TheScooterScoop

THE SOCIETY OF SCOOTERS: More metro Detroiters join clubs dedicated to riding mod vintage Vespas: “It started with the putter of one modest motor. Then came the coughs of about two dozen scooters parked on the sidewalk along 12 Mile Road, launching a cacophony of raw rumbles, punched by the occasional backfiring engine. The scooters’ chorus quickly grew louder than the cars that whooshed past them.

So goes a new Berkley ritual and a growing gearhead fascination.

Colorful and curvy, retro scooters are puttering past subdivisions and zipping through downtowns. They’re catching stares, bringing together long-time scooterists and converting some to a mode of transportation that has become a lifestyle for many riders in the region.

‘It almost feels like you’re the most popular kid showing up to a party,’ said Eric Mazurak, 27, of Royal Oak, about the honks and cheers he gets when he rides one of his restored scooters.

Mazurak has also heard some people shout: ‘Get a real bike!’ But he said that comes being 6-foot-5 and riding a scooter. Mazurak’s scooters range from about 5 horsepower and a top speed of 45 m.p.h. to about 15 horsepower and 80 m.p.h.”