[Rshrey22]

I would like to start this thread with a simple question, Will the manual scooters ever return?

Nowadays everyone wants to follow the simpler ways for operating vehicles. Car owners are shifting to AMTs and 2 wheeler owners have already shifted to CVT scooters.

Gone are the days when we struggled to find a gear in our chetaks, selects and eternos. That was a time, when operating a scooter really meant doing something.
Although I am myself not very old but I learned to ride on a Honda Eterno, and completely loved revving the motor all the way till it reached it's top speed of 50 km/h in 2nd gear xD.

Nowadays, you just have to pull the throttle and your scooter moves forward without any fuss. This change from manual to automatic in past 10-15 years has made riding the ever-utilitarian scooters a very boring job!

Nowadays, unless you purchase a bike, you can't really feel what it's like changing gears on a 2 wheeler and then also, you won't get that experience of pulling the clutch and twisting the gear lever on the handle itself. It's either really complicated with the foot shifting in bikes or really simple with just pulling the throttle in CVT scooters, where has the middle tier gone?

I hope that atleast any one manufacturer tries to revive the manual scooter, I would be the first to buy it!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

I would like to start this thread with a simple question, Will the manual scooters ever return?

Manual scooters were forced to retire with the popularity of the Kinetic Honda. The fate was completely sealed with the launch of the Activa - so much so that even their own Eterno sinked without a trace!

Approx 50% of the scooter marketshare is controlled by the Activa, with another 25% captured by the competition who wants to be Activa. Those who try to be slightly more sportier have to make do with whatever little market share is remaining, particularly from the youth. Any product that tries to be radically different bows out soon.

So net effect - No, I personally don't think we'll see a return of the manual scooters anytime soon.

[payeng]

No. A geared scooter doesn't make sense now.

The USP of a scooter is its easy ride "twist and go" automatic transmission.

This single convenience is enough to overlook its lack of stability and harsh ride quality (as compared to motorcycles) due to its tiny wheels.

What would be the point of owning/riding a scooter is one has to manually change gears?

[V.Narayan]

Everything is relative to our experience. Those who drove manual gearbox two-wheelers miss it - at least some do. But it is relative. Today's drivers/riders may decry tomorrow's autonomous cars and scooters!!

My grandfather owned a Opel 6-cylinder Sedan 1936 model. He remained the single owner all his life till the late-1990s. Well this car almost always need the crank shaft to get it started at least since I recall and it had a double clutch system. My grandfather, God bless him, thought double clutch was real automotive. He thought single clutch was for wimps! [It actually was a pain] And by the time I was a teenager and strong enough to crank the handlebar to start the engine I was told I was now a real man! [that cranking was rather hard to say the least]

We are all creatures of what we experience first.

[timuseravan]

No. Not only does it not make sense but the inevitable shift to electric will kill gearing on all vehicles.

[The Great]

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

Nowadays, you just have to pull the throttle and your scooter moves forward without any fuss.

Exactly for this reason the gearless scooters got famous for the otherwise dead market for scooters which overturned.

Infact I would think the other way round for all two wheelers.

Even the bikes used for utility purposes should come in gearless format for the proven ease and commute.

I wonder why there are no gearless Motorcycles yet.

Originally Posted by timuseravan

No. Not only does it not make sense but the inevitable shift to electric will kill gearing on all vehicles.

I totally agree on this. The future is electric and mostly these geared vehicles will only find a place in simulator video-game format for the next generation to experience it.

[ashis89]

My answer. No

By the time I learnt riding, my dad had moved from a LML Vespa to a four stroke bike. And then 3 more bikes. But all those trips in that scooter is all I recall today. Lucky me, my friend's dad still had a immaculate LML T5 after I learnt riding. I loved that scooter more than my friend. Low FE, dying spares market, heavy and a TVS Scooty made sure they sold it off.

If you are slightly careless with the clutch, you get a wheelie as a reward. You fill petrol, some 2T and smoke the roads, literally. And good torque, negligible transmission loss meant gear changes were less, you could putter around in the 3rd gear with some half-clutch. This is how I remember my scooter experience. Apart from the T5, I tried the Select II, Chetak, Cub, Rave and NV Spl.

Today, if I am looking for a manual ride, I buy a bike which is fuel efficient, has better handling, better brakes and is inexpensive. If I am looking for convenience, I get a CVT scooter. Scooter doesn't seem to fit in today's equation, IMO.

