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Matthew Noli was part of the mod revival that hit the U.S. in the 1980s when he was in high school.

He kept it up as an undergrad at the University of Arizona, where he listened to ska music, wore tailor-made suits and rode an Italian motor scooter on campus and for nights out at Hotel Congress.

Today, those fitted suits no longer fit. And he's more likely to visit the zoo with his wife and 6-month-old son than go to a concert.

But one thing hasn't changed — Noli still rides a scooter.

And these days he has more company on the road than ever.

"College kids back then were predominantly wanting to be in the scene — in the subculture," says Noli, now 33. "Today, I think most people are on scooters for economical transportation."

In the last two years, people who never previously considered owning a scooter have been turned on by the bikes' affordability and efficiency, and by the classic Italian design of the older Vespas and newer Vespa look-alikes. They ride them to work, to school and just for kicks.

Today most of the motorcycle dealers in Tucson, from Harley to Honda, sell scooters.

"If they don't, they're behind the times," says Noli, whose friends call him "the godfather of the Tucson scooter scene" because he's championed scooter ridership for decades. That includes organizing the ultimate ride, the Tucson-Nogales Fall Classic Scooter Rally, now in its 21st year.

More than 100 riders are expected to take part in this year's three-day, 200-mile rally, which kicks off Friday at Hotel Congress and culminates in a campout in the Coronado National Forest.

"Every year there's always a good selection of license plates coming to our rally," says Noli. "We had a guy come out from the U.K. one year and some people from New Zealand another year. I think we're the second-oldest rally in the U.S. and we're the oldest continuous rally in the West."

If you don't make it out to the rally, there are plenty of other opportunities to see scooters travel en masse.

There are at least three local clubs that bring together riders who want to share maintenance tips and go for weekend rides around town.

A scooter is a two-wheeled motor vehicle that traditionally has a step-through frame, wheels less than 16 inches in diameter, and an engine located below the rider and to the rear. Most scooters offer pickup somewhere between a bicycle and Harley, anywhere from 50 to 250 cubic centimeters displacement.

Scooter popularity in this country has ebbed and flowed with gasoline prices since the 1970s. It hit a low point after the world's largest scooter maker, Piaggio, stopped selling its Vespa line of scooters here in the 1980s.

With the recent rise in gas prices, and Piaggio's return stateside in 2000, scooter popularity is on the rise again.

"We spent $140 on gas last year," says Roger Smiley, who rides a Honda Ruckus. His wife rides a Honda Metropolitan.

Shelby Stirrat opened the East Broadway scooter store Scoot Over in 2003, and says business is better than ever.

"Our business has almost doubled this year over last year," she says.

This summer, when gas prices approached $4 a gallon, the store had trouble keeping bikes in stock.

Stirrat told customers who stopped in that if they wanted a scooter they'd have to wait — sometimes up to a month.

Hamilton Salsbury, who's retired from Southern Pacific Railroad, recently bought a Genuine Buddy 125 from Scoot Over after years of riding motorcycles.

"It's a very powerful little machine that's very nimble, and it's quite appropriate for inner-city transportation," he says. "Mine is a seafoam green and tan color, a classic-looking vehicle."

"Generally when I go for a ride, it's just get up and go," he says. "I love going up to Mount Lemmon, and I don't need a group to go with me because first of all I've got a piece of equipment that's reliable."

Dylan Ward, 17, bought his 1974 Vespa Primavera over the Internet. He paid $2,300.

"Some guy on the East Side sold it to me," Ward says.

Ward wanted a scooter ever since his older brother, Kyle, bought a Vespa a few years back. Kyle's scooter is black, with a tan seat. Dylan says he was looking for something bolder that he could ride to class at Tucson High Magnet School and to work at Rincon Market.

His scooter is bright orange.

"I wanted something loud," he says. "I didn't want black, silver or something boring."

Robert Sternheim, 22, rides his Genuine Buddy 125 to classes at the UA. The senior, who majors in East Asian studies and journalism, replaced the bike's tail pipe with a performance pipe made by Yoshimura.

"Now my bike is as loud as a Harley," he says. "It's literally a head turner. I'll pull up next to a guy who's on a hog and he's surprised that it's a scooter."

None of his friends rides a scooter, though some of them ride motorcycles.

"I guess you could say it's somewhat of an extension of my personality," he says. "I've never considered my taste normal or average."

Sternheim says he thinks his scooter is cool, but not everyone agrees.

"Some people would blow me off, think I'm a dork because I'm on a scooter," he says. "But other people think anybody on two wheels is cool."

Noli is one of those people. The BMW motorcycle mechanic owns several vintage vehicles, including a 1966 Lambretta SX 150, one of the original Italian scooters. It has disc brakes and is black with red highlights and chrome.

His wife, Megan, owns two 1961 Vespas, both gifts from Matthew. She says their son, Scout, won't get to ride a scooter for several years — until he's at least 8.

"I'm sure he'll get one of my scooters someday," she says. "We'll be a scootin' family."