Mopeds - I haz qwestyuns

[Stanky]

Right, this is likely to go nowhere in reality, however I am interested in the possibility of aquiring a 2-wheeled motorised vehicle to act as backup in the event of an MOT test, unscheduled maintenance or other FTP scenario among the fleet. We have a car each and both require them for work, however when one of the above scenarios occurs this causes the need for short-notice holiday from work or moderate inconvenience for one or both of us.

 

So, those who wield the power of a bike licence - tell me more. Specifically:

 

1. Should I do a CBT or A1 test? I have ridden a 25cc moped on a field ~12 years ago. That is the limit of my motorised bicycle knowledge. I do ride a BMX fairly often though.

 

2. What does it cost to insure a <50cc moped, roughly?

 

3. What does it cost to tax a <50cc moped, roughly

 

4. Am I right in thinking that if I go down the CBT route, I have to do it every 2 years, but if I get an A1, it lasts forever?

 

5. Are 2nd hand mopeds cheap?

 

6. Will I die?

 

Any info greatfully received. I would liek to have a 3rd car for such scenarios, but this is NOT going to happen due to a financially ruinous episode about 4 years ago with a very rapid, but very fragile VW Scirocco Mk2. If I can bag a moped, helmet, test, tax and insurance for under £500 I think this has potential, especially if subsequent year costs are <£150.

 

Due to family members shrinking their fleets, borrowing vehicles is becoming harder to arrange, hence the question.

 

PS, I don't mind how shit the moped in question is, if it'll get me to work (25 miles on back roads) a few times a year then I'll be a happy boy.

 

PSPS Oh, can you get 4-stroke 50cc bikes? 2-stroke worries me a bit. Possibly unneccesarily.

[catsinthewelder]

Alright,  I'm a bit out of touch but

 

1,  You'll need to do a CBT anyway so do that first and if you love your ped lots then do the test before you need to renew the CBT.  (I'm not sure if you need to)

 

2,  It cost me £190 TPO on a really shiney one when I was 19,  unless you live in Liverpool or have loads of points I would expect to pay a lot less.

 

3,  £17 per year

 

4,  They have changed it and I can't remember what the current system is.

 

5,  Chinese rubbish is very cheap 2nd hand,  decent jap or european stuff less so.

 

6,  Naa,  you'll be fine

 

Edit  PPS  yes you can get them in 4 stroke flavour,  either old C50's and their Chinese copies or anything modern.

[andy18s]

For anything licence related,get in touch with a local bike school who can give you whatever info you need

If you want to do any sort of distance then forget 50cc anything

You will end up with traffic trying to push you around as you pootle along at 25mph.....not fun

Older 2 strokes are quicker,but less reliable and won't have been looked after

Modern 4 stroke are,meh.....probably chinese in 1 way or another

Cheap Will mean fecked....

[panhard65]

I passed my car test years ago and it says on my licence I have group E I think it is which is a full moped licence. I can ride upto 50cc for as long as I like. I did have to do the cbt for my 125 though. Check you driving licence first just in case. Insurance was cheap under 70 quid, for a bike I would go for something with bigger wheels as those little wheeled scooters are bloody scary on drain covers and poor road surfaces.

[sawdustman]

Best to get the CBT out of the way first. It's a £110 or so day out which will help you decide whether it's something you really want to spend a few quid on.

If you live somewhere high risk, expect to pay around £300 or so for your first insurance policy, half to two thirds that for your second year.

Tax? £round of drinks

The A1 will last forever, but maybe after 18 months you'll want something more powerful. Speaking of which: 

Yes you can get 4 stroke 50cc scooters, no the engine wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

A good trade-off is what I had a few years back, a Honda scv100 er, lead. 

It's a 4 stroke 100 which felt as bulletproof as the C90 the engine probably evolved from, and was fast enough to keep up with stuff on dual carriageways. You can get one for around £500.

