The motor-scooter looks as though it may have been created for women, so that, wearing a dress, they could quickly travel from A to B. With it's very small wheels and deep step-through frame (which allows the ladies to modestly keep their knees together), it made a riding position possible which probably defined it.

Because of the deep step-through frame, the first standard motorcycles are considered by some to be scooters (picture 2). Indeed, their wheels were much larger, at least in some cases the front wheel was.

One of the first to be classified as an early scooter was the American Autoped, built in 1915. This one was driven while standing on the running board (like a child's scooter), the one manufactured under licence by Krupp, at least had a seat. The operation, at that time, was particularly simple.

Amazingly, this early vehicle had front-wheel drive, the same as the follow-up, the Megola. This however, had to be push-started after each stop because it never had a clutch. Also, because the engine was mounted in the front wheel, the wheels were, uncharacteristic for a scooter, quite large.

Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen's Lomos-Sesselrad (bicycle with a seat), had proper springing (see video). This was an even smaller vehicle than his famous first plywood-car, and was created because it depended on a two-stroke engine, which at the time simply didn't have the performance.

Going on to the next vehicle in the history of the scooter, we come to the Mars, which can be seen in picture 4 and in the video below. This one in fact, had a Maybach engine with 5,4 kW (7,3 hp) and a 2-speed gearbox. This type of gearbox behaves almost like an automatic transmission.

This was also valid for the 1923 Ner-a-car, a vehicle also resembling a motorcycle but having a centrifugal-clutch, which made it an automatic. The open shaft to the rear was a problem, it appears to have had quite comfortable springing (see two further videos below).

After the second world war, a reasonably priced and tolerable form of transport was required, which brings us directly to the Vespa. Typical here, was the one-sided bulge in the fairing, because the engine, together with the clutch, was mounted practically on one side, next to the rear wheel.

This of course was a problem, because the complete drive-train and the necessary brakes, belonged to the unsprung mass. It was however, particularly with the compact two-stroke engine, tremendously space-saving. A spare wheel could even be mounted on the opposite side of the rear wheel.

With its governed 3,7 kW (5 hp) from 125 cm³, the Vespa mi amore conquered not only Italy. Another legend was the Lambretta, built by Innocenti, which was later built under licence and replaced by the NSU-Prima. In the 1960s, even Harley-Davidson built a so-called Scooter.

The latter brings it all to a point, since none of the German scooters, neither the Heinkel Tourist nor the Dürkopp Diana (picture 5), the Bella (see picture 6) or even the Zündapp RS 50 (picture 7) and the English James-Scooter (picture 8), achieved the elegance of the Lambretta (picture 1) or the Vespa (picture 9). 03/14