Cutdown
Encyclopedia
A cutdown is a customised scooter
(usually an Italian Vespa
or Lambretta) with parts of the bodywork removed or cut away. Cutdowns were popular amongst skinhead
s and scooterboy
s during the mod revival
of the 1970s and 1980s. While the style-obsessed British mod youth subculture of the 1960s prized the glamorous, metropolitan image of scooters, many skinheads and scooterboys viewed their bikes as simply a form of transportation.
While some scooter enthusiasts have focused on the stripped-down look, with just a bare frame and visible motor and mechanical parts, some scooterboys put back almost as much hardware as they had taken off, by adding customized chrome-plated accessories and racks.
. Typically, the fenders, leg shields, floors, tail section and cowls are removed. Cutting away body parts is the easiest with Lambretta scooters, because they are built on a tubular frame, which means that the body parts do not have a structural role. Vespa scooters, on the other hand, are usually built with a unibody design, so the body panels give the bike its structure. This means that when Vespas are cut down, they cannot be made as bare-bones as a Lambretta. The body panels of a Vespa are modified by slimming them down or giving them a different shape, in such a way that the structural soundness of the bike is not compromised.
Cutdowns are often tuned – much like a four-wheeled hot rod
– by overboring the cylinders to increase engine power or adding performance exhausts, modified carburettors, or aftermarket shock absorbers. Some enthusiasts replace the standard drum front brakes with hydraulic disc brakes or add water-cooled radiators. Lambretta owners may replace existing parts with a Nikasil
plated aluminium barrel with radical porting, large Dell'Orto
or Mikuni
carburettors and bespoke (custom-made) expansion chamber
s, hydraulic clutches, and modern low-profile tyres
. Some scooterists use aluminum Fabrizi racing barrels, because they use a rotary induction mechanism. Stock gas tanks may be replaced with YSR tanks, which put the weight of the fuel further forward.
Some riders install a windshield to reduce wind resistance and enable higher speeds. To reduce weight, some scooterists use lighter-weight aftermarket parts, such as SIP carbon sports seats and other parts made from carbon fibre, carbon kevlar and fibreglass.
Some cutdowns have been used for drag racing. At scooter races, cutdowns often race in a separate category called the "specials", which is for cutdown and heavily modified racing scooters. The other scooter race categories include stock races with relatively unmodified larger scooters (152 to 250 cc) and "small frame" races for scooters with 136 cc or smaller engines. For races, scooters usually have to have accessories removed, such as center and side stands, mirrors, turn signals that stick out, and luggage racks. Scooter races often disallow performance-enhancing fuel additives such as octane booster.
, which had the motor mounted in a skeleton-style metal frame.
Another scooter type which is related to cutdowns is the "chopper", which is a cutdown scooter with extra-long front forks. These bikes are often made with Lambrettas, because when the bodywork is removed from their tubular frame, they resemble mini Harley-Davidson motorcycles. "Rats" are cutdowns which are made by putting together old parts to create a rough-looking, unpainted bike. In contrast to many other scooter enthusiasts, "rat" builders view blemishes and unrepaired dents as attractive. The "rat" approach to scooter customizing is similar to the rat rod
style of hot rod
ding, in which old cars often have original paint with rust patches, or even just bare rusty metal. Major scooter rallies which give prizes to scooters sometimes put "chopper" and "rat" scooters in a separate category from the rest of the cutdowns.
Scooter (motorcycle)
A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
(usually an Italian Vespa
Vespa
Vespa is an Italian brand of scooter manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian.The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A...
or Lambretta) with parts of the bodywork removed or cut away. Cutdowns were popular amongst skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
s and scooterboy
Scooterboy
A scooterboy is a member of a subculture based on motor scooter riding, particularly Vespas and Lambrettas. Scooterboy culture originated in the late 1960s in the industrial north of England and resurfaced nationally in the United Kingdom around 1979 or 1980 at the time of the mod revival...
s during the mod revival
Mod Revival
The mod revival was a music genre and subculture that started in England in 1978 and later spread to other countries . The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence has lasted for decades...
of the 1970s and 1980s. While the style-obsessed British mod youth subculture of the 1960s prized the glamorous, metropolitan image of scooters, many skinheads and scooterboys viewed their bikes as simply a form of transportation.
While some scooter enthusiasts have focused on the stripped-down look, with just a bare frame and visible motor and mechanical parts, some scooterboys put back almost as much hardware as they had taken off, by adding customized chrome-plated accessories and racks.
Modifications
Many cutdowns have unneeded parts removed to improve power-to-weight ratioPower-to-weight ratio
Power-to-weight ratio is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement of actual performance of any engine or power sources...
