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Great info resource on Grinder Rat Tail
Cutdown by jianglanbo
Modifications
Many cutdowns have unneeded parts removed to improve power to weight ratio. 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 chambers, 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.
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 Ruckus, which had the motor mounted in a skeleton-style metal frame.
The Honda Ruckus uses a skeleton-style frame without body paneling
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 rodding, 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.
See also
Hot rod
Skinhead
Scooterboy
Kustom Kulture
References
^ "Vespa Scoots Sexily Back to Vancouver". By Doug Sarti. From Straight.com. June 3, 2004 http://www.straight.com/article/vespa-scoots-sexily-back-to-vancouver
^ A Cultural History of the Italian Motorscooter: A Senior Thesis Presented To Prof. Anne Cook Saunders on December 17, 1998 By Mary Anne Long. Available online at: http://www.nh-scooters.com/filemanager/download/11/php1C.pdf
v d e
Skinhead
Related subcultures
& groups
Casuals Gay skinhead Hammerskins Hardcore skinhead Mod Red and Anarchist Skinheads Redskin Rude boy Scooterboy Sharpies Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice Soulboy Suedehead Trojan skinhead White power skinhead
Music
2 Tone Blue Beat Caribbean music in the UK Hardcore Mod revival Motown Northern soul Oi! Punk rock Reggae Rock Against Communism Rocksteady Ska Soul Stax Records Studio One Trojan Records
Clothing & accessories
Alpha Industries Ben Sherman Brogues Brutus Crombie Donkey jacket Dr. Martens Flat cap Flight jacket Fred Perry Grinders Harrington Levi Strauss Loafers Lonsdale MA-1 Sleeveless sweater Sta-Prest Solovair Steel-toe boots Suit Trilby
Other topics
Cutdown Football hooliganism Lambretta Scooter Skanking Skinhead books Skinhead films Vespa
Categories: Vehicle modification | Skinhead | Youth culture in the United Kingdom
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Milwaukee 4.5" Rat Tail grinder