Pondering the Scooter Lifestyle — From Italy to Arizona

Thoughts about the scooter life have been with me since I returned from Italy in June. We’ve all seen the photos or the real thing — rows of scooters lining European streets and sidewalks, some of the machines rusted and beat up, others decked out with care and pride (I won’t forget the pristine Repsol Honda scooter outside a gymnasium in Livorno).

There, of course, choosing scooters over cars often comes as a necessity. Owning a car is more expensive there than it is here; fuel, taxes and insurance all cost more. A lot more. For example, gas was running a little higher than $6 per gallon in early and mid-June. Plus, the streets sometimes are no wider than the alleyways you’ll find throughout the Phoenix area, and parking space is hard to find. Scooters provide the most effective transportation medium for the masses in Italy — even the family of four we saw sharing one moped.

What impressed me most about the scooter lifestyle in Italy was the riders’ confidence and agility as they weaved through chaos. There was an unexpected sense of order to all that frenetic maneuvering (creating three lanes out of two, anyone?). It was nothing like what Phoenix drivers dish out. Before we arrived in Italy, I had hoped for the chance to take a spin; after all, I’d ridden scooters on Bermuda some years before and had a great time. But once we got to Italy and saw the traffic not just in Rome but also in smaller cities throughout the Tuscany region, I was extra grateful we had native family chauffeuring us. Two weeks would not have been nearly enough time to learn the intricate secrets of Italian traffic-navigation — which often looks like an uncoordinated mess — much less the unknowns such as one-way streets. I decided I like being alive and intact.

Here in Arizona, a scooter lifestyle strikes me as easier in some ways to maintain than its motorcycling counterpart and I do wonder why more people don’t do it. (I’ve wanted a scooter forever, with a sidecar for my puppy, naturally. But the practicality issue comes into play. Where would I store both scooter and sidecar since our garage is full of motorcycles? Would I really ride a scooter more than I ride my street bike? I almost think yes, because carrying groceries and other items is easier on a scooter than would be the case on my Street Triple. At that point, I have to question how much I would truly go shopping on a scooter rather than in the car. Honest answer? Not very much. Most crucially, would Nova the puppy even enjoy riding in a sidecar in doggles and scarf? Who knows.) I think the answer comes down to a couple of factors.

First, cars play such a significant role in American culture and commutes. We are the land of Henry Ford, after all, where cars represent freedom and success, and have to take us long distances to earn our livings.

Along with that, Arizona in particular faces weather issues that a lot of areas — I’m thinking Seattle and Portland, where you will see more scooters — do not. Scooter or motorcycle, I don’t know of anyone who actually feels happy about riding in pelting, blinding rain, exposed to unpredictable lightning. (I’m guessing the guy on his Harley, huddled under the Alma School overpass on the 60 during the July 29 monsoon, would rather have been in a vehicle.)

Second, scooters seem to attract a niche demographic in America. A lot of people here associate the two-wheel lifestyle with masculinity, bad-a$$ery or excessive speed, elements that don’t generally or inherently lend themselves to scooters. As a result, there appears to be a lack of confidence that surrounds scooter riders on the street unless they’re in a group of like-thinking folks. I for one find this a bummer. I applaud people who flaunt America’s “bigger is better” mindset and who take pride in living their values from the inside out. (That’s not to say that one can’t spend a lot of dough on scooters. Some of the kits and accessories we spotted in Italy were out-of-this-world expensive … and very, very pretty.)

That said, if you ride a scooter, I think you’re awesome. And I hope someday to join you — that is, if I can convince the husband and the dog.

This is the first column I’ve devoted to scooters and I’d like to hear from those of you who love what you ride. Do you do it for the financial savings? For the lower center of gravity that might impart a heftier sense of control than the positioning on a motorcycle? For a different sense of community or belonging than what tends to prevail among motorcyclists? As a stepping stone to riding motorcycles? I’m also curious why so few scooter enthusiasts wear full gear. (I can see the appeal, for sure — a scooter somehow imparts a sense of feeling safer than a bike although I would argue a crash would hurt just as much.) How have you strengthened your skills since you started riding, and how has that work helped or saved you? Tell me what attracts you to scooters and why.[/md_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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