The first patents for scooters go back as far as 1921. The Razor scooter was later developed by Gino Tsai in Shanghai, Taiwan and became an instant hit with the public. It didn’t take long for motor scooter popularity to expand all over the globe.
Even before 1950 there were as many as 110,000 scooters on the road in Italy alone. It has been just a little over 50 years since the Vespa-Douglas Corporation in the UK sold their first gas scooters. The Douglas corporation was on the verge of bankruptcy when they first began selling their gas scooters. It was a big hit at the 1950 Motorcycle Show and saved the company from possible financial ruin.
From 1950 to 1958 Vespa sold over 125,000 of their gas powered scooters in the UK. Why the great success? During this period the European countries didn’t have a great deal of money and there was not much gas available to the public. Due to the scarcity of gasoline and the high gas mileage of the gas motor scooter it’s popularity quickly escalated.
It didn’t take long for the Italian models (the Piaggio from Vespa and the Lambretta from Innocenti) to branch out to other countries. In France they became so popular the French tried to get in on the boom by manufacturing their own. By the early to mid 1950s the sale of gas scooters climbed to about 1 million a year in France alone.
Other countries wanted to profit from the newest craze and tried to climb on the band wagon. While some were successful others were not. Germany began to manufacture larger touring models, but this did not satisfy the public in the way the smaller, cheaper and more fuel-efficient models from Italy and France did. These smaller models were extremely popular in the European market.
Tourist Scooters Manufacturers in Germany built some very strong and powerful versions and were the first to install electric starters. These larger versions were great for traveling, touring and even racing, but were not as popular as the smaller, cheaper, more efficient models used for traveling shorter distances around town.
Vespa began marketing a couple of very popular gas powered scooters from Piaggio, the GS 125cc and the GS 150cc. These were improved versions of the earlier models for several reasons. The biggest reason is probably because the heavy gear mechanism rods were replaced by smaller and lighter cables.
France’s Roussey Scooters tried to one-up the Italian competition by coming out with a 175cc model. These were very nice vehicles and included the first water-cooled engines along with other new features, but because it had a pull-start it could not compete with the newer models from Italy that were already offering versions with electric starts.
As these wonderful vehicles have evolved over the years they have become increasingly more popular all over the world. Today they are everywhere. They are cheap to purchase, economical to operate, and are very handy and functional. These are not toys and are genuinely a lot of fun to ride. There are electric, gas powered, foldable, mobility and utility scooters.
The electric types are often used by kids and teens, but are also popular with the elderly and handicapped. Models for the handicapped are usually called mobility scooters. Folding varieties can be folded up and conveniently stored under desks, in closets or in other tiny areas and utility types are used for many different purposes. They are more popular than go karts, mini bikes or go carts. Scooters, sometimes called mopeds or go peds, are very functional, convenient and are here to stay.
J Larry Alan is a freelance author providing information about a variety of scooter topics including <a href="http://www.my-gas-scooters.com">gas scooters</a>, <a href="http://www.my-gas-scooters.com/gaspoweredscooters.html">gas powered scooters</a> and <a href="http://www.my-gas-scooters.com/gasmotorscooters.html">motor scooters</a>.
Why to use an electric bicycle?
The electric bicycle is the most convenient and affordable mode of transportation available today. You may not find it convenient to travel to a particular place by electric bicycle, but at the same time you may not find it convenient to go to some places by your car too. It is sometimes very hard to drive your car to the nearby market place and hunt for a parking space to get a small thing like a milk bottle or say a bread packet. Instead, you or your son/daughter could go by the electric bicycle and get such thing and come back within less than the time it would take you to return home by your car. The electric bicycle can be used for local errands instead of using your car for which. Some people even use electric bicycle to go to work and the students enjoying riding to the college, to the tennis court. You and your children can even go for a joy ride around town or parks. An electric bicycle can really do most of your trips as well as or even faster than your car. If you calculate the cost of the fuel and time you spend doing small errands on daily basis, except going on long drive for a picnic during the week-ends, you will surely come to the conclusion that the electric bicycles are cheaper, convenient, reliable and faster than your car because the electric bicycles requires less space to store and can pass through between two parallel cars during the traffic jams. Moreover it runs on a battery which has to be charged after about 60-70 kms. You may get a used car for $500 to $1000, but then your would need regular check-up, oil changing and regular service. Whereas the electric bicycles would cost you for less than the six months amount you spend on the maintenance of your car. There is either no or very less maintenance cost of $5 worth of electricity a year for the electric bicycle. Electric bicycles are the best options for your car, bus or train ride for all those shorter distance commutes. Normally an electric bicycles travel at around 25-30 kmph which is much better than walking and traveling by car in bumper to bumper moving traffic. The electric bicycles are now available worldwide through the internet. You can visit the website www.bernsonev.com where you can find the details of electric bicycles. Also you can check various designs, styles and colours and buy one from Bernsonev E.V. remaining at home and get the home delivery of the electric bicycle.
How to Buy a Pocket Bike
A pocket bike is getting to be more and more popular for people. With so many of the manufactures bringing new ideas to the bike trend, there are so many bikes to choose from to fit your style. When you are buying a pocket bike, you have to do a little research before you agree on one certain kind. One of the most important facts about buying a pocket bike is to find a high quality product at a great price. You want to get the most for your money and have a bike that will last a long time for anyone to have. There are gas and electric pocket bikes to choose from. You need to determine what style and brand that you want and then do the shopping to find the best prices around. Do not let anyone pick your pocket bike for you. This is something that you want to use and you should pick the right one for you. You want to check how powerful the bike is going to be. If the bike is for you or another adult, then the more horse power the better. If it is for a child, then you may want to tone it down a little bit more for safety. Think about how heavy the rider is going to be and where they will be riding it. The atmosphere is so important to the size and the kind that you decide on. Make sure that the bike is made from durable materials and put together in sturdy way. You should inspect the bike thoroughly so that you do miss any imperfections or mistakes. You want your ride to be as safe as possible. You should also check the store where you are buying he pocket bike. Think about their creditability and how safe it is. If you are buying online, you should do a lot of research on the company to make sure that you are buying from a store that has a good reputation. Also check the return policy of the store where are buying the pocket bike. Make sure that you can return the pocket bike if it does not meet your expectations. You should ask about this policy before you decide to purchase the bike. Understand all of the fees that you may be responsible for if you do decide to return the bike. Check to make sure that you are allowed to ride the pocket bikes in your area. Do this before you purchase your bike because it may not be legal for you to ride your pocket bike and you will not be able to return it later for this reason. You will have to decide on the bike that you want. Do not buy one just because it is the cheapest one for you. You should make sure that you are happy with the bike so that you can enjoy as much time on the pocket bike as possible. This is your investment and you will be the only one to determine the one that you want. Once you choose the perfect pocket bike for you, you will have nothing but fun riding it.
Copyright 2006 - Ivar Rudi. Ivar suggests you find great market for less by shopping online today. For more information and resources about this subject check out: http://www.pocketbikes-guide.com/ and also: http://www.mini-chopper.org/
Reviews on used motorcycle parts Posted By : Travis Edwards
It is only when your motorcycle is damaged that you might be thinking of the cost of repair. This will put you in trouble when you are in immediate need of motorcycle parts. At this point, you can go for used motorcycle parts. They are easily available and will be extremely cheap that you can afford easily.
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