Moped riders think they're on Motorbikes

Time Man

Has anyone ever noticed the amount of moped riders who open the back pegs and put their feet on them, thus looking like the riding position on a real motor bike? Is this just for the look or is it more comfortable? Or do they think it gets them down lower to cut wind resistence so they can do 34 instead of 33mph. Also what about the dudes who take off from the lights and leave one leg straight for ages. I drove behind a dude like this once for about two miles till I turned off, I thought he had a bad leg or something till I saw him the next day doing it with the other leg instead.

Tommy Vercetti

yes, they are hilarious, one of these days I'm gonna purchase a pick-up truck and fit a machine gun on the back to help eliminate these fools

Time Man

You can drive in the lane next to them at the same speed then slow down just a tinch and watch them crouch down as they think they are starting to out run you.

Tommy Vercetti

and then *BAM* you run over them in a fit of laughter

Time Man

I was thinking more along the lines of, it starts to rain, I close the window, turn on the wipers and increase to the speed to about 45

Tommy Vercetti

my idea is way more progressive, plus you can use the moped engine as a hairdryer when you've removed the now dead skanger

Robbo

Recently some chavs decided to spend a good hour on a road near me trying to do wheelies in a moped. Needless to say, the laws of physics romped home...

Fionn101

hahaha , classic line on the laws of physics robbo ,

anyway i must confess i used to put my feet on the back pegs , luckily now on the newer moped it doesn;t have back pegs, but the foot skirting goes around the back so i will be using that instead (same riding position , just lower legs)

and to answer your question , nah i didn;t think i was on a real bike, it's purely a balance issue (well i can't vouch for everyone , but it is for me)

I find having my feet in front of me (the normal moped position) is grand for just going along the road, but if your turning etc then i put my feet on the back pegs , it feels so much safer and it's far easier to flick the bike over to turn ,

Fionn

Time Man

I had a Gilera 125 years ago and I never had a problem turning.

spockety

Originally posted by Robbo
Recently some chavs decided to spend a good hour on a road near me trying to do wheelies in a moped. Needless to say, the laws of physics romped home...

Pulling wheelies on a 50cc moped is a piece of piss...

rymus

feet forward position is the business.. I've got lovely highway pegs/boards on my bike, can't beat a bit of a stretch out when you're on the link roads. Ahh comfort.

seamus

Originally posted by rymus
feet forward position is the business.. I've got lovely highway pegs/boards on my bike, can't beat a bit of a stretch out when you're on the link roads. Ahh comfort.

You'd think so, but I've found the dead straight, almost standing position on my new bike much more comfortable

rymus

ah well... two completely different styles of bike. I was tempted to get a BMW R1150GS before I got my Venture, purely for the ability to stand on the pegs

Went with the almost lying down position & the long distance comfort thing instead

Gmodified

hate this ugly things BMW R1150GS

giftgrub

what is it with guys on 50cc scoots?...a lot of them think theyre joey dunlop...the amount of times i've been at lights when some dude pulls up along beside me on his ovetto or katana or whatever.... STARTS REVVNG... LOOKING OVER AT ME

MY BIKE IS BIGGER THAN YOURS...IT GOES FASTER... GET OVER IT!!!!

Time Man

Last year I had a dude on a red vespa with L plates indicate to move into the left hand lane which I was in. About 5 seconds after he indicated he just started to swing in on top of me and I had to accelerate a beep to avoid him running into me. At the next set of lights he started staring in throught the back of the car at me. I got out and he seemed abit intimidated, he proceeded to tell me he was indicating so that meant I had to nove out of his way as he was on a moped so I was obliged to give way to him. The idiot was only on the road two weeks. I told the spa to get a rules of the road book and that if he kept riding like that he wouldn't last long. Bleedin goon

tk123

Originally posted by giftgrub
what is it with guys on 50cc scoots?...a lot of them think theyre joey dunlop...the amount of times i've been at lights when some dude pulls up along beside me on his ovetto or katana or whatever.... STARTS REVVNG... LOOKING OVER AT ME

MY BIKE IS BIGGER THAN YOURS...IT GOES FASTER... GET OVER IT!!!!

Yup I get that too - especially in the business park where I work there's always some eejit on a moped pulling up beside me revving and then pulls out in front of me when the lights change :mad: But I end up passing them by again due to the laws of physics and acceleration - 50cc < 125cc
Once a guy flew by me through a red light(again leaving the business park) on a Habana...a few minutes down the road he was chatting to a motorcyle cop!
A guy I know who has a moped told me he puts his feet on the back pegs to get better speed.....

