Does anyone have any info on >50cc mopeds such as which manufacturers made them, what years they were made, their model names? A link to a page woulld be helpful.
Does anyone have any info on >50cc mopeds such as which manufacturers made them, what years they were made, their model names? A link to a page woulld be helpful.
my impression is that most mopeds were limited to 50cc (if we mean pedal start). but i have the impression that perhaps carabela made a 60cc model.
Well, if it's over 50cc, it's not a moped. That's how I see it anyway.
simon
I agree with Simon, antything over 50cc is considered a motorcycle, atleast thats what it says in my license manual
Mopeds are 50cc or less. However, I have seen speed kits that have larger displacments up to 70cc. Check out the Moped Junkyard's site.
Simon,
Bite your tongue!
You can't say that scooters are not mopeds, even if the state says they are and then say that over 50ccs is not a moped because the state says it isn't.
Motor/pedals = moped, at least since the kickstart was invented.
Ron
Conflicting information
1. The state definition of a Moped
2. The Moped Army Definition of a moped
3. "Moped Class" vehicles that are not true mopeds, but are 50cc (scooters, monkey bikes)
4. Nopeds, that have options for pedals or not.
5. Nopeds that NEVER had options for pedals (NC-50, QT-50, etc. )
6. Bizarro hybrids-- like a scooter that has pedals-- I've seen a few of these "Scooter-Style" machines that do have pedals. Are they mopeds?
7. My personal definition of a "Moped" is a 50cc machine that does not have floorboards. Pedals or not, if you have no floorboards and you're at 50cc, you're on a moped.
8. Dictionary.com: mo
Wayne,
That dictionary definition sounds good to me.
It leaves out all the legislated bullshit.
Ron
I sorta knew that this was going to happen since a moped is rather hard to define. What does your moped become when you overbore or big bore it or when you add a kickstart? Its all of a sudden a motorcycle now? I'll try to find it to cite it but in one of the old moped books from my library a moped was defined as a "motorized two wheeled vehicle possessing an engine displacement up to and including 125cc and pedals".
and what about the moped racing over in europe? If you've ever seen some of those videos, there's no way that they're running 50cc machines.
Wally,
in my opinion, if I buy a 50cc machine with pedals, and then add a 70cc bore kit, it's still a moped. Look up the VIN number--- see what it says. The VIN will indicate that it is, in fact, a moped.
Are we going to listen to the state? an extra 20 cc's makes your moped into a motorcycle you can pedal around??
Not!
I vote for the dictionary definition. Mo(tor) Ped(al).
All the engine size limitations are legislative crap. Changing from 50cc to 70cc should have no effect on the definition of the vehicle itself. It may no longer fall into the State's definition of a road legal moped but it's still a moped. Place a V8 in a go-cart, add lights, electric start, whatever, it still doesn't make it a car.
What about the Whizzer. I think of it as the original moped . Looks like a bicycle with a 125cc motor. Is this a moped or motorcycle ? bruce
I agree with many is staying with the pedal rule....
To be a moped, it MUST have pedals, or the ability or add and remove them. I think pedal rules suck sometimes, and that you should be able to remove them if you want to... I can't buy the electric start Revival and ride it legally in Maryland, which sucks... but other than that.... a moped should have pedals, or the ability to add/remove them...
as long as the use of bore kits or OEM big bore motors doesn't endanger the rider or others ( which really just falls into using some common sense), I feel that displacement really should make that much difference. Most of us just add bore kits to climb hills better...
If I was buying the bike to outrun the cops, a moped wouldn't be the answer... its all in the ride, speed or not.
The Whizzer---?
Moped, all the way.
I guess, if you even had a tiny engine on any bike, you could call it a moped.
But what about those mountain bikes with batteries and/or fuel cells? are they mopeds?
A fuel cell is like a little engine, isn't it... Battery assist means theres an electric motor going.
How about those "Rhodes Cars" things? Battery assist, with pedals....
I see my post attracted alot of replies but while all this talk of what defines a moped is nice and stuff, does anyone actually have any information about higher displacement mopeds/motorbikes/motorcycles with pedals? The only one I know about is the whizzer.
