Buying A Moped

bscousegit

I'm planning to buy a Moped for my 16 yr old son. Any advice apart from No he shouldn't get one which is running through my head!

Zinger549

Will he get a lot of use out of it.

davetrousers

CBT stands for Compulsory BASIC Training. You are not a skilled or accomplished motorcyclist after completing this BASIC training, a lot of people don't seem to realise this! So remind him of this from time to time.

Good quality clothing: Helmet Jacket etc.

Check any bike/moped over before agreeing a price/deal. (Brakes, tyres, electrics, general condition etc).

bscousegit

Thanks for the replies - Yes he will get a lot of use out of it, to and from college from September. I have booked myself on CBT training, to get an idea of how to ride the thing myself.

I'm planning to buy a new Moped, at least I know it should be OK - Brakes, Tyres, warranty etc. If we keep it more than a couple of years, who knows my youngest may need to use it as well.

Not sure the pros and cons of different makes - should I stick to Peugot and Yamaha only?

adouglasmhor

Aprilla, Vespa/piaggio, Gillera and Honda do mopeds as well - Avoid the Chinese ones and I know nothing about the Korean and Taiwanese ones.

Nile

Hello bscousegit

I'll move your thread to the 'Motoring & Public Transport' board.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

no_debts_no_more

Whatever you do, don't buy one of the cheap Chinese ones you see sold in unexpected places like garden centres and Halfords. You cannot get parts, and many bike shops won't touch them, as they are more trouble for them than they are worth. Buy a Japanese or European one - you'll pay a bit more, but it won't be worthless, and not working and non-repairable in a couple of years.

Spend money on decent gear - helmet, jacket & gloves. Waterproof cordura stuff is most useful.

Buy a decent lock/chain (not some crummy Chinese made thing for a tenner) and USE IT! Scooters and small trailbikes are what is most commonly stolen as they used by youngsters who are careless about locking them up.

odowdchr

Sym are a decent Far East make with a growing dealer network in the UK and Oz...I know two dealers who are really pushing them as quality purchases at great prices....and they're taking a lot of trade away from the traditional European makes.
Some come with a full 3yr warranty which is great for a scooter on our potholed roads.
http://www.sym.com.tw/eng/

I wouldn't get one of these cheap nasty chinese things that come in a crate, even for £700 or whatever.
Piaggio now own Gilera, Aprilia as well as Vespa so you can compare all via the Piaggio website.
Most important thing if you're not a mechanic is to get a scooter that you can get serviced locally. You dont want to be waiting for a dealer to send off for spare parts and wait weeks for it.

globalds

This is bit of safety advice ...Ask him to leave his headlights on all the time ..Day and night ...Offer to buy him a replacement bulb if it burns out twice as fast ...
It is so easy to lose a small bike in a line of traffic .
I was given this advice when driving mopeds abroad ..It may make you feel a bit of a nerd but now i'm driving cars I am aware of what a help it is ..
If i can see him ..I will help to make his drive easier.

uktyler

Some areas have schemes where they loan mopeds to students, check out the college and ask them, get him some good safety equipment, and a good lock, mopeds are very easy to steal.

anewman

uktyler wrote: »

Some areas have schemes where they loan mopeds to students, check out the college and ask them, get him some good safety equipment, and a good lock, mopeds are very easy to steal.

You can buy alarms I believe, and even trackers. The alarm should scare off most of the tea leaves who start to try steal it though I imagine.

http://abacuscaralarms.co.uk/store/view_product.php?product=Toad%20Text%20Alert might be a good thing to use, on it's own or in conjunction with an alarm. Available cheaper on ebay. Remember if installing yourself to have the unit and all wiring well hidden.