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Any moped/motor scooter fans in BCF-land?

Sherlock

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I had the opportunity last night to drive a friend's motor scooter (an early-1980's Honda, forget which specific model). He only purchased it recently and he told me that the top speed is pretty much 40 km/h (low speed thrills /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) He told me about a local group of owners who have regular get togethers, apparently I just missed their big show/event recently, would have been kind of fun to attend.

I know these mopeds are getting to have quite a following in large urban centres, and used as a neat way to get around as well - my friend doesn't own a car yet so it's his primary transportation.

My friend Tom back in Ontario also has two older Vespa's in addition to his large collection of old rotting cars, and did own an old Jawa motor scooter from Czechoslovakia that he's sold now.
 

coldplugs

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[ QUOTE ]
...
I know these mopeds are getting to have quite a following in large urban centres, ...

[/ QUOTE ]

There was an article in the Economist last week about the huge jump in motorcycle registrations in England over the past year or so. They said that the middle aged guys are buying ultra-hot bikes for tearing around on weekends and young folks are buying scooters and the like for in-town use. They're especially popular in London where people in cars have to pay to enter large parts of the city. Evidently the bikes are exempt.
 

aeronca65t

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There is a big community of scooter enthusiasts out there. Many enjoy going to "scooter rallys".
Some folks seem especially interested in the "forgotten orphans" such as Whizzers, NSUs, Harley Toppers, etc. The more popular Vespas, Lambrettas and modern scooters (such as Hondas) also have dedicated followers. A recent developement is the "large scooter" with engines as big as 700 cc . These are mostly Japanese.
Recentley, the Italian govenment proposed much stricter rules for scooter licenses.....scooters are sort of a right-of-passage with young Italian males and the new law caused quite a commotion.

A good link to scooters:
https://scooterbbs.com/content/modules.ph...=view_album.php

One of my favorite photographs has a scooter in it (many of you may reconize it).
orkinlg.jpg



Funny, but whenever I think of scooters, I think of the movie Quadrophenia (with all that great Who music).
image1b.gif
 
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Sherlock

Sherlock

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My friend (in his late 20's) purchased his mostly on a whim, saw it in our local "buy & sell"-type paper for a nice price recently and just went out on a limb and bought it.

From what I gather he is enjoying it so far, although right now he is nursing a minor bone break so is unable to use it for a little while. Oh yeah, and his other "vehicle" is a vintage 1940's/1950's bicycle (has the brakes down on the pedal still!) that gets well used as his main transportation prior to the moped purchase recently.
 

Tiger

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I am not a big moped fan. That said, a nephew still has my bought-new 1976 Batavus that I modified quite a bit. Flat out was 52 mph on the flat; with no multi-speed tranny, it's just as well I didn't have a tach, as I'd rather not know what rpm's I was turning.
 

jayhawk

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I owned a small moped as a kid-- for getting to my part-time job, baseball practice, the shopping center, etc. Recently bought a '79 Vespa on a whim. Had a good time.
I'd recommend you get one that will at least keep up with local traffic (not necessarily hiway) (100 cc or more) so you don't get pushed off the road! Pete
 

Bugeye58

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I've got an old Rupp Enduro that I'm bringing back to life. Although that probably qualifies as more of a mini-bike than a scooter. It looks like a half scale cycle. It will be my pit bike for the bigger racetracks where such things are necessary.
When I was in the Air Force, I had a Lambretta that I used for running around the Flight Line. Kind of fun, in a slow sort of way.
Incidentally, Nial, one of the local Mercedes garages has a huge copy of that Ruth Orkin photo on the office wall.
Jeff
 

Super 7

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In scooter racing, the Lambretta was the hot thing. At least that is what I read.
 

aeronca65t

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Vespas and the like are also popular as "pit-bikes" at the races.
I've been thinking about something small and neat for a pit-bike when I came across the "Pukka", an electic pit-bike. Much more powerful than the electric scooters and built in the USA to boot (they're $305 USD including shipping from Utah.....possible Xmas present!)

pukka_pit_bike.jpg
 

TimeforChange

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anyone know of the laws on mopeds in california? I have heard if the engine is under a certain size, they can be driven without any kind of license ( car or motorcycle ). Is this true and if so, what size motor is largest you can have?
 
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Sherlock

Sherlock

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[ QUOTE ]
TimeForChange said: anyone know of the laws on mopeds in california? I have heard if the engine is under a certain size, they can be driven without any kind of license ( car or motorcycle ). Is this true and if so, what size motor is largest you can have?


[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure about California but here in Alberta...

A moped/scooter below 50cc can be driven with a Learners Licence (the licence you have before passing your driving test), which is also one reason why my friend purchased his moped as he only has his Learners Licence at this point.

Now without making too many assumptions, I think this 50cc rule applies pretty much across the board almost everywhere.
 

RVMAN

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The motorscooter in the picture is a 1958(?) Lambretta 150D model...I'm trying to get one of these from Miami Fl(Casa Lambretta). They came in several light colors, the most common being grey. They cost $2500-4000 depending on condition.
 

VitSport6

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Hi all.
I know its not a moped or scooter, But I had a Yamaha YSR50 when I was 17-18, If you dont recall, It was a 50cc. mini bullit bike with a 5 speed that could do 55-60 MPH! FWIW, I was looking into a new Vespa, Till I saw the $5,000.00 price tag, My wife thought it would be nice to use for work, At least I had her in on it to.
 
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