I have a Moto-Guzzi Chiu from 1976, it does NOT have a brake light.
Are all mopeds imported to US equipped with brake lights or is there a year where most mopeds did not have a brake light?
I am building a board track racer out of it and if I can get away without brake light, I'll take that option. If not I'll add different hand controls and wire the sucker.
I may change the seat before I test drive it....;-)
Get a universal motorcycle brake light switch and wire that onto the bike near the back brake cable near the back wheel. Super easy to wire in and super easy to attach to the the bike on both swing arm and rigids.
Lots of vintage mopeds do not have a brake light, all of the ones imported into USA for retail sales since 1970 have a brake light to meed DOT standards if they were imported to be used on public roads.
Regardless - brake lights are a smart thing to have, it will help to prevent some asshole driving into the back of you when you stop.
Benelli g2 engine.
All mopeds that were imported .. must have brake lights or the .. usa wouldn't import them.
Use hand signals.
hahaha - I signaled a stop once in front of a cop car and I got a ticket for no brake light and littering - seriously he thought I was throwing something on the road and not signalling - that was a waste of court date because he was a no show, except the judge did get a laugh at the complaint vs my argument.
Not too many people know what a hand signal is so you will get rear ended with one hand on the barz instead of two...
Mo Peds Wrote:
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> Benelli g2 engine.
> All mopeds that were imported .. must have brake
> lights or the .. usa wouldn't import them.
> Use hand signals.
no
I carry my moped hand (maryland moped laws) book with me .. even to the store. I love showing them what they should know about them "so called" laws of the land. (edited)
My parents told me NO all the time.. See what that gets. you. ha
LOL!!!
Ok, looks like I have to get levers and brake switches from my spare parts Guzzi. and add different bulp for my Farmall tractor bullet tail light...
Lauri, i've already been threatened with impoundment- in front of the ice cream shop we were riding to- because our one ped that did not have a brake light installed. it had a tail light but the officer noted when we were turning in one did not have a brakelight. i had to call a friend with a truck to come pick us up. remember that if you get stopped with a registered ped and threatened with impoundment, you must request that you legally remove the vehicle in a timely manner or they will impound it and make money for "emergency towing charges" of at least 150$. moral of the story is it didn't have one originally, and even though i could prove it was before brake lights were required, it would have been impounded and had to deal with court dates, roughed up from impoundment and dealing with the impound fees which is another court case. you have to pay impound fees and write "paid in protest" even if you plan to go to court to get your money back. (edited)
In the US mopeds were required to have a brake light since sometime around 1959-1960. A brake light would be easy to add, and is a good safety item. You could attach a switch in such a way that when the lever on the brake drum is pulled it depresses the brake switch.
In Solex World, all Solexes sold in the US after 1974 had to have brake lights. The model 4600 DOT (4600 V2 aka The Horse, and 4600 V3) was created for this purpose, equipped with all the safety features required by the Federal Safety Standards, including brake lights, electric horn, reflectors, ignition stop switch, sealed-beam headlight, etc. Some States required brake lights on Solexes as early as 1964. When the S 3300s, S 3800s, 4600 V1s and 5000s were sold in these States before 1975, a switch (by MALY) was installed inside the left frame rail, attached by a pullchain and rod (old spoke) to the rear brake cable. The switch was normally closed, held open by the pullchain. When the rear brake was activated, the brake cable (and pullchain) moved forward, closing the switch and allowing power to the brake light bulb or brake light filament. I have some photos posted on this page:
http://solex3800usa.over-blog.com/pages/196768_Solex_S_3800_DOT-5169960.html
The whole setup came as a kit from MALY, and I've seen the kits for sale on ebay.fr, and installed on other mopeds and motorcycles.
Here is a list of all of the safety equipment required on a moped in New York State:
http://www.dmv.ny.gov/forms/mv529b.pdf
Technically, in NYS, if you don't have this safety equipment, you are not allowed to register the ped or ride it on the streets.
Got it....
