July 10, 2006 Cincinnati Post Click Here For Original Article

By Jonathan Smith - Post staff reporter

Harleys may be the loudest, biggest bikes on the road, but sales of those little scooters -- the ones that can get about 75 miles to a gallon of gasoline -- are moving faster.

At Richwood Power Sports in Florence, scooter sales have doubled in the last year, said salesman Rick Appelman. And he knows why.

"The gas prices are now starting to go up in the summer time," Appelman said. "More people are coming in and are starting to inquire about that."

With gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon and motorists facing a summer of high gasoline bills, many are looking for alternatives.

Appelman said prospective buyers become instantly interested when they learn about the potential gas spending savings.

"It's definitely a pro,'' he said. "It can't hurt when you bring that up...the gas they would get on a scooter compared to a vehicle, they are pretty pleased.''

Even some who didn't buy scooters just for the high gas mileage are now reaping the reward. Angela Buettner admits that exhaustingly steep gas prices were not the reason she purchased a scooter. Her husband, Ben Jones, wanted something a little more dangerous.

"He wanted a motorcycle, and I didn't," Buettner said. "I was afraid of it." So the Mount Healthy couple compromised on a slower, safer scooter. Make that two.

"I wanted us to do something together," she said. So it was his and hers - black and pink - scooters.

The two quickly became enamored with the money saving benefits of owning a scooter.

The scooters they bought get anywhere from 75 to 105 miles to the gallon, Jones said. The tank is equipped to travel 230 miles. That equates to about a $6 fill-up at the gas station.

"It's a world of difference," Jones said.

According to AAA, the national average for regular grade gasoline is $2.85 per gallon. In Covington, the average is $2.80; In Cincinnati, $2.79.

Dave Rueve, owner of the Metro Scooter dealership in Evanston where the duo purchased their pair, said business has been crazy since August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina caused a spike in oil costs. A month later in September, he sold 12 scooters in a week, five in one day.

"A good week is like four or five bikes," he said.

Brent Bayes, salesman at Shipps Yamaha Suzuki in Fairfield, said his scooter inventory is about depleted.

Bayes thinks that many families, like Buettner and Jones, are apprehensive about buying a bike, and that high gas prices will make an uneasy partner surrender.

"A lot of people want to get in the sport, but they have to convince their significant other," he said. "And they will play the gas mileage card."

Bayes also thinks the high gas prices are setting off a rebirth for the ghosts of riding past.

"I believe gasoline prices have brought a lot of people back to the sport," he said. "I see a lot of the guys who rode 10, 15, 20 years ago, and they want to get back into it."

Harley Davidson of Cincinnati owner Greg Stith, said he has even had a few customers in his store griping about gas prices. This is unusual for a product that he calls the "Rolls Royce of motorcycles."

"Some people come in and they are looking for something to get back and forth to work," Stith said. "They may want to keep the car they have now, but they are finding it a real crunch."

One of the drawbacks to loads of scooter buyers is the increased amount of inexperienced riders on the road.

Motorcycle Ohio said there were 177 motorcycle or scooter related deaths in the state in 2005, up from 134 in 2004.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said 84 people died in Kentucky 2005, compared to 65 in 2004.

"There a lot of people now looking for pleasure and for economics and they may not be as experienced as other riders," Stith said. "There does seem to be a lot of interest from new riders."

According to Bayes and Rueve, all Ohio scooter operators face the same regulations as motorcycles operators. Riders must take a written test to get their novice permit. If they obtain that, they cannot have a passenger, ride at night or on the highway and they must wear a helmet for one year. After that you can either take a skills test to get your endorsement, or take a course offered by the motorcycle safety foundation. Once one of those options is completed, all requirements are lifted.

In Kentucky, operators of a scooter must have protective eye gear if their scooter does not have a protective shield. Helmets are not required, except from drivers under 21, and those that have had their licenses for less than a year.

Jones said he and his wife are taking every precaution not to become accident victims.

"They say my scooter can go 70," Jones said. "Not with me on it."

Jones might not be on his GMC Sierra as much anymore. He said he doesn't know how much it costs to fill up the pick up truck's gas tank.

"Gas at the pump only authorizes credit cards to 75 dollars."

Buettner said she isn't the only one contemplating saving money via scooter. "I was talking to a guy at the bank, and he told me he had been looking hard at scooters, too," she said. "We talked about the gas prices and the scooters for quite a long time."

Rueve added that people are becoming completely fed up with the ongoing problem of rising gas prices, and they see scooters as a solution.

"I think that people are just saying no to paying $3 a gallon," he said.