MOPED ARMY

Mike,

You are right, resetting the odometer is relatively easy. If you do not knw/trust the person you are purchasing from, look at things like tire wear, pedal wear, handgrip wear, tightness of controls and bearings.

The raeson there are so many low mileage peds around is that the people who bought them did not think they were fun. Go figure!

Ron

Here's the typical 1970's moped's life story:

<i>Because of high fuel prices and the trendiness of mopeds, Joe buys a moped. He drives it around all summer and puts it away in the back of his garage. Spring comes, but he figures it's a little too cold to be pulling it out right away, and he doesn't want to move the lawn mower and the kid's bikes. Summer comes, and he doesn't feel like doing all of the maintenance that the owner's manual says he has to do. When autumn rolls around Joe says "maybe next year". Eventually fuel prices go down, Joe buys a Volkwagon Rabbit, and mopeds become uncool. Joe forgets how much fun he had that first summer using the moped. Thirty years later the moped winds up for sale on EBay listed as a "scooter".</i>

Classic mopeds are so old that mileage, I think, really isn't that important. I work at the National Library of Canada, and we have Glenn Gould's piano in the lobby. The library has musicians come in every now and then to play it so that the instrument stays in good shape --a disused piano will become unsalvageable after a long period of time. I kind of believe the same thing is true about mopeds --it seems that a moped that sits around disused can be in much rougher shape than one that's been ridden every couple of years. This is just my personal belief, though.

When I buy a moped I look at the shape it is in rather than what the odometer says.

Chris.

Well I suspect people just fall into the "More power and bigger will make people like me!" trap - I keep getting people telling me I'll sell my moped and buy a motorcycle because I want the power. (Yes, I feel a terrible urge to buy an overpriced racing bike and plaster myself against a brick wall at 100mph just to look cool.... gee won't I look cool in the full body cast after the skin grafts? :)

Some people buy mopeds for fun and then get teased by someone or other... or just don't think they look cool enough... and they end up sitting in the garage. In my case I don't care what people think of me, I ride the thing because its inexpensive and its fun and its the perfect city riding vehicle. Who needs 100mph when the average traffic in the city goes at about a quarter of that?

Besides - I have fun responding to some of the comments on the street. Had one guy shout out "Great bike loser" to which I replied "I'm riding, you're walking, who's the loser?" (Of course it helps when making comments to be riding past faster than they could run after you)

I've also had some positive feedback.. just WHEELING my project moped (a jawa '87) down to the workshop where I'm going to be taking it apart, I had two people stop me and ask if I wanted to sell the thing. With the way gas prices are going, I think we're going to see more moped riders popping up and that they will become a lot more popular. (probably a bad thing... no more rebels without a clutch! ;)

Jamie