Best 50cc Scooter
Discussion
My son has just traded in his Benelli 49x (in yellow/black) last week and got himself a new KTM Duke 125. We bought him the Benelli for £400 (2014 model) with almost 3k miles on the clock, it was in mint condition. He traded it and got £450 and had done about 8-9k miles on it.
We had 1 issue. The fuel pipe needed to be retightened. The wheels are very wide and we didn't have it de-limited. Unfortunately there aren't many of these (used) on the market but I would absolutely recommend them. Meanwhile he had a couple of school friends that had bikes, all had issues and one had good looking new Kymco but then had nothing but trouble with it. As mentioned I'd certainly try and stay with the top brands but even then it seems to be pot luck with 50cc'ers.
Personally I'd ignore any recommendations to skip buying a 50cc. Although they're not perfect and somewhat dangerous on the faster roads my son was over the moon with his. We'd move to another town when he was 15 so it was good for him to be able to go and see his friends whenever he wanted to. He's a good little rider though, very sensible and courteous to other drivers moving over whenever possible to allow for an overtake.
Lastly, although there are a few geared models out there for 50cc I say it absolutely unnecessary and quit silly really. Geared isn't that difficult to grasp for 17 year old with 1 years moped experience. The thought of having to go up 4 or 5 gears to get to 30mph is nuts imo. Twist and go is the way forward.
Another positive is the 1 year no claims discount. We paid about £240 p/y for the 50cc but unfortunately even with 1 years no claims a 125cc is going to cost him over £1200 which is bloody crazy if you ask me. I would spend about £500 on as good as you can get trouble free moped and spend the rest on good gear.
Hope he enjoys it
We had 1 issue. The fuel pipe needed to be retightened. The wheels are very wide and we didn't have it de-limited. Unfortunately there aren't many of these (used) on the market but I would absolutely recommend them. Meanwhile he had a couple of school friends that had bikes, all had issues and one had good looking new Kymco but then had nothing but trouble with it. As mentioned I'd certainly try and stay with the top brands but even then it seems to be pot luck with 50cc'ers.
Personally I'd ignore any recommendations to skip buying a 50cc. Although they're not perfect and somewhat dangerous on the faster roads my son was over the moon with his. We'd move to another town when he was 15 so it was good for him to be able to go and see his friends whenever he wanted to. He's a good little rider though, very sensible and courteous to other drivers moving over whenever possible to allow for an overtake.
Lastly, although there are a few geared models out there for 50cc I say it absolutely unnecessary and quit silly really. Geared isn't that difficult to grasp for 17 year old with 1 years moped experience. The thought of having to go up 4 or 5 gears to get to 30mph is nuts imo. Twist and go is the way forward.
Another positive is the 1 year no claims discount. We paid about £240 p/y for the 50cc but unfortunately even with 1 years no claims a 125cc is going to cost him over £1200 which is bloody crazy if you ask me. I would spend about £500 on as good as you can get trouble free moped and spend the rest on good gear.
Hope he enjoys it
This thread has brought back happy memories of getting my moped. I remember my dad asking me to help him lift something out of his van, moaning like only a teenager can do when faced with manual labour and the prospect of helping someone, opening the back doors and there it was! Apparently my dad was just passing a bike shop in coventry and decided to go in on the off chance. They had just had it in from some old guy so he offered them a couple of hundred quid and two drums of oil which he needed to get rid of to make room for it anyway. I removed the top box post-haste and all of the stickers (it was covered). Once I'd passed my CBT the first place I went was to the chip shop to buy dinner for my family. 
Defo stick to twist and go, sounds like it's what the lad wants and I'm not sure who would want to change gear in 7mph increments anyways!?
Edit: Why so many people saying skip a 50cc and wait? Surely a moped is no more dangerous than riding anything else...
Defo stick to twist and go, sounds like it's what the lad wants and I'm not sure who would want to change gear in 7mph increments anyways!?
Edit: Why so many people saying skip a 50cc and wait? Surely a moped is no more dangerous than riding anything else...
Edited by TurbosSuck on Thursday 23 November 09:50
TurbosSuck said:
Edit: Why so many people saying skip a 50cc and wait? Surely a moped is no more dangerous than riding anything else...
