WEST ALLIS, Wis. -- With gas prices reaching record highs, some people have been shocked into parking the car and grabbing the handlebars of a motorcycle.

A class run by Learning Curves Safety at State Fair Park has seen an explosion in people wanting to learn how to ride a motorcycle.

“Can't afford to drive around anywhere, so for short trips, or even if you want to go up north, hop on the bike,” student Diane Palmen suggested.

Palmen is one of 11 people in this spring’s class.

“More and more students who are coming to us, the impetus behind them coming is the cost of gasoline because they're running their four-cylinder, six-cylinder, or eight-cylinder cars. This way they can run a two cylinder motorcycle. And these particular bikes we're running today will get 50, 60, 70 miles per gallon, depending on how you drive,” said class instructor Danny O’Toole.

With seemingly no end in sight to the soaring prices, mileage like that is enough to take the step.

Student Teresa Salas said she had thought about getting a motorcycle for years but never did, until the gas pushed her over the edge.

“I finally just said enough's enough,” Salas said.

Not all motorcycles are complete gas misers. The average Harley Davidson gets about 45 miles per gallon, compared to the 60 or 70 mpg in smaller bikes. Some scooters get close to 100 mpg.