Do You Need Iron Ass to Ride Scooter With Wooden Seat?

Was this scooter's seat suggested by John Yoo?

​The truth is, we just don't know much about motor scooters. We've never owned one, never even taken one for a spin, and certainly never bellowed "We are the Mods!" while instigating a seaside riot.

Our ignorance of the subject notwithstanding, we still can't figure out the thought process behind this scooter photographed in the Lower Haight. In place of an actual seat, this vehicle has a hardwood board bolted to it. And we do mean hardwood -- knocking on the board rewards one with a rich and resonant sound; this is not IKEA particleboard crap here.

Still, even people who know from scooters couldn't figure out what's going on here. "What if you go over a bump?" asked one. "Maybe he's got an iron ass," posited another. Incidentally, when it comes to wooden scooters, Portuguese craftsman Carlos Alberto -- who created an entire Vespa out of laminated hardwood -- saw fit to include an actual seat with shocks on his wooden creation. 

Ach! My tailbone!

​So what gives? If you've got an inkling of what's going on here, please leave us a comment. Or, if -- as we gather -- this is just the vehicular equivalent of hipsters wearing uncomfortable pants so tight you can tell what religion they are, feel free to weigh in and confirm our suspicions.