moped or scooter for my 16yr old son

wilkies5

I am at that stage of deciding whether to get my son to be more independent with his time & transport!!

He starts college 9 miles away and is also involved in daily football training/games in a different part of town, so it makes sense to get him a little runaround.

Can anyone give me advice on a couple of makes of bike which may be ok?

Son has already earmarked a Peugot Speedfight or a Malaguti Drakon (!) for us to look at....unsure whether looking at any 2nd hand bike is a sensible idea, but new looks TOO costly!!

What do you think - out there in MSE ?

All advice appreciated.

kevingattaca

The new Speed Fights are Very good ( I used to use one )..... but +/1 £2000 !??!

There are cheaper ( new ) scooters around ; http://www.scooter.co.uk/

But the two scooters he picked are the 'cool' models though ?! but to be blunt scooters with the protection you get from them is very low, and even with a lower CC, other road users can make it more dangerous !?

Unless he's a "Mature" lad, I think you're better in the long run getting him to start driving lessons ?? and get a cheap car, far cheaper in the long run ?

K

PS And no I can't drive a car, and have used scooters in excess of 5+ years

bored_of_debt

I can't give you much advice on what scooter to actually buy as I haven’t really kept in touch, but can give you some a few of pointers...

They are very convenient; it will give him independence, will help him getting to and from college/training and will help him with his road craft and knowledge for his driving test if he chooses to do this when he is older.

However they are dangerous, especially as he is new to the roads as well and you will almost certainly loose money on it no matter what.

I would recommend spending £12-£1300 on one max. I talked my mum into buying one for me (very lucky) for around £2000 and it was a bit of a waste. After a few scrapes here and there (which unfortunately is highly likely) they loose a lot in value.

If he has been looking and perhaps his friends have scooters as well, he will most likely want a speedfight or a gilera runner (spelling?) but it's not really worth it.

I think there is a brand called MBK http://www.mbk-europe.com/products/models/nitro.jsp that are virtually a copy of a yamaha model that are a lot cheaper... you will find that most parts are made in the same factory anyway!!

Also ensure you spend a good amount on a new crash helmet I’d say around £100, you might be able to get one thrown in if you decide to buy new. Also get him a good bike jacket and make sure he's always wearing bike gloves!! They will make all the difference if he does have an off.

Hope I’ve not put you off, in a nutshell I’d say it’s probably a good idea, as long as he’s sensible he’ll be OK.

If you’re stuck on which to buy, pm me whenever and I’ll let you know what I think…

lindens

My son had one, he was sensible lad so I had no problems. having said that he has come off it a few times but no injuries, but it did scratch and scrape the bike. He will have to take a test first, he went on a course for the day and did the test at the end. His dad bought his bike from new, one of those cheap chinese ones it was less than £1000. It was reliable though and i'm glad it wasnt more expensive as he did scrape it a few times. Get the most expensive helmet you can afford, dont scrimp on that. Important bits of the body to protect are the ones that are hardest to mend ie. head, ankles, hands. Best if he wears boots when riding and get a good jacket and gloves. At the least wear jeans.

My son is driving now so have that to worry about now.

PS 50cc bike for sale in south wales if interested lol

Bob63

If any parts of the expected journey is higher than 30mph limit then I would not buy him a scooter. 16 year olds are restricted to machines that are only capable of 30mph. Running at 30mph in a 40/50/60mph limit puts you in real danger as you are holding up the traffic and therefore tempt some other drivers into doing stupid/dangerous things to get past you. I cringe when I see scooter riders clinging to the gutter on the side of the road when out in traffic - this is just where you don't want to be as you are more likely to hit objects in the road, get punctures, or simply not be seen by other motorists.

Just my two cents as an experienced advanced motorcyclist.

Mike

scbk

The speedfight's are ok, fairly common so quite a few parts available. Any Piaggio brand is also worth a look, they own Gilera, Aprilia, Vespa, Derbi.

Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki are good makes aswell, though they don't tend to have much in the way of 50cc's

IMO, don't be tempted by any of the chinese makes, or anything 4 stroke

At 16 your machine is supposed to be restricted to 31.5mph but a high percentage of bikes on the road will be de-restricted and should do 45-50mph

Don't buy new, you'll lose a lot of money. £500-£1000 and the local paper will find you a decent bike.
Don't forget to budget for; tax £15, MOT £20-ish, CBT £100-ish, helmet £50-£100, gloves £20/£30. A worthwhile investment is also a bike jacket £50+ and trousers £50+

suffolkb

I agree about not buying a new 50cc machine. Your son will either love biking and want a bigger bike when he`s 17, or hate it and switch to a car instead. Lots of depreciation both ways.
I, too, feel sorry for the ones I see going flat out at 30 mph. It was fine in London, but it must be pretty scary out here in the sticks.

N9eav

We researched the 50cc market for my son. Avoid the Chinese makes like Baotian. It's a tough choice as the better brands are very expensive and second hand ones can be thrashed to death by years of abuse. We gave up in the end and decided to wait until he is 17.

chuckles1066

suffolkb wrote: »

I agree about not buying a new 50cc machine. Your son will either love biking and want a bigger bike when he`s 17, or hate it and switch to a car instead. Lots of depreciation both ways.
I, too, feel sorry for the ones I see going flat out at 30 mph. It was fine in London, but it must be pretty scary out here in the sticks.

I had a Gilera 50cc trials bike back in the late 1970's (before they were restricted, top speed 51mph, wow!) and the one thing I would say about riding a moped (providing you're mature enough) is that it teaches you phenomenal amounts of road-sense because you're constantly on the watch for idiots pulling out of turnings etc.

I passed my car driving test within six weeks of being 17 and I attribute a lot of that achievement to my moped ownership and the road-sense I learned riding it.

Happychappy

If you do buy him one get some training arranged before he goes out on it.

Just a tip from someone who has spent the last 20 years on traffic dealing with families whose kids taught themselves of the dangers of the road from the invincible never happen to me attitude that kids have as they cannot realise how stupid other drivers really are, and how vulnerable bikers are..

Nothing against bikes, I ride one at work and with the correct defensive attitude and training they are a safe'ish mode of transport, cheap to run, service and easy to park etc. Best of luck.

hullight

Don't forget to budget for insurance (couple of hundred quid) and security (a good lock or two). The compulsory excess is a killer for your people with scooters (mine is £350).

I have just bought a Honda SCV-100 which is actually from the Indian market but it's pretty well made. It's a 100cc 4-stroke so much smoother than my old Piaggio! I paid just over £1000 for the SCV-100 pre-registered on an 07 plate from a Honda dealer.