Zippity Brouhaha
Scooter=20 enthusiasts
don't want a ticket to ride

By ISAAC GUZMAN

ost people grouse when they get a = traffic=20 ticket. Bob Armstrong decided to run for office.

Armstrong, 55, is one of a growing number of zippy = zealots who=20 view motorized scooters such as the California Go-Ped, Huffy = Buzz=20 and Viza Viper as their preferred method of city = transportation.=20 They hustle around town on their souped-up skateboards, = defying=20 surly cabbies, annoyed pedestrians, and most alarmingly, the = law.=20 Yet they think of themselves not as scooting scofflaws but = as=20 freedom riders.

King of=20 the Road: Bob Armstrong is in cruise control.=20

In September 1998, just blocks from his Peck Slip = apartment=20 overlooking the Fulton fish market, Armstrong was issued a = ticket=20 and had his Phantom scooter seized by a cop who told him he = had a=20 "nonconforming" vehicle that wasn't street legal. His ticket = for=20 riding an unlicensed vehicle was later dismissed, but = Armstrong, who=20 tried to scoot away before his ride could be impounded, = ultimately=20 was convicted of failing to comply with a peace officer, a=20 misdemeanor.

Since that time, he has written almost a dozen letters = and=20 e-mails to city officials, trying to clarify what he calls = the=20 "regulatory limbo" of motorized scooters. His frustration = with the=20 situation, as well as what he feels was the rude attitude of = the=20 arresting officer, inspired him to bypass City Hall = altogether and=20 head straight for Washington.

Now Armstrong is a Libertarian candidate for Congress, = running=20 against Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan). If elected, he = promises=20 to work for a flat-rate income tax, abolition of the war on = drugs,=20 and privatization of Social Security. Of course, he also = will seek=20 more respect for his favorite form of transportation.

"I think that I'll set the tone and some rational = agreement may=20 come," he says of his hopes for a scooter detente. "People = are=20 looking for alternative modes of urban transportation and as = the=20 motor boards [Armstrong's word of choice for the scooters] = develop,=20 they're going to become more and more practical."

Motor City

In the last five years, motorized scooters have blossomed = in=20 Manhattan. Featured in fashion spreads as the ultimate = accessory for=20 the jet set, the high-test scooters have found followers = among East=20 Village scenesters, yuppies and graying urbanites.

Weighing in at 40 pounds or less apiece, the new = generation of=20 motorized scooters can be folded up and toted into the = grocery and=20 then lugged with little effort up the stairs of a = third-floor=20 walkup. Although the scooters are small, they are relatively = speedy,=20 with the fanciest models, such as the Viza Cruze, hitting = about 22=20 mph.

Armstrong says his scooter helps him get to the market = and SoHo=20 gallery openings because of a bum leg that he has had since = a=20 rock-climbing accident in 1972.

The baby version of the scooter is the nonmotorized Viza = Razor,=20 which is nothing more than a shiny new scooter updated for = the=20 millennium with flashy chrome and caliper brakes. The Razor = and=20 other push scooters have become so popular with the teen and = collegiate set that the stores and catalogues that carry = them are=20 struggling to keep them in stock.

The problem for most riders is that it's illegal to drive = a=20 motorized scooter on public streets. A bored traffic cop can = set a=20 scooterist back more than $500 in fines, impound the machine = and =97=20 because the vehicle is almost certainly uninsured =97 have = his or her=20 driver's license suspended for a year.

A recent court case "found that these vehicles are motor=20 vehicles, but they are not registerable," says Ken Brown, = spokesman=20 for the Department of Motor Vehicles. "The reason is that = they do=20 not meet the basic safety requirements of the state."

Dealers who sell the scooters (for between $500 and $850) = each)=20 tell their customers that they run the risk of stiff fines = and=20 possible seizure.

"It's on my sales slip that it's an off-road vehicle," = says=20 Anthony Pepe Jr., who runs Phantom Sports. "I tell them if = you stay=20 downtown, you're all right. If you go uptown, you're all = right. But=20 in midtown, they'll get you. I won't even sell them to the=20 messengers who come in."

Pepe should know about getting nabbed. He has been = stopped twice=20 by police for riding his scooter. Both times he lost his = driver's=20 license for a year because he was operating a motor vehicle = without=20 insurance. He also was fined several hundred dollars.

Even though his customers know they probably are going to = end up=20 breaking the law if they buy a motorized scooter, they don't = seem to=20 mind.

"I've been doing it since 1989 and if that was a problem, = I'd be=20 out of business by now," Pepe says. "Everyone's being kind = of cool=20 about it, though. People are stopping for stoplights. = There's a lot=20 of other things to worry about than a kid riding a scooter = these=20 days."

Road Rules

Scooters have become popular with "the RV set" across the = country, according to Bill Smith, vice president of sales at = Huffy=20 Bikes, which manufactures The Buzz scooter.

"Most municipalities treat them like bicycles," he says. = "But it=20 definitely is a nebulous, gray area."

And the trend is sweeping the globe. It began in Japan = with the=20 Razor push scooter, and peaked about two months ago, Viza = owner Ray=20 Plato says.

"They were like Pokemon over there," he says.

Like their motorized cousins in the States, the Razor and = its ilk=20 ran into trouble. Japanese officials passed new laws = allowing for=20 the prosecution of scooterists who so much as brushed = against the=20 leg of a pedestrian, Plato says.

Every week, he says he hears of new rules that limit the = riders=20 of motorized scooters.

"Some say you have to be 16, some 18. Some [say] you have = to just=20 be 8 years old," Plato says. "Some restrict riders to side = streets.=20 There is no end to the amount of regulations around the=20 country."

But for New York scooterists, the only hope is that = Armstrong's=20 efforts may open up a dialogue on legalizing the = vehicles.

"It's not as crazy as the Rollerbladers," Armstrong says. = "It's=20 as safe as a bicycle. The government makes peace with all = these=20 other modes of transportation, so I think this is not=20 unreasonable."

Scoot Yourself

For those willing to throw caution =97 and your hair = =97 to the=20 wind, there are a number of options in the motorized scooter = department. And whether you choose a Buzz or a Zappy, you = still can=20 pretend you are Peter Fonda, riding easy, without having to = join a=20 leather-jacketed biker gang.

Viza Cruze

Top Speed: 22 mph
Engine: 1.7 horsepower, = gas
Price:=20 $850
Available at Phantom Sports, 245 E. 111th St.,=20 Manhattan.
California Go-Ped
Top speed: 18 = mph
Engine: 1.2=20 horsepower, gas
Price: $439
Available at Basic Wheels, = 94=20 Hester St., Manhattan.

Citybug

Top Speed: 14 mph
Engine: Electric
Price: = $599
Available=20 at The Sharper Image.
Huffy Buzz
Top speed: 15 = mph
Engine:=20 Electric
Price: $599
Available at http://www.getabuzz.com/.

Zappy

Top speed: 12 mph
Engine: Electric
Price: = $600
Available=20 at http://www.zapworld.com/.

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