PS: LML was (or still is) manufacturing scooters till 2016 and I saw a dealer in Hyderabad. While heart said to get one of those scooters, I couldn't convince my head at all.

[dhanushs]

A scooter is all about convenience and practicality. Fun to drive may be the last priority of a budget scooter. So I don’t think they’ll come in a manual gear shift. However there are some exceptions of performance oriented scooters.

Well, you can always opt for a good bike.

[Rshrey22]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Well, you can always opt for a good bike.

I considered buying an old school RE Standard 500 Bullet (Carburettor) but when I went to the showroom, I was informed that even the standard bullet has been converted to EFI. It was a sad moment to say the least.

[Skyline_GT]

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

I considered buying an old school RE Standard 500 Bullet (Carburettor) but when I went to the showroom, I was informed that even the standard bullet has been converted to EFI. It was a sad moment to say the least.

Yes the older "Thump" is no more present or to be more accurate has been muted. And yet I ended up buying a Standard 350 last month. While my family and friends were worried about me considering the fact that it only came with a kick start and no option of an electric start button, yet I was determined to go for it, it's a little inconvenient, but nostalgia played a big role in taking that decision.


So while it's difficult for manual scooters to make a come back unless there's a massive retro throwback that makes vintage manual scooters cool all over again

[sunilch]

No way, I believe. In fact the opposite is more likely to happen.

Soon we may see some motorcycles going automatic for the convenience they offer. AT scooters offer great convenience, and mileage. Their capabilities are as good as those of the yesteryear manual scooters. The same features are likely to be transferred to motorcycles.

Don't come back to me with bricks after reading this, but if the AT fever does develop that way I expect it to, we might even see an AT motorcycle form RE.

Of-course, once in a while you might see a company launching a Manual Scooter as a lifestyle/nostalgia enriching option.

[Skyline_GT]

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

Let's hope, some company does try to bring the nostalgia back!

The chances are likely that some manufacturer might bring them back as a lifestyle vehicle. And my guess is, it wouldn't be Honda/TVS or any of the bigger players, but a relatively smaller manufacturer who would want to bring something different and would try to use the nostalgia factor.
Piaggio bringing back the Vespa few years ago with its old school scooter charm and bright retro colours is an example of what I meant

[FourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by Skyline_GT

The chances are likely that some manufacturer might bring them back as a lifestyle vehicle. And my guess is, it wouldn't be Honda/TVS or any of the bigger players, but a relatively smaller manufacturer who would want to bring something different and would try to use the nostalgia factor.

Considering the high numbers of geared scooters that were on our roads for so many decades, along with their spare parts stockists and repairers; I find it surprising that some enterprising spare parts stockist, with old stocks of new scooter parts, hasn't combined with a bike re-builder to bring back to life desirable geared scooters like the Bajaj Chetak or the LML Vespa NV series (which should be available at nearly scrap prices), restore and sell them to retro-philes at a premium.

Most geared scooters were quite simple affairs, ran fairly reliably and were easily maintained.

Perhaps there really aren't that many people who will pay premium prices for a nicely restored old Chetak / LML. Else we would have seen supply from re-builders trying to meet this latent demand.

And by extension, there probably isn't much of a market for brand new geared scooters, which will entail significant capital expenditure from scooter manufacturers and result in slow sales.

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[R-Six]

I don’t think there will be any coming back for the geared scooters in India. People are so accustomed with the gearless way that there would be hardly any takers even if someone tries to launch a model or two in the market.

I used to take my dad’s Chetak for joy rides and found that its pick up was pretty good. I remember one incident where my brother and I was on the Chetak and after overtaking a bus, I realized that I was already doing around 60kmph which was scary.

[saket77]

For the nostalgia and remembrance, I still have my father's Bajaj Super ('93 model) with me. It is a 4-geared scooter unlike the earlier (or much earlier) 3 speed Bajaj ones. I used to power the same just for the sake of running it but honestly, after the convenience of a motorcycle, the rotary shifter on the scooter felt like asking too much out of my wrists when engaging the first gear meant 60 degrees upward movement and the 4th gear meant almost 90 degrees of downward movement!

I have a feeling that my wrist movements would have surpassed those of Mr. Azharuddin and Mr. VVS had I been riding it everyday for last 10 years, or especially when I rode to Sikkim on my motorcycle.

I like manual transmission, but would welcome a more convenient system of changing gears, if at all, in the two wheelers than the rotary system; much like in a motorcycle.

Regards,
Saket