The History of Scooter (i)

Do you know when the first scooter appeared? Take a guess! You can't believe that it comes out as early as 1817.

Who invented it? How is the performance? What improvements have people made based on that scooter? Keep reading and learn more!

The First Scooter

In 1817, the first scooter was invented. Although difficult to pinpoint, it is generally accepted that a group of German children used wood and steel balls to assemble traffic toys. Those are familiar to the current scooter. When they rode handmade scooters and roamed the streets, they didn’t realize that they started the era of scooters.

The development of motorized scooter

In the early 1900s, not only children liked homemade scooters, but also adults were addicted. Eventually, the motorized scooter appeared. Its name is “Autoped”, which was launched on Long Island in early 1915. It reached the design achievement.

Autoped is the first foldable scooter, with 10-inches tires and an air-cooled, 4-stroke, 155cc engine on the front wheel. According to reports, the engine can generate (unstable) speeds up to 35 mph. See the below picture:

It can be said that the first public sale is an important moment in the history of motorized scooters. It began to truly enter in people's daily life and was popular with commuters, police, and postmen. Although it was only produced between 1916-1922, it set off a tide of riding scooters.

The postman is riding an Autoped.

Other companies have joined this field following the Autoped, promoted the development of scooters. ABC Motorcycles, the most famous is, which is a British motorcycle company. In 1919, ABC chief engineer Granville Bradshaw developed the Skootamota, a seated, single-cylinder, 123cc rear wheel powered scooter with a top speed of 15mph that was manufactured between 1919 and 1922. The Skootamota handled well and was very stable despite small wheels.

One hundred years ago, scooters appeared and began to enter in people's life;

One hundred years later, in 2020, what are the progress of scooters? How did the scooter become one of the most popular transportation tools?

Let’s learn more History of Scooter in the next article!  

Check out more helpful tips from Varla Scooter:

• Why choose Varla Scooter?
• Tips for beginners- How to ride an electric scooter?