Soaring fuel prices have made it impractical for the Sheltons, who visited their nephew in Clayton last week, to continue filling up the truck, which gets only 10 mpg. Over the past year, Jeff Shelton said, he and his wife have switched almost entirely to riding his motorcycle, which gets 48 mpg, or almost five times that of their 17-year-old pickup.

“I can ride my bike back and forth on the 10 miles to and from work about five times for what it costs to do it once in the truck,” he said. “So now I ride the bike, rain or shine.”

The Sheltons are hardly alone in their decision to spend money on fuel-thrifty forms of transportation. Local retailers say sales of motorcycles, especially used ones, have increased steadily as gas prices have climbed. Shelton Davis, owner of Shelton’s Harley-Davidson in Smithfield, said sales of used motorcycles at his store on Industrial Park Drive have risen 60 percent in the past year.

“Most people who come in to buy used motorcycles talk about wanting to drive them to work,” Davis said. “There are people who drive as far as 50 miles away for work who are taking their bikes to work at least two or three days every week.”

In Clayton, Steve Wall of D&J Cycles said he had seen a 25- to 30-percent increase in the number of folks seeking to repair older motorcycles to get them back out on the road.

“We have definitely seen an increase in the number of older motorcycles coming in for repairs,” Wall said. “A lot of people are looking for a more dependable and cheaper vehicle to drive that’s also relatively cheap in price.”

Some folks are also turning to scooters, Wall added. At D&J, which also sells scooters and all-terrain vehicles, sales of scooters have jumped 50 percent since last summer. Wall tied the jump in part to ease of operation and affordability. “There are no gears, so you can just get on one, gas it up and go,” he said.

Even so, Wall expects the increase in scooter sales to be short-lived.

That is most likely not the case with motorcycles, said Kim Gamblin, an instructor at Johnston Community College. Gamblin said the increase in motorcycle sales has produced an increase in the number of people taking motorcycle-safety courses.

The classes, normally filled a month in advance, are sometimes now filled two or more months in advance, Gamblin said. Also, the college is now offering additional classes in beginning and experienced ridership to meet demand.

“We’ve had a lot more people calling us and saying they want to get their license so they can drive their bike to work,” Gamblin said. “As long as alternative means of transportation remain more cost-efficient, I expect we’ll see more people make those changes.”