4 ms·
My father was gifted a pair of these for his 50th birthday, would have been 1989, in London. Little ICE scooters. They were a lot of fun and not very safe. We
by hnbear 9mo ago
My father was gifted a pair of these for his 50th birthday, would have been 1989, in London.
Little ICE scooters. They were a lot of fun and not very safe. We had drunk guests damaging themselves in the street.
They became toys for my brothers and I, who had plenty of accidents but learnt to ride them reasonably.
The engines didn’t idle particularly well and had no gears. You had to pull start, hop on and go quickly while reving just enough to idle without it moving. It took practice. You could push start too with some practice, especially once warm.
Lots of fun, but mileage wouldn’t have been great for serious use and refilling a pain at a regular petrol station. Might have been 2-stroke, I can’t remember. Tiny engine, closer to a strimmer than lawnmower.
Huge fun though for just bombing around on as a tween and young teen.
- pcdoodle 9mo ago[dead]
- _yb2s 9mo agoMust have been two stroke, 4 stroke motors are too large and heavy for an application like that.
- Epa095 9mo agoAccording to Wikipedia > The engine was an air-cooled, 4-stroke, 155 cc engine over the front wheel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoped https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoped
- _yb2s 9mo agoGuess I was wrong, that’s a shocking engineering choice, that engine looks massive and heavy. A four stroke engine is about twice the weight and size for the same power output, but much more fuel efficient.
- gerdesj 9mo ago"Fuel efficient" - that's probably why. If the fuel efficiency more than off sets the additional weight, for range then four stroke might be indicated. There are lots of other factors to consider.
- _yb2s 9mo agoFour stroke engines are also quieter, last longer, and have lower emissions, but cost a lot more to make as they are much more complex.
- SR2Z 9mo agoI guess this is an old engine, but it's bizarre to me that fuel efficiency could be a factor for something this slow and light.
- saaaaaam 9mo agoPresumably carrying fuel on the device was a consideration so greater fuel efficiency helps reduce the amount of petrol you’re lugging around.
- _yb2s 9mo agoA major factor if you actually are using it to get anywhere, because it’s likely not practical to carry more than a liter or so of fuel.