MOPED ARMY

That's one thing I love about doing mopeds.. Is resurrecting a bike that's been forgotten and getting it back on the road. If I had an infinite moped budget I'd restore any bike I come across... One thing I'd like to do is take a couple of sad carcass's of mopeds.. Got a yeller 40t I wann get riding again. Ratty Columbia commuter frame. Peugeot frame, swing arm 'n engine.. You know. Keep em' around for some time longer.

I horde rarities only at this point. At the beginning it was a matter of grabbing whatever I could, now I only grab things that really interest me. Yet, that still leaves me with over a dozen or so bikes in the shop as well as some other stragglers.

I had them as a kid, rode dirt-bikes too, but you could get a moped license at 15, so there was that, got back into them in '98, with my Hobbit, still have it, have collected a few more, but the novelty is wearing off, I have limited space, and just don't find myself riding as much anymore, I used to commute in the summer, and that was awesome, but traffic has increased tremendously, as well as the drivers all having a case of "phone in face" and everyone speeds, getting too dangerous for stock bikes on all but the really back ways. I have no desire to kit a bike, would maybe pay someone to do it...but really, why not just buy something more powerful? I will always have at least one moped though, there is just something goofy fun about them. Takes me back to when life was simpler, and slower. :) I too like getting something going that has not run in ages, very satisfying. Another thing, you young guys will find in 20-30 yrs, starting a recalcitrant moped is hard on the knees! :D Something to be said for the kick start no-peds. (edited)

i find it to be a "great equalizer"

any chode with daddys credit card can bolt on shit to a civic or bring it to someone who can and do 140mph

that same chode can drop 4k at Treats and even if he finds a builder will still have to actually turn a wrench in order to ride on any kind of regular basis.

weve got hermits, hotheads, half pig hybrids, and all sorts of other whackjobs on here that a bag of cash aint gonna help you

you gotta learn for yourself, get dirty, break shit, get angry trying to find replacement shit and yell at your bikes like a mental patient when they dont work

guess im saying that you gotta be a little "tapped"

Can you still wrench and not suffer for it? Take a few moped repair jobs and sell a few unneeded mopeds for OTHER people to ride. Glad your wife can ride.

Don't sell mopeds to people that can't or won't wrench on their own. They'll always be bringing them back.

I don’t know Don over the years I’ve sold probably 100 different bikes both Moped’s and small two cycle motorcycles and only had a problem with only a few bringing them back, most times because they did something stupid like not adding oil to gas or what was they called a “simple crash” which was bad crash damage,

Mind you the bikes I sold were clean, low mileage almost every part taken off and detailed and blueprinted including brakes and bearings, most were modded or kitted so they were fast enough to keep up with traffic,

Some bikes I offered maintenance every year for a small charge like a yearly tuneup/check up and few came by but I would like clean the plug or something and not charging them anything.

I kept/keep contact of some people/hobbyist’s that bought bikes from me sometimes offering for me to buy them back like if their kid got a car, they got a bigger bike or whatever and if they gave me a ok deal and I would buy the bike back

I most have in common with the OP a fondness for keeping older, still very useful, machinery alive. It's a little work, maybe even not the better bargain when hours spent are counted, but the satisfaction is real.

Between my three old puch 50ccs, a 96 chevy worktruck, an '84 BMW R65, a 1978 John Deere 111 riding mower, a toro 728 snowblower of about the same vintage, I don't expect to replace any of them any time soon. And I never fail to appreciate them. Not just tools, or vehicles, but a vital part of the journey. (edited)

I've been riding them for 40 years. They're my cars. Just been the last like 7 years I really learned to play with them. Only rode stock bikes before. Only needed basic maintenance. Agree with guy above who mentioned how much nicer nopeds are for bad knees

Funny thing with small bikes is you feel like yer rippin when your old doing like 25.. "Better to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow"

I started with a Bravo a year ago this month. Like Seth, mine wasn't running but it was all there. Googled everything I could that day, about it.

Got it running by the afternoon, I am hooked. Got a second bike late last summer a running Tomos .needed some TLC, looking and riding good. Now I'm learning how to fix, adjust , light mods, no shops or fellow mopeders close to wrench with. I ride when I can .

Like this one! Still love the footpeg to pedal adapter you gave me!

I use moped as a main means of transportation to/from work and for running errands, shopping etc.. so reliability is very important in that aspect, Tomos (newer model 2013 Sprint) is what I have now, back when I had the older 80's A35 Tomos I constantly had to work on it to keep it running (rusty gas tank/clogging carburetor, stuff kept falling off it/needed replacing due to its age).

The "slow bike fast vs fast bike slow" accounts for a lot of it to me. My job and the place I get groceries are a few miles across town. In the summer I have my 650 in the garage next to the mopeds. Within 10 miles from home I ride the peds about 95 percent of the time, even though a much more comfortable, far more powerful bike is sitting there right next to them. Anything within 20 miles of home on the 650 just feels like going from A to B... may just as well be a car, cab, or bus. But spinning along near max rpm at 25 to 35 mph never fails to bring a little adventure. I'm more likely to detour on my way just for the hell of it.. for the pure fun and time-out therapy of it.

About 40 years ago I had a moped because all kids had mopeds. Then I missed the natural progression from mopeds to 125cc motorcycles because I was caught driving one without a license. So, that was it for 2 wheelers for me at the time.

Fast forward 40 years: Last autumn I lost my car license for a month because of speeding. Solution: I don't need any kind of license to drive a moped! :D So, I bought a 45 year old moped. ;-)

Now I continue small scale mopeding because they are fun to tinker with and quite handy when going to supermarket, post office etc. which are quite close by. Lately I've been mostly trying to make it safer (brakes) and a bit faster too.

I plan to enter some vintage moped rally this summer too. (edited)

Are you a collector?

Not really, two are enough

Is a moped your daily? Do you even ride?

Yes it's a daily ride if it's not too cold or rainy

Do you live for rallies and group rides?

Very seldom, but sometimes I join moped events

Are you a racer? A tuner?

Not really a racer. But I do have tuning projects.

Maybe you're into buying, fixing and reselling, or do you have a shop.

By the way I work in this direction (to start a moto shop)

Do you just like fixing stuff?

Not really, especially I enjoy the time when nothing breals down.