A Brief History
The origins of the scooter date back to the late nineteenth century, although definitions of such depend often on opinion rather than fact.
Anyway, in our opinion!... it all began with the the invention that revolutionised the 20th century – the internal combustion engine. Mount one of these on a bicycle and presto, you have a moped (MOtor+PEDals), the precursor of all motorcycles. The pedals were omnipresent on all, used both as a starter device and as emergency fallback. Yet, as engine sizes got bigger and bigger, it looked as if the half-bicycle-half motorcycle was the runt in the litter that progress would leave behind.
The first successful production two-wheeler was the Hildebrand & Wolfmueller, patented in Munich in 1894. It had a step-through frame, with its fuel tank mounted on the downtube. The engine was a parallel twin, mounted low on the frame, with its cylinders going fore-and-aft. It was water-cooled and had a radiator built into the top of the rear fender. The bike became the first powered two wheel vehicle to be offered to the public on a production basis and was crucial in its move away from the foot pedal as the main source of engine power.
Although commercially the bike was not a massive money spinner, it paved the way for a new generation of affordable and practical transport.
After WWI, with Europe's map completely redrawn, the short period until the Great Depression of the '30s was not conducive to the developemnt of the moped. While motorcycle manufacturing boomed, largely fuelled by the rapid re-armament needs on all sides, it seemed that the low-cubic, low-speed scooter would become extinct forever. It wasn't until the end of WW2 that it really came into its own.
After the war ended in Europe, the demand for simple and economical (cheap and affordable), means of transportation skyrocketed. Nobody could afford a car, or even a motorcycle. Most factories were in ruins anyway. In Southern European countries, like Italy and France, people got around on bicycles. This was fertile breeding ground for the rebirth of thescooter - giving Italy a new cultural icon. Bicycle makers (most of which were also motorcycle manufacturers) all started offering small auxiliary engines for their bicycles. Motobecane, Peugeot, Ducati, Moto Guzzi all got into the act.
The first giant leap forward was the appearance of the Velosolex, a giant among the dwarfs. If you ever rode a Velo, either with its engine running or as a bicycle, you'll appreciate how well that entire machine was constructed. Originally equipped with a 33cc engine (later growing to 49cc) it had a friction roller over the front wheel. You could engage-disengage the power with a lever. You had to help sometimes going uphill, but that was part of the experience. The Velosolex became a genuine cult idol, and rightly so.
As Europe gradually recovered economically, the modern scooter was born in the Lambratte area of Milan, the brainchild of one Ferdinado Innocenti. Inspired by some military motorcycles, he approached his designer Corradino D'ascanio to discuss the first blueprints of the scooter we know and love today were formed.
Unfortunately the two men could not always agree, and D'ascanio left to join the Piaggio company to work on aircraft design, until such times as he and Piaggio created the 'Vespa'.
The first Lambretta, the Lambretta 'A', went on sale on December 23rd 1947. During its first 12 months of sale the 123 cc 'A' model, which was available in five different colours, went on to sell 9,000 units. The first 125cc Vespa 125cc was produced a year later in 1948? Let battle commence.
In the mid 1960's the scooter revolution exploded into a new wave of social culture, immortalised by the 'Mod'. The movement, with its dedication to fashion, music and pills, was the first massive manifestation of youth culture, and formed the advance guard of the truly post-war generation in England. Although the movement itself hed effectively died out by 1965 [after the infamous riot on the beaches of Brighton between the Mods and the more Fifties orientated Rockers], their mode of transportation survived.
By the late '70s, the market was crowded with hundreds of styles, models and brands. Worldwide sales were in the millions. Even in North-America, that only caught the tail end of the boom, scooters sold in spectacular numbers. The boom continued unabated until the early 1980s when the worldwide recession hit and hit hard. Many manufacturers worldwide were wiped out. This, combined with the introduction of mandatory licensing and insurance signalled the end of the scooter craze as we know it.
For the third time it seemed the scooter was finished. And for the third time, it bounced back. In 1997, close to 12 million were produced world wide. And while the distinction between 'no-ped' mopeds and scooters gets blurred, the staying power of two-wheelers is now undisputed.
