Scooter (motorcycle) Scooter (motorcycle) A scooter (also referred to as a motor scooter to avoid confusion with kick scooter, but not to be confused with a motorized scooter) is a type of motorcycle with a step-through frame and a platform for the rider's feet. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and scooters have been made since 1914 or earlier. Scooter development continued in Europe and the United States between the World Wars. The global popularity of motor scooters dates from the post-World War II introductions of the Vespa and Lambretta models in Italy. These scooters were
Scooter (motorcycle) chain clean and reduce wear. The final drive of a scooter with a swingarm-mounted engine runs in a sealed oil bath and is shorter. An underbone is usually fitted with near full-size motorcycle wheels, which are often spoked. Scooter wheels are usually small, and made from pressed steel. In both cases, more recent examples often have cast alloy wheels. The bigger wheels of an underbone allow more ventilation and better cooling for the brakes than the smaller wheels of a scooter. While the engine and suspension layouts described here for scooters and underbones are typical, they are not rigid definitions.