SCOOTERS

A motor scooter is a vehicle that operates on two wheels. Its quintessential characteristics are its step-through frame, which allows its rider to straddle the seat in the manner of a bicycle, and a flat floorboard for the feet. The motor scooter is engine-powered, with the drive system and engine usually attached to either the rear axle or fixed under the seat of the vehicle. Also usually under the seat or existing as an attachment to the frame is some sort of storage space.

The wheels that the motor scooter rides on measure from eight to 12 inches (20-28 cm) in diameter. This makes the motor scooter the transportation method of choice in the urban areas of developed or developing countries due to the low cost of maintenance and steering ease. When compared to the motorcycle, a motor scooter is quieter, carry fewer legal restrictions, and requires relatively less skill to ride.

The first motor scooters were manufactured by Cushman with the intention of aiding World War II (WWII) paratroopers in navigating the rugged terrain unencumbered. The compact and light nature of these innovative ground vehicles was later adapted in post-WWII Italy by the manufacturer Piaggio as the Vespa, which quickly became popular in an area where the population needed an inexpensive form of transportation in the bustling city. For thirty five years the Vespa dominated the motor scooter market as the classic prototype, until the 1980s when Asian markets began releasing similar scooter models. They are now popular in Asia as well as parts of Latin America, specifically Puerto Rico.

Like with most motor vehicles, the motor scooter is subject to the strict emissions standards in the United States. Both the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have issued restrictions on the emissions allowance. In an effort to better accommodate these guidelines, motor scooter manufacturers have turned to fueling their vehicles with liquid petroleum gas (LPG) instead of gasoline or diesel.

Besides these more advanced features, modern motor scooters on the higher end of the price range boast technological, comfort, and aesthetic additions. For example, frames have become stronger and sleeker, as manufacturers have favored cast aluminum frames over other materials, as well as more efficient engines and braking systems. To increase the passenger's comfort, complementary features including windshields and heated hand grips have been found on newer scooter models. In addition, the vehicle already provides the palate for expression of individual taste, as evidenced by shops that specialize in custom designs for the motor scooter.

Besides the trend in more customizable structures on the scooter, another emerging trend in progress is the move to larger engines. Originally ranging from 30-250 cc on a single cylinder engine, manufacturers have developed maxi-scooters with the intention of catering to the demand for bigger, more powerful models. Maxi-scooters exhibit engines ranging from 250-850 cc and operate on fully automatic transmissions.

ATVS

An ATV, or all-terrain vehicle, is a motorized off-highway vehicle with handlebars and a seat like a motorcycle, but with four tires that are optimized for control and safety when navigating unpaved roads. The term is more generally used to describe a number of small, open, motorized buggies and tricycles designed for off road use.

On an all-terrain vehicle, the rider sits upright and operates these vehicles like motorcycles, but the extra wheels give the rider more stability at slower speeds. ATVs are used for everything from racing and recreational riding to hunting, farming, hauling, plowing snow and even cutting the grass. Because of their small size and awesome power, they can be used for an unlimited number of duties.

ATVs originated in the 1970s and were designed with three wheels and a very low power engine. They were used mainly for recreational travel and had limited use around farms and hunting lodges. As technology developed and the engines became more powerful, the design of the three wheeler ultimately led to its demise. They were unstable and hard to control on uneven ground, at higher speeds, or in any weight transfer situation. Due to safety issues, manufactures produced four-wheeled models in the late 1980s and ended the production of the three wheelers all together by 1987.

With the advent of the four wheel design, which is the industry standard for almost all current ATV production, manufactures opened another chapter in the world of ATVs. The four wheel design allowed for much greater speed, more powerful engines, and ultimately was the foundation for advanced suspension design. By 1987, all three majormanufacturers were producing high-performance four wheelers, which were raced around the country at local motocross tracks to showcase the great advancements in technology.

In the modern ATV market consumers have an unlimited selection of machines. ATVs can be purchased in almost any color, any size, two or four wheel drive, single or multiple passenger, and in almost any price ranging from $2,000 US dollars (USD) to $10,000 USD, a few even higher. The major ATV manufacturers are: Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Can-Am, Polaris, and Artic Cat. All of these manufacturers offer a variety of machines from race ready quads to all-out work horses, which can be purchased with anything from a lawn mower attachment to a snow plow. The possibilities in the new ATV market are only limited by how much money a particular customer has to spend.

SPARE PARTS

A spare part, service part, or spare, is an item of inventory that is used for the repair or replacement of failed parts. Spare parts are an important feature of logistics management and supply chain management, often comprising dedicated spare parts management systems.

Capital spares are spare parts although acknowledged to have a long life or a small chance of failure would cause shutdown of equipment for a prolonged period because of the long delivery of their replacement.

Spare parts are an outgrowth of the industrial development of interchangeable parts and mass production.

In logistics, spare parts can be broadly classified into two groups, repairables and consumables. Repairable parts are parts that are deemed worthy of repair, usually by virtue of economic consideration of their repair cost. Parts that are not repairable, are considered consumable parts. Consumable parts are usually scrapped, or "condemned", when they are found to have failed.

Economically, there is a tradeoff between the cost of ordering a replacement part and the cost of repairing a failed part. When the cost of repair becomes a significant percentage of the cost of replacement, it becomes economically favorable to simply order a replacement part. In such cases, the part is said to be "beyond economic repair" (BER), and the percentage associated with this threshold is known as the BER rate.

From the perspective of logistics, a model of the life cycle of parts in a supply chain can be developed. This model, called the repair cycle, consists of functioning parts in use by equipment operators, and the entire sequence of suppliers or repair providers that replenish functional part inventories, either by production or repair, when they have failed. Ultimately, this sequence ends with the manufacturer. This type of model allows demands on a supply system to ultimately be traced to their operational reliability, allowing for analysis of the dynamics of the supply system, in particular, spare parts.