Born to be styled

HILLIARD "HILLDOG" GUESS cuts a striking figure in his skinny black-and-white tie, gray Dickies and chunky Doc Martens, revving up his ride -- a yellow 1962 Vespa VBB 150 scooter, or "sko'ta," as he calls it, with a Union Jack on the side and a set of 10 rearview mirrors. "I've always had a sense of style," he says. "I never ride without looking sharp."

On Friday nights, he and his 20 or so nattily dressed mates in the Reflections Scooter Society meet up to hit the nightspots, engage in some snappy repartee and buzz around town on their vintage two-wheelers.

Though it may sound like the London of a bygone era, the scene is Franklin Avenue in today's Hollywood. And far from being the angry toughs of the Mod '60s, these riders are not just indicators of what was once hip, they also offer a clue about what's happening now.

The classic motor scooter has been born again, not just as an item of nostalgia but as a matter of practicality in a world of $3-a-gallon gasoline and incessant Southern California traffic jams.

New scooter sales have more than doubled nationally since 2000, with 96,000 sold last year, according to the trade association the Motorcycle Industry Council. Most of the sales were in California, and baby boomers were the primary buyers. But vintage scooters are also getting plenty of mileage, as they're being traded on the Internet and ridden by individual collectors and members of the 20-plus scooter groups, such as the Reflections, who cruise Southern California on weekends.

Being in a scooter club here seems to be an easygoing prospect: Most of them have no rules. Many also seem to sprout up then disappear at the drop of a kickstand. All of them, no matter their size -- which can range from just a few friends to dozens -- profess to have a fun, unique spin on the art of scooting.

The Reflections, of course, dig the Mod scene. ("Look smart and clean," they admonish. "Give respect to the scooters we love.") The Hard Pack consists of Orange County speed demons who love souped-up technologies. The Unforgiven, named for Clint Eastwood's movie, is a Bakersfield club that insists, "We don't take just anybody like the other clubs. You have to be somebody we're actually friends with 'cause we might get arrested together."

No matter the vibe, the goal is common: to ride. But not just any old scooter. Though your average rider might be content to pilot a Honda, Yamaha or Kymco, to name a few brands, the clubs are largely devoted to vintage Vespas and Lambrettas, which put scooting on the map in the postwar era.