 

[hairnet]

you may have to do cbt to ride a 125 but unless its like coupla miles each way would forget a 50

 

cg 125 or innova honda with big wheels

 

been on bikes for 20 years and last week borrowed mot mans 125 scoot with small wheels to get lunch and collect parts - small wheels and shit road = more scared than ive been at 150 mph on autobahns

 

c90 would work too

 

theyve changed the rules at least 4 times since 1997 so i would check with local riding place

[hennabm]

Honda SS50 for a 4 stroker.

[plasticvandan]

Check your licence first,if yams old enough you may be able to ride a 50 without having to do anything.tax is less than a Chinese for two,insurance peanuts,running cost peanuts.

[twosmoke300]

Another vote for a Honda innova 125 . As tough as the original c90

[Parky]

Kymco do decent 'Peds. Everyone thinks they are Chinese (actually Taiwanese) and apparently the build quality is virtually Japanese but the prices mid way between Chinese and Japanese. BMW use them as an engine supplier for their smaller bikes so the quality must be reasonable (or they are piss cheap).

 

CBT is well worth doing. If only to find out how shittily drivers treat bikers with L plates.

 

It also allows you to ride a 125 which gives you a near 70mph limit, rather than a 30mph limit. It also means you might have enough power to get out of harms way which I am not sure a 50 could offer.

[Station]

I rode loads of mopeds in Thailand. A decent one is great fun and they're nippy enough. We went everywhere on them. I found massive differences in various brands with engines, a Yamaha (I think it was) was much less fun that a Honda which was the best one.

I've never ridden one prior but got the hang in minutes and ended up doing forty miles as I loved so much.

[sporty-shite]

If you're willing to do a CBT, which is advisable anyway,then you may as well get a 125. A 50cc per will be soul destroying after the first couple of miles.

[bub2006]

If it's you alone then a cbt will be enough providing you don't want to go touring every week. In this age a 100/125 is adequate. Tax is 17 quid on anything 125 or less. All a cat licenses are nearly same cost to do. If you want to get more out of biking and taking a pillion then get full bike test done on a 650 of at least 46bhp I think it is and then you can ride anything. The smaller a category doesn't automatically lift restrictions anymore so you would be paying again if you wanted to dip your toe into a larger bike when you want a bigger kick. Cbt is only valid for 2 years and full car licence pre 2002 entitles you to ride up to 50cc with outvl plates but no pillion.

[bub2006]

50cc scooters are bloody dangerous though in restricted form. Depending on age of scoot it would be 32 mh or 28 mph. Don't think it's enforced though,certainly isn't In derbyshire. Young chats riding the scoots like their knackers are on fire. Another vote for the c90 though,more charm and character than the innova and can be tuned to silly speeds. Fetching a lot of money these days though

[mat_the_cat]

One of these?

 

 

 

From memory the blue one was 110 cc, the red a massive 160! I've seen them around on the road a few times (usually at comical angles of lean) and saw them last year in the workshop of my local tool hire place

[bub2006]

They the ones. I think one chap had a 210 in his on the c90 club. Mine had scuff marks on the exhaust from steep lean angles,I learnt to keep speed up! Always fit good tyres. Michelin are what I chose but a few swore by continental conti go tyres.

[barefoot]

A 50cc fit for popping to the co-op a mile or so away?

If so, any very cheap brands recommended as this is all it would ever be used for?

[strangeangel]

1. Do a CBT first. Getting a bike licence is an expensive business these days, and the CBT will allow you two years on a 125; plenty of time for you to figure out if the whole 2-wheeled lark is for you or not.

 

2. Piece of string... How old are you? What is yo 'hood like? Is the ped in a garage? etc. Best to get a quote really.

 

3. £17 for up to 125cc

 

4. You are indeed.

 

5. Generally sub-125cc gear isn't all that cheap. It's usually disproportionally expensive because you don't need a licence to ride it. A typical example: my mate just passed his test & sold his YBR125, and with the proceeds he bought a nice (if a few years older) 600 Fazer. Chinese stuff is cheap, but that's because most of it is poorly-made shit with non-existent spares backup and, as such, best avoided. Buy a 2nd hand Jap 125 - the humble, unfashionable Honda CG125 is a good bet. I suggest that you do your CBT and see biking is your thing. If it is, don't waste your time on the A1 - get a full licence. A whole world of machinery is available to you then, without the sub-125 premium.

