2 cycle, 2 wheel, 2 be prepared...

September 3, 2006 7:44 PM

What does a new moped owner need to know?

Next weekend, I will get my new, used moped. I used to ride motorcycles, 20 years ago. I've never ridden a moped. Used to fix my bike, too.

I'm looking for riding tips, repair advice, anything you think a newbie 'ped rider should know. I know about the Moped Army and have interloaned everything my library co-op has on mopeds.

posted by QIbHom to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

Small tires with no traction on the sides = don't lean too far into turns, because it'll slide easier than you think.
posted by frogan at 8:42 PM on September 3, 2006

You should really really really consider taking the Motorcycle Safety Institute's course on bike safety, it's available at nearly every community college in the nation and is indespensible to moped safety. I covered bikeweek in Daytona three years ago and 15 moped riders died there from injuries, many just a week after owning their bikes. BTW 25 new cyclists died as well, many just going 40 miles-per-hour.
posted by parmanparman at 8:54 PM on September 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

A two cycle moped engine is a very simple mechanical device, but not one made for extreme longevity, nor does it have much excess capacity for the load it is intended to move. Therefore, regular attention to its lubrication and state of tune will be needed to minimize riding frustration. Good spark plugs are worth their cost; learning to judge engine performance and tuning from spark plug burn patterns is a good skill to develop.

Carburetion, air filtration and gas quality also deserve attention regularly. Top quality fuels are worth using; since you won't be using much gas, the operational cost difference between Top Tier premium blends and bulk regular gas, on a per mile basis, is inconsequential, but the Top Tier gas will generally contain greater amounts of detergent additives and ethanol, which will help keep your carburetor and intake passage clean. In addition, if your moped is not equipped with automatic oil injection, you may need to pre-mix using a top quality 2 cycle oil. But to deliver the right fuel/oil/air ratios to your 2 cycle engine, your air filter needs regular attention and/or replacement, too.

After establishing a regular regimen of engine maintenance (according to recommendations of the owners manual), you need to regularly check brakes and the rest of the running gear, too. Moped brakes are none too sophisticated, generally, and they work worse than they are intended to work if your cables, brake shoes/drums (drums), or pads/disks (disc brakes) are not working well. If the moped has any appreciable age or mileage, thoroughly inspect and test the brakes, visually and operationally, before riding, and at regular intervals thereafter.

Tires, wheels and rims on mopeds are generally pretty low end components, that don't survive road shocks well. Be really critical of spoke tension, wheel trueness, and tire condition before every ride. It's easy to get complacent about this, particularly if your moped becomes regular commuting transportation, but remember that the price of cheap transport is eternal vigilance.

It's not a motorcycle. It never will be. But you still need a full face helmet, good medical insurance, a healthy degree of paranoia, and some luck to enjoy nice fall days and freedom. Good luck.
posted by paulsc at 9:12 PM on September 3, 2006 [2 favorites]

Paulc, Will you write my paper for me?
posted by jak68 at 10:12 PM on September 3, 2006

I see a lot of moped riders with open-face helmets. If you're going to ride with cars and trucks, I highly recommend a full-face helmet. I also recommend strong and sturdy leather (deerskin) gloves- ideally with some protection.

A lot of moped riders ride without much protection but in reality they are going as fast as normal traffic does (in the city) so you really want to understand the limits of the vehicle as well as wear appropriate protective gear.

My motto is "it is a matter of when, not if, you will have an accident." So dress appropriately and 20-year old skills should be renewed with training classes.
posted by gen at 11:12 PM on September 3, 2006

by "protection" on gloves, I mean motorcycle-specific gloves, which tend to have reinforced areas, velcro on the wrists to secure them to your hands, etc.
posted by gen at 11:18 PM on September 3, 2006

MSI classes are not an option until next year. They were all filled for this riding season by the end of March. Do motorcycle skills really translate that directly to moped skills?

Why a full face helmet? I'm going to be puttering around the neighbourhood at 20-25 mph. Full face seems excessive.

Why that particular brand of 2 cycle oil, paulsc? The 100 to 1 ratio makes me nervous. It is sounding like moped maintenance is a cross between a chain saw and a bicycle, with a carb.
posted by QIbHom at 12:59 AM on September 4, 2006

Some people will laugh at you because you will look dorky.

