An Inside Look: Modifications and the Aftermarket Parts Industry [Part One]

[Editor's Note: The following is the first in a series regarding common modifications and the aftermarket parts industry.]

In any extreme sport there are two main components. The rider, and what they ride. It really doesnt matter what sport were talking about. From skateboarding, to bmx, to freestyle motocross, and yes, even scootering. You want whatever you are riding to be reliable, you want to be able to trust its strength and durability, and you want it to perform to the best of its abilities. To achieve this is a very long process, filled with trial and error, and lots of imagination and experimentation. When scootering first hit the scene, it was used mainly for transportation, people were content and happy with the fact that they could take their scooter, unfold it, and go outside and ride around. However, there were small but ever-expanding groups of riders all around the world that didn't just see a scooter as something to "get around on". They began to use their scooters for trick riding, whether it was in skateparks or in the streets. It quickly became obvious that riding these scooters straight out of the box, didn't exactly leave you with the perfect scooter to go out and do tricks with. So a select few riders took it into their own hands to find some ways to modify these scooters, to enhance them in their own ways that would help them perform better, and make them more durable; So they could withstand the punishment that came with trick riding.


In the early days of modding your scooter. It wasn't easy...at all. There was no one before you to tell you how to fix certain parts, or how to make something stronger or prevent a part from breaking. Riders had to be creative to find ways to enhance their scooters. One of the first problems that became apparent to riders, was the folding systems on scooters. After a while they would warp and cause your headtube to become loose, Which led to your bars shaking back and forth. This can affect a lot of things when you ride. A rider by the name of Ricky Wernicke who at that time rode with a group of guys from southern California known as the "NBS" crew is thought to be one of the first riders who came up with the idea of "Locking your folding mech". He simply took the rear B model axels, which were longer than Old A or front axels, and he put a bearing on one side of the axel, pushed it through his folding mechanism, attached another bearing on the other end of the axle, and took a bolt and tightened it together. What this did was squeeze the folding mechanism rails together, which squeezed tight on the headtube that was in the middle of the two rails, and held it tightly in place. Thus giving your scooter a more solid feel while riding.

A traditionally locked folding mechanism.

Over the course of 2000 to 2004, the only real mods people made to their scooters consisted of putting full skateboard griptape over your deck, and locking up your folding mech. Which after a while, some riders replaced the rear B model axles for bolts of similiar size from a hardware store. Most riders were riding B Model decks, they were a bit longer than Old A decks, and were higher from the ground. Which gave more clearance while riding park or street. However around the year 2003 Razor discontinued the B Model. As riders salvaged and saved what B Models they had left, and let out long sighs at the sound of there "last" B Models snapping. A new scooter was introduced from Razor, and with it, would also bring forth a new mod, that is still used by some today. Razor came out with the "New A Model" When it first came out, it looked like a B model, only smaller, and lighter, and there seemed to be a new folding system. Well it was new all right, a new piece of garbage. That folding system was a lot different than what riders were used to bolting. Infact it was made from steel, and after a while would rip right out of the deck. So Josh Toy thought up a mod. He took old B Model folding systems, cut the rails from off of the decks, and then took the folding system off of the new A models. He re drilled holes into the new A deck, so that he could install the B model folding system. Once that was done you basically had yourself a lighter version of a B model, with a folding system that could be locked up now. But Josh wasn't done just yet. The B models were the scooter of choice in the early 2000's, although it was hard to get an actual "B Model" that had a solid fork. Most of the scooters sold were "B-1's" what that means is that they were B models, but they had suspension forks, better known as forks with shocks. With B models discontinued, and snapped B decks all over, he took some of the old B-1 suspension forks and came up with an idea. He removed the shocks, and in their place he put a small piece of of metal tubing, and bolted it together. By doing this on both sides, he created a dual-legged solid fork. It was far more solid than a regular stock fork, and raised the front end of the scooter almost half an inch. He sold a select few of these to certain riders, and it was one of the first if not the first real aftermarket part to be sold from one rider to another.

A New A deck, with B model folding mechanism rails.

In these early years of scootering, riders didnt have companies to buy parts from. They didnt have a forum where they could learn what mods could be done to their scooters. They had to teach themselves, and learn the hard way. Through the year of 2004 it was much of the same. Full deck griptape, locked up foldys; that was basically all that riders did to their scooters. However in the next 2 years, Two riders in particular would change the scooter parts industry forever. One from Woodinville, Washington and the other from Carlsbad, California...

- Steven Tongson