Mopeds restricted to 30mph
Discussion
As everyone is aware, technichally mopeds are restricted to 30mph. I know the theoretical consequenses of derestriction, .........it ceases to be a moped and becomes a 50cc motorbike, therefore, unlicensed, uninsured, etc. But can anyone tell me the likely outcome in practice, providing assumptions like, bike in good order, not speeding, not riding dangerously, properly kitted rider, in m/c jacket & trouses & boots. ....and mostly, not giving officer a load of abuse!
Is a 16 year old likely to get away with this with a warning, or would the Police be likely to throw the book at him?
In our area (Braintree Essex) the Police had a purge in March, stopping LOADs of mopeds and if they were derestricted then warning them, (my Son was not stopped) this purge was well publicised in the local press. They don't seem to be stopping them anymore and lots of lads are riding them around derestricted, my Son's is restricted, should it stay that way????
My personal opinion is that while I agree that 16 year olds need protecting from themselves, that a moped restricted to 30mph is dangerous, to do a max 30mph, they struggle to do 30mph in a lot of conditions, thus meaning they cannot keep up with traffic flow even in a 30mph limit, this I find dangerous, I would fully support restricting them to 45 or 50mph.
Your opinions please?
telecat said:
Buy one registered before aug 1977 they are unrestricted anyway. Hence the upsurge in interest in FS1E's.
Why people like FS1Es is a mystery to me
I had a Malaguti moped. Standard power output 7.2bhp at 8,000rpm, compared to an FS1E at about 5bhp. Mine was not exactly standard (19mm carb and expansion chamber exhaust designed and matched to the engine) and revved to 13,000rpm. One day I was stopped by the police on a 50 mph limit level road and had been clocked at 72mph. I got away with it - 'but it is only a moped, officer, how can I have been doing 72?' 
Downside was having to install new main bearings every 1,500 miles
I also think the Fantic GT was fastest in standard trim, my Guti was the 'Hombre' with ape-hangers in standard form. I had ace-bars of course. My best pal had a couple of Fantics, One was a GT, the other a Super-T, my modded Hombre was faster than his modded GT 
I also had the 'Cross' for playing off-road, dual rear sprocket for changing the gearing. On-road about 45 mph, off-road about 25.
Most of the purple Fizzies managed a best of about 50 IIRC. The Honda was worst with about 40mph and the Suzuki was on a par with the Yamaha.
I also had the 'Cross' for playing off-road, dual rear sprocket for changing the gearing. On-road about 45 mph, off-road about 25.
Most of the purple Fizzies managed a best of about 50 IIRC. The Honda was worst with about 40mph and the Suzuki was on a par with the Yamaha.
crankedup said:
Ang about, is'nt a moped a 2 wheeled motorised bike assisted by pedals? So all these 'hot' new so called mopeds are really tiny motorbikes arn't they?
We are talking about stuff from the 70's, (but I think the suggested 100mph is more than a bit far fetched), but the rules now don't require pedals, but they must be restricted to 30mph.....This is the original subject raised but it doesn't seem to have ad any response.
My Son has a modern moped, 6 gears, 49cc 2 stroke, in unrestricted form it produces 8.9Bhp, and should be good for about 55mph, ....maybe 60 mph on a good day wind behinfd you, but in restricted form as it is, its down to about 2Bhp, max 30mph, and often less, I've just followed him 7 miles, 15 mph in places in a 60 mph limit, huge traffic queue built up behind him but hey its not the boys fault, its the stupid restrictions that are law, if he'd been able to do 45-50 mph he could have kept up with or bettered the traffic flow.
In response to the original post, I ran a Piaggio Zip 50 in London last year and it was never an issue. Got pulled a couple of times on the Embankment by the police doing random checks on tax discs and never questioned the bike or the fact that i had my girlfriend on the back (I believe illegal for mopeds?). Maybe the fact that I wasn't in my teens meant they assumed I had a full bike licence?
I modified the bike shortly after getting it for exactly the reasons you describe - it's safer to run with the traffic at 35-40mph than sit in the gutter getting overtaken.
The modification was pretty strightforward. I removed the limiter in the drive which boosted top speed from 33 to 40+. It didn't increase power, merely allowed the bike to 'engage' it's highest possible gear by allowing the pulley assembly to operate as Piaggio intended. So the bike wasn't any louder than standard and the only way the police could tell would be by dismantling the bike on the roadside or by testing the machine to see if it stopped accelerating over 30mph.
I don't like condoning something that is strictly illegal but for me it worked and I felt a lot safer riding as a consequence.
>> Edited by chris_w on Thursday 29th April 18:25
I modified the bike shortly after getting it for exactly the reasons you describe - it's safer to run with the traffic at 35-40mph than sit in the gutter getting overtaken.
