Motorcycles and scooters belong to the same family of two-wheel vehicles, but scooters have a driver platform and they follow a step-through design. Scooters have smaller wheels than regular motorcycles and they are a lot lighter. Plus, scooters are a lot cheaper and easier to use as compared to cars and motorcycles. These are lots of other reasons that have made people use them extensively in crowded cities worldwide, as a viable alternative to public transportation or driving.

The first scooters were designed 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 was noticeable 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.

Scooters are designed for personal transportation, and a cylinder capacity between 50cc and 250cc is suitable for the purpose. Larger scooters with more powerful engines have also been manufactured in the West, 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 insurance, registration and licensing: the regulations corresponding to scooters are a lot more advantageous than for cars.

For many Europeans and Asians, scooters have become the most popular urban means to travel and commute because of the easy driving position, the low cost, and the possibility to get everywhere in time without having to worry about traffic. In fact, the market has seen an increase in the scooters sales over that of automobiles. This is justified 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. Hybrid scooters have also been designed over the last years, and they can be powered both by batteries and gas. The green alternative is a bit more expensive, but the costs are still low if we make a parallel with hybrid cars for instance.

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