Is the scooter scene in need of freshening?
We mention scooters more and more often in these days of expensive gasoline, because for the right person, they can save some money when it comes time to fill up (We've also created a new "On Two Wheels" category for these type of posts). But, I have heard from numerous people that they just hate the way that most scooters look. Some people like the racy looks of modern sportbikes, some people like the retro designs from Italy, such as the Vespa. Of course, some people just don't care, as long as it's cheap and reliable.
For those of you who do care what your automatic transmission'ed four-stroke scooting machine looks like, why not take a moment to check on the sketches drawn up by an Italian man named Oberdan Bezzi at his scooter design blog, which is aptly named "Scooter Design". If your tastes lean more towards motorcycles and shifting for yourself, you can also check out his other site: "Motosketches", which we mentioned at Autoblog. I don't read Italian, so I just like to look at the pretty pictures. You?
[Source: Scooter Design via Motorcycle News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Harry 10:35AM (6/02/2007)
IMO - the two-wheeler in the picture is a motorcycle with an automatic transmission. Least that's what it looks like to me.
By my way of thinking - a scooter has SOME kind of step thru design that enables anyone to mount and dismount from the machine with a minimum of fuss and no loss of modesty for women wearing skirts.
Reply
mike 9:22AM (6/04/2007)
Man, those Yamaha examples look killer. The idea of a scoot designed like that with a 600cc engine would be excellent and go a long way to dispelling the scooter image issues. I ride a Vento Pantera GT5 (150cc) and there is just no comparison to the ease of using this to a full blown motorcycle. Of course since it's got a top speed of only 60mph, I can't take it on the interstate. Problem is, most of the larger engined scoots are really bland looking.
-Mike
Reply