| The first patents for scooters go back as far as 1921. | | | | very strong and powerful versions and were the first |
| The Razor scooter was later developed by Gino Tsai | | | | to install electric starters. These larger versions were |
| in Shanghai, Taiwan and became an instant hit with the | | | | great for traveling, touring and even racing, but were |
| public. It didn't take long for motor scooter popularity to | | | | not as popular as the smaller, cheaper, more efficient |
| expand all over the globe. | | | | models used for traveling shorter distances around |
| Even before 1950 there were as many as 110,000 | | | | town. |
| scooters on the road in Italy alone. It has been just a | | | | Vespa began marketing a couple of very popular gas |
| little over 50 years since the Vespa-Douglas | | | | powered scooters from Piaggio, the GS 125cc and the |
| Corporation in the UK sold their first gas scooters. The | | | | GS 150cc. These were improved versions of the |
| Douglas corporation was on the verge of bankruptcy | | | | earlier models for several reasons. The biggest reason |
| when they first began selling their gas scooters. It was | | | | is probably because the heavy gear mechanism rods |
| a big hit at the 1950 Motorcycle Show and saved the | | | | were replaced by smaller and lighter cables. |
| company from possible financial ruin. | | | | France's Roussey Scooters tried to one-up the Italian |
| From 1950 to 1958 Vespa sold over 125,000 of their | | | | competition by coming out with a 175cc model. These |
| gas powered scooters in the UK. Why the great | | | | were very nice vehicles and included the first |
| success? During this period the European countries | | | | water-cooled engines along with other new features, |
| didn't have a great deal of money and there was not | | | | but because it had a pull-start it could not compete |
| much gas available to the public. Due to the scarcity of | | | | with the newer models from Italy that were already |
| gasoline and the high gas mileage of the gas motor | | | | offering versions with electric starts. |
| scooter it's popularity quickly escalated. | | | | As these wonderful vehicles have evolved over the |
| It didn't take long for the Italian models (the Piaggio | | | | years they have become increasingly more popular all |
| from Vespa and the Lambretta from Innocenti) to | | | | over the world. Today they are everywhere. They are |
| branch out to other countries. In France they became | | | | cheap to purchase, economical to operate, and are |
| so popular the French tried to get in on the boom by | | | | very handy and functional. These are not toys and are |
| manufacturing their own. By the early to mid 1950s the | | | | genuinely a lot of fun to ride. There are electric, gas |
| sale of gas scooters climbed to about 1 million a year | | | | powered, foldable, mobility and utility scooters. |
| in France alone. | | | | The electric types are often used by kids and teens, |
| Other countries wanted to profit from the newest | | | | but are also popular with the elderly and handicapped. |
| craze and tried to climb on the band wagon. While | | | | Models for the handicapped are usually called mobility |
| some were successful others were not. Germany | | | | scooters. Folding varieties can be folded up and |
| began to manufacture larger touring models, but this | | | | conveniently stored under desks, in closets or in other |
| did not satisfy the public in the way the smaller, | | | | tiny areas and utility types are used for many different |
| cheaper and more fuel-efficient models from Italy and | | | | purposes. They are more popular than go karts, mini |
| France did. These smaller models were extremely | | | | bikes or go carts. Scooters, sometimes called mopeds |
| popular in the European market. | | | | or go peds, are very functional, convenient and are |
| Tourist Scooters Manufacturers in Germany built some | | | | here to stay. |