Its the inability to do no more than 35mph which is far too slow other than in a town or a minor road and it really can be quite dangerous as people are generally inconsiderate whilst passing and end up pushing you into the gutter, I rode a 50cc 'ped 4 miles to the mot centre and 4 miles back on a normal A road and was genuinely afraid, everybody wants to be past you straight away and will cut you up in their haste to be past because they won't wait for a gap in oncoming traffic, I have been riding for almost 30 years but wouldn't venture any further than town on a 50cc these days.A 50cc would struggle to pull my fat arse anyway
I rode a 50cc scooter from Potters Bar to Brighton when I moved house, it wasn't fun but I wouldn't say it was dangerous - at the time I was in my mid 20s with no bike license and bought it to get around London so probably more sensible than your average 16 year old but I didn't find it that hard to keep out of danger.
Regarding Benelli, they're just Chinese bikes now so it really just shows that if you look after them properly they're not that bad. Keep it in a garage out of the rain and it'll make a big difference.
Regarding Benelli, they're just Chinese bikes now so it really just shows that if you look after them properly they're not that bad. Keep it in a garage out of the rain and it'll make a big difference.
Just to reiterate he will be riding the 50cc only around a coastal village that's the deal.
I think its best he learns on a 50 going round local turnings before he gets a more powerful 125 and has no real road experience.
When we go out cycling at the weekends there i have him doing life saver looks etc and road positioning to try and get him into the correct habits
I think its best he learns on a 50 going round local turnings before he gets a more powerful 125 and has no real road experience.
When we go out cycling at the weekends there i have him doing life saver looks etc and road positioning to try and get him into the correct habits
I haven't had a 50cc, but have had a used 125 Sinnis. I'm no expert but it was fine - needed a replacement starter solenoid about 9 months in and it was about three years old when I bought it.
Think I lost £50 on it after a year, plus the solenoid cost, so if one comes up locally don't rule it out.
Think I lost £50 on it after a year, plus the solenoid cost, so if one comes up locally don't rule it out.
I bought my Son a brand new Aprillia RS4 50 3 years ago..... all £3k of it. he did about 200miles on it before the gear selector fork broke and back to the dealer for warranty repair. It was then parked up for a few years for my second son, where the gear selector fork broke again we he started riding it....
I would not go for twist and go. Geared teaches clutch control and the use of a gearbox. Usefull for future bikes/cars. A good skill to learn. He will pick it up really quickly as well as he'll be doing a lot of it!!
Do the CBT on a twist and go though. Makes that whole process a lot more straighforward as there's less to think about (and the school probably won't have a 50cc geared bike!)
One word of warning. 50cc's are not very safe and should be banned. They are too slow for modern day traffic. You cannot get yourself out of trouble if you do something stupid like pull out of a junction too late etc. Why 16yrs olds can't have a 125cc baffles me....
Get a good pushbike... that'll probably be quicker round town and then get a motocross bike and take him offroad on something with a bit more gut's too it. My son was able to get 40odd mph out of my pushbike downhill and was faster than his RS4!
I would not go for twist and go. Geared teaches clutch control and the use of a gearbox. Usefull for future bikes/cars. A good skill to learn. He will pick it up really quickly as well as he'll be doing a lot of it!!
Do the CBT on a twist and go though. Makes that whole process a lot more straighforward as there's less to think about (and the school probably won't have a 50cc geared bike!)
One word of warning. 50cc's are not very safe and should be banned. They are too slow for modern day traffic. You cannot get yourself out of trouble if you do something stupid like pull out of a junction too late etc. Why 16yrs olds can't have a 125cc baffles me....
Get a good pushbike... that'll probably be quicker round town and then get a motocross bike and take him offroad on something with a bit more gut's too it. My son was able to get 40odd mph out of my pushbike downhill and was faster than his RS4!
super7 said:
I bought my Son a brand new Aprillia RS4 50 3 years ago..... all £3k of it. he did about 200miles on it before the gear selector fork broke and back to the dealer for warranty repair. It was then parked up for a few years for my second son, where the gear selector fork broke again we he started riding it....
I would not go for twist and go. Geared teaches clutch control and the use of a gearbox. Usefull for future bikes/cars. A good skill to learn. He will pick it up really quickly as well as he'll be doing a lot of it!!
Do the CBT on a twist and go though. Makes that whole process a lot more straighforward as there's less to think about (and the school probably won't have a 50cc geared bike!)