This is an excellent compendium of moped definitions, but the most useful one is the state definition. I realize that statement may rub against the grain of a generally anti-authority cult here (and I consider myself among them), but all the other definitions are just semantics. The only definition that should affect one's behavior and decision-making is the legal one. I have been considering upgrading from my 50cc moped to an 80cc scooter, for safety reasons, mainly, and the law in Michigan says that I would need to then get a motorcycle license because the engine has more than 49.9 cubic centimeters. That's the only definitional difference between the two machines that matters to me. The other variances, e.g., pedals vs. no-pedals, floorboard vs. no floorboard, are all potentially important personal preferences, but I don't really care what you call one vs. the other.
If one decides to increase to increase the displacement of a "moped" to more than 49.9 cc's with a speed kit, he or she can make a personal decision as to whether or not to register the machine as a motorcycle. But the decision should be made knowing that, technically, the moped is now a motorcycle according to the State. If I choose to flaunt the law (which I may very well do --- a speed kit is another of the possibilities I'm considering and I don't intend to go running to the Secretary of State's office with a press release about it) then at least I'll know that I'm in technical violation, which could, theoretically, earn me a fine. THAT is the only definitional difference that really matters, isn't it?
JD,
I have a moped.
It has larger, skinny wheels and pedals.
Given your definition, could you have figured that out.
Just because the state, "for the purpose of licensing", includes scooters in their definition, does not make them the same. The actual descriptive words are still usefull and necessary if you wish to communicate.
Ron
fred would know all about this--- Ron too, I bet
Not really Wayne... he says.. "higher displacement with pedals"
I don't think there are any.
I only know of one... the Whizzer.
Practicality and US gov rules kinda preclude the scenario he's asking about.
Oh... I am sure there are some obscure bikes they made small numbers of ... and they are mostly in landfills now.
Its tough enough to become knowledgable about "newer" stuff.
I was thinking of some of those really old mopeds you were posting--- the piston arms were really long, but they didn't get much power---
that is, if I remember right...
You remember---?
Oh yeah... but those things are in museums and personal collections ... and are worth thousands and thousands of dolars... I actually know little about them... and my impression was this guy was asking about something he could 'buy and ride'.
My impression was he liked the idea of more performance... without having to jump through all the loopholes of it being a 'motorcycle.
In that case... (if he's got guts)... get something like a Zuma... faster than a ped... supposed to be licensed as a motorcycle... but looks like a Spree... (so most cops are unlikely to 'realize' its supposed to be fully licensed and insured).
If his state and local area isn't too Nazified... then he might get away with it forever.
(however... don't flaunt the traffic laws... don't vie with cars for position... always be in "stealth" mode)
BTDT
If you should have the misfortune to live in New York State, whether it has pedals or floorboards, has a 50cc or less engine or uses rubber bands for power, it is a moped according to the law if it goes no faster than 30 mph from the factory. My Avanti Autopower is a motorcycle and my wifes Honda Express-SR scooter is a moped as far as the DMV is concerned. As far as worrying about the size of the engine if you customize you toy, I don't think even the meanest cop out there can prove you have a 65cc engine in your moped.
Don't worry about it...Ken D
yamaha suzuki and honda circumvented uk law in the 70's by producing motorcycles of 50cc but unrestricted they did between 50mph and 75mph but put pedals on them but in the uk a moped is a 50cc motorcycle having a maximum design speed of 30mph or if produced before 79 had to have pedals and yes some of those mopeds you see are 50cc honda made a trail bike in the eighties called a mb5 this was completely useless as it wouldnt do more than 30mph however unrestricted and tuned they can do 80-90 mph
My state requires pedals to be a moped. A scooter is not a moped it is a motorcycle. And limits speed to 35... I agree.. as long as your not passing cars then what cop is going to waste his time with you? Also I don't see anyone knowing your engine isn't 50cc.. I doubt any cop or just general everyday people would even know how to measure a motors displacement... You go by what the Vin says it is... If you
had a for Cheverolet Truck.. and for some crazy idea you put it on a ford frame and used a ford motor and for suspension and ford transmions.. you go by the body... and the vehicle vin.... It would still be a chevy by apreance and by most peoples reasoning.
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