Fionn101

well it's definatley not for speed (feet on the back pegs) , and i think having your feet on the back would cause greater wind resistance than having your legs tucked in behind the steering column.

Time man , neither of us have a problem turning then , i just find it more 'comforting' going through a turn with my legs on the back pegs , it just feels better and i reckon it's safer, but this is all down to personal preference .

I also drove a Virago cruiser for a few months but got rid of this fast cause i really didn't like the peg positions, a bit too far forward , gave the smallest amount of , how do i explain this , not centered properly , now don't get me wrong , this was my bike for the best part of a year and was no great bother to drive , but i just wasn't comfortable on it and it had to go for that reason.

and as for the moped poeple revving beside a proper bike, hilarious, i've seen it a few times , i'd consider it funny if someone on a ped was revving against an R1 or something but thats just dublin cheek
, obviously they don't understand the laws of physics , muppets

picking my new ride up on sunday , whoot , or should that be weeerrrrrrrr

Take it easy

Fionn

rymus

Originally posted by tk123
But I end up passing them by again due to the laws of physics and acceleration - 50cc < 125cc

I get that too sometimes.. Some of them just dont get that I can go faster on my 1300cc than they can on their 50cc... It is funny to see them wobble around behind me in the turbulence that my bike creates when I pass them

seamus

Actually it's very irritating when they drive right on the line, when they blatantly know that there are bigger, faster bikes behind them (say when they just break a light before it goes green, or arrive at the lights, just as it changes). I hate taking anyone on the inside, particlarly scareable, unpredictable mopeds, so I usually end up having to go onto the other side of the road to overtake them.

Little Bastards.

Fionn101

very interesting point there seamus about driving on the line etc,

always move in for a bike, they're going to go faster so let em , i see it as them leading the way , no problem,

also i'll point out that i drive right down the centre of the lane (not the road) on the moped to allow bikes to pass on the outside ( i know i'm in a minority here, once more 50cc<1200cc)

but what really gets my goat is when cars are right up your a$$ expecting me to pull in to the curb to let em by , not a chance mate , i'm not getting forced curbside so u can break the speedlimit (moped does 40mph which is the speedlimit in built areas)

i'll move towards the centre so they can undertake (if they want to risk getting pulled) but i always found if you go curbside the next car races up on you like they expect you to stay there also and before you know it your in a space of maybe 1.5 feet and no room to avoid potholes etc (i hope i'm explainging this properly)

so now i'm thinking that if i'm driving down the centre of the lane doing 40, well then balls to the rest of em , undertake , overtake on the other side I don't care, it's not safe for me to move , honk all you want etc etc

what are other peoples ideas on this ? i'm looking at it from my safety point of view , do you think this is bang out of line , what would you do ??? (remember it's a lot different being on a moped compared to a real loud big bike that cars know they can't muscle)

/me gets back into my car
Fionn

seamus

Originally posted by Fionn101
always move in for a bike, they're going to go faster so let em , i see it as them leading the way , no problem,

I'll always move in for a bike that's travelling faster than me, or if I have no intention of overtaking the vehicle in front.

but what really gets my goat is when cars are right up your a$$ expecting me to pull in to the curb to let em by , not a chance mate , i'm not getting forced curbside so u can break the speedlimit (moped does 40mph which is the speedlimit in built areas)

i'll move towards the centre so they can undertake (if they want to risk getting pulled) but i always found if you go curbside the next car races up on you like they expect you to stay there also and before you know it your in a space of maybe 1.5 feet and no room to avoid potholes etc (i hope i'm explainging this properly)

You're better off staying in front of them. Car drivers don't seem to realise that the 2 feet of road beside the kerb/path aren't suitable for driving on at over 20mph, particularly if you only have two wheels on the road. It's not an issue on my new bike, but on the Marauder which hit 50/55 tops, I'd be driving in the left-hand lane on the motorway, 1/3 of the way into the lane (as you're supposed to), and vehicles (normally mercs or jeeps) would overtake me without properly changing lanes, and with maybe 12-18 inches to spare. When you're travelling at 50mph, and they're travelling at 70mph+, it's a frightening experience. So I took to driving on the outside one-thirds of the left-hand lane, forcing them to change lanes if they wanted to overtake.
The amount of them who would drive up my ass, expecting me to move over (in the left-hand lane ffs). I became smug when irritating them eventually.

Cake Fiend

They're called scooters.

