Motor scooters, in case you haven’t noticed, are the hottest things on two wheels.
Dealers across all model lines are reporting greater demand for scooters. Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Vespa, Aprilia–the brand doesn’t matter.
“I’ll be sold out of Aprilia scooters by mid-July,” confirmed Geoff Mellinger, owner of MCC motorcycles in Villa Park, which sells Aprilia’s Vespa-style Mojito series and the larger wheel Scarabeo line.
“I didn’t want them at first,” said Mellinger. “I wanted no part of motor scooters, but Aprilia made us take them if we wanted their motorcycles. We had to be a full-service dealer–or nothing.
“I parked the scooters in front, and they brought people in who had no interest in motorcycles. It’s a different market we hadn’t considered. We sold 60 scooters last year and could have sold another 25.”
Mike Mount, spokesman for the Motorcycle Industry Council, said motor scooters are the fastest growing segment of the two-wheel market.
According to council figures, 12,000 scooters were sold in the U.S. in 1997. That number was 84,000 for 2003, and motorcycle industry analyst Don Brown of DJB/Associates expects scooter sales to top 100,000 this year when lesser-known Asian producers such as Geely are factored in.
The council defines a motor scooter as “an on-highway motorcycle, generally with a small displacement engine, full bodywork and a step-through design.”
So think vintage Vespa. All contemporary scooters with floorboards and body panels flow directly from it.
The Vespa heritage becomes less obvious with the more techno looking Honda Ruckus, with its steel tube frame, or the zippy urban bomber Yamaha Zuma. But their basic design is similar. Small wheels and the rider’s feet sitting flat on the floor, not straddling an engine. The attractions of scooters include the fact they’re cheap to own and have no gears to fuss with.
With the exception of Stella, all have automatic transmissions, making them simple to ride. Twist the throttle and go. And if the motor is less than 50 cubic centimeters in displacement, there’s no need for a special operator’s license. A Class D Illinois Drivers License is fine. (Scooters of 50 to 150 cc require an “L” Class designation. More than 150 cc need the “M” Class motorcycle license.)
Price also is a factor; motor scooters range from $899 for a 49-cc Euro at Pep Boys to $7,699 for Suzuki’s 650-cc Burgman and $7,699 for Honda’s 582-cc Silver Wing.
Most cost $1,800 to $4,900.
For example, the 49-cc Honda Metropolitan and Yamaha Vino come in at $1,749 and $1,699, respectively. Take a step up to the 80-cc Honda Elite 80 at $2,199 or the Yamaha Vino 125 at $2,199. Aprilia offers the Mojito 150 Custom for $3,899. Vespa lists the 49-cc ET-2 at $2,999 and the 150-cc ET-4 at $3,999. Vespa’s newest model, the Granturismo 200, sells for $4,899.
“There’s no questioning the growth we’ve seen in sales,” Brown said of scooters. “Vespa helped draw attention to scooters when the company returned to the U.S. [in 2001 after a hiatus of nearly 20 years]. Other companies responded with new models. The industry is spending a lot of money to promote motor scooters.
“But we’ve seen this before. In the 1980s, Honda and Yamaha offered slick-looking scooters. They spent a bundle on TV and print advertising and sales hit the 150,000 mark in 1984, then collapsed when marketing budgets were pulled back to a maintenance level,” Brown said.
“I don’t think we’ll see that sort of drop-off happening this time around. Demographics seem more favorable. Scooters are most popular within the 18-to-34 age group, and we look for their numbers to increase another 7 million by 2016.”
The Motorcycle Industry Council reports a slightly older demographic for scooter riders–a median age of 37 and annual household income of $42,000.
But 19.5 percent of motor scooter owners are student age. Folks such as 20-something Rob Sulzman, manager of the Papa Saverio’s pizza outlet in Glen Ellyn.
Sulzman rides a 49-cc Atlantis scooter by Derbi, one of the Asian brands that don’t report sales figures to the industry council.
Sulzman’s not a motorcycle guy. He didn’t browse Vespa boutiques or Honda dealerships.
