Difference between a Scooter and a Motorcycle?

[PCX Commuter]

What is the difference between a scooter and a motorcycle? I seem to get asked this more often in conversations about my PCX and I'm a little stumped.

Power train
Broadly speaking, it seems like the majority of scooters are automatic transmissions. Belt-drive seems the most common, but not all are. Of course, now more than a few motorcycles are automatic. Dual-clutch type boxes, but still.

Pass-through Floor
This seemed to be a very common theme in scooters, but again that does not hold true with the PCX and others.

Engine size
Well, the PCX is a 150cc, which is definitely below the Rebel at 250cc. But the Silver Wing is a full 600cc and still called a scooter!

So, what is it that makes a scooter a "scooter?" Love to hear what everyone thinks.

[gn2]

What is the difference between a scooter and a motorcycle?

No difference whatsoever.
A scooter is a type of motorcycle.

[you you]

What is the difference between a scooter and a motorcycle?

No difference whatsoever.
A scooter is a type of motorcycle.

I just think of it as a "convenience" bike

We still use moped a lot too but I've never seen any pedals on one for ages

[uploader]

The dictionary says a motor scooter is a vehicle for adults mounted on the footboard.

[Theboybilly]

As Gn2 says, they are motorcycles. You won't get the 'arse -up' brigade rushing to acknowledge you on a scooter but I've always found motorcyclists snobbish about their chosen style of bike or even the badge on the tank. Funnily enough the tax disc on my PCX describes it as a Bicycle, so there you go

Bill

[Cracksta]

i think the meaning degrades with time.

motorcycle you'll think those big bikes typically 400cc up

scooters are more smaller and they normally in a smaller body and traditional twist and go.

End of the day, they are all 'Motorcycles', scooter is just a name to define it more.

[you you]

As Gn2 says, they are motorcycles. You won't get the 'arse -up' brigade rushing to acknowledge you on a scooter but I've always found motorcyclists snobbish about their chosen style of bike or even the badge on the tank. Funnily enough the tax disc on my PCX describes it as a Bicycle, so there you go

Bill

It's a motorised bicycle AKA motorbike

[brains_t]

A scooter is a vehicle with a platform for the operator's fee

In context of this thread a scooter is no different to naked bike, off road bike, sports bike, crossover etc. Doesn't stop it being a motorcycle it just gives the informee something to distinguish it from the rest

My 2 cents, happy to be proven wrong - that's how I learn

[maddiedog]

I've ridden cruisers, sportbikes, dirt bikes, and lots of scooters. At the end of the day, they're all scooters.

I've ridden my PCX with 50cc scooters, Harleys, and rolled for awhile with a group of Ducati riders in the mountains near here (they wanted to buy me a beer later when I caught up to them at a gas station, but I turned them down since the dog was riding with me).

At the end of the day, some people will be snobbish no matter what. I've had just as many sportbike riders or harley riders show attitude towards me on the PCX as I used to on my big cruising bike (PC800). There's really no difference, especially now that there are so many automatic bikes.

[Alibally]

I thought a scooter was a step through bike but a motorbike you have to lift you leg over (yuk yuk oo err misses) to ride it. No doubt someone's opinion will differ.

[Urbanian]

Defining features are:
Automatic transmission
Step through boarding (gas tank moved)
Underseat storage

Characteristic features are:
Smaller engine
Smaller wheels

[Alibally]

Being picky here. C50 ,C70, C90 a scooter but not auto and big wheels.

[dasshreddar]

Scooters have a floorboard for standing/riding.
I guess my pcx is a motorcycle...

[you you]

^ about £5k and a sniffy attitude?

[you you]

Scooters have a floorboard for standing/riding.
I guess my pcx is a motorcycle...

No it's a scooter without some plastic

And pretty cool tbh

[Taz]

Being picky here. C50 ,C70, C90 a scooter but not auto and big wheels.

Aren't they Mopeds?

[jasontheparamedic]

The difference to me it pretty much comes down to transmission and where you put your feet (and the much greater noise regular motorcycles make!).

[gn2]

Being picky here. C50 ,C70, C90 a scooter but not auto and big wheels.

Aren't they Mopeds?

In the UK only the C50 is a moped, the C70 and C90 are underbone motorcycles.
(moped tax/licence class is anything up to 50cc)

[Urbanian]

Being picky here. C50 ,C70, C90 a scooter but not auto and big wheels.

... and underseat storage?
These are often classified as motorcycles.

[khaosaming]

Well, most scooters are motorcycles, but not all motorcycles are scooters. A scooter is "a subclass of motorcycles utilizing a distinctive structural design".

Newsgroup alt.scooter FAQ stands time well.

http://www.iscootny.com/scoot_faq.htm#scooter

The most commonly accepted definition of scooters requires two-wheeled vehicles (or two-wheeled vehicles modified to have a rear axle) that have wheels between 8 and 14 inches in diameter (smaller than motorcycles), step-thru frames and typically engines that are low and close to the rear wheel [see The New Encyclopedia Britannica (1997), vol. 8, pg. 367]. However, it should be noted that this definition is not universally accepted, as some have argued (Dregni & Dregni, for example) that scooters need only have 2 out of 3 of these attributes. Scooters also often incorporate full bodywork, including legshields and generally are designed to be easier to operate than standard motorcycles. It should be noted that scooters may be of any engine size, though historically they typically have ranged from 50cc to 250cc.

A motorcycle is a scooter if all or most of these conditions are true:

* Full bodywork
* Legshield
* Integrated floorboard instead of peg-type foot rests
* Easier to operate than an average motorcycle
* Wheels smaller than an average motorcycle
* Engine displacement is smaller than in an average motorcycle
* Has an engine mounted lower and closer to the rear wheel than an average motorcycle
* Has built-in storage capacity greater than an average motorcycle