The modification was pretty strightforward. I removed the limiter in the drive which boosted top speed from 33 to 40+. It didn't increase power, merely allowed the bike to 'engage' it's highest possible gear by allowing the pulley assembly to operate as Piaggio intended. So the bike wasn't any louder than standard and the only way the police could tell would be by dismantling the bike on the roadside or by testing the machine to see if it stopped accelerating over 30mph.
I don't like condoning something that is strictly illegal but for me it worked and I felt a lot safer riding as a consequence.
>> Edited by chris_w on Thursday 29th April 18:25
I despise all mopeds that are ridden by teenagers who don't give a shit about anyone else on the road. Personally i think they all deserve to be knocked off when they swerve in front of you, narrowly missing your front bumper, and then have the front to give you abuse. As a cop, i make it my duty to pull all these types over and make sure everythin is legal, and if not, they get all editions of encyclopedia britannica thrown at them, not just the book.
jamescarter1981 said:
I despise all mopeds that are ridden by teenagers who don't give a shit about anyone else on the road. Personally i think they all deserve to be knocked off when they swerve in front of you, narrowly missing your front bumper, and then have the front to give you abuse. As a cop, i make it my duty to pull all these types over and make sure everythin is legal, and if not, they get all editions of encyclopedia britannica thrown at them, not just the book.
Oh boy, normally I agree with the BiB here, but I am going to have to take issue with this! An admission of a personal vendetta about mopeds ridden by teanagers
Have you ever ridden one of these things? They are bordering on lethal and we stick learners on them.
Firstly, they have little wheels. Have you ever tried to keep one in a straight line? I've been riding bikes for 26 years and it's not as easy as it looks.
Allow me to provide a little insight from someone who knows a bit about bikes. Small wheels are inherently unstable. They lack the effect known as gyroscopic precession. This is what keeps a motorbike proper upright. Without it, the bike will tend to react more violently to outside influences. Now remove the additional weight of a proper motorcycle that helps to damp out these influences and you start to get more of a feel for what's involved. They move about a lot.
Lets take away power and confidence now. Other road users will force a novice without the confidence to "claim" the lane into the gutter. Guess what, the surface here is crap, it lends to throwing the bike offline.
More experienced riders have the balls to sit two feet from the crown of the road and make following traffic overtake properly, novices don't.
Why do they dart all over the road? Two main reasons. Because they lack the power to make lane changes safely, so they have to "make a break for it" if they need to alter their position, and when you turn to perform a "lifesaver" look on a lightweight bike it will naturally lean and hence steer due to weight transfer.
Next time you see a learner struggling on one of these terrible machines and you pull them over how about directing them to the right training instead of instinctively having a pop.
Maybe then you won't have to attend when they get their guts splattered all over the road and be the one to tell the parents.
I have no problem with learners, everyone has to learn.
I think you know the type of riders i'm talking about, they are usually in a group of about 3+, all riding alongside each other, trying to find out which one can do 30mph the fastest and weaving in and out of the traffic trying to get ahead of their mates.
Don't get me wrong, i don't have a problem with all moped/bike riders, just the people who don't give a shit about other road users, and put our lives in danger due to their stupidity.
Thankfully i can tell the difference from the above rider and a learner, the first is obnoxious and doesn't care, the other is a little unsteady and usually cautious.
I think you know the type of riders i'm talking about, they are usually in a group of about 3+, all riding alongside each other, trying to find out which one can do 30mph the fastest and weaving in and out of the traffic trying to get ahead of their mates.
Don't get me wrong, i don't have a problem with all moped/bike riders, just the people who don't give a shit about other road users, and put our lives in danger due to their stupidity.
Thankfully i can tell the difference from the above rider and a learner, the first is obnoxious and doesn't care, the other is a little unsteady and usually cautious.
jamescarter1981 said:
I have no problem with learners, everyone has to learn.
I think you know the type of riders i'm talking about, they are usually in a group of about 3+, all riding alongside each other, trying to find out which one can do 30mph the fastest and weaving in and out of the traffic trying to get ahead of their mates.
Don't get me wrong, i don't have a problem with all moped/bike riders, just the people who don't give a shit about other road users, and put our lives in danger due to their stupidity.
Thankfully i can tell the difference from the above rider and a learner, the first is obnoxious and doesn't care, the other is a little unsteady and usually cautious.
We have some terrible Scooter riding around our way. Some of the lads are just fine. Others, as james, points out are little shits who have it coming. And I'm delighted that some of the BiBs feel weeding out the bad ones is worthwhile...
jamescarter1981 said:
I have no problem with learners, everyone has to learn.
I think you know the type of riders i'm talking about, they are usually in a group of about 3+, all riding alongside each other, trying to find out which one can do 30mph the fastest and weaving in and out of the traffic trying to get ahead of their mates.
Don't get me wrong, i don't have a problem with all moped/bike riders, just the people who don't give a shit about other road users, and put our lives in danger due to their stupidity.
Thankfully i can tell the difference from the above rider and a learner, the first is obnoxious and doesn't care, the other is a little unsteady and usually cautious.
That's alright then
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