Jazzed-up scooter is the way to go for 91-year-old

It may only have a top speed of 17km/h, but 91-year-old Arnold Robinson thinks his Harley- Davidson-style mobility scooter is ahead of the pack.

The Tauranga man bought his scooter at the beginning of the year after he spotted another man driving one.

"It's a lot of fun. It has really brought me out of myself. Finding the scooter was an accident really. I spotted a person on one - he's the grandfather of an importer - so I asked him where he got it from and three days later I got mine."

Mr Robinson said the scooter was based on a Harley-Davidson motorbike and attracted a lot of attention. "What happens is if I leave it outside [a shop], people mill around it and do this and that.

"At one point I had three people taking photos of it."

Mr Robinson said the scooter cost $6250 and it was a good price to pay for "big boys and their big toys".

"I cleaned it for the first time on Monday. It's a bit hard for me to clean. I can walk around and do anything myself but I do have the body of a 91-year-old."

Mr Robinson said a mobility scooter gave him freedom and he had been going to the Farmer's Market almost every Saturday. "I gave up driving about eight years ago ... I've had a scooter for the last seven years. I can get to the supermarket and to the hospital easily."