...but maybe not.
posted by distrakted at 5:44 AM on September 4, 2006

Don't get crazy with the oil. Any good 2 cycle oil will work when blending with gas. The usual mix is more like 50:1, and you can buy single shot bottles to keep with you should you have to refill on the road. HOWEVER a goodly number of modern mopeds have oil injection systems where the two stroke oil is kept in a seperate tank. Do use premium gas.

The biggest thing to remember when riding is that all drivers are idiots and want to kill you. The 2nd thing to remember is that you are invisible through windshield glass. 3rd. unlike motorcycles mopeds and scooters do not have enough torque to accelerate you out of trouble.

If by moped you mean a bike with 16"wheels you will notice that it handles a lot more like a motorcycle than a Vespa. The higher center of gravity will be familiar.
posted by Gungho at 6:08 AM on September 4, 2006

The second paragraph is gruesome. If you're not into gruesome, just let me first say that mopeds are 1. practically invisible to drivers on vacation who are looking for a monument, the beach, or pretty birds. 2. poorly manuevered considering their size. 3. Not all that slow considering the total lack of protection they offer.

The full face helmet and the gloves are for accidents like the one I saw while riding my bike (the kind you pedal) to work in Key West as a teenager. Man and wife on moped. Moped ricochets off palm tree. Moped slides back across the sidewalk and under a Chevy Suburban. Moped and somehow both passengers are stuck under the Suburban for about a block. Woman dies. Man wakes up from coma two weeks later. They were on vacation, wearing shorts and tee shirts. I cannot even begin to describe working that shift. This accident is one of the strongest reasons I completed my Red Cross CPR/Emergency First Aid training. But I still have no way to stop that Suburban, if I ever see something like that again.

Please don't ride that moped in areas of real traffic. And by that I pretty much mean any place where the speed limit exceeds 20. It's not the only moped accident I've seen, and certainly not the only one I've heard of, those things are not toys but it's easy to forget.
posted by bilabial at 7:27 AM on September 4, 2006

bilabial, a full face helmet (versus a non-full face helmet) wouldn't have helped that guy, or the woman.
posted by QIbHom at 8:04 AM on September 4, 2006

Fast enough to get you into trouble, not fast enough to get you out.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:24 AM on September 4, 2006

On the topic of full face helmets, let me just say that over many years of motorcycle riding, I've become convinced that full face helmets offer significantly better protection against road hazards and flying debris of the type that tend to escalate from small incidents to major accidents in a heartbeat. Like, say, the stuff that flies out of pickup truck beds passing you at the darndest times, or the wasps you smack into head on at 25 mph. And if you do go down seriously, to the point that you're carted off to a trauma center, the EMT's and doctors will greatly appreciate you having an intact airway when they need to intubate you.

The oil link I included was for a good synthetic 2 stroke oil, and the site also indicated that various other products, designed for different mix ratios and service conditions were available. Your moped's premix requirements, oil type, and recommendations should be covered in your manual.

As far as maintenance goes, the majority of small used bikes I've seen and owned rarely had much maintenance until they came my way. That's understandable, as these kinds of vehicles are often inexpensive transportation for young people who don't know much about mechanical things, or don't have any money to spend fixing things that aren't obviously and inconveniently broken. As a young man, I got various second hand small Hondas and Yamahas that had been beat up badly by their first owners, when parents made them sell. Fixing them to run well was usually fairly easy and cheap, and was vital to staying alive, particularly in the day of leading shoe drum brakes on front wheels. I recommend you get serious about taking great care of your moped, and plan on cleaning up any lapses of its previous owners at the outset, lest you land in a bad spot at an inopportune moment, victim of mechanical failure, and discover anew just how much flopping into a street at only 25 mph can really hurt. Mopeds are made to be sold cheaply, and you can't count on there being much "reserve" in their mechanicals, to tide you over in a pinch. Keep it in good repair, check it over before each ride, and ride like no one can see or hear you.
posted by paulsc at 8:56 AM on September 4, 2006

Pilgrims Hints and Tips
< copyrighted material>>
# Think and ride like a biker, not a driver. You are far more vulnerable than in a car. Exploit your advantages, which are small size, acceleration, and speed, but don't take them for granted. And oh yeah, no matter what you may think, you probably can't stop much quicker than a modern car, or even maneuver better than many of them.

# There's a difference between taking risks, and taking chances. A miscalculation in a car may dent a fender. It can break your back on a bike. Evaluate risks accordingly.

# Don't piss people off gratuitously. You are a soft target, so think carefully before you flip somebody off or whatever.
posted by ohshenandoah at 9:58 AM on September 4, 2006