KATHMANDU: If you ride a scooter, have you ever felt aches and pains even after riding it for a short time? We find that many people say that riding a scooter makes you feel aches and pains.
Many people feel the same fatigue after riding a scooter for 2/3 hours as after riding a motorcycle for 5/6 hours. Scooters are considered very useful for traveling short distances because they can be easily used in urban areas and are considered very useful for older people.
Some older people and some young people also travel on scooters because they are easy to ride. However, they say that they are tired because they have traveled long distances. They are not able to recognize that they are tired when riding a scooter.
Therefore, we are discussing why body parts hurt when riding a scooter compared to riding a motorcycle. And, we feel more tired.
Such scooters, which are built specifically for urban areas, are unlikely to perform well when used in places with bad roads like Nepal. Many people feel tired due to the suspension used in the scooter, tire size, wheelbase, body weight, etc.
Generally, all scooters are made in the same design. These scooters use telescopic suspension at the front and single/double-sided spring suspension at the rear.
Suspension
Due to the small size of the scooter, its suspension setup is very basic. As mentioned above, the travel of telescopic suspension and single/double-sided spring suspension is very less, so it cannot perform well on even the slightest bad road. Therefore, riding a scooter feels like jumping. This not only makes the body feel tired, but also affects the muscles and joints of the body.
Scooters are city-oriented vehicles. Traveling on a long highway is like introducing another disease into the body.
Small wheel size
Scooters usually use 10/12 inch wheels. Small wheels make it difficult to absorb the shock of bumps on the road. Therefore, riding a scooter on a road with potholes is bad for health.
Excessive weight at the rear
All scooters have a lot of weight at the rear. Since the engine is at the rear, the weight is also at the rear. The weight at the rear makes the suspension stiffer. Furthermore, if you are riding with a passenger in the back seat, additional problems may arise.
Frame/wheelbase
Scooters are built on a ‘step through frame’. This does not allow long-travel suspension to be placed on the scooter. Due to the short wheelbase, the stability of the scooter is also not as good as that of a motorcycle.
For these reasons, riding a scooter can be physically tiring and may negatively impact your health. Scooters built for smooth urban roads are often used on Nepal’s uneven and off-road conditions, which puts additional strain on both the rider and the vehicle, a practice that isn’t recommended.
