“Pocket rockets,” the motorcycle like scooters that can be purchased for as little as $200 throughout the city at retailers ranging from department stores to gas stations, will soon be illegal to sell.

The City Council overrode a mayoral veto yesterday to pass a law banning the sale, lease, rental, and use of the vehicles. Though the motorized scooters, which can reach speeds of 40 miles an hour, are currently illegal to use on public property, including streets and sidewalks, council members have been arguing that the law is routinely flouted by young people because the devices are inexpensive and available at neighborhood stores.

“These scooters, whether it’s the pocket rocket or a standup-razor scooters, are really death machines from a design point of view because the engines are much too powerful for the frames,” said Council Member Michael McMahon. The Democrat of Staten Island, who was lead sponsor of the bill, continued: “They’re everywhere. You’ve got kids riding them on roads, on sidewalks, against traffic, through red lights. They’re a danger to themselves, to motorists on the road, and to pedestrians. They’re really like little Ninjas riding through the neighborhood.”

The new law, which does not apply to the two-wheel Segway Human Transporter, levies a $500 fine for operating a pocket rocket and $1,000 for selling, leasing, or renting one.

“These are vehicles that are illegal to operate so we took the very obvious step of saying, ‘If you can’t operate them, you shouldn’t be able to sell them,'” the council speaker, Gifford Miller, told reporters.

“For some reason, the mayor objects to this because he’s worried that people are going to go to New Jersey to buy them, but that’s ridiculous,” added Mr. Miller, a Democrat who plans to run for mayor next year. “We should hardly be making it easier for people to purchase and operate illegal vehicles on our streets.”

In a letter last month explaining his veto, Mayor Bloomberg insisted that current law is strong enough and that the city has been diligent about enforcement. The law requires stores that sell the scooters to post signs explaining that they are unlawful to use on public property.

In his letter, Mr. Bloomberg called the new law both “unnecessary” and “objectionable,” because the devices are legal to operate on private property.

At a hearing of the council’s transportation committee in September, the assistant commissioner for the Department of Consumer Affairs, Pauline Toole, said banning sales of the scooters in the city would hurt the economy by encouraging New Yorkers to shop in neighboring states. If the Bloomberg administration does not challenge the law in court, it will go into effect in 90 days.

During its monthly stated meeting yesterday, the council also voted to extend the December 4 deadline for the transfer of seven private bus lines to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The extension, the fourth since negotiations began, was granted reluctantly by council members, who have charged the Bloomberg administration and MTA with dragging their feet and allowing bus service to deteriorate.

The council granted the companies four staggered extensions – the first on January 15 and the last on April 30. The companies are Green Bus Lines, Command Bus Company, Jamaica Buses Inc., Triboro Coach Corporation, Liberty Lines Express, Queens Surface Corporation, and New York Tours.

“This council cannot and will not leave these riders stranded. Without these extensions, unfortunately, bus service would stop on December 4,”Mr. Miller said. “But this has to come to an end at some point. It’s been three years that the administration has been trying to get the MTA to take over these routes.”