One word of warning. 50cc's are not very safe and should be banned. They are too slow for modern day traffic. You cannot get yourself out of trouble if you do something stupid like pull out of a junction too late etc. Why 16yrs olds can't have a 125cc baffles me....
Get a good pushbike... that'll probably be quicker round town and then get a motocross bike and take him offroad on something with a bit more gut's too it. My son was able to get 40odd mph out of my pushbike downhill and was faster than his RS4!
Tks im very mindful of the safety aspect and i have pointed out the 'getting out of trouble' bit which took some explaining!I would not go for twist and go. Geared teaches clutch control and the use of a gearbox. Usefull for future bikes/cars. A good skill to learn. He will pick it up really quickly as well as he'll be doing a lot of it!!
Do the CBT on a twist and go though. Makes that whole process a lot more straighforward as there's less to think about (and the school probably won't have a 50cc geared bike!)
One word of warning. 50cc's are not very safe and should be banned. They are too slow for modern day traffic. You cannot get yourself out of trouble if you do something stupid like pull out of a junction too late etc. Why 16yrs olds can't have a 125cc baffles me....
Get a good pushbike... that'll probably be quicker round town and then get a motocross bike and take him offroad on something with a bit more gut's too it. My son was able to get 40odd mph out of my pushbike downhill and was faster than his RS4!
There will be very strict instructions that it stays around the local roads and along the esplanade where its very quiet.
He will be riding in Frinton-on-sea which is a very sleepy coastal town 99.9% of the time so im hopeful all will be ok!
super7 said:
Do the CBT on a twist and go though. Makes that whole process a lot more straighforward as there's less to think about (and the school probably won't have a 50cc geared bike!)
Not 100% on this but I think you need to pass your CBT on geared bike to ride a geared bike at the age of 16. At the same time, once they turn 17 they can automatically ride a geared bike. Quite baffling really.Personally I'd say twist and go is much safer to ride on and get used to the road rules as a youngster rather than having to shift through a silly amount of gears and concentrate on the road.
Cbull said:
Not 100% on this but I think you need to pass your CBT on geared bike to ride a geared bike at the age of 16. At the same time, once they turn 17 they can automatically ride a geared bike. Quite baffling really.
Not true, when I first done my cbt I did it on a 50cc scooter then got home and went out on my Husqvarna geared 50.. then a year later I jumped on an RS125. I think they should make you ride a geared bike if you are planning on riding one, but I really despise CBTs in their current state as it is so I won't even get into that.Best of luck to your son OP, he will have a blast. I'm currently telling my mum to not let my sister get a CBT as they live in MK/Buckingham and a 50cc twist and go round there is just asking for trouble but where you live sounds perfect!
Edited by LiamB on Thursday 23 November 14:01
Cbull said:
super7 said:
Do the CBT on a twist and go though. Makes that whole process a lot more straighforward as there's less to think about (and the school probably won't have a 50cc geared bike!)
Not 100% on this but I think you need to pass your CBT on geared bike to ride a geared bike at the age of 16. At the same time, once they turn 17 they can automatically ride a geared bike. Quite baffling really.Personally I'd say twist and go is much safer to ride on and get used to the road rules as a youngster rather than having to shift through a silly amount of gears and concentrate on the road.
Cbull said:
Ahh OK. I definitly remember the lady at the CBT place saying you couldn't do that. Obviously that was poor advice and probably more of a recommendation to do so if the intention was to ride geared.
When we asked at our local CBT centre all we were told was if the test was being taken on a geared bike then a longer period of tuition may well be neededJust looking at the License Requirements page. New to me but it now seems you have to do the theory test as well as the CBT. Thats a new one. Not a bad thing really (providing you only have to do it once), as mentioned before though, I also think they should get rid of 50cc's and let 16 y/o on 125cc's.
https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped/bike-cate...
https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped/bike-cate...
Cbull said:
Just looking at the License Requirements page. New to me but it now seems you have to do the theory test as well as the CBT. Thats a new one. Not a bad thing really (providing you only have to do it once), as mentioned before though, I also think they should get rid of 50cc's and let 16 y/o on 125cc's.
https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped/bike-cate...
Yes that's correct the theory test is now a requirement too. As you say no bad thing https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped/bike-cate...