 

6. I'm not gonna sugar coat this - you might die, but then again you might die crossing the road, catching a bus etc. etc. You can get dead doing anything, though, and you are more likely to cark it riding a horse than a motorcycle. Get trained, be aware, enjoy your machine but don't ride like an arse and you'll do just fine

 

One other thing - a 25 mile each way commute on a moped will be a miserable undertaking. You need something better for that. I've done a similar commute on my 110cc powered Honda 50 but I wouldn't entertain anything smaller.

 

[Timewaster]

To get an idea what a 25 mile commute on a 50 feels like, simply remove 2 spark plugs from your car and attempt the journey with the windows open and the radio on full blast tuned to LW interference.

[plasticvandan]

I did my 22 mile round trip commute on my 1964 Raleigh Runabout 6 or 7 times,only took 15 mins longer than in the car,it felt like an eternity though.much pedalling on hills.The sheer novelty factor seemed to make it safer in traffic than a modern 50 mind

[PiperCub]

The following may be a bit out of date but I think if you passed your car test (old class A) prior to 1997, you have a full moped (old class E) entitlement. If you passed after that, you get the entitlement but it's inactive until you complete a CBT course which validates it for life - you don't need to renew it every couple of years.

In my opinion, if you've never ridden any motorbike on the road before (irrespective of how long you've been driving), a CBT/some tuition would be a real benefit, maybe a life saver.

Similarly, you can ride up to 125cc on your car licence with a CBT but this will need to be renewed (2-yearly?) so you might as well pass your class A test and be done with it. A1 isn't worth faffing with I've heard as it's almost the same cost as a restricted A licence but with less entitlements overall.

 

Insurance, no idea, never had a moped and is dependent on the usual criteria: age/record/location etc. But I think scooters can be pricier than you think 'cos they get stolen so often as the chavs love them.

Tax, £17 /yr

 

I personally don't like 50's, I think they are dangerously slow for todays traffic - even in town, I'd go for a 100 or 125 if I was restricted to that bracket but there's obviously more need to get your licence and the cost of bike will be higher.

 

I'd probably avoid most of the cheapo scoots as they have a poor reputation for reliability, spares availability & back up but do a bit of research and a couple of the Taiwaniese outfits seem OK, I think someone's already mentioned Kymco (I'm sure I read a article about this lot, they are a f.huge company). Only buy one of the cheapo chinese ones if you can simply write it off if/when it fails.

 

Yes, you might die, as might I on the way home tonight, but with a sensible head you should be fine. One downside to scooters is the perception that anyone who rides one is some little chav shit and deserves to be run into the kerb - dress accordingly!

[xtriple]

I've been a 'biker' all my life and commuted on all sorts - CB750 in the snow and a Sym Jet 125 scooter in the sunshine.

 

I used to wear a suit to work daily and so often had to cover it up due to the weather - belstaff jacket (before they became popular!) and bright yellow waterproofs nicked from the council, worked a treat.

 

Got my Sym scooter due to the traffic down here in the summer; my 9 mile commute could take 2 hours to get home in the car, 15 -20 minutes on the bike. It wasn't much (if any) faster on my Speed Triple! I bought the Sym as a damaged bike from a neighbour and with a few quid thrown at it, it was a brilliant bike and spot on for what I wanted. Never worked out what it did to the gallon but I only used to fill it up once a week and then only a gallon or two. Insurance and tax were dirt cheap and as it was dead reliable, never bought spares so no idea on prices.

