16 yr old and first bike

caris

Our GS who will be 16 in June would like to have a trial bike. My OH is under the impression that if he buys a 125 trial bike and gets it restricted to a 50cc this is ok for him to ride until he is 17 then get it de-restricted back to a 125cc.

Grateful for any replies

enfield_freddy

no , you cannot decrease the engines by that much , secondly , the law at 16 is mopeds , not a geared bike.

footyguy

caris wrote: »

Our GS who will be 16 in June would like to have a trial bike. My OH is under the impression that if he buys a 125 trial bike and gets it restricted to a 50cc this is ok for him to ride until he is 17 then get it de-restricted back to a 125cc.

Grateful for any replies

How does your OH plan to restrict the cc of the engine??? :huh:

Power output can be restricted, but I have no idea how you would restrict the capacity.

enfield_freddy

you cannot ride a (motorised) bike with a clutch and gears at 16


the law "was" mopeds , IE engine assisted push bikes , with the cheating of the japs with the "fizzy" and others, laws were changed and amended to below 50cc restricted BHP and more importantly AUTOMATIC gearbox


please find me a 50cc trials bike , apart from the classic ts50?

footyguy

enfield_freddy wrote: »

... secondly , the law at 16 is mopeds , not a geared bike.

You sure?

Moped yes, but no gears?

A moped is, or was, by definition a motorised (or motor assisted) pedal cycle. i.e. a cycle that could be propelled by use of it's own pedals.

In law, it has always referred to such a vehicle of less than 50cc.

About 35 years ago, as such vehicles were becoming ever more powerful, and hence faster, a new legal definition came about.

Essentially a motorcycle of less than 50cc capacity with a top speed not exceeding 30mph (50km/h).
Note: pedals are no longer required.

I believe latest regulations also include a tricycle of similar specification. (and also possibly some small quad bikes)

As far as I know, there is no restriction as to how many gears such a vehicle may have. (at least there never used to be)



To clarify, a moped is a moped as defined by the law when the vehicle was first registered.
So, for example, a 1970's moped still must be capable of being propelled by it's own pedals, but it's likely to have 3, 4 or 5 gears and will probably go a lot faster than 30mph.
Perfectly legal for 16 year old to ride with a provisional licence (and CBT)

Edit: It appears top speed of newly registered mopeds (w.e.f. 19 January 2013) has now been reduced further to just 28mph (45km/h) in line with EU regulations ... and must be capable of at least 25km/h

Edit 2: Here are the details of of various bike categories. No mention of type of gearbox, or whether or not fitted with a manual clutch.
(Honda used to make a moped with a manual gearbox and an automatic clutch)
https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-moped/bike-categories-ages-and-licence-requirements

enfield_freddy

not getting into arguments on a very poorly written law.


I was lead to believe that in with the change in law also removed the gear aspect.


back to the OPs question , I know no way of reducing a commonly made 125 trials bike to the lower cc required , and as posted above , reducing the BHP would be hard work.


I suggests the GS gets a run of the mill (second hand) moped for 12 mhs to get some road sense.


they may after watching the thing dissolve in the 12 mths decide to go down the route of buying a classic trials bike


I myself own a 1984 Suzuki ts185 , and this is far more superior in quality and parts availability than a modern bike that has its origin in china

Car_54

Never mind the legal technicalities. Don't let your grandson have a motorbike until he's mature enough to understand the risks.

Possibly 21, possibly never.

Dr._Shoe

I agree with Car 54.

However, your grandson is completely wrong, you cannot restrict the engine capacity, only what it's capable of doing.

Even if the BHP and top speed was reduced he would still be breaking the law by riding a 125cc bike in much the same way if he was just riding a defective (but roadworthy) bike.

King_Nothing

Car_54 wrote: »

Never mind the legal technicalities. Don't let your grandson have a motorbike until he's mature enough to understand the risks.

Possibly 21, possibly never.

Pretty sensationalist, take it you don't like bikes?

victor2

Car_54 wrote: »

Never mind the legal technicalities. Don't let your grandson have a motorbike until he's mature enough to understand the risks.

Possibly 21, possibly never.

Don't let him even contemplate alcoholic drinks either.
In fact, tell him life isn't to be enjoyed at all and he'd be better off in a padded cell where he can come to no harm.

enfield_freddy

44 yrs , on good Friday on motorbikes , some large fast English ones yrs ago , slowed down to a 500 "super scoot" and a ts 185 now ,


PS 43 yrs car licence as will