With gas prices on the incline and the state’s fuel prices higher than the national average, it’s no wonder why some are looking for alternate modes of travel to save money on transportation costs.

With 664 motorcycles registered in Windham last year, some motorists are steering toward fuel efficient and cost effective vehicles, the most popular of which are scooters and motorcycles.

“I’ve seen a lot of older machines come in out of storage lately. A good number of them to get better mileage for gas,” said Jeff Gilpatric of Moto Milano in Windham.

Gilpatric drives his 2004 Malaguti scooter whenever he can – to the store, the post office, every sunny day there is to work. The modest 49cc engine may only take him to work at 49 mph, but its amazing 133 miles per gallon stops any chuckler short.

“You want to get a picture of me with my helmet and gear on, in all my geekness?” he asked.

But Gilpatric is no geek, just a man with a passion for a finely tuned two-wheeler. He likes his Malaguti for many reasons, not just the gas mileage. He’s got an empty stock count of the scooters to prove it. But don’t worry. If that astonishing 133 mpg grabs your attention and desire to stop in, they are planning to stock and sell more.

“They’re nice looking machines,” he says. His is all decked out in Ducati decals, the paint identical to ones parked just feet away in the sunny lot outside the shop on Route 302. His admiration for Ducati has not left him blinded by the shine off the finely polished exhausts. While speaking about one of Ducati’s touring bikes, he admits it’s not the “prettiest of things.”

“But it sure is a great bike,” he says. “My 28-your-old daughter just got back from a 600-mile trip, and she loved every minute of it. Not tired or sore at all, she said. Great, great touring bike. And not bad mileage on that either.”

He speaks a little about the five different types of bike his shop sells, assuring that with these five, all the bases are covered – sport, touring, scooting, you name it. He then points out another brand scooter sitting in the lot. It is an Italian Vespa, dropped off to be tuned by a couple from Florida.

“It’s got two or three siblings with it, back on the yacht,” he says. “They get ’em tuned up whenever they’re in Maine.”

The Vespa more than triples Jeff’s Malaguti in cc’s, has a top speed of approximately 70 mph, but loses in the gas conservation – weighing in at 75 to 80 miles per gallon.

“I have a buddy with a 250cc,” he says. The scooter “cruises” along at 70 mph, and maintains 70 miles to the gallon.

Gilpatric pats his sporty red scooter like a hunter pats his scouting pooch. Nothing comes close to his 133 mpg.

“It’s not as money saving as you may think,” Gilpatric says. One does have to consider the insurance, registration, and maintenance costs of an extra vehicle. Also, when traveling with a friend or friends, passengers – more often than mostly – become drivers, multiplying per-capita consumption.

Gilpatric rides because he loves to ride, something Windham’s town manager, Anthony Plante, discovered a little more than a year ago.

“I just traded my bike in,” Plante said. His older bike, a Honda Nighthawk, got him 75 to 85 miles per gallon. He’s taken every good weather report he could to pull out of his driveway on two wheels. “I could survive a whole week on one tank of gas. That’s better than a day with the Suburban,” his other vehicle.

His new bike only gets 45 to 50 miles per gallon. But its amenities compensate for the loss. Now he can carry a passenger as well as some luggage for longer rides and weekend retreats.

“The gas saving is nice,” Plante said. “And I definitely appreciate the benefit.” But Plante claims he would be dishonest to lead others to believe fuel preservation is his only motive. Like Gilpatric, Plante enjoys the feel of the bike, the road, the air – the thing they both call “freedom” in so many small, concretely descriptive words.

They’re not alone.

Don Swander, former president of the Windham Lions Club and commander of the Windham Veterans of Foreign Wars, rides what he calls the “Cadilliac of scooters.” His bigger Honda gets him 60 miles to the gallon, and is good enough to keep up in traffic. But he enjoys the smaller country roads.

No stranger to the two-wheeler, Swander shares his stories of his first motorcycle ever, which he relied on for three years before owning a car. But after his hip replacement, he found it a little difficult to get on and off a bike. He has no problems with his Honda scooter, from getting on and off the vehicle, to the comfort during the ride.

“You’re so aware of everything around you, the trees, the road, the dirt. You are more a part of everything,” Swander said as he sits atop his elongated scooter. “The comfort is in the wheel base. They make a newer model, much sportier, but the wheel base is seven inches shorter.”

The scooter sure looks comfy enough, and his amenities include an AM/FM stereo with controls at a thumb’s reach.

“When I’m in a car, it’s all about getting from point A to point B. But when I have to go somewhere, and I take this… It’s not about getting there, it’s the between that is the joy,” he said.

Don Swander, of Windham, shows his comfortable, conservative commuter. Swander has switched to mopeding around town to save on gasoline as well as feel the freedom of the road.