Moped or Scooter?

Widelats

Hi guys, as i get older i am wanting to finally get a vehicle and i am going for one of these, i do not have a clue which is better or more cost effective, nor what i should be looking for in a second hand moped/scooter, nor how much test and tax i will have to pay for it, i hope someone can enlighten me??

Around 125cc
Must be fully working
Good on petrol
Easy to get parts for in case of repairs

bigjl

I may get slated or not but I have been looking at some of the more established Chinese brands for commuting duties.

LexMoto are extremely well priced.

I would go for a motorbike rather than a Scooter or Moped but one bit of advice is try and get a Scooter with fairly large wheels as they handle much better.

I would go for the Dart at well under a £1000 as it has 14" wheels if I wanted a commuting Scooter.

http://www.lexmoto.co.uk/scooters.php

bigjl

Darkmatterlives wrote: »

If you want a 125 it's a scooter and not a moped.

If you haven't got a full bike licence you'll need a cbt every two years.

Make sure you but Japanese or Peugeot rather than Chinese.

You need to keep up to date DM. The Chinese bikes (certain make not all) have been getting good reviews against Japanese bikes in the motoring press, such as Twist&Go Mag and MCN.

A few years ago they were well iffy.

Back in 07/08 I looked into them for export to Ghana and could buy crated 125cc CG125 clone for £260 FOB. And that included some spares!

I could 't get finance sorted as it coincided with my big accident at work, annoying as Ghana is now flooded with Chinese bikes, and not as good quality as the ones I was going to buy as they were all made to meet EU type approval unlike some sold in Ghana these days.

If you want cheap get to work wheels they take some beating especially as if you consider it from a purely financial point of view of it lasts 4yrs it will have cost you £250 a year roughly even if it has no resale value.

Some of the Lexmoto and Pulse bikes actually look rather nice.

bigjl

Darkmatterlives wrote: »

So do you Bigjl I'm not darkmatter.

You have obviously not read your own sign in name.

As it is clearly "Darkmatterlives"

You chose it not me, if you don't like being referred to as DM then change your name.

I doubt a random person new to the forum would chose that name as they would have no idea of the history of that poster.

Would they DM?

Widelats

Thanks guys, i will go for a scooter i think then.

PasturesNew

If you're short, check you can reach the ground on whatever you choose. I couldn't have a scooter as I can only reach the ground by tip toe on a regular moped/step through.

It's kind of important that when you stop you don't fall over sideways

My choice would be scooter style as you've more protection from wind/rain/splashes.

Personally I'd also look at 3 wheelers (no falling over)

Zero_Gravitas

PasturesNew wrote: »

If you're short, check you can reach the ground on whatever you choose. I couldn't have a scooter as I can only reach the ground by tip toe on a regular moped/step through.

It's kind of important that when you stop you don't fall over sideways

My choice would be scooter style as you've more protection from wind/rain/splashes.

Personally I'd also look at 3 wheelers (no falling over)

You can also ride a 3-wheeler on a full car licence without the need for a CBT.

dannyrst

Zero_Gravitas wrote: »

You can also ride a 3-wheeler on a full car licence without the need for a CBT.

Indeed. I thought I'd accidentally been given a bike license as well as car when I looked at mine the other day!

PasturesNew

Zero_Gravitas wrote: »

You can also ride a 3-wheeler on a full car licence without the need for a CBT.

It's all changed since I took my test (1980). With that license, at the time, I could ride up to a 250cc motorcycle so long as I didn't carry a passenger!

No idea what I can do now with it.

[Deleted User]

Zero_Gravitas wrote: »

You can also ride a 3-wheeler on a full car licence without the need for a CBT.

Also, what about a quad bike? I think (better check) that you can ride one of these with a full, car licence.

RichardD1970

Zero_Gravitas wrote: »

You can also ride a 3-wheeler on a full car licence without the need for a CBT.

Only certain ones, the newer Piaggio MP3's for example as the wheel base needs to be above a certain width.

Some Chinese scooters may be fine but steer clear of anything from Directbikes however good a deal it looks.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/369984/routes-to-your-motorcycle-licence.pdf

The link shows the licence requirements for each age group and size of bike.

Personally I would steer clear of a quad bike as they are to easy to turn over.