British Attitude to Scooters

[StephenC]

you've just thought the first hybrid scooter concept! Congrats

You mean apart from the Piaggio MP3 Hybrid and the Peugeot 3-wheeler concept?

[MrGrumpy]

Makes me wonder what an electric scooter rally would be like...?

quiet!

A communal pot of lentils, an acoustic guitar with everyone singing kumayar!

No...it would be very technology driven...there wouldn't be any bands or PA, everyone would listen to things via their smartphones or tablets using headphones!

[halfabusa]

you've just thought the first hybrid scooter concept! Congrats

You mean apart from the Piaggio MP3 Hybrid and the Peugeot 3-wheeler concept?

3 wheels dont count, they are abominations

[gn2]

Flings hand granade and ducks: apparently the wide track LT ones are cars...

[Bluebottle]

This rally sounds great, I'll bring the polenta and chickpeas
(they are called "EV" rallies, been going for decades - but this looks much better)

apparently the wide track LT ones are cars

No they aren't, not even the 4 wheel ones.

[Bluebottle]

Makes me wonder what an electric scooter rally would be like...?

Like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9FOnkSLFBw

[GTscootz]

you've just thought the first hybrid scooter concept! Congrats

You mean apart from the Piaggio MP3 Hybrid and the Peugeot 3-wheeler concept?

3 wheels dont count, they are abominations

Piaggio had one years ago - think it was a version of the Zip that could switch from electric to petrol

[GTscootz]

I wonder if motorbike owners (and I'll include power rangers) come up with different words for their motorbike?

Of course they do. I've heard people make a point of saying they ride a "sports bike" or "superbike" as if they're concerned about being mistaken for some crusty old mid-life-crisis guy on a Harley. The fact is that, to the people that ride them, there is a world of difference between various types of bike and nobody seems to want to be misunderstood about which they ride. For example; a maxi-scooter is worlds apart from a 'traditional' scooter and I can see why the rider of one might not want to be taken for the other simply because they describe their ride as a "scooter". I don't think it's about embarrassment (after all, if you were going to feel embarrassed about riding a scooter, why would you buy one?), to me it seems to be more about identity.

To take it a step further, classic scooter riders (don't like the "trad" label) even have sub-divisions of what scooters they choose to ride...

Cut Down or Skelly
Street Racer
Chop
rustoration
Mod are just some of the ones I'm aware of.

[MrGrumpy]

Talking of the various PTW 'tribes', I came across a pair of hells angels types yesterday. Very strange...

Both riding battered Harley type things, one with ridiculous 'ape-hanger' tall handlebars. One even had a full face helmet on! Though it looked like it'd had been kicked around a cupboard for 20 years. Neither saw fit to have a visor on their helmets, both relying on sunglasses (in the rain). I was on the baby Burger, so they ignored me completely. The funniest thing was when we came to a curving slip road - the baby burger isn't the best handling thing, and I don't trust its tyre grip in the wet, so I thought the two guys would leave me standing, but No, they slowed down to half the speed I intended to go round it!.

Each to their own of course, but its like they saw Easy Rider 35 years ago, and haven't moved on...

[Fishtown Phil]

This "all scooters are..." business is funny

You're right.

I wonder if motorbike owners (and I'll include power rangers) come up with different words for their motorbike? Of course they don't because they're not embarrassed to say they ride a motorbike.

This whole debate about what makes something a scooter is born from scooter owners embarrassment to say they own a scooter. Simple as that.

I'm rather proud of my scooter addiction Brought my first Lammy in 1971 and owned/ridden scooters ever since The fact that I now ride automatic scooters actually allows me to enjoy my ride even more than before.