift car or bike very tedious. I was always a manual transmission girl with my cars, but the wear and tear on the endless stop signs and on the hills made it no fun to drive and hard on the clutch.
Which brings me to my main questions I have always wanted to ask: why don’t they make automatic motorcycles? (And I do not consider my Helix or the big Scarabeo in that class, even though the DMV does.) I know it’s supposed to be “un-manly” or something but most men drive automatic cars, why make a poor cycle owner in a city do the clutch and shift thing at every block? If any urban biker can answer that one, I would love to know.
Care even have those hybrid shifters now where you can run in automatic mode or “shift” into lower gears, so why not create that option for bikes too if you don’t want to lose the highway aspect of shifting into turns and so on?
April 26th, 2005 at 10:36 am
Stephen says:
Good question on automatic motorcycles. Take a look at the Honda Pacific Coast and you will see the perfect urban motorcycle. 800cc and a ton of storage in it. It still sells well in Europe but was dropped in America for low testosterone level. Scooters and motorcycles have different drive systems. The solution could be to make motorcycle sized scooters. With gas prices sky high now would be perfect for marketing them.
April 27th, 2005 at 3:50 am
Alice says:
I get 100 miles to the gallon on my smaller scooters and about 80 mpg on my Helix. Can’t beat that these days!
April 27th, 2005 at 10:08 am
vance says:
I agree with you completely on using the small scooter for your daily riding in “urban” areas. It’s definitely the way to go! Certainly hope the idea catches on. More bike traffic is definitely a good thing for the environment and for having more fun
very therauputic(sp?) 
)
You can still get your “real” bike. Just save it for those afterwork and weekend rides
April 28th, 2005 at 8:06 am
Alice says:
That’s a good point. I could get a real bike and ride it outside the city, but then I woudl have a “real” vehicle addiction problem, with a car and three scooters already.
April 28th, 2005 at 10:10 am
Josh Moo says:
Just curious. Asides the mandatory helmet, do you wear any other protective gear when riding your Helix?
I recently purchased a Reflex for my SJ/Santa Clara commute. My route hits freeway speeds so I wear a full riding suit. I’m guessing that in SF there is less of a chance of hitting such speeds; thus the gear may not be as necessary.
April 29th, 2005 at 6:38 pm
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
Hydrogen-Powered Motorcycles Just Around the Corner
I love bikes. (Scooters if you know me well.) But heres step forward from USA Today: the hydrogen powered motorcycle. Zoom zoom. “While attention has been focused on developing pollution-free hydrogen-powered cars, Intelligent Energy and some others …
June 15th, 2005 at 10:15 pm
GregorSF says:
I run my busines from the back of my Scarabeo 500. It’s a bit cumbersome in San Francisco, though you can park anywhere. Out of town there’s nowhere you can’t go. It was perfect on a trip through Big Sur (the Central California coast). At one point we joined a bunch of Harley’s. They didn’t mind us riding along since we effortlessly kept up.
The Scarabeo 500 is definitely an automatic motorcycle, though I would prefer shifting.
Never drove faster than 85MPH, about 75MPG.
June 16th, 2005 at 12:48 pm
Alice says:
Sweet. I have the Scarabeo 80, and lusted after the 500.
June 16th, 2005 at 12:51 pm
Justin says:
I ride a Vespa Rally 200 nearly every day here in Eugene, Oregon. Nevermind the rain, that’s what parkas are for. Paying roughly $2.50 for a full tank of premium can’t be beat, and a quart of synthetic two-stroke oil runs about $8.00 and will last a month or two, depending on your riding habits. If you don’t mind taking back roads, you can get anywhere on the little thing, and scooters in the 200cc range can easily make 60mph (not much faster, tho…) With the right modifications and a little hard cash, an older Vespa can make 70~80mph, although 10 inch wheels aren’t particularly safe at that speed. Plus, you can’t beat the retro styling.
June 16th, 2005 at 1:05 pm
Barron says:
I love the look of your Aprilia Scarabeo. It’s beautiful. I have a 1980 Honda C70, which is similar. It’s a neat bike because it is 3-speed, plus neutral, and although you manual shift like a motorcycle, the clutch is an automatic centrifugal type. Just shift and twist. I think our bikes look about the same size too. I just wish they still sold the C70 here in the states… they sell it just about everywhere else:
http://world.honda.com/news/2002/2021217.html
And like a proud papa, here is a pic of my baby!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barron/13450591/in/set-253281/
June 17th, 2005 at 2:31 pm
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
Calling all Bikers: Draxtar Chinese Aircraft Pilot Helmet
If you know anything about me, you know I love scooters almost as much as I love technology and gadgets. A loyal bike riding reader name M Tate (who goes by the motto “There’s nothing like the smell of burnt traffic in the morning”) sent me info on …
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January 24th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
G. says:
Honda did make an automatic motorcycle, the Hondamatic, in the late seventies, possibly into the eighties. The Cb750A and also a 500 or 550. If you scan ebay enough you can probably pick one up for under three grand. Used a hydraulic torque converter and a two speed transmission otherwise an ordinary Honda m/c. Victory cycles i.e. Polaris, has some thing similar in the works based on an 800cc snowmobile engine and belt type torque converter, though it’s only a concept currently.
March 15th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
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August 1st, 2006 at 8:51 am
james says:
How the %^&& can this guy get the mpg he quotes! Must be doing one mile an hour. It’s impossible for a 500cc scooter stock, to get 75 miles to the Gallon of fuel.
James
GregorSF says:
I run my busines from the back of my Scarabeo 500. It’s a bit cumbersome in San Francisco, though you can park anywhere. Out of town there’s nowhere you can’t go. It was perfect on a trip through Big Sur (the Central California coast). At one point we joined a bunch of Harley’s. They didn’t mind us riding along since we effortlessly kept up.
The Scarabeo 500 is definitely an automatic motorcycle, though I would prefer shifting.
Never drove faster than 85MPH, about 75MPG.
June 16th, 2005 at 12:48 pm
March 21st, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Pam says:
Do you need a motorcycle license for an 80cc scooter?
July 16th, 2007 at 7:30 am