3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue 1 & 2 Jan - Apr 2 3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue | Page 76

ADVENTURE & WILDLIFE
at higher speeds unlike most dual-sports. Their
size, weight and sometimes their tires, however,
limits their off-road capability. Most adventure
motorcycles function well on graded dirt and
gravel roads but are less than ideal on more
difficult off-pavement terrain.
Supermoto motorcycles were designed to
compete on a single course that alternated
between three genres of motorcycle racing:
road racing, track racing, and motocross. This
increasingly popular type of motorcycle is
often a dual-sport that has been fitted by the
manufacturer with smaller rims and road tires.
Supermotos are quickly gaining popularity as
street bikes due to their combination of light
weight, durability, relatively low cost, and sporty
handling.
Scooters, underbones and mopeds
Scooter engine sizes range smaller than
motorcycles, 50–850 cc (3.1–51.9 cu in), and
have all-enclosing bodywork that makes them
cleaner and quieter than motorcycles, as well as
having more built-in storage space. Automatic
clutches and continuously variable transmissions
(CVT) make them easier to learn on and to ride.
Scooters usually have smaller wheels than motor-
cycles. Scooters usually have the engine as part
76
of the swingarm, so that their engines travel up
and down with the suspension.
Underbones are small-displacement motorcycles
with a step-through frame, descendants of the
original Honda Super Cub. They are differentiated
from scooters by their larger wheels and their use
of footpegs instead of a floorboard. They often
have a gear shifter with an automatic clutch.
The moped used to be a hybrid of the bicycle
and the motorcycle, equipped with a small engine
(usually a small two-stroke engine up to 50 cc,
but occasionally an electric motor) and a bicycle
drivetrain, and motive power can be supplied by
the engine, the rider, or both. There is also Sport
mopeds – a type of moped that resembles a sport
bike.
In many places, mopeds are subject to less
stringent licensing than bikes with larger
engines
and
are
popular
as
very
cheap motorbikes, with the pedals seeing next
to no use. Mopeds were very popular in the
United States during the fuel-crisis of the late
1970s and early 1980s, but their popularity
has fallen off sharply since the mid-1980s.
In response to rising fuel prices in the first
decade of the 2000s, U.S. scooter and moped
Vol 4 | Issue 2 |Mar - Apr 2019