General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

Elliott Etzkorn /

A couple weeks away from buying my first moped (and any automobile for that matter). It's a 1980 Motobecane Le Moped. I'm a pretty stereotypical privaleged college freshman I guess, who's only ever changed the oil and tires on a car.

I figured a moped would be a good inexpensive first investment, and if it breaks down, a headfirst lesson in mechanics. Does anybody have any tips, or links to a guide on taking care of mopeds, or an older Motobecane in particular. Are there things I should know about, and clean, and change regularly? Thank you for any thoughts.

Re: General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

The wiki is a good place to start. Take a look at Fred's guide.

Re: General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

Everything you generally need to know is in the "wiki" pages on this site... I suggest reading all you can there. Its a ton of info... and pages for beginners too.

Re: General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

Elliott Etzkorn /

Oh okay, didn't even know that was on here. I'm new. Thanks for the heads-up!

Re: General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

--> Jason Kluczyk Presents: Jason Kluczyk /

everything you need to know is in DWAYNE HOSTERS video

Re: General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

yeah dog wiki is the biz but can be hard to use somtimes i think but then i cant use a computer well mobys are rad i have a solo two speed on mine and a 12 mil carb i ported the cylinder and opened the exhaust a tiny bit retarded the timing just a hair and i do a good 37 + all day

oh and if you need to clean, adjust your points , or pull of you magneto ( the round spinny thing on the right side of the motor the nut says novi on it

THAT NUT IS COUNTER THREAD SO RIGHTY TIGHTY LEFTY LOOSEY DOESNT APPLY NEW CRANKS ARENT CHEAP I PITTY THE FOOL THAT DESTROYED HIS THE OTHER DAY IN ANOTHER POST

enjoy your moby i know you will

Re: General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

Wiki search tips:

Don't use the search box. Instead, use a combination of categories and your browser's "find" function. Like, say you want to find an article about the carb on a Motobecane. You go to the "Motobecane" category linked on the main page. Then there's a list of articles organized alphabetically. Alphabetical organization works on categories like the "Moped Jargon" one, but it's really not the best way to organize a bunch of articles that aren't named consistently like on most of the brand categories (and it'd still be a mess even if they were named consistently). So, hit CTRL+F and type "carb" into the little find box. (This how it works in Chrome, but I assume Firefox and Safari have similar functions). That will highlight "carb" every time it appears on the page, and then you can look at those articles to see if they have anything to do with what you want to know. Same goes for the repair and performance categories.

Also, if you need a manual, check out the MRA or google "Macbecane Mobylette."

Re: General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

fallout Survivor /

google moped riders association, and check motobecane users and service manuals. Might be links on wiki to general moped stuff. If you can find the service manuals on pdf of the motobecane and other mopeds, they pretty much tell you what to do.

Tip , If you do not have in line paper element filter, install, at least 1 and 2 is better. These old bikes have dirty and rusty gas tanks.

Re: General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

An in-line fuel filter is a good way to prevent your carb from getting dirty.

Pick up a can of carb cleaner because a dirty carb is a common cause of poorly running mopeds

And read all of Fred's Guide

Re: General Moped Upkeep Tips Needed

mabecanemobylette.com for sure, wiki as well. Motobecanes are awesome machines. Run sea-foam or stabil in your pre-mix, helps a lot. Close petcock when not riding. Get a big strong lock.

Want to post in this forum? We'd love to have you join the discussion, but first:

Login or Create Account