The 2008 Motorcycle Industry Council Retail Sales Report, released this month, showed that overall motorcycle sales were down 7.2% compare to 2007, but scooter sales in the U.S. were up a whopping 41%. According to MIC President Tim Buche, “We’ll look at 2008 as a big year for scooters, dual-purpose bikes and small-displacement motorcycles. If it was smart-sized, offered great value and high fuel mileage, then chances are it was a sales success. Availability mattered, too.

Many dealers could have sold more of these kinds of motorcycles if they only had them. Demand was so much higher than anyone could have expected.”  The preliminary results of the sales statistics, which are taken across 12 different manufacturer brands, suggest that Americans are turning to motorcycles more for transportation than pleasure or off-roading, and the sturdy practical quality of the scooter, especially the European style scooter, is suddenly very attractive.

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