MojoMaker

Originally posted by rymus
I get that too sometimes.. Some of them just dont get that I can go faster on my 1300cc than they can on their 50cc... It is funny to see them wobble around behind me in the turbulence that my bike creates when I pass them

After a head of steam is built up, certainly, but away from the lights a 50cc scooter will take a heavy Star any day of the week. Why these chimps want to prove that to you when you are doubtless already aware is anyone's guess though. Clowns. When you catch up to them, as you say, merely rumble by and watch the muppets swaying from the turbulence

OLDYELLAR

i drive a scooter im cool:D
aww wish i had the back pegs , NOT , guys on proper bikes drive up along side me at traffic lights pull up the visor and be like rev revf , i be jus sittin there like yea man i have a scooter wonder who`ll win here ?
i mean jesus go race a proper bike dont ask me im just a gurl

the most embaressing thing about havin a scooter those is those f**n twats who drive around estates with the helmet like restin on top o there head if you get me and look like complete twats and then everyones like oh you own a scooter do you go around with the helmet on the top of your head? AH NO

Gmodified

Actually it's very irritating when they drive right on the line, when they blatantly know that there are bigger, faster bikes behind them (say when they just break a light before it goes green, or arrive at the lights, just as it changes). I hate taking anyone on the inside, particlarly scareable, unpredictable mopeds, so I usually end up having to go onto the other side of the road to overtake them.

so what really happens is:


You have the big bike and you are waiting for green light
then from nowhere appears the GI Jo on his moped
Light changes, moped gets ahead (as you think in your head I am not going to race any hair dryer )
Then you think, yes I have faster bike and with quick throttle response you pass the guy, thinking EAT THIS!!


Really to proof that you r faster and more likely to be cut by next set of traffic lights, to see his half worn helmet again.


and on the end it doesn't make sense as he will be always there with you , specially in trafic hours .

So really let him buzz away

seamus

Originally posted by Gmodified
and on the end it doesn't make sense as he will be always there with you , specially in trafic hours .

So really let him buzz away

1. It's the principle of the thing We have to show him "Who's yo Daddy!"
2. He's limited to 30mph. It's especially frustrating in 40mph zones.

Gmodified

ha ha. me giving speech about road manners. I could race my shadow sometimes .

I can't resist:D

tk123

Originally posted by Fionn101
very interesting point there seamus about driving on the line etc,

always move in for a bike, they're going to go faster so let em , i see it as them leading the way , no problem,

Fionn

My bro who drives a big 1000c told me when I was starting out on my ickle vespa that if anyone was every "driving up my ass" to wobble the bike so they would think they are going to make you fall..Now I've found since I got the VanVan that people give me even less space again (don't know why) so I do this every now and again - obviously I dont go mad and wobble all over the place but if you just wobble a little bit they back off..Or sometimes just slowly looking over your shoulder at them and looking forward again will put them off say if they are crowding you when the traffic is slow - if you are showing confidence then they wont try to mess you around...
Some lovely female driver (sorry but I'm a girl biker and it's usually women who nearly skittle me and they wave to thank me??!??) once tried to overtake me from the inside so I gave out to her we were turning down Richmond Rd which is v.bendy and bumpy - anyhoo she over took me to get me back - when i got around the corner she was up on the path on the opposite side just inches away from the wall she nearly slammed into!! :rolleyes:
At the end of the day if someone is flying around the place let them overtake you Fionn cos eventually they're going to run out of luck...

Fionn101

yeah I reckon your right TK123 , same with drunk drivers , it's always better to let them pass and have them in front of you rather than behind you

tunney

Last year I had a dude on a red vespa with L plates indicate to move into the left hand lane which I was in. About 5 seconds after he indicated he just started to swing in on top of me and I had to accelerate a beep to avoid him running into me. At the next set of lights he started staring in throught the back of the car at me. I got out and he seemed abit intimidated, he proceeded to tell me he was indicating so that meant I had to nove out of his way as he was on a moped so I was obliged to give way to him. The idiot was only on the road two weeks. I told the spa to get a rules of the road book and that if he kept riding like that he wouldn't last long.

