Mopeds for a 16 year old – Help

My 16 year old son has decided that he would like a ‘Ped’ for when he starts college in September.

I have been through the ‘Death Trap’ – ‘It is not that far you could ride your bike’ (9 miles each way) – ‘Your grandparents will disinherit you’ arguments to no avail. His mates are going by Ped so he will be too, he has even convinced my normally very sensible wife that it is a good idea.

So can anyone offer any advice, what to look for, how much to pay – I have seen from £695 to £2250 so far, new or second hand, and anything that I should avoid.

As ever, thanks in advance for any advice.

get a mainline brand,.. get something second hand the values go down quicker than the titanic.. get something with a full test.. get him a yellow helmet get him decent gloves ( the gloves and helmet should come to 150/200..start him on his own insurance..

I have been through the ‘Death Trap’ – ‘It is not that far you could ride your bike’ (9 miles each way)

I dont mean to derail the thread, but how is a scooter any less safe than a bike, assuming they will both be ridden on the road?

Never understood that argument [/wasnt allowed a scooter when I was that age]

You may find that insurance is the deciding factor. Chinese stuff is mainly to be avoided but not all of it is tat.
Maybe start here Kymco Insurance offer
You may find that the insurance on a second hand machine makes it almost as expensive as buying new.

Decent footware – http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/warning-motorbikes-and-flip-flops-dont-mix-not-for-the-squeemish

Cheers

Danny B

I dont mean to derail the thread, but how is a scooter any less safe than a bike, assuming they will both be ridden on the road?

Enough power to be dangerous, but not enough to be safe. Traffic also tends to see you as an obstacle, not a proper vehicle.
I had a honda express, then a FS1E… dangerous was not the word, but I’m still here (roads were quieter even 20+ years ago)
The only plus to it was that my parents made an effort to get me a car (and off bikes) when I’d passed my test

Again, don’t go for cheap-and-cheerful Chinese tat. All the mainstream brands (Honda/Yamaha/Piaggio/Gilera/Benelli/Peugeot/Aprilia) are the best bet.

Make it a condition of him having one that he gets proper training – he’ll have to do a CBT too to entitle him to ride on the road with L-plates.

Then seal the deal by insisting that he pays for his own insurance. That’ll kill it in one fell swoop.

We had this a couple of years ago with Son No.2, but it’s a bit easier for us as I’m a Biker anyway.

I looked at all the options and got him one this (the red one).

About £1100 and £450 TP insurance (halved in the 2nd year). It’s not been the most reliable but it does live outside, but it has been brilliant for him (he lives away from home working as an apprentice + college). Freedom and cheap to run.

There were cheaper ones available, but I went for one I could buy locally – support etc.

http://www.pulsemoto.co.uk/

I did though have it de-restricted, now does about 45mph rather than 30mph which IME made it a death-trap – as few other road users actually drive at the speed limit.

Then seal the deal by insisting that he pays for his own insurance. That’ll kill it in one fell swoop.

Why, to make him think his folks are Arses?

And what are the alternatives for him getting to college – and are they cheaper/dearer?

Needless to say my parents bought me a moped when I was 16, to get to college – and +25 years later I did the same 🙂

Never understood that argument [/wasnt allowed a scooter when I was that age]

Really? I look at my scooter-riding friends and virtually all of them had some pretty nasty crashes, often ice/wet road induced, but it stands to reason they’ll be more dangerous than a bike, they’ve got an engine after all…

Crashing a moped is no different to crashing a bicycle, except you’re not in your underwear with a piece of polystyrene perched on your head.

I had no qualms about my 16-year old lad riding a moped, or later on a motorbike. He now cycles to work. That I’m not so relaxed about.

Really? I look at my scooter-riding friends and virtually all of them had some pretty nasty crashes, often ice/wet road induced, but it stands to reason they’ll be more dangerous than a bike, they’ve got an engine after all…

My thinking was the speeds involved are more or less the same, assuming peds are still limited to 30, and on a ped, your ability to get up to speed isn’t determined by how up for it/knackered you are. plus on a ped you have a bit mor protection from the attire, again, on the assumption its worn.

Don’t get a ‘ped, get him a cbt and a 50cc motorbike instead…

I wanted a motorbike when I was 16/17, was all sorted then my dad got hit on his. Mother vetoed the idea and insurance was too much to do it myself, I now own a motorbike….so I guess the moral of the story is that if he really wants one, he’ll wait unti he can afford it and you can’t stop him, then do it anyway…

We bought my son a Gilera DNA as it has a scooter engine but bigger motorbike style wheels, cost about a grand , been good for a year with thankfully only one small ‘get off’
Something to watch though …the previous owner had de-restricted it and it does 52 mph not 30. My son didn’t tell me this for months !

Get a Honda. It’s unlikely to let you down. Get a secondhand one that looks like it’s been looked after. He will probably drop it and scratch it, it won’t be such an issue if it’s used. Make him wear decent gear, no t-shirts, shorts and trainers, as he may well fall off, and it WILL hurt. Be aware that it may start something you can’t stop and in a few years he’ll turn up one day on a 1000cc Ninja.

