Before you got a car, did you have a moped?

[Justin Case]

markymarkthree said:

NSU Quickly 3 speed twin seat.
I even passed my moped test so i could carry mates, which meant i got hounded by the plod and served many producers, all of which got them nowhere.

My first powered vehicle was also an NSU Quickly, although I don't know where the name came from as it only had two speeds, slowly and very slowly Unlike a lot of the bikes posted here it was a proper moped, you started it by pedalling like fury and letting the clutch in and you could even propel it by the pedals in case of mechanical disaster. I rode it to college, work placements and all over the Peak District at weekends but it never let me down

[S2r]

I didn't have a moped and I started with a KH100ex (A42GRF) that'd do 70 indicated lying on the tank with my feet on the rear pegs, friends had mopeds and I did ride those on occasion, stuff like MT5, TS50er, C50, AR50

Passed my bike test after 6 months and then it was another 3-4 years before I started taking driving lessons.

The child currently has a Skyteam Ace moped and we have a Mito in the garage for when he gets to 17 - it's hard work to keep the Mito on the boil after years of Ducatis but is very rewarding when you do.

[NDA]

LuS1fer said:

NDA said:

I didn't take my test until I was in my mid 20's. Before then it was bikes - although not cameras!

Pretty sure my first bike was a Honda 250 'Super Dream' (teardrop shaped tank) and a few in-between. Finally a Z1100 until I passed my test and had a car.

The teardrop tank was the honda Dream, the Eurostyle was the Super Dream. Luckily they abandoned the Superdedoopity Dream.

Ah yes.... I seem to recall the following model was more angular and was a 250N?

I was happy with mine for a few years - in those days you could be a learner on a 250 and they felt a reasonably big bike. If I remember, the 400cc model was almost identical to the 250.

[anonymous-user]

NDA said:

Ah yes.... I seem to recall the following model was more angular and was a 250N?

I was happy with mine for a few years - in those days you could be a learner on a 250 and they felt a reasonably big bike. If I remember, the 400cc model was almost identical to the 250.

I think the only difference was the engine was sleeved down. Potentially twin disc front on the 400, but my memory is hazy now.

[NDA]

Landcrab_Six said:

NDA said:

Ah yes.... I seem to recall the following model was more angular and was a 250N?

I was happy with mine for a few years - in those days you could be a learner on a 250 and they felt a reasonably big bike. If I remember, the 400cc model was almost identical to the 250.

I think the only difference was the engine was sleeved down. Potentially twin disc front on the 400, but my memory is hazy now.

Yes you're right.

[Tyre Smoke]

Yam TY50 which I destroyed in a couple of months then a black RD50m. Did 12k miles in the year I had that. Then at 17 first a Suzuki GT125 then an X7 with K+N filters, clip ons and Allspeeds.

Then it all went downhill after I passed my car test. A Vauxhall Viva HC.

[black-k1]

I started here:



when I was 16 in 1978. I have owned at least one bike every day ever since. I didn't pass my car test until 6 years later.

[Cfnteabag]

I had an Aprilia RS50 that my mum bought for me when I turned 16. I loved that bike and there was a group of 6 or 7 of us from college who all had bikes or scooters and we used to spend hours riding around, probably annoying everybody in the local area!

in the lead up to my 17th birthday I saved up and bought a ZXR400, planning to do my test as soon as possible after my birthday, I went away for a weeks holiday and on return found it had been sold and replaced with a car! Worst part was she gave my Dainese leathers to the guy as well as I wouldn't be needing them!

[littlebasher]

Keeping this as mopeds only......

Many road 'legal' ones - ZR50, C50, Puch Maxi, C70 masquerading as a C50 (not so legal), MBX50

Significantly more that were not road legal but were ridden anyway, most of which before i was 16


Back then, you could pick up bikes for a few quid that had been abandoned in neighbours garages.

[scorcher]

rjfp1962 said:

Nice seeing the Fantic's here - I'd forgotten about them, but now remember there being a few of these around back in the day......!!

