Honda – A Key Player in the Motor Scooter Market
Honda - it is a name that is well known, and revered all over the world for its products. With a lineup consisting of cars, motorcycles, motor scooters, snowmobiles, ATVs and much more; Honda has a lot of experience under its belt and put out its first gas motor scooter in 1950. The 1950’s model was made in the likeness of the Italian Vespa; made from a steel frame that was designed to withstand a beating. The downside to this motor scooter was that it was a gas guzzler, and ate an even deeper hole in your pocketbook.
Around 1960, Honda’s motor scooter sales pretty much tanked. Due to a lack of customer demand, Honda was forced to shut down production of its motor scooters operation.
Then, in 1983, Honda released the redesigned “Aero 50”. Honda’s new scooter was a hit all over the world. It became the must-have thing practically overnight; and quickly became a status symbol among teenagers. The redesigned Honda scooter was light weight; having changed the material from which the frame was constructed from steel to a lighter metal alloy. Honda also reworked the engine to make it more fuel efficient, thus furthering its standing in the motor scooter market. The Aero 50 was still plagued by problems though, including but not limited to, its low power and speed.
In 1990, the “Muscle scooter” was introduced as a concept design for Honda scooters; this was to be a cross between a moped and a motorcycle. The new design for the Honda scooter included dual exhaust, recessed seats, and much more. This was model also took off well, having overcome many of the downfalls of the earlier Honda scooter models.
Honda now continues to put out newer and more advanced models all the time, in an attempt to keep up with their customers’ demand for style, power and functionality. Honda also moved away from its base color range and now offers the motor scooters in a whole array of colors. Honda is now recognized for its gas motor scooters and it is not hard to see why; with almost 60 years of innovation under their belts, you’re sure to be a satisfied customer. For the best pricing on motor scooters visit UrbanScooters.com Home Page
History of Gas Scooters
Filed under: Electric Motor Scooter, Honda Motor Scooters, Razor Motor Scooter, Vespa Motor Scooters, Yamaha Motor Scooters
The first patents for scooters go back as far as 1921. The Razor scooter was later developed by Gino Tsai in Shanghai, Taiwan and became an instant hit with the public. It didn't take long for motor scooter popularity to expand all over the globe.
Even before 1950 there were as many as 110,000 scooters on the road in Italy alone. It has been just a little over 50 years since the Vespa-Douglas Corporation in the UK sold their first gas scooters. The Douglas corporation was on the verge of bankruptcy when they first began selling their gas scooters. It was a big hit at the 1950 Motorcycle Show and saved the company from possible financial ruin.
From 1950 to 1958 Vespa sold over 125,000 of their gas powered scooters in the UK. Why the great success? During this period the European countries didn't have a great deal of money and there was not much gas available to the public. Due to the scarcity of gasoline and the high gas mileage of the gas motor scooter it's popularity quickly escalated.
Read more
Our Sponsors