Scooters

by Eric Dregni, Pixel Pete (Photographer)

Scooters and scootering are the fastest growing segment of the American motorcycling market. Because of their low cost, ease of operation, and unintimidating nature, scooters are especially appealing to new riders. This book will provide the scooter owner with everything he or she needs to know. It will tell a person what kind of scooter to buy, how to buy it, and where to buy it. It will instruct the owner on maintaining and customizing his or her scooter. It will even help the scooterist find scooter-related events and activities. In sum, this is all the book any scooter owner will ever need.

Genres: Nonfiction

155 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1995

About the author

Eric Dregni has written nine books including Midwest Marvels, The Scooter Bible, Ads that Put America on Wheels, and Grazie a Dio non Sono Bolognese. As a 2004 Fulbright Fellow to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Eric researched Scandinavian culture and roots for a forthcoming book. His time is divided between Italy, Norway, and Minneapolis where he is the curator for El Dorado Conquistador Museum and guitarist for the mock-rock trio Vinnie & the Stardüsters.

Reviews

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very informative and amusing :-)

Favorite parts from Chapter One - Scooter History:
The left sidepanel of the Vespa has gone through various and sometimes bizaree, transformations. The glovebox in this photo may seem like a good idea, but the the whole design of the Vespa carries the engine (and the heaviest part of the scooter) on the right side. Best put a brick in your glovebox to balance the weight.
-pg 14

"Somebody in our sales department wanted a scooter that looked like a motorcycle with the gas tank between your legs. It turned out to be a hell of a good idea," said Robert Ammon.
-pg 20

Another way to look tougher aboard your scooter is to give your scooter club a really nasty sounding name. No one is going to mess with a member of "The Defilers".
-pg 23

Favorite part from Chapter Two - Buying The Right Scooter:
This little maneuver is more difficult than it first appears, especially if you do it wrong. If you do it right, it's not that difficult.
-pg 47

Favorite parts from Chapter Three - Safety:
An added benefit of wearing a helmet is when the local police pull you over, they'll recognize that you're at least somewhat responsible... Leaving the straps undone is definitely cool, but makes the helmet worthless. If you're flung over your handlebars, the helmet will probably be shot from your head like a cannonball and leave your scalp open to the elements.
-pg 50

I also learned in this section on helmets that there are "fake helmets" with Department of Transportation(DOT) approval stickers.

"You can always judge a happy scooterists by the bugs on their teeth."

Help your car-dependent friends and relatives to be the best drivers they can be and avoid having your scooter friends wiped from their windshields.
-pg 60

Using the soft lane change means that once you've cleared the lane visually, you turn on your signal and slowly ease into the next lane instead of darting into the lane like a highly-caffeinated lab rat.
-pg 61

Favorite parts from Chapter Four - Minimal Maintenance:
The minimum maintenance of new scooters allows the mechanically uninclined to avoid the joys of being elbow-deep in grease
-pg 67 :-)THANK GOODNESS!

...avoid lighting a cigarette unless a two-wheeled Molotov cocktail would impress your buddies.
Idiot lights. If you have a modern scooter with warning lights, heed those immediately. Unfortunately by the time the light blinks, the problem is often serious

Repair Manual Unsympathetic publishers print oversized books that don't fit in the glove box. Either editors haven't been stranded on a date with a broken down scooter or they can afford to pay a mechanic to tune their ride (usually a motorcycle) perfectly.
-pg 68

Favorite part from Chapter Six - Tours and Rallies:
"The scooter serves as the material bridge between different generations, different cultures, different epochs, between contradictory desires. It is a sign of progress....It is a passport to the future."
-Dick Hebdige in "Object as Image: The Italian Scooter Cycle"
-pg 117

Favorite Parts from Chapter Seven - Clubs:
One of these dangerous dames of The Secret Servix Scootin' Chicks echoed the feminist cry to get off the pillion: "My favorite part of being a scooter girl is convincing those girls on the back of bikes to get their own."

"If you buy a Vespa, your neighbors don't move out of the neighborhood. The Vespa is a motorscooter, not a motorcycle. There is no social stigma attached to driving one."
-Vespa ad from 1964
-pg 127

and finally.....

"Every time I'm waiting at a traffic light, there is always at least one pedestrian who, rushing past me, does a double take. "Whoa, dude, Vespa!" he'll say (or some variation thereof). And he stops, right there in the middle of the street to admire what's between my legs."
-author Bill Bulford
pg. 131

[Shell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Will add more information on this soon.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great photos, historic & cultural verbiage piled into the book. Covers nearly all the brands for at least a paragraph. Coffee-table worthy book in paperback