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A spirit that is not afraid

Scooting around Auburn with Nick Wheeles

<p>The one-of-a-kind Scootski is half motorcycle and half jet ski.</p>

The one-of-a-kind Scootski is half motorcycle and half jet ski.

Nick Wheeles, owner of Auburn Pressure Washing, created the "Scootski" on Sept. 13. Locals may have seen the Scootski cruising around Auburn after Wheeles had completed its construction. 

The Scootski is half jet ski, half scooter. It is made up of a 1985 Honda Elite 250 and a bright blue and white Sea-doo. Wheeles said it only took him about three days to build. 

The idea for the Scootski, Wheeles said, came from Tiktok. 

"I just saw it and thought, I want one," he said.

Wheeles created his Scootski on his own. He said he watched how the vehicle was created in the Tiktok video and went from there.

Wheeles said he does not have a professional mechanics background by trade. 

"I build a lot of my own stuff," Wheeles said. "I own Auburn Pressure Washing, so I build all of my pressure washing equipment, all the trailer setups and I have a couple of vehicles that I've put together."

Wheeles said he had never ridden a motorcycle before deciding to create the Scootski. He got his license at age 36. 

Riding around downtown drew the Auburn police's attention to Wheeles' Scootski. 

"It was fun getting pulled over by the cops the first time," Wheeles said. 

 The police officer that pulled him over explained he did not use turn signals and asked for license and insurance. When Wheeles handed him his license and insurance, the officer seemed bewildered Wheeles recalled.

 "I had no idea it would be this popular," Wheeles said. 

He added that the coolest part of the whole building process was when he jacked up the jet ski, put it in the air and was cutting the bottom of it out. 

"I had taken everything off of the scooter," he said. "I began lowering it, and I thought, 'This won't fit the first time, on the very first try, no way.' And then the lift just kept lowering, lowering, lowering. It fit perfectly."

Unfortunately, the original Scootski went up in flames on Oct. 13, 2021. The condition of the scooter portion of the Scootski ultimately led to its downfall, creating a fuel leak so it was no longer rideable. 

"I made this first [Scootski], just to see if I could do it, honestly," he said. "I made it as cheap as possible. I bought the scooter and jet ski for like 500 bucks and it had a ton of miles on it."

Wheeles had fun with the original Scootski while it lasted, but wished the fun had lasted a little bit longer. 

Since then, Wheeles has started building a second version of the Scootski. To avoid the original Scootski's problem, he said he plans to ride the scooter around a lot before putting the jet ski on it in order to make sure both parts work perfectly.

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The second Scootski will be made out of a Suzuki 650 and another 90's styled Seadoo. According to Wheeles, the second Scootski will be coming to Auburn soon. 


Harlee Meydrech | Assistant Managing Editor

Harlee Meydrech, senior in public relations with a minor in business, is the assistant managing editor at The Auburn Plainsman.


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