. Typically, the fenders, leg shields, floors, tail section and cowls are removed. Cutting away body parts is the easiest with Lambretta scooters, because they are built on a tubular frame, which means that the body parts do not have a structural role. Vespa scooters, on the other hand, are usually built with a unibody design, so the body panels give the bike its structure. This means that when Vespas are cut down, they cannot be made as bare-bones as a Lambretta. The body panels of a Vespa are modified by slimming them down or giving them a different shape, in such a way that the structural soundness of the bike is not compromised.
Cutdowns are often tuned – much like a four-wheeled hot rod
Hot rod
Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...
– by overboring the cylinders to increase engine power or adding performance exhausts, modified carburettors, or aftermarket shock absorbers. Some enthusiasts replace the standard drum front brakes with hydraulic disc brakes or add water-cooled radiators. Lambretta owners may replace existing parts with a Nikasil
Nikasil
Nikasil is a trademarked electrodeposited lipophilic nickel matrix silicon carbide coating for engine components, mainly piston engine cylinder liners. It was introduced by Mahle in 1967, initially developed to allow rotary engine apex seals to work directly against the aluminum housing...
plated aluminium barrel with radical porting, large Dell'Orto
Dell'Orto
Dell'Orto is an Italian company, headquartered in Cabiate, specialized in the construction of carburetors and electronic injection systems. The company was founded in 1933 as "Società anonima Gaetano Dell'Orto e figli"...
or Mikuni
Mikuni
is a leading Japanese carburettor manufacturing company that was founded in 1923 and incorporated in 1948. Their business activities are centred on carburettors, fuel injectors and other automobile related equipment...
carburettors and bespoke (custom-made) expansion chamber
Expansion chamber
An expansion chamber is an exhaust system used on a two-stroke cycle engine to enhance its power output by improving its volumetric efficiency. It makes use of the energy left in the burnt exhaust exiting the cylinder to aid the filling of the cylinder for the next cycle...
s, hydraulic clutches, and modern low-profile tyres
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...
. Some scooterists use aluminum Fabrizi racing barrels, because they use a rotary induction mechanism. Stock gas tanks may be replaced with YSR tanks, which put the weight of the fuel further forward.
Some riders install a windshield to reduce wind resistance and enable higher speeds. To reduce weight, some scooterists use lighter-weight aftermarket parts, such as SIP carbon sports seats and other parts made from carbon fibre, carbon kevlar and fibreglass.
Some cutdowns have been used for drag racing. At scooter races, cutdowns often race in a separate category called the "specials", which is for cutdown and heavily modified racing scooters. The other scooter race categories include stock races with relatively unmodified larger scooters (152 to 250 cc) and "small frame" races for scooters with 136 cc or smaller engines. For races, scooters usually have to have accessories removed, such as center and side stands, mirrors, turn signals that stick out, and luggage racks. Scooter races often disallow performance-enhancing fuel additives such as octane booster.
Related scooter types
A cutdown scooter resembles a "naked scooter", which is a scooter designed without panels covering the engine and with little or no bodywork. The difference between the two types is that while a cutdown scooter started as a regular scooter with body panels and bodywork, before it was customized, a "naked scooter" is designed and manufactured as a "bare-bones" vehicle. In the 1960s, Lambretta models A through D were in this category. In the 1990s, Italjet produced a stripped-down scooter called the Dragster. In the 2000s Honda produced the RuckusHonda Ruckus
The Zoomer is a motorscooter developed by Honda and introduced in Japan and America in late 2002 for the 2003 model year; in Canada and the USA, the scooter is sold as the Ruckus...
, which had the motor mounted in a skeleton-style metal frame.
Another scooter type which is related to cutdowns is the "chopper", which is a cutdown scooter with extra-long front forks. These bikes are often made with Lambrettas, because when the bodywork is removed from their tubular frame, they resemble mini Harley-Davidson motorcycles. "Rats" are cutdowns which are made by putting together old parts to create a rough-looking, unpainted bike. In contrast to many other scooter enthusiasts, "rat" builders view blemishes and unrepaired dents as attractive. The "rat" approach to scooter customizing is similar to the rat rod
Rat rod
A rat rod is a style of hot rod or custom car that, in most cases, imitates the early hot rods of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. It is not to be confused with the somewhat closely related "traditional" hot rod, which is an accurate re-creation or period-correct restoration of a hot rod from the same...
style of hot rod
Hot rod
Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...
ding, in which old cars often have original paint with rust patches, or even just bare rusty metal. Major scooter rallies which give prizes to scooters sometimes put "chopper" and "rat" scooters in a separate category from the rest of the cutdowns.