DH01 said:
We had a look at the 50cc 'crosser, http://www.riejumoto.co.uk/index.php
Perfect for a tall lad but in the end we went for a 1980's chicken chaser ! Semi auto goodness and it'll be worth the same after a year of abuse as it was when we bought it . Perfect.
Any of the Honda/Suzi/Yam variants are good, almost indestructible and loads of them about, even though prices have firmed up a bit.
All sorts of possibilities of cross breeding with pit bikes engines etc if you're that way inclined.
He won't like it but this is the way to go. Perfect for a tall lad but in the end we went for a 1980's chicken chaser ! Semi auto goodness and it'll be worth the same after a year of abuse as it was when we bought it . Perfect.
Any of the Honda/Suzi/Yam variants are good, almost indestructible and loads of them about, even though prices have firmed up a bit.
All sorts of possibilities of cross breeding with pit bikes engines etc if you're that way inclined.
Edited by DH01 on Wednesday 22 November 20:44
It’s been 10yrs since I had a 50cc and I gather things have changed a bit since then and 4 strokes have taken over from the 2s. I’d definitely say get an older one for a bit cheaper as unless he’s used to bikes/even if he is... He WILL drop it. I don’t remember a single one of my pals (there was a good 25-30 of us with 50cc bikes) having one and not dropping it. I’m also a fan of geared bikes over mopeds - it definitely teaches them a bit more. Top geared bikes to have when I was a youth were the Aprilia RS50, Derbi Senda, Derbi GPR & Peugeot XR6. For mopeds - Yamaha Aerox & Jog RR, Peugeot Speedfight & Blaster, Aprilia SR50 & Gilera Runner.
As he’s tall I’d suggest a Derbi Senda, very similar to what I had (Malaguti XTM, good luck finding one!) and I’m 6’3. Although I did fit on RS50’s which were THE bike to have, it wasn’t a comfy ride.
As he’s tall I’d suggest a Derbi Senda, very similar to what I had (Malaguti XTM, good luck finding one!) and I’m 6’3. Although I did fit on RS50’s which were THE bike to have, it wasn’t a comfy ride.
Turkish91 said:
It’s been 10yrs since I had a 50cc and I gather things have changed a bit since then and 4 strokes have taken over from the 2s. I’d definitely say get an older one for a bit cheaper as unless he’s used to bikes/even if he is... He WILL drop it. I don’t remember a single one of my pals (there was a good 25-30 of us with 50cc bikes) having one and not dropping it. I’m also a fan of geared bikes over mopeds - it definitely teaches them a bit more. Top geared bikes to have when I was a youth were the Aprilia RS50, Derbi Senda, Derbi GPR & Peugeot XR6. For mopeds - Yamaha Aerox & Jog RR, Peugeot Speedfight & Blaster, Aprilia SR50 & Gilera Runner.
As he’s tall I’d suggest a Derbi Senda, very similar to what I had (Malaguti XTM, good luck finding one!) and I’m 6’3. Although I did fit on RS50’s which were THE bike to have, it wasn’t a comfy ride.
Not a bad call with the first bunch but he wont budge from the peds.As he’s tall I’d suggest a Derbi Senda, very similar to what I had (Malaguti XTM, good luck finding one!) and I’m 6’3. Although I did fit on RS50’s which were THE bike to have, it wasn’t a comfy ride.
He will without question drop it so im going cheap that way it dont really matter.
We will be keeping at in the garage on the coast which has electric so ill have to get myself a trickle charger for the battery as we're not there every week
Jazoli said:
TurbosSuck said:
Edit: Why so many people saying skip a 50cc and wait? Surely a moped is no more dangerous than riding anything else...
Its the inability to do no more than 35mph which is far too slow other than in a town or a minor road and it really can be quite dangerous as people are generally inconsiderate whilst passing and end up pushing you into the gutter, I rode a 50cc 'ped 4 miles to the mot centre and 4 miles back on a normal A road and was genuinely afraid, everybody wants to be past you straight away and will cut you up in their haste to be past because they won't wait for a gap in oncoming traffic, I have been riding for almost 30 years but wouldn't venture any further than town on a 50cc these days.A 50cc would struggle to pull my fat arse anyway
Mind you I passed my driving test in a 5.8 litre straight 6 when I was 16
but then again with a top speed of about 20mph, a 50cc bike would still have been faster than my tractor
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