Alternative transportation

If you are in the market for a fun, economical and easy way to travel around town, the gas-powered scooter might be the perfect purchase.

An alternative mode of transportation that can be described as a cross between a bicycle and a motorcycle, gas-powered scooters allow anyone with a valid driver's license to just step on the gas and go.

"It is so fun," said Caroline Hanner, who bought her gas-powered scooter last year. Hanner fell in love with the scooters after one of the owners of Campus Auto and Tire stopped by her workplace at VanMatre Buick and she got to take it for a spin.

Unlike motorcycles, these scooters do not require registration, license plates or insurance, and drivers do not have to wear a helmet.

They even offer somewhat of a cure to the current sky-high gas prices.

"They're a cheap mode of transportation. They're very fuel efficient," said Pat Evans at Campus Auto and Tire, 1404 Independence. "If the fuel prices get high enough people will ride them. There'll be more of a need for them."

Gas-powered scooters get anywhere from 50 to 100 miles to the gallon.

Now, the gas-powered scooter are not to be confused with its electric-powered cousin.

According to Missouri state law, a scooter (or moped as they are sometimes called) is considered a motorized bike if it has an automatic transmission and a motor with a cylinder capacity of not more that 50 cubic centimeters which produces less than three gross brake horsepower and can travel at a maximum speed of not more than 30 mph.

Only scooters falling under this definition are allowed to be drive on the streets and even then there are some stipulations.

Because scooters can only reach speeds of 30 mph, they cannot be driven on roads where there is a minimum speed limit.

Even though they cannot go as fast as a motorcycle, owners like Hanner and Jim Masidonski take great pleasure in riding them.

Masidonski bought a scooter for the fun it offered, but he has found its fuel efficiency a great bonus. "It gets excellent gas mileage," he said.

Masidonski bought his gas-powered scooter from World of Honda/Yamaha about three weeks ago and intends to drive it to classes at Southeast Missouri State University.

These two must not be the only ones sold on the scooters' appeal. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, scooters sales are up 21 percent for the first quarter of 2004.

People who sell scooters in Cape Girardeau said that they have noticed a increase in sales.

Xtreme Motors at 1401 Independence has been selling the scooters for about two years and owner Rodney Pobst said he has seen an increase in sales this year.

Pobst said he sold 15 scooters in April. He thinks a large part of their appeal is that they are easy to drive because they have no gears to change and no clutches like motorcycles.

Xtreme Motors offers two scooter models for sale. The Xcooter mini-chopper sells for $595 and gets 100 miles to the gallon. The larger Boss Viper costs $1,100 and gets about 60 to 75 miles to the gallon.

"There's a lot of people who live in town that can leave the car at home and drive (the scooters) to work," said Lawrence Nenninger, who works at Xtreme Motors.

Motorsports Unlimited at 470 S. Kingshighway sells scooters on occasion, but co-owner Brian Hahs said motorcycles are the big sellers at the store right now.

"The scooters are kind of funny things," Hahs said. "There's a lot of people who don't want to be seen on a scooter."

According to Hahs, motorcycles' recent popularity started about a year ago when television shows like the Discovery Channel's "American Chopper" went on the air, but sales got even better once gas prices started to rise.

While the scooters are "cheap transportation," they cannot be driven at high speeds, so motorcycles make more sense for people who want to save on gas and travel outside of town, Hahs said.

The Honda and Yamaha scooters for sale at World of Honda/Yamaha at 1728 Kingshighway start at $1,795. Salesperson Steve Break said the store has seen an increase in scooter and motorcycles sales. Break has heard people mention rising gas prices and fuel efficiency as reasons for purchasing motorcycles and scooters but said that the sales were up before the gas prices were.

In general, he said, younger people use scooters as an economical way to get around town, while older people tend to use them for recreational purposes, especially at campgrounds.

Pete Cheneler at Auto Stop Auto Sales at 2550 Independence also has sold a number of scooters to people who intended to use them on campgrounds.

Cheneler said the store sold about 10 or 15 scooters within a six-to-eight-month period. While some of those purchasers may have been pleased to find out they can get great gas mileage, a good deal of them probably fell in love with the scooter for another reason.

Scooters are "a ton of fun," Masidonski said.

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182