In the first three months of this year, motorcycle sales rose 8.6% and scooter sales gained about 2% from the year-earlier period. Those numbers show a "strong start to the year," he said, because sales are typically highest during the spring and summer.
At Chaparral Motorsports, whose showroom has row after row of shiny and colorful Hondas, Suzukis, Kawasakis and other makes, sales manager Jon Gerwin said cycles were zooming out the door at a 30% faster pace than at this time last year. Motorcycles that get good mileage are the most popular, he said, and many customers say that they're afraid gas will hit $4 a gallon.
Sales of bicycles began pumping higher last year, rising 7% to nearly 20 million in the U.S., as fuel costs rose, said Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong Coalition, a national group of bicycle suppliers and retailers.
Even the Segway, the battery-powered, self-balancing "human transporter" that was dismissed as a fad when it debuted in 2001, has received a boost.
Here's a tip from a motorcyclist of a half-century's standing: don't forget to put your foot down when you're stopped.
And don't be like the guy who once asked me at a stoplight, "How many miles can ya go on a tank o' gas on dat ting?"
"About 200" I replied.
"Shit, I kin do dat in dis ol' Buick" he said as he roared off.
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