 

The only down side was, it was FUCKING lethal in the rain! Must have been the tyres I suppose but I have never been so scared on a bike in my life as I was riding it through traffic on a rainy Wednesday after a long sunny spell. Could have been greasy roads but it locked up on the brakes as soon as I touched them and slid like a greased pig on every bend.

 

I flogged it very soon after a used a GPZ500 for the commute instead, much safer... and not much more expensive! I'd do the cbt and get a CG 125. They are 'proper' bikes and go on for ever with a bit of maintenance every now and again.

 

I think a nifty 50 would be to slow for a journey of any length, but if it's just through the traffic they are just as fast as 125s and so ideal.

 

Do it. Bikes are for life's winners, but, they are addictive and soon you'll be doing your full test and drooling over 1000cc bikes.

[Stanky]

Thanks for all the info guys, it is very much a pipe dream currently and if it ever happens then realistically I think it will just be a backup option for when other vehicles are broken or being mended so needs to be cheap. Speed is not too much of a worry, as when I'm required to use it (and it will only ever be me on board) I can take a backroad pootle to work rather than attempting the A3. Yes it will take longer than in the car, but less time than either walking, or riding my BMX.

 

My brother had a CG125 for several years and loved it, I think he paid £400 for it and sold it for much the same. Are the puch maxis and peugeot 103s (as advertised by Castros_bro) much cop? Will they actually go up a hill, or do you have to pedal? Pedalling a BMX up a hill is a bit draining, I suspect pedalling something weighing several times as much would be less fun. Do you run on just pedal power, or pedal to assist the engine?

 

Sadly I missed the 2002 cut-off by 2 months, I passed my test in Feb 2003 so would need to do a CBT as a starting point. Might add it to the wish list and see if Mrs_Stanky obliges or if it gets mysteriously crossed off.

[wuvvum]

My first Mobylette would just about get up a 1:4 hill with skinny 14-year-old me on it.  I don't think the power can have been too dissimilar to Castro's bro's 103.  Wouldn't do much more than walking pace, but it got up - good job, as it was a kick start engine on that one so no pedal assistance.

[Dave_Q]

Its 2001 for free moped entitlement, which is category p.

If you passed your car test before 1/2/2001 you can ride a 50 without I plates and even carry a pillion passenger.

[jonny69]

As others have hinted at, a 50 is just about ok around London traffic but anywhere else you'll be better off on a 125. You definitely will not want to do 25 miles each way on a 50.

 

I only ever owned Piaggios. Had an NRG 50, a Vespa ET2 50cc 2-stroke and a Vespa ET4 125cc 4-stroke. Those and the Peugeots were by far the best quality bikes on the market and were agile, good acceleration, had plenty of grip and the brakes were good. they were a bit more expensive but parts were easy to get and they had good resale value. Worth considering this. I rode a cheaper bike and it was dire in comparison.

[martc]

Edit  PPS  yes you can get them in 4 stroke flavour,  either old C50's and their Chinese copies or anything modern.

 

Just be careful with the C50's. Early ones, registered before 1/9/1977, are NOT classed as mopeds -  these are the ones from the era when mopeds had to have pedals to be mopeds - C50's have never had pedals and therefore cannot be ridden with a class E (or it's modern equivalent) licence. This law still applies.

 

As mentioned try to avoid a scooter due to dreadful stability, the bigger the wheels the better. Honda PC50's and Novios are 4 stroke, have large wheels and are suitably shite. Don't be worried about 2 strokes - it'll certainly widen your scope - Mobylettes, Puch Maxis, Honda Graduates, Tomos etc etc will all be suitable. Just remember to add the oil on filling up and get the oil:petrol ratio about right.

[face]

I had a brand new Peugeot Speedfight when they first come out back in the 90s. It was water-cooled (500rpm more revs, or something like that)

 

I had it de-restricted at 500 miles and it then went very well - 50mph on the flat and off the clock (60mph) down a decent hill. A mate had the 100cc version and although punchier on acceleration, the two bikes were pretty much even top-end wise.