Modern Vespa

With the ballooning gas prices, it's good to see more two wheelers on the road! Whether scooters, motorcycles, or bikes.

how about in your town? Are people making a shift?

Maybe slowly cagers will be more accustomed to seeing us on the road.

Ride safe....

more here

Hard to tell, if it is the gas prices or the warmer weather. We have had some nice days inbetween the rain here... so I am not sure but I am seeing more cycles out there, and more of those are scoots.... Happy days!!

I am pleased and amused to see the motorized bicycles showing up again... R

In my travels today (I drive a transit bus) I must have seen at least a dozen scooters and twice as many motorcycles on the road. It was a decent day weatherwise, not quite cold and not too warm. Sadly most of the scooters were cheap Chinese !@#$ with a few Hondas thrown in.
On a lighter note while riding to work I got a wave from this guy on a HD softtail. Real nice ride - all black with red accented rims. I had no trouble keeping up with him on my GTS300 Super!

Not so far...but I'll concede that the incessant rainy weather is causing even the regular riders to stay off the roads.

Big time! And they aren't cheap either. Also have seen motorized skateboards.....
quote="Still Shifting"]I am pleased and amused to see the motorized bicycles showing up again... R[/quote]

I've seen a few more than usual but i live in the land of cheap Chinese scooters. However the same thing that happened in '08 is that more people are stoppimg me and asking questions about my scooter, cost MPG etc

For a while now, this is what I've seen growing in numbers. The scooters I do see tend to be inexpensive ones.

Well, I know spring is coming. Most of the locals I see on the roads have taken the plow blades off their trucks to improve mileage. Two wheelers can't be far behind. Actually, I did see a biker the other day, riding with a snowsuit on.

From the WSJ article linked below, my bold
"The industry council says tire sales, which it says are an indicator of motorcycle use, also rose in the first three months of the year. Motorcycle and scooter tire sales increased 29%. Sales of tires for on-highway bikes rose 28% while scooter tires jumped 49%"
http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2011/04/27/motorcycle-sales-rise-driven-by-pricey-gas/

Can't say that I see any difference yet, but we are still in our wet Spring. Mostly hardcore riders. We'll see what happens when warmer weather arrives.

I've seen a few more but we've had high winds which tends to keep the smaller scooters/motorcycles off the streets. Its been difficult getting my husband out with the winds though we are riding from Houston to Austin for the weekend on the Scarabeo & BV 500s.

Story on the radio the other day -- High gas prices (spikes) change purchasing and usage behaviors for about 3 or 4 months. Then it's back to the old ways. (Remember last time when Smart had the huge waiting lists for their little car?)

Seen more and more motorcycles around but only a few scoots.

Took my driving test on Tuesday, accompanied by rent-a-scooter guy (so I'd be legal) and the test guy couldn't believe I was testing on my OWN scoot, not one I was just using for the test (instead of motorcycle). Other guy along with us taking test rented a 80cc Chinese one from the rent a scoot company. Test guy couldn't believe I was willingly taking test with my own 150cc, rather than get on 80cc. Asked if I wanted top box off to make it lighter. I kept it on.

BTW, test would really be impossible to pass on a motorcycle--distances between cones on in-and-out part hard enough to do on Vespa! I damn near choked: nerves. Put one foot down, once, 5 points off. But passed!