You may have experienced it while using a cheap string trimmer in your yard. But those of us who know the sensation of burning hands caused by the vibration of handle bars know it best. I'm talking about really old motor scooters.

Before about 1949, most motorscooters had the engine bolded directly to the frame. Steel against steel. All of the engine vibration was transmitted to the frame and magnified by the handlebars. Hard rubber grips were not much help. Then somebody looked at some of the new cars in those days and discovered rubber motor mounts. It was a whole new world for scooter riders.

I have spent several hours in my shop in the last couple of days, replacing the motor mounts on my 1953 Cushman. The rubber in the old mounts was crushed flat and hard as a rock. I might as well have been riding my '47 model.

Each mount is made up of 8 pieces counting all the big washers, the main bolt, and two rubber donuts. Since there are five mounts, it was a big job. I haven't ridden it yet, because I am still hooking up the controls, but it is bound to ride better.

This is one of those old ratty looking scooters that is mechanically sound but needs paint. It has new tires, so it is probably saver than some of my better-looking scooters. My '72 Vespa. for example, is a gleaming orange, but riding on 1972 tires tends to make me worry a lot. A blown tire can dump you in second.

One more comment about vibration. I have a 1963 Cushman Eagle, modern as Cushmans go, and it has the engine mounted in a subframe. There are rubber mounts between the engine and the subframe and subframe is mounted with rubber to the main frame.(You thought that was a new term?) In addition, the handlebars are mounted in rubber on top of the fork, so very little vibration gets to your hands. It's a very comfortable scooter.
Howard