Moped/scooter

koneguitarist

There is no way in hell my Mrs would ever get on a bike, and the only time we get nowadays is weekends, so I am hardly gonna go off with the boys biking.

 I think an auto scooter seems best thing for me. Mrs has a small car, and I have my van which I prefer to drive.

Will try and take a look soon. 

strumjoughlamps

get an action cam and helmet mount when/if you get one, top fun and also can be useful if the worse happens..

https://www.facebook.com/jough.rustice/videos/10153727529163741/

Dominic

I am a big engine biker ,always have been but I think little nippy 125  automatic scooters are great -used one for a year to get around London in preference to the bike .........just easy and trouble free.........50cc is ok if you are an 8 stone kid but my 16 and a half stone heavy build overwhelms the lack of torque

Blaendulais

Dominic said:

I am a big engine biker ,always have been but I think little nippy 125  automatic scooters are great -used one for a year to get around London in preference to the bike .........just easy and trouble free.........50cc is ok if you are an 8 stone kid but my 16 and a half stone heavy build overwhelms the lack of torque

I agree lucky enough to own a Goldwing, 1198s Ducati and a 125cc Scooter - i enjoy each one as much and the scooter is awesome for whizzing around town and will do 60 on a dual.  Go scooter

Beexter

Don't get a 50cc. A 125 is a much better (and safer) bet. I used to be a CBT instructor and can heartily recommend the Honda CG125. Easy to ride and extremely reliable. Despite the abuse they got, they just kept going.

strumjoughlamps

Dominic said:

I am a big engine biker ,always have been but I think little nippy 125  automatic scooters are great -used one for a year to get around London in preference to the bike .........just easy and trouble free.........50cc is ok if you are an 8 stone kid but my 16 and a half stone heavy build overwhelms the lack of torque

yeah many big bigger peeps will have an auto scooter in the shed for nipping about town, guy down the road from me never uses his 900cc in the winter always rev and go... 

Phil_aka_Pip

Beexter said:

Don't get a 50cc. A 125 is a much better (and safer) bet. I used to be a CBT instructor and can heartily recommend the Honda CG125. Easy to ride and extremely reliable. Despite the abuse they got, they just kept going.

But the ohc engine was a lot nippier than that pushrod job. The CG was gutless.

Hattigol

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Trust me you DON'T want an automatic scooter. Or a moped. You want as near to a proper bike as you can get. If that means riding a speed restricted 125 until you've passed some kind of test then so be it, but get used to the controls of a proper bike while you're learning to ride, and then get a 'proper' bike even if it's a 250 (but by then you'll be wanting a 500 I promise you).

Nothing wrong with auto scooters. I've had various Vespas over the years and they are fabulous. Got a Vespa Sei Giorni GTS 300 which does 85 and the handling, suspension, set-up are brilliant.



Don't diss unless you've tried one?

Phil_aka_Pip

@Hattigol you jest, natch

Wolfetone

exocet said:

Many years ago I rode a 125cc scooter into London for my daily commute. I wouldn't want to mix it with busy traffic on anything smaller.

I was thinking exactly the same. A good 125 would be just the job. Good security would be a must though. 

Guitar_Slinger

What you talking about, Willis? So long as the journey doesn't have stretches of dual carriageway or motorway, a moped would be OK in central London.

I spent years commuting into central London on an 800cc chopper and in the summer months, I'd drop off/pick up the wife too.

Over the years cars and vans got bigger, so the gaps got smaller.  There was also roadworks on Regent Street which widened the pavement and narrowed the road. The last four years of my central London commute were done on a de-restricted Piaggio Liberty 50 that could do 55mph. Although big bikes left me behind at the lights, I'd catch them up at the next lights and filter up to the front, through gaps they couldn't.

I work near Heathrow now, and have a pleasant commute on a Versys 650 through leafy Middlesex, where there's less traffic.

Wolfetone

I have always had bigger bikes and was used to riding them in a particular way knowing I had plenty of power to get me out of potential trouble.

I jumped on my then wife's SR125 and was shocked at how I had to change my riding style to cope with the vast power reduction. I came home realising how vulnerable small bike riders are. I can't even comprehend how frightening it must be to ride a bicycle in a town/city!

Kudos to you guys!

stimpsonslostson

Is there no cycle friendly route you could take? 
I cycle a 20ish mile round trip each day no problem. Each 10mile journey takes about 45mins. 
An electric bike would get you there with virtually no effort, even up steep hills.

Other than that I'd agree with everyone else- Scooters are great in town, but on Dual Carriageway I'm not sure if fancy it. 

Hattigol

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Hattigol you jest, natch

Nope. Save for snow and ice, I commute every day on my Vespa. Got a brand new PX 150 in my garage as well, which I'm keeping as a collectible.

I run a company that sells scooter helmets which should give you a clue that I'm not jesting...

TheBigDipper

Guitar_Slinger said:

<ship>

I work near Heathrow now, but the last four years of my central London commute were done on a de-restricted Piaggio Liberty 50 that could do 55mph. Although big bikes left me behind at the lights, I'd catch them up at the next lights and filter up to the front, through gaps they couldn't.
<snip>

55 MPH? That surprises me. Or did you mean kph? 

Auto scooters are great, though. No, they're not motorcycles but they're practical, cheap to run and often lots of fun.

Guitar_Slinger

It was 55mph, 90kph IIRC. Part of my journey was a 3 lane dual carriageway with a 40 limit, but the traffic flowed at 50.

Excuse me if you knew this already, "mopeds" are 50cc scooters, restricted to 30mph for the UK licence category AM.

One thing I did like about riding a moped was the leg shields kept showers off, so I'd go to places in jeans and trainers.  That took me a bit of time to get used to, having ridden for years in black leathers and boots.

Maybe not as safe if an accident would have happened, but it meant not having to walk around places for hours like RoboCop.

TheBigDipper

Guitar_Slinger said:

It was 55mph, 90kph IIRC. Part of my journey was a 3 lane dual carriageway with a 40 limit, but the traffic flowed at 50.

Excuse me if you knew this already, "mopeds" are 50cc scooters, restricted to 30mph for the UK licence category AM.

One thing I did like about riding a moped was the leg shields kept showers off, so I'd go to places in jeans and trainers.  That took me a bit of time to get used to, having ridden for years in black leathers and boots.

Maybe not as safe if an accident would have happened, but it meant not having to walk around places for hours like RoboCop.

That's fast for a 50cc. I used to run a training school, so I do know the difference, but it's always worth reminding people... We used 50cc Peugeot Ludix scooters - they crashed well on the pad(!). I had two that were restricted (for 16 year olds) and two derestricted, but they'd only manage 45mph - hence my question. 

What a lot of 50cc riders don't realise is that moped entitlement (via your car licence) isn't valid if the "moped" has been derestricted - that makes it a scooter, and your licence and insurance may not be valid for the derestricted vehicle.

57Deluxe

in my day, us Dudes buzzed around up to 55mph on these beauties:

http://www.bikesrestored.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/yamahafs1e-1975-10.jpg

Other sad tossers had these:

rlw

250cc is best................

Hattigol

57Deluxe said:

in my day, us Dudes buzzed around up to 55mph on these beauties:

http://www.bikesrestored.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/yamahafs1e-1975-10.jpg

Other sad tossers had these:

FIZZIES! Great bikes.

Ludicrously, a bike would be exempt from the speed restrictions if they had pedals, I think? Bonkers but brilliant.

I had an RD50LC. No Fizzy but with a Micron exhaust, it was pretty decent...