MOPED ARMY

All of the above^ .

Plus , they are a fun distraction from real life . ;)

Cool smaller versions of beloved Vintage motorcycles, for sure. Ban Don Ohio.

i only have one ped, it's an 82 chappy lb50j.

i like the nostalgia. it's cool to be using something pushing 40 years old. lots of folks will see the styling and ask the age and then say "damn that's older than me." others will say "i had one just like it when i was a kid." it looks like a time when things were made better and had style.

i like the quirkiness. every asshole has a rice rocket or a hog. when you go blasting 45mph down the street on a 160lb bicycle with 8" wheels, heads turn. especially when you're 6'4" and 200lbs. kids smile and wave, i beep the silly horn, they go nuts.

i like the absurdity. people call me crazy because it's small... "when are you going to get a real motorcycle?" "that thing looks like a toy." etc. when i take it to work and it's below freezing, my coworkers think i'm insane. life is short, have some fuckin fun people! do stupid shit, make someone wonder. people who dig mopeds are never normal, they're all mental patients in some way or another. MY kinda people.

i like the cost. i have an automotive tuning background and hop up parts were $$$$. never mind repairs when shit blew up. insurance for $120 a year? yes please. 60+ mpg... i'm still running on 5 gallons of summer blend gas that someone gave me from their outboard motor (yes, starting is a bitch right now). new tires? $50. new brake pads? $50.

i like the challenge of staying alive. turning up the attention when riding because of countless morons on the road makes the miles/minutes go by. no radio, no snacking, no smoking, no cell phone--ya gotta focus if you want to avoid death and/or dismemberment. it's high stakes, but it's still a game.

i like the (relative) lack of power. i rode a liter bike (kawa kz1000) 20 something years ago, shared it with my dad. that thing was asininely fast and it's a bit remarkable i never got into too much trouble. i guess i was still a novice and didn't take chances. sure, you can get messed up at 45mph, but how much worse would it be on a way faster and less nimble machine? i've got a 400hp subaru, i know the draw of the throttle is very strong and it saw lots of time at WOT. if i've got the power i'll use it, so better to keep it <10hp.

i like the craft of keeping it running. how many folks left out there can tune a carb? replace a piston, port a cylinder, change a tire? do all their own maintenance and repairs, sometimes on the side of the road? tinkering in the garage is one of my favorite things to do, and this is a labor of love.

i like the utility. getting on for a quick trip to the store is so easy. i offer to grab shit all the time for my wife when we need something just to go for a ride. park where you want, nobody cares. no waste of gas dragging 4k lbs for an errand. no getting into a hot car on a summer day. i use it to commute (10 miles) as much as i can--the only days that are off the table are precipitation and/or wet snowy salty roads. i've racked up >2500 miles since june.

that's the long and short of it i guess. good question, made me think.

I'm going to agree with Ken on pretty much every aspect of that reply.

Got into it because I didn't want to be lumped with the moto people where I grew up. No helmet law, no reg/ins/plate in CT, so me and my good friends would just ride around, exploring the towns and cities at a slower speed.

Now, I really revel in the esoteric bikes. It's an appreciation of what you can do with very little.

In terms of "It's Just Mopeds," I think the phrase was truly born out of the need to expatriate from the moto/auto mentality of right vs. wrong ways/parts/methods.

There are better and worse ways to achieve goals, but with relatively nonchalant nature of mopeds coupled with their low cost give us all no reason NOT to experiment and try out of the box ideas.

I'll have what Ken's having

Mopeds are light,easy to maintain, park and maneuver, great fun to ride on smaller roads and easy on the pocketbook. What's not to love?

its just mopeds means, its supposed to be fun, don't stress out about it. 'its just mopeds' nobody's life is at stake (unless you really blow it).

it also means that everything in life is just mopeds. you need to build a new fence in your back yard? do a little research, buy the tools, get your buddies over and crack open a case of beer and get to it!

need to rebuild a car engine? Its just mopeds!

rototiller isn't running right? its just mopeds!

the last few years as i've been doing more adulting, my brother and i have kinda made it our rallying cry. if you can figure out mopeds, you can prety much apply that same logic to anything from remodeling your house to restoring old tractors. 'its just mopeds'

Jbot used to have that handle 'fear is the mind killer' from dune... pretty good line, you see so many people not going after what they want in life because 'its too hard' or they are scared of the work or they dont know where to start or whatever. If you tell yourself 'its just mopeds' and knock down that wall or rip apart the engine to your only running car, then just work your way through it and keep working till you figure it out, you can do just about anything. I'm always surprising myself with the shit i accomplish when i just start drinking beer and pounding my head against it until it works.

Moped are an excellent vehicle for getting around on short trips on a regular basis, some longer excursions if the spirit moves me. Running the 20km trip to town for provisions every weekend is excellent, no need to hurry. Use the sidecar or trailer for groceries n shyte. This part of Canadaland mopeds are legal on bike paths so there are a lot of stop sign and car free short cuts in town. Workplace is only 14km trip so lots of days that is a good way to travel, I take extra time so I can deviate and go the scenic route.

Damn bro, was she pissed at ya or what?

I love my mopeds and I love my motorcycles. It’s just different on your moped. I can do super shady shit to my engines and not be afraid, I can confirm most of my friends into getting one, I can work on it without breaking the bank. Rally’s are cool for the most part, see and meet some interesting and cool people. It’s got a community that doesn’t revolve around a brand or style, it just is.

But yeah when I think of the phrase “it’s just mopeds” I usually thing more of, stop fighting, don’t take it too serious, it’s just mopeds.

You know, I spend a lot of my time thinking about mopeds, learning nuances in the moped world, learning new engine designs, tuning tricks, fixes and maintenance. It’s funny to think about how much time I spend on something so “Ridiculous” in a way but yet, is one of my favorite things in the world. It started with being cheap transportation when I was riding mine illegally before my learners permit when I was 15, but now i’ve owned 13 bikes, from every major European brand, 25mph bikes to 50+mph bikes.

It never gets old, there’s ALWAYS fun to be had with this hobby... and i’m gonna dig it.

Until the parts run dry

Friends. First second and third is friends. Most of my favorite friends play this game, I love working on stuff because I get to fix shit with friends, show off and check out new ideas and builds with friends, I like to travel to houston for work and spend an evening eating burgers, talking shop and fixing cameras with the magnetos, fixing bikes and offering em up to new or future friends.

#4, would probably be I really like fixing stuff and via friends and time have a lotta knowledge built up. To me it's a similar feeling to when I used to skateboard a lot, of landing a new trick. It feels awesome when you tackle a challenge and master it, and I get that same feels everytime I get some new bike and finally get it running, that first ride is such a satisfying triumph

Where I live no insurance required and I am a cheapass motherfucker. Plus I can collect rare unicorn mopeds for 1/100 the cost of rare cars so I have many

I honestly just ignore anyone who thinks that riding 10 weekends out of the year makes them any form of authority on what is what.

Mopeds are fun entirely on the most basic and important principle of speed- slow thing fast is always faster than a fast thing going fast.

Riding a cycle designed to go 140mph+ at 140mph+ is not nearly as exciting as riding something designed to go 25mph at 40mph+.