Emmm this is what most motorists to do to cyclists. "Look at me I'm indicating get out of the lane I want to be in" "What do you mean I hit you??? You hit me I was indicating"

Time Man

Tunney, yeah does happen quite a lot with dumb motorists. Had a run in years ago at on the coast road at the bottom of the Malahide Road, the junction there has a land for turning left, then the cycle lane then the lane for straight ahead. A dumb lady in the lane for straight ahead decided she wanted to go left and swung right in on top of me in the cycle lane. After hitting the side of her car with my front wheel she slammed on the brakes, I was so livid I pounded her passenger window then smashed off her mirror. Then as she took off she nearly smashed into another car. Jeez, the roads are full of them spas

Dub13

Well car drivers piss me of when I drive my 50cc scooter,they seem to think they are allways right...they just think that because you are on a scooter you are 17/18 and a Leaner.I have most of my licences every thing from car to bus to truck,I still drive HGV and its great to just jump on the bike and not worry about traffic.I have also done the Driving Instructor Test so it pisses me of to have some clown in a car think he owns the road.

When I started driving the bike I drove it like I would a HGV,but car drivers made me change a bit for example If I am on a road and a car is tring to turn across my path i will slow down and try to give them a bit more time as you do,now when I do this driving a HGV 9 times out of 10 I will get a little wave or a nod just to say thanks while driving a bike this has NEVER happend they just think you are a 17/18 yearl old learner and I dont have to nod at him.

So just because you drive a 50cc bike it does not mean you are a novice,in this day and ago of mad traffic more and more car drivers are getting bikes.

Fionn101

granted she was in the wrong and i'm glad your ok but i think that was a bit of an overreaction tbh ,

it would have landed you in more trouble I think had the law been about cause it would have been considered a fender bender and then an incident of road rage , just so you know for future reference .


Fionn

p.s. whats with the austin powers massive pic in the sig

tunney

it would have been considered a fender bender

There is no such thing when a cyclist or pedestrian is involved. All it takes is a slight knock to seriously injury or kill. Again motorists would do well to realise this, and pay more attention to it (myself included).

Time Man

It might have been an over reaction but she didnt even look to her left, or else she did and just decided to cut me off. It could easily have ended with me dead or brain damaged. If I was in a car it wouldn't be so bad but on a bike I have no protection. At least she has to think about what shes done while she forks out for a new mirror


P.S. Austin is my hero, thats why he's on my sig.

Originally posted by Fionn101
granted she was in the wrong and i'm glad your ok but i think that was a bit of an overreaction tbh ,

it would have landed you in more trouble I think had the law been about cause it would have been considered a fender bender and then an incident of road rage , just so you know for future reference .


Fionn

p.s. whats with the austin powers massive pic in the sig

batman_oh

i always hang my right leg when taking off from lights, its a habit i built up from burying it off lights where it helps to keep the front down, i drag my feet as well a lot
but i dont drive a scooter or race things i can beat off the line-not much
i hate when slower things try racing u, especially really really ****ty cars
its annoyin, whereas a dice with a decent car can be a bit of fun

Fionn101

Batman , can you explain the leg dragging and also one leg down theory in a bit more detail ??


is it that when you want to speed away from the lights you keep you leg down for extra weight on the front ??? and why drag your feet , is this for more weight , just curious


Fionn

heh , also , i'd own you from a standing start at a set of lights ww) , i'm that decent car , ehh , not wanting to promote racing or dangerous driving of course .......

batman_oh

if u lean forward to weigh the front(which u have to do to minimise the front skipping) u cannot put both legs on the pegs, just the gear changing one until u get moving, so u drag the other, if u sit upright u will go skywards
also u wud own an rs250 and rvf400 from a set of lights??
i seriously doubt it
whats the car, and if u say starlet turbo u really have no idea!

batman_oh

oh and before you reply
heres the rs250 test from essential superbikes
0-60:3.43 secs
0-100:8.96 secs
standing quarter mile 12.4 secs@112mph
so ask urself one question, does your car accelerate as fast as a lambourghini diablo??
coz my bike does
also have a goo here, it quotes 12.6 quarter, but ive seen 12.4 stock, and 11.65 tuned and geared
http://www.syclone.freeserve.co.uk/rivals.htm

rymus

Originally posted by batman_oh
so ask urself one question, does your car accelerate as fast as a lambourghini diablo??
coz my bike does

Great.. I just hope for your sake you never come off it...

tk123

I saw 2 cyclists being skittled today - one this morning and one this evening! :eek:

Fionn101

thanks for the info on the leaning forward , no doubt it will come in handy when i get the full bike licence and upgrade (after the long wait , that power to weight restriction etc)

heh , also from the first pic it looked like your bike was a wee 125cc , hence I fancied my chances

that other bike is well tidy , hope you have colour leathers that do it justice .

actually since your around , do you know about getting the restricitors taken out of a moped ? i'm picking up a moped on sunday , but i wanted to know the effects on the engine over time , and also what the process involves (anyone else know about this?)

take it easy
Fionn
(of course I own a lambourghini )

seamus

Originally posted by Fionn101
actually since your around , do you know about getting the restricitors taken out of a moped ? i'm picking up a moped on sunday , but i wanted to know the effects on the engine over time , and also what the process involves (anyone else know about this?)

