That “Ant” turns out to be alive
But there’s nothing Tula left in him
New 2022 Ant scooters. I show you how much they cost and what they are made of.
Residents of the post-Soviet space are well aware of the Ant scooter. The small tricycle became indispensable in rural areas, where it was used for small cargo transportation. The scooter was also of interest to young guys who filled the back of it and got to the right place. Recently I came across an advertisement for the sale of new 2022 Ants. I asked how a modern scooter differs from a Soviet one, and whether it has a future.
The first generation of Ant was produced from 1959 to 1995. You could see a motor scooter in almost any village. The name for the model was chosen for a reason. With a dry weight of 258 kg, the scooter had a declared load capacity of 340 kg. In real conditions, the Ant was often overloaded; before my eyes, it carried six adults without any problems. The second generation of the model was not so popular, and even now the Soviet-made scooter is actively used in rural areas. Third-party companies have started producing spare parts, allowing owners to service the tricycle.
Soviet "Ant" and its happy owners
The Tula Machine-Building Plant, which developed the Ant in the 50s, was not interested in the logical continuation of the model. This year the company released the Ant VTS electric trolley, which has an electric motor and is intended primarily for work in warehouses. The technical features of the car are clearly not suitable for rural areas, and the selling price of 1,250,000 rubles is unlikely to interest the buyer. But third parties have undertaken to produce modern versions of “Ant” with internal combustion engines class=”aligncenter” width=”700″ height=”453″[/img]
Electric “Ant VTS” from Tula Machine-Building Option
I caught my eye Muravei RC200ZH from the Russian company Racer. Externally, clear similarities with the Soviet design are visible. We see the usual three wheels, an impressively sized body and a simple design. The mass of the scooter is 310 kg, the declared load capacity is 380 kg. If desired, the buyer can order a reinforced version with springs and thick leaf springs, which will significantly increase the maximum cargo weight.
Fans of domestic technology should not rely on the solutions used by our engineers. In the modern “Ant”, of the significant elements, only the frame is made in Russia. It is significantly better in quality compared to analogues from the Middle Kingdom, which is especially important when heavy loads are placed on the metal. The scooter is equipped with a four-stroke engine with a capacity of 14 horsepower made in China, has air cooling with the ability to force a fan, and a simple Taiwanese carburetor is installed.
In general, the new “Ant” is quite simple and has the minimum necessary for operation. Among the simple systems that increase the level of comfort, we can note the presence of gas struts for raising an unloaded body. Most of the components used are from China, so the current Ant is very far from the Soviet scooter. Such a tricycle in the basic version costs about 150,000 rubles.
Channel Autoselect, Yandex. Zen