That’s about it.

.the previous owner had de-restricted it and it does 52 mph not 30. My son didn’t tell me this for months

Which is why you should get him a bike, they’re easier to de-restrict and most second hand ones will already be done. A limited 30mph maximum is terrible.

If the cops check it out and its derestricted you are in the shit!

Aprilia RS50 all the way

Maybe an older honda rs50 if you can find one

Or go MX style and get him a Derbi or a DT50

Having something with gears at least will make him think about how he is riding it…. well hopefully

Ok its 10 years ago since I had an RS50 but it was great fell of it a few time but Im still here ! (mostly). I cant think of many people then who actually had them restricted. I never had an issue….

If the cops check it out and its derestricted you are in the shit!

It’s pretty hard for them to check it, especially if you’ve got a big bore kit fitted 😉

And by the look of things the RS50 requires a raplacment exhaust and some internal bits of the carb changing, your average copper won’t be pulling it to pieces to check…

Where im from no one bought a moped they were all nicked.

Put it this way, some kids will be a liability on a scooter… but they’ll probably also be a liability in a car. Now on the one hand I’d rather crash in a car than a scooter, but on the other their first car won’t be restricted to 30mph, and it won’t be full of their mates or girls they’re trying to impress. The more teenagers that are involved in a thought process, the stupider the decision 😉

And yep, some drivers do treat scoots like crap- I’ve got about 50000 miles on proper motorbikes, 10000 on my old 125 and maybe 100 at most on peds, and that 100 miles saw me observe more ****ery from drivers than all the others combined. You can’t control the agenda like you can on a proper motorbike, and that doesn’t help either.

Can you get a proper motorbike ped these days?
I tried a scooter once it was bloody awful. Nothing to grip with your knees ,twitchy and those wheels fall into pot holes.

Just been looking, they all seem to be twist and go types, rather than geared machines. Any recommendations for ones with real gears.

I think pretty much all peds these days are twist ‘n go, for gears you’ll be looking at a motorbike rather than I ped. I stand to be corrected on that though.

Also, second hand is probably the way to go, somebody else has already taken the depreciation, and you’ll make less of a loss (if any) if he decides he’d rather have car car in 11.5 months…

Wheels are far to small on most mopeds making them unstable compared to a normal sized motorbike, and they can be so slow that they’re dangerous.

Look at the Aprilia RS50, at 16 it will need to be resticted, but i’d recommend leaving it unrestricted due to it being too underpowered. This may cause issue with insurance, so up to you what you do, i’d prefer to be able to keep up with the flow of normal traffic than be stuck doing 30-35mph everywhere and having people constantly looking to overtake.

Also if your looking secondhand, due to most 50cc bikes being riden by teenagers in general, 95% will have been crashed at some point, so it’ll be a good idea to check everything over extra carefully (looking for damaged frames, forks, etc)

The other 5% will be totally coked up from not being ridden properly 😉

Also, second hand is probably the way to go, somebody else has already taken the depreciation, and you’ll make less of a loss (if any) if he decides he’d rather have car car in 11.5 months…

True, except you can be perfectly serviceable new 50cc scooters for just over £1k – they’re new, safe, legal and come with a warranty.

So the most you can loose is £1k. And since most folk don’t pass their car tests on their 17th birthday (and since car insurance costs more than a new scooter, it’s insurance and tax), you’ll get more than 12 months out of it.

Guess I’ll be giving my eldest a lift to college until he can get a car.
MrsCat started life as an A&E nurse and I had bikes so she’s seen quite a few offs of varying severity so our 16yr old is unlikely to get one despite both our protestations.
Good luck and let us know how he gets on, I’d hate to be on a 35mph restricted bike with traffic and road conditions today.

, but how is a scooter any less safe than a bike, assuming they will both be ridden on the road?

Per billion miles motorcycle death rates are about 3 times that of cyclists. Young motorcyclists have the highest death rates of all road users.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/sep/28/road-deaths-great-britain-data

Most cyclists don’t travel at speeds where they will kill themselves if they crash. It needs a motor vehicle. Solo biker deaths are common because the human body didn’t evolve to crash at speeds. above running speed.

I drove motorbikes for a few years but I had passed my car test first so had got some road sense before being out on the road on a motorbike.

£100 or so for the motor

Trail bike style thing will have the virtue that they handle abuse better. No plastics to smash. You will be looking Euro only and most if not all have the same Yamaha/Minarelli engine.
Derestricted may well mean thrashed but then they all will be anyway. They all need some TLC.

Derestricted may well mean thrashed but then they all will be anyway. They all need some TLC.

Except, the restricted ones will be permanently ridden against the stop plus they’ll fall off more as you don’t ever want to back off – on any corner.

The faster the bike/car, the less it’s thrashed.

NJA- when a 17 yo in our care started out on a ‘ped, the local IAM were really, proper helpful. I dunno where you live, but feel free to drop us a line.