I'll get the light, last thing I need is to get it impounded.
my euro pug has an interesting brake switch, super easy to retrofit.
halfway down the rear brake cable is a plastic housing with 2 terminals.
the cable outer housing squeezes on 2 metal plates with rubber sandwiched between them, keeping the contacts apart.
power a parallel circuit from lighting to the switch to the brake bulb.
no pix on hand, besides, where to source the switch? (mine works fine)
nice find, Lauri, Guzzi boy.
in lots of states, older vehicles arent required to have a brake light. i basically never run them and ive never had a problem. you DEFINITELY wouldnt get your shit impounded for not having one, youd just get a ticket at worst. my puch m125 was from the late 60s and had no wiring for a brake light.
is that frame for real? Looks like another one of those cruiser bike engine kits.
It has 1976 Moto Guzzi steering neck, lots of Guzzi Chiu parts, including matching motor, sprockets, controls etc, all mated with 1960's Murray frame. Not a kit, I've done most of it myself, like the tank. So, from legal point of view, it IS a registered moped. Frame was cut quite a bit to get the moped motor and axles in. I quess I'll leave it to you guys if it is a moped or bicycle with moped motor.... For me, its a Guzzi Flat Track Racer;-)
i think you have way more legal issues to worry about having that be your frame, than worrying about a brake light....
agreed
Too late, its coming together already;-)
I understand that I will be target #1, when cops pull over a group. I'm not 18, so usually the gray hair cuts me plenty of slack. Typically they just laugh and tell me to move on.
I've researched the moped vs. motorized bicycle laws and it is legal to use a steering neck from one motorcycle (or moped) and mate it with another frame. Frames are also legal to modify, which I would say, mine is modified;-) Cops can stensil the neck and compare it to their DMV file. Its a perfect match, including motor serial number. This one is already registered, insured and a far as I know, legal.
Then again, I am not a lawyer, so what do I know... However there are already few that are legal in PA. If you have more info, particularly why its not legal, I'm interrested of hearing it. I'll put the flame suit on...
Worst case scenerio, I ride dirty. (but I will ride)
thing is, this is exactly why some states eventually make mopeds have license plates and require moped/scooter related license endorsements.
same reason why its illegal to ride those fucking weed whacker stand up scooter things on the street.
i wouldnt worry a whole lot. ive modified a few frames, tons of people on here do. the only concern is youre really crossing that line into motorized bicycle territory which is a huge grey area for a lot of states.
enjoy though dude, with 26" rims that thing would be a blast to ride, and it looks like youre doing an awesome job putting it together.
I dont know those rear drop-outs would scare the shit out of me thinking going any faster than 10mph on that shit.
Well... It's not done yet...by any means.
This frame will serve as a mock up, for such its fine. I'll eventually make my own frame using different tubes and alter the dimensions, depeding what I need/want to modify and how. This mule will serve its life as a test bed. I dont take the project overly seriously, I'm mostly having fun with it in the garage, while its cold outside and I cannot ride.
yeah, im with tyler. i'd either start with something that was a little more well-made like an old schwinn cruiser, or definitely reinforce those stamped dropouts before you actually run it. murray never exactly made the nicest stuff. actually, i'd probably reinforce every joint on that whole frame before i rode it.
on a schwinn its at least all electroforged together for strength, that thing was built as cheaply as possible at the factory, just like a current dept. store bike is.
brake switch for every build:
Guys, the beauty of steel is that when one weld fails the the others still hold. Things get to feeling very odd and if you have an ounce of sense, you will pull over and check it out. This isn't an airplane. I've had bicycle frames snap at the downtube and at worst it involved riding gingerly back to the welder. Think back to your childhood and the massive jumps you made on bicycles. I usually broke before the bike did.
none of us have brakelights. i run a bicycle light when i'm too lazy to replace burnt out lights. because i'm responsible and safe.
I have a '54 that differs with you. (: but yep, probably about everything from 1960 on had'em stock.
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