I know someone with about 3 of those! An immaculate one, one thats a bit more used, and enough bits to build a third one. Had them for years but wont part with them. Part of his retirement fund if he ever needs it. Use to be loads of unrestricted exotica in our village in the late 70's /early eighties. All the kids had bikes. I ended up with AP 50 in 1985 whilst my mate had a fizzy. Both evenly matched on the flat but I always got him on the hills as I had an extra gear to choose from.Had mine about 10 months before I got banned for drink driving a couple of months before my 17th birthday. Think it had about 5 barrels and pistons in those 10 months. Wasn't very mechanically sympathetic then, just needed as much speed as possible after coming from schoolboy motorcross bikes.

[Tyre Smoke]

Engineering companies must have made a fortune back then doing rebores.

I wouldn't know where to look now for getting a two stroke block bored.

[LFB531]

Another SS50 rider here c1980, identical to this one, the disc brake made it faster right?



Rode it miles and miles, never mind the weather or distance.

Junior LFB got on the road at 16 too with the more modern 'moped' take.



I upgraded at 17 to an 1159cc Vauxhall Viva HB returning to bikes in my 50's. He went straight to a KTM 125 but at 20, now into Alfas.

[RVVUNM]

I had a Puch M50 Sport. Heavy and slow until I messed about with it and got it up to about 50mph.

[klootzak]

Mopeds? Oh yes. I had yellow Puch thing as a field bike for a while, then a BSA-badged NVT Easy Rider when I was 16. That lasted a whole year until it was replaced by the shabbiest Triumph Tiger Cub ever.

k

[iacabu]

Yes, I had an Aprilia SR50 back in 2005. It kick started my love for Aprilia.





I'd always planned on doing my test at 17 but decided to get my car licence first and the bike just kept getting pushed back until 12 years later. Still haven't got an RSV or Tuono

I did have an RS125 in 2012 though. It was a dog

[Pothole]

I was always destined to wear a back patch...



My mum bought me this for £50 from the bloke across the road along with a free helmet which I used for about 7 years and crashed in twice.

I'd actually had an MT-5 for a bit prior to this, but it wasn't strictly (or at all) legal...

[LuS1fer]

Pothole said:

I was always destined to wear a back patch...



My mum bought me this for £50 from the bloke across the road along with a free helmet which I used for about 7 years and crashed in twice.

I'd actually had an MT-5 for a bit prior to this, but it wasn't strictly (or at all) legal...

Great bikes. You could park it, wind up the ratchet starter so that, when you came back, turn the ignition key, pull the brake and you were awaybefore anyone even had tgheir bike off the stand.

Downside was a 26-30mph top end and I was overtaken by a pushbike. Lucky i was only borrowing it.

[mikedxb]

My first motorised vehicle was Puch Maxi. Didn’t tell my parents (was 16) and left it a friends house. It was stolen within a week :-( Took some explaining when police visited me at home about the theft!

[spoodler]

Yep, had a well worn Puch Grand Prix... learned a lot of lessons with it.
I think the Cycling Proficiency stood me in good stead for my bike test, and the bike experience was good for driving a car. 'Don't think I've been without at least one bike since 1980...

[8IKERDAVE]

I saved up my pocket / odd job money for years and then bought a 1993 FS1E in 97. Being a young chap I wasn't sold on the looks so went about modifying it with Renthal bars, annodised tat and a shed load of engine work. Held a very special place in my heart being my ticket to freedom at 16 when all my mates were stood at bus stops. The moped scene wasn't massively popular then, I was only part of a handful of lads that had one but we all became mates because of it and I see most of them to this day!

I moved onto an RG125 Gamma the following year which I paid £200 for. It was an absolute heap of st and I'm surprised it didn't put me off bikes for life with its 12 mile service intervals. Eventually I ended up going down the car route and not returning to bikes until my mid 20's but to this day I think starting on a moped has made me a much better car driver!