All About Scooters

Scooters are undeniably the most convenient, comfortable, reliable, budget-friendly and durable mode of transportation. With maintenance cost on the lower side and value for money on the higher side, scooters have an undisputed place in the daily lives of modern families. But can you wonder a scooter without tyres? In fact, can you imagine any automobile that plies on road without tyres? No, right? My point exactly. All these amazing innovations would not be operational if not for tyres. Selecting the right tyre for your scooter is very imperative as slightest changes in the tyre specifications recommended by the manufacturer can alter the ride quality, handling, performance your scooter drastically. In one of my earlier blogs, I have described how to read a tyre sidewall and how it defines the tyre requirement best suited for your vehicle. Check the blog  here . Most scooters in India come with 2 different tyre profiles: 1.  90/100-10...

A good suspension is what primarily defines the ride quality of any vehicle. Moreover if the vehicle is used daily, then the suspension has to be well designed to give superior ride comfort. To ensure that your scooter keeps on delivering peak performance, you will have to take care of a lot of mechanical aspects via timely servicing of your scooter. One such aspect is the suspension. The suspension of your scooter is responsible for tackling the bumpy roads and ensure that you don't shake like the Nokia 1100. Moreover, if you traverse in places with excessive speed bumps or speed breakers, like I do, the suspension reduces the impact to some extent. (Bajaj Super 1980 Image Source: Kukikol) As you know, most scooters nowadays come equipped with hydraulic telescopic suspension as they provide better ride quality and handling compared to single sided suspension setups that our fathers were used to on the Bajaj Super. The telescopic suspensions operate on an oil base...

Scooters in India are evolving with time.  But there function remains the same even today. To make city commute smooth and hassle free. Over the last few years, scooters have seen countless upgrades and addition of latest feature such as mobile charger, bluetooth connectivity, fuel cap on the outside and the likes. Last year the Indian government has taken a closer look at motor vehicles plying on Indian roads and the safety aspect of these vehicles and it has called for some positive changes. One of those changes was the addition of disc brakes in scooters with an engine capacity of 125 cc or above. With that law in place, we have a handsome number of scooters sold in India that sport a disc brake at the front wheel. (Piaggio Vespa Image Source: Imghulk) So how does a disc brake work? In Simple words, when you pull the brake lever, pressure is transferred instantly using a fluid to the brake pistons which in turn pushes the brake pads to the disc, thus result in s...

Is flushing a good practice? If you are thinking about the toilet or washroom, then it is undoubtedly the best practice. But I am here to talk about flushing a scooter engine or any other automobile engine. (Vespa Image Source: Creative Market) Before coming to a conclusion, let's understand what is flushing. Engine flush is process where an aftermarket chemical additive is introduced to the engine and then its allowed to idle for 10 to 15 minutes. This additive mixes with the flows throw each and every corner of the engine, merges with engine oil, dissolves and flushes out all the impurities and deposits that have accumulated in the engine over extended period of usage. You can then drain the impure oil, change the oil filter and then go on driving your scooter. Sounds simple isn't it? Considering that engines are majorly closed units, what are these impurities that accumulate inside the engine and how do they accumulate? Let's take a look at that here....

Maintaining a scooter is something that a user might have to do every 45-60 days depending on usage. But these maintenance are limited to engine oil change, brake pad scrubbing, washing, etc. But over the course of usage, there are a few more things that you need to intricately look at when it comes to maintenance of your scooter and ensuring that keeps of delivering optimum performance and fuel economy. One such crucial thing is the gear oil change or the transmission oil change. If you are wondering why would a gearless scooter require a gear oil change, don't worry, I thought the same way few months back. Luckily the service mechanic at a Yamaha service station was more than kind to educate me on this topic. Though these scooters operate with an automatic dry clutch, they mechanism has an inbuilt gear system. That is the reason, the acceleration is smooth and you do not experience that jerk that you usually get on geared vehicles. (Yamaha Fascino Image Courtesy:Redi...

Do you remember Kinetic Blaze?  Well no one will hold it against you if you don't. It was a beefy 150 cc maxi scooter launched in India in the early 2000. But that was a time when even 150 cc motorcycles had barely entered the market and was trying to find acceptance from the Indian population. Fast forward to 2020 and now we have quite a few decent options in the 150 cc scooter segment. We have the performance oriented Aprilia SR 150 and retro looking, intricately crafted Piaggio Vespa Elegante 150, SXL 150 and VXL 150. If you look at the engine specs the 3 models of Vespa have the same 150 cc mill and deliver the same output, look almost the same and even the cycle parts are same. (Aprilia SR 150 and Piaggio Vespa SXL 150 Image Source: India Today) Oh well, I am not here to compare these to beauties. What I am here for is to share some tips for effective maintenance of these scooters. So what is the first thing a vehicle owner should be aware of when it comes...