“I looked online,” he said, “but that’s all. I found the Atlantis on a lot in Lombard for $1,500 and took a test-ride. It was easy. No gears. It’s all I need. I have a three-mile commute to work. It’s perfect in dry weather.”
Jazz trombonist Scott Bentall turned 50 this year and treated himself to the new 150-cc Stella at $2,899. Bentall owned vintage British motorcycles–Triumphs and Nortons–until the early 1990s.
“Never gave motor scooters a second thought,” he said. “But I’ll tell you, I got interested and started seeing them differently when I had gigs in Europe and saw how much fun guys were having on them.
“The Stellas lined up outside Scooterworks [in Chicago] said, `Come look at us!’ I couldn’t resist. I walked in and bought one,” Bentall said. “It’s purely for mental health. Not a grocery-getter, nothing practical. I get on–and ride. I have two sons who live in McHenry. I ride the Stella from the North Side out to see them. I put on 900 miles in the first four weeks. It’s addictive. You find you don’t want to get off.”
Older riders turn to scooters for several reasons. Some, such Bentall, are charmed by the look and feel of the Stella and other retro models such as the Honda Metropolitan and Yamaha Vino.
But the primary attractions appear to be rider comfort, ease of operation and the fun of getting out in the fresh air for a few hours. (Nobody touted gas mileage figures of 55 to 65 miles per gallon as a reason for buying.)
Sandra Lopez picked up her Suzuki Burgman 650 from Nielsen Enterprises in Lake Villa because she wanted “a nice big one!” Lopez rode a Honda Rebel 250 motorcycle in the 1980s and has used Harleys belonging to friends “off and on,” but when considering a new bike purchase last year, she chose the simplicity of a scooter.
“I’ve gotten lazy,” she said. “I don’t want to bother shifting gears anymore. My friend rides a [Honda] Gold Wing, and I need something that’ll keep up with him. That was my reason for buying the Burgman. No gears, enough power–and the storage space. There’s plenty of storage space on this motor scooter. Lots of room for shoes.”
Jeff Eder sold Lopez her Suzuki. Eder is sales manager at Nielsen Enterprises, which also handles Honda and Yamaha.
Get Eder talking scooters, and he’s off on Honda Spree of the 1980s.
“Remember that one?” he asked. “The Spree had a 49-cc engine and sold for $599. We sold dozens–mostly to college kids. We had one whole room full of Sprees. They’d take ’em off to school.
“We’ve always sold motor scooters. The Yamaha Zuma is great little scooter. That’s a two-stroke 49-cc engine that’ll do 40 to 45 m.p.h. The Honda Ruckus is slower, but rugged. Drag racers buy the Ruckus to use around racetracks, to get around the pits. You also see them used off-road. People haul them on motor homes and campers. They have a beefier tire than the Metropolitan.”
Vespa comes in at the high end of the price range for motor scooters, but Costantino Sambuy, president of Piaggio USA, the American arm of the company that builds Vespas, didn’t seem overly concerned when it was pointed out the Stella sells for $1,000 less than the much smaller 49-cc Vespa ET-2.
Sambuy knows the Stella is essentially a Vespa, built in the old Vespa plant in India that still turns out several hundred thousand bikes a year for the Asian market.
“The Stella is what?” he asked. “It’s 1970s technology? 1980s? Can’t we come into the 21st Century, guys? You have to ride the Granturismo first–and then judge, ” Sambuy said.
Phillip McCaleb, importer of the Stella, insisted Scooterworks and its subsidiary Genuine Scooter Co. is filling a niche selling Stellas to scooter purists who love shifting gears.
He said there’s a demand for the vintage scooter experience.
“I bring in cargo containers filled with crated Stella motor scooters,” he said. “There are always several containers on the way, filled with 30 or 40 scooters each. Our dealer network is up to 62 locations–and all of this has happened since March of 2003.
“I’ve never seen anyone walk into our place–and then walk out without a smile. Motor scooters do that to you.
