Scooter history

Walking through the narrow streets of the old towns of Italy, you know exactly why this country has become the birthplace of the scooter! The sleek and futuristic Vespa ideal for preodaleniya maze of ancient Italy!

The patent for the first motor scooter as a completely new vehicle was in 1946, the famous Italian aircraft manufacturer Enrico Piaggio. Despite the aircraft past a scooter was not a plane. After the Second World War, almost all plants, including aircraft factories were bombed fighters Piaggio. There was a question about what can be done on the only surviving factory in the north of the country (Biella).

help select products Piaggio helped his friend back to the pre-war Corradino de Ascagne - military general and the designer and inventor (he developed the first Italian military helicopter "Augusta"). Corradino after the war, decided to do civil engineering. He received from the industrialist Ferdinand Innocenti order to develop a cheap and original vehicle that could replace the post-war years the expensive cars and motorcycles. Innocenti was planning to use his pipe factory for the production, as well as the plant (and many other businesses Italy's post-war) was idle.

rumors that General Corradino did not like motorcycles and motorcyclists, but its design was a streak of strong personal bias. He decided to make a two-wheel motor vehicle other than a motorcycle, which has used its expertise and unique solutions aircraft. The result was a scooter - easy to operate, affordable and elegant vehicle for personal use.

Body scooter was made from stamped sheet steel and was completely different to the steel frame of the motorcycle pipes. Wide sheet of the body at the scooter driver protects against splashes of mud and water from under the wheels. The wheels themselves were like a wheel plane - small and stamped. The internal combustion engine in a small package was quite powerful. It was located under the driver's seat, which was the feature of scooters. The rear wheel is mounted directly on the motor shaft. Due to the original design of the transmission, there was no need for the use of the transfer chain. Motor closed stamped steel casing. For symmetry, on the other hand, was made such as housing, where the designer even managed to put a spare tire. Scooter looks out very original and even futuristic, which certainly makes it very attractive.

also original and attractive appearance, landing on the driver otlichaetsyaya scooter motorcycle. Pilot scooter - not a "rider", as he sits in a chair with your feet in front of you. This position allows you to control the scooter, even the girls in skirts, that was the idea for a large amount of advertising scooters.

However, the scooter did not like his first customer - Innocenti. He had hoped to use metal pipes from its factory in the production, but it is in the design of their scooter and nebylo. De Ascagne asked Piaggio for its development, and in 1946 was adjusted production of this new technology. Innocenti still later began releasing their scooters under the name "Lambretta".

first scooters were called "Vespa" - (wasp translated from Italian). Enrico Piaggio himself came up with the name by comparing the sound of the motor scooter with a buzzing wasp. The success of "Vespa" is due to the advent and successful - at the right time in the right place. Cheap attractive scooters were very accessible and simple to operate, for which he loved in Italy.

The popularity of scooters and is evidenced by the fact that they were shooting in cult films. Thus in 1952 in the film "Roman Holiday" to get lost princess toured Rome on a scooter "Vespa", together with an Italian journalist. This film is even more publicized "Vespa", causing an increase in sales of up to 100,000 units per year.

Another F. Fellini Italian film "La Dolce Vita", a scandalous journalist after a successful photo-shoot on the next celebrity to be hiding in the narrow streets of the Italian capital on a scooter, driven by his friend. Surname journalist became a household word, denoting dostavuchih intrusive and journalists - the paparazzi. It was the prototype of the hero in real life - is quite famous in Italy photographer Tazio Sekkyaroli.

scooters forced manufacturers in Europe and America to begin production of analogs of "Vespa". Often, new scooters as in Italy, started to be made at the former military factories.

To the USSR fashion has come on a bike too. In 1954 began active reduction of the army. to factories producing small orizhie previously not idle, it was decided to load them manufacture household goods. Published in 1956 USSR Council of Ministers to introduce scooters in production. In the same year in the journal "Technology Youth" published an article telling about the benefits of a new vehicle.

In the Soviet Union, often copying successful models of equipment. With scooters did so also. So on the Vyatka-Polyansky mechanical plant began production of the scooter "Vyatka", is almost a complete copy of "Vespa". However, "Vyatka" was a weaker engine and wheels bigger.

Another scooter manufactured by the Tula Engineering Plant - "Tula", which in turn is a copy of the German "Gogo-roller".

But despite the availability of Soviet scooters (especially "Vyatka"), is particularly popular with people they did not use. Partly influenced by this climate (scooters because of the cold winters in Russia can not be used all year round), in part - the poor quality of roads. But the main reason for the lack of interest in scooters has practicality of Soviet citizens. They are not used to buying graceful and seemingly unreliable product. Many chose to save a little more money and buy a more powerful and reliable bike that can serve more than one generation.

In Asia, on the contrary, the design scooters loved locals. In the early 60-ies of the 20th century in India, Indonesia and Taiwan have been deployed by the Italian scooter manufacturing license. New transport began creating serezdnyh competition bikes.

In the South-East Asian market was ready to accept virtually unlimited number of pieces of new equipment. Large car and motorcycle manufacturers in Japan ("Honda", "Suzuki", "Yamaha") will soon begin issuing its own order versions of scooters, not inferior in quality Italian. Besides pretty soon they displace from the Asian market Italian scooters "Piaggio" and even begin to be exported to the U.S. and Europe, including Italy itself.

Go to the article about the scooter ant .