moped or scooter for my 16yr old son

ciano125

Nobody seems to have mentioned the fact that scooters are hugely targetted by theives. The Speedfight has a built in boa lock that you can wrap around a lamp post or ground anchor and would be my choice. If I were going to get a different one (Gilera Runner etc) then the first thing I would be buying would be a chain from these guys http://www.almax-security-chains.co.uk/ and a Squire padlock, the most expensive one they do. I know this is moneysavingexpert.com, but if you buy cheap in these respects, you'll be much more likely to lose your bike, simple as that, which will cost much more than in the long run. Its money well spent in my opinion.

As has been mentioned, a helmet is THE most important piece of kit. My friend was killed recently when he was turning his bike around on the road without his helmet on, he slipped, flipped the bike and that was that. So avoidable, such a waste. Again, if you can afford it, get a helmet with a Gold BSU sticker on the back of it. All helmets have to pass safety standards, but some are better than others and certain helmets exceed the safety standards by a considerable amount. Look at Shoei, Arai, HJC, Suomi, Schuberth. If your head is worth £50 to you, then get a £50 helmet. Mine is worth considerably more to me.

Someone mentioned wearing jeans as a very minimum. I personally never ride in anything but full leathers, although in the past I have used these http://www.hoodjeans.co.uk/ They give better sliding protection than jeans, look the same, and there is room for some armour in the knees, hips etc. They cost less than a designer pair of jeans would too.

A back protector such as http://www.forcefieldbodyarmour.co.uk/back_protector_sport.asp is also a must (for me anyway!) The spine is very delicate and if you were to come off at 30mph, slide along the road and hit the kerb back first, you'd quite easily be spending the rest of your life with wheels underneath you. You can get jackets with these ones built in, other bike jackets come with a piece of foam in the back which are, in my opinion, as good as useless.

Boots, look at Sidi, Alpinestars, or if you are feeling flush, Daytona.

At the end of the day, you can spend as much or as little on kit as you want, I'm not saying that if its cheap, its no good, but I prefer to spend a bit more and know that my kit is going to do its job should it need to. It doesnt matter if you come off a Honda Fireblade or a 50cc scooter at 30mph, its going to hurt if you arent properly protected (well, its going to hurt anyway, but you can minimise the risk is what I mean).

I would look at getting a second hand scooter such as the speedfight for about a grand, and then budget another grand for kit. Chances are he'll love riding and want to get a bigger bike anyway, and he can keep his kit when he trades up anyway.

Hope that helps a bit.
Cheers
Ciano

libbidf

Hi,

Vespa, gileras, speedfights are good bikes but I would go for second hand one and spend the rest of the money on a really good riding kit. I work in bikes claims and took details of an accident the other day that made me feel sick. The lad was in a head on collision with a car and thrown under a van which went over his head. Because his family had spent money on a good quality helmet and tough leathers, he left hospital the same day with some minor bruising to his legs!!!!

The amount of accidents I've taken like this is unbelieveable and it really does show that the helmet and leathers is probably the most important thing to buy when considering a bike or scooter - they really do save lives.

If you look to buy a second hand bike check sites like autotrader where you can put any reg in and it will tell you details of the bike and you should also be able to find out for a small cost if that bike has been written off before and that it isn't registered as a stolen vehicle.

chuckles1066

Happychappy wrote: »

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..

Excellent point.

I spent 18 years of my life driving 55,000 miles a year; if I wrote a book on some of the stupid things I've seen British motorists do, publishers would take one look and say "you've made all that up".

Erm, no; other drivers REALLY REALLY can be VERY VERY stupid and if you're on a moped and one of them is stupid in front of you, it's going to spectacularly wrong :mad:

(Hence my earlier comments about developing road-sense; you have to do their thinking for them) :mad: :mad:

libbidf

chuckles1066 wrote: »

Excellent point.

I spent 18 years of my life driving 55,000 miles a year; if I wrote a book on some of the stupid things I've seen British motorists do, publishers would take one look and say "you've made all that up".

Erm, no; other drivers REALLY REALLY can be VERY VERY stupid and if you're on a moped and one of them is stupid in front of you, it's going to spectacularly wrong :mad:

(Hence my earlier comments about developing road-sense; you have to do their thinking for them) :mad: :mad:

The company I work for pays for everyone to do their CBT so you can get an understanding of bikers have to go through on the road! Scariest day of my life so far. Until you're on a scooter in the middle of traffic, you can't believe how ignorant other drivers can be towards you. I personally will not be getting on one again but do appreciate what theyhave to put up with now!!!

uktyler

Ash the college if your area does a moped loan scheme, they are available to 16 year olds in some parts of the country, meaning you can spend your cash on the above mentioned safety equipment.
Here is one area were you can get a loan machine:

http://www.centralsussex.ac.uk/news/newsdisplay.asp?newsid=282


If you live is Surry you can get a free helmet/gloves as well as the CBT paid for.
http://www.eastsurreyrtp.org.uk/transportForYoung.htm#W2W