Trifecta

Douglas Mackinnon /

Hello Army, i met an interesting fellow today in my neighborhood who wants to sell or trade me 3 mopeds from his back yard heap. I must admit, I’m more of a vintage scooter guy but I’m considering taking the plunge. 2 are Motobecane, (I had never actually seen one before today). 1 is a 1980 Moby, another is similar but looks to be a lower grade machine; no spedo or rear suspension and says “Road Runner” on the tank. No other data tag visible aside from a s/n tag. The yellow one appears to be Italian or at least the engine is anyways. All 3 look surprisingly complete considering they’d been stored in a decrepit shed full of dog shit.

The Moby hasn’t had a spark plug in it so the engine is probably stuck. The fuel tanks on all 3 have rust but I see no signs of frame/ tank failure. All 3 have at least 1/2 tank full of sour funk gas.

They all came home with me to today to check out before I make him an offer on any or all.

I’m most interested in the Moby but may buy all 3 for a potential package deal. Perhaps resell 2 of them. If anybody wants to share some knowledge or value opinions I’m all ears.

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Re: Trifecta

todd amundson /

Run from them Mobys and stick with that pacer.

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Douglas Mackinnon /

I just discovered the word pacer was at one time painted in the side of the tank. . Excuse my ignorance is that the brand or model?

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Re: Trifecta

It's a brand. That particular bike is a Pacer Super Sport, with a Franco Morini motor.

It looks to me like that has an MO1 motor on it, which is a piston port single speed. A closer look at both sides of the motor would help identify it for sure.

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Don't kid yourself, them 3 mopeds ain't leaving your garage now!

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Probably Fred /

> Ryan Graeme wrote:

> -------------------------------------------------------

> Don't kid yourself, them 3 mopeds ain't leaving your garage now!

Not on their own power anyway ;)

Re: Trifecta

Could be a really good score at the right price. And I mean like less than $200 a piece. If you have to pay more than $600 for the package it would be worth your time to walk away. You will need to dump at least $200 just getting these ready to ride on the road again, and that isn't including any actual engine repair parts that may be needed. But they will all need new tires, cables, and the engines serviced. Probably new gaskets and seals at the minimum. If the Moby is seized, like you think, that is new piston rings at a minimum, a new top end at most. If they have been sitting as long as they look and have not been properly set to be stored, then the carbs may be junked from the old gas. Also the morini engine could need a full rebuild just to clean out the transmission really well.

Like I said, still could be a sweet score at the right price.

Re: Trifecta

The RoadRunner is a rebadged Motobecane sold by Dixie International under their own name. They removed any motobecane logos and modified the bikes slightly to make them compliant to new regulations, so they have different lights, etc.

I wouldn't pay more than $100 a bike

Re: Trifecta

Douglas Mackinnon /

Thanks for your history lesson on the roadrunner. That one doesn’t seem very desirable but appears to be in the best condition. The Moby seems like it has potential as a long term project as it’s very complete aside from whatever’s going on inside the open cylinders that I can’t see spark plug threads thru the gunk.

The Pacer is rusty, the rims probably aren’t roadworthy

Dude wanted to trade my titled running fa50 survivor for the whole lot. But I think I’ll pass on that deal.

Re: Trifecta

The 50t ( rigid moby) frames can be valuable to the right person, if the tank isn't too rusty.

The pacer might be worth 200-300 if it's not seized up too bad.

Everything else there is junk. It would take more work and money to make it right than it's worth.

Re: Trifecta

> Douglas Mackinnon wrote:

> -------------------------------------------------------

> Thanks for your history lesson on the roadrunner. That one doesn’t seem

> very desirable but appears to be in the best condition. The Moby seems

> like it has potential as a long term project as it’s very complete aside

> from whatever’s going on inside the open cylinders that I can’t see

> spark plug threads thru the gunk.

>

> The Pacer is rusty, the rims probably aren’t roadworthy

>

> Dude wanted to trade my titled running fa50 survivor for the whole lot.

> But I think I’ll pass on that deal.

Honestly , that's probably your best move .

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Blake Totally a real doctor /

The 50v might clean up decently.

Honestly, a stuck engine on these isn't a deal breaker. Just rebuild it.

Pacer are neat if you're into the top tank look. That ones pretty beat and frankly the m01 is a lackluster engine. Morini really nailed it with the M1 but the m01 leaves a lot to be desired.

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The motobecanes are mediocre bikes at best (except the av10 for the most part) but are fun to ride around if you keep them stock. The tanks on the motobecanes are part of the frames and if they rust out and you hit a big enough bump, you'll be riding a very short bike in no time. The pacer isnt bad, the engines on them are indestructible when you leave them stock and pretty good when you mod them. They're all pretty crusty, if you want them all, I'd offer $300-$400 for all of them, If you just wan the pacer, I'd offer $150-$250. That's ohio prices though so maybe they're worth more

Re: Trifecta

Douglas Mackinnon /

Thanks for chiming in. I haven’t officially bought any of them yet. I did determine that the piston isn’t stuck in the Moby without a plug installed. I found out about the square hole on the RH side that turns the engine over. I gently moved the piston up and down just a tad. There looks to be a lot of Schmutz in the cylinder so I don’t want to make it worse. Looking forward to some negotiations. I’m not interested in the Roadrunner or Pacer. I’ve only got time for 1 new headache.

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