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Scooters, once limited to the young and hip urban dweller (think San Francisco), are selling like snow cones on a hot Modesto day all across the country, according to news reports.

Blame the cost of gasoline, which seems to be on an escalator to infinity.

But I suspect that gasoline is only part of the equation. Yeah, 70 miles per gallon is cool, but something else is at play here - A spark of adventure, a slightly subversive mentality, perhaps boredom with the blandness of a Toyota Prius.

(I would insert a spiffy picture of a scooter here, but I forgot to e-mail one from my vast collection of odd motorcycle pictures...you'll just have to dredge up those mental images of Audrey Hepburn zipping around with Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday.)

Scooters require a commitment that an economy sedan doesn’t. Are you willing to claim a lane of traffic amid the four-wheeled behemoths in a vehicle that weighs just a couple of hundred pounds? Are you ready to dodge potholes that you can straddle or even ignore in an SUV?

Are you up for chucking the air conditioning for a ride through the bugs, heat, rain and fog?

Those who say yes, I think, have a bit more imagination than most, and an impish sense of humor.

Scooters are very different than motorcycles, although manufacturers are busy blurring the lines with bigger, heavier, more motorcycle-like scoots.

A scooter removes the macho factor from two-wheeled travel, while retaining some of the rebelliousness. No loud pipes, no intimidation factor with a step-through with 12” wheels and an automatic transmission. But scooterists are still thumbing their noses at convention, shedding the metal cage and experiencing nature first hand, without an air conditioner to filter out the heat and odors of the day.

Dumping the macho appeal of motorcycles is another bit of subversiveness. The heavy cruiser crowd has become conventional, with the leather vests and chaps, chains and beanie helmets. A scooter is different, and says “I don’t need all that stuff.”

I don’t own a scooter, and never have. But I remember being sorely tempted, at the age of 14 or so, visiting a Midwestern bicycle shop that also carried Vespas. When a bicycle is your only option, any motorized vehicle is an object of lust for a teenaged boy.

The only thing that stopped me was money, or lack thereof. And the problem of selling the idea to my mother…

She remembered my only ride on a scooter. I was riding on the back of a Cushman piloted by a friend of my older brother, when he jumped a curb entering a neighborhood park. I flew off the back, landing face up in the grass. It was the first time I ever had the wind knocked out of me. I didn’t like the experience much, but I wasn’t able to complain about it for a few minutes. I still wanted a scooter.

Gas prices weren’t a factor in those days. I think it was about 35 cents a gallon. Maybe that’s why Cushman went out of business and Vespa headed back to Italy.

Vespas are back now, along with scooters from Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Piaggio and even Schwinn.

I test rode a 200cc Vespa a year or so ago. I was surprised at how peppy it was, but had trouble adjusting to the fact that both handlebar levers were brakes. (Slowing down, better downshift, grab the clutch – oops, instant stop.)

The seating position is different, too. Legs and feet out in front of you, rather than underneath. And those tiny wheels make them seem flighty at higher speeds.

Still… I can feel a tinge of that 14-year-old lust. Don't tell my macho motorcycling buddies.