Don't bother. 50cc vehicles are 50cc for a reason. They're even more dangerous unrestricted (not to mention noisy). If you want something with more power buy a 125cc scooter.

Fionn101

Damn,

can you explain the process a bit more seamus , the bike only does around 30-35 , but my old katana did 40 no bother

so i was going to get the restrictors done (before i pick it up) just so i can do the speed limit .

ohh and what makes them more dangerous unrestricited ? i hope it's not going to blow up on me , 'Casino' style

cheers

Fionn

seamus

Originally posted by Fionn101
ohh and what makes them more dangerous unrestricited ? i hope it's not going to blow up on me , 'Casino' style

It's not the danger of the engine, it's the lightness and instability of them. Add that to high speed....

No idea how it's done.

Kazujo

I think my main gripe about mopeds other then them cutting infront of me and generally driving without consideration for anything else on the road, is the fact that they are the main reason why bike insurance has gone up so much. Hibernian had to pay over 12 MILLION in compo for moped pillion passangers last year who aren't even covered by the insurance as the majority of people on mopeds do not have full licences, but the EU insist that the insurance company must pay.

But I cant solely complain about mopeds I've had a few close calls with idiots passing me on the motorway at high speed and not leaving proper clearance. Or generally driving way over the limit.

Man Time

The pipe has a run off that slows it down, they usually say to leave it on untill the first service. They just cut it off, bend the rest down and weld it. The other I'm not so sure about, I think it has something to do with a clutch plate being taken out. A lot of knackers widen their fuel lines and this causes the increase in engine noise

Originally posted by Fionn101
Damn,

can you explain the process a bit more seamus , the bike only does around 30-35 , but my old katana did 40 no bother

so i was going to get the restrictors done (before i pick it up) just so i can do the speed limit .

ohh and what makes them more dangerous unrestricited ? i hope it's not going to blow up on me , 'Casino' style

cheers

Fionn

batman_oh

Originally posted by rymus
Great.. I just hope for your sake you never come off it...

and to u too, dont really see the problem in racin a car off the lights every once in a while, not as if i do it durin the day or on busy streets, and if u fall off goin straight, well..no comment, bikes are meant to be fun and nobody who drives them does so without the odd bit of messin

a derestricted 50cc will be less dangerous than a 125cc model, in general the 125s are the same weight and usually have all the same parts(gilera runners spring to mind), so all it will be is less powerful
takin the restrcitors out will compromise the reliabilty in general, but it shud be easy enough, im not sure myself of the individual restrictions in mopeds, but if u arent plannin on keepin it years i wud do it

Eye

Originally posted by MojoMaker
After a head of steam is built up, certainly, but away from the lights a 50cc scooter will take a heavy Star any day of the week. Why these chimps want to prove that to you when you are doubtless already aware is anyone's guess though. Clowns. When you catch up to them, as you say, merely rumble by and watch the muppets swaying from the turbulence

well i dunno if you've ever driven a "heavy Star" at all, i myself have a 650 drag star and my brother only recently got rid of his 1100 drag star, and one thing i can tell you is that there ain't no 50cc scooter gonna have a hope in hell of beating one of these off the line from lights.

i don't often race my 650 from lights, but every now and again i pull up beside a car at some lights and it turns out to be some ejit in a suped up starlet/civic/whatever sometime ever an NSR125 and i ain't been beatin yet, funniest one of all was about 3 weeks ago, pulled up beside a mini cooper that was suped up and a tool of a boy roacer inside started revin it up and edging his way forward (no doubt trying to impress his gf), so i waited and was gonna leave him go but at the last min i said feck it why not, as the lights when green all you could hear was the wheels on the mini spinning like crazy (outside the local cop shop). needless to say i gave it a bit of welly too and he was able to keep up with me until i was in 3rd gear, at that point i smoked his ass

not the safest thing to be doing i know but if i thought there was any danger ahead in any shape or form i would not have been doing it, those boy racers are so funny
but back to the scooter issue, like oldyellar pointed out, about the fools who have the helmets sitting on the top of there heads so they can have a smoke or drink a can of coke or something stupid like that, it's cruel i know but i look forward to the day that one of them comes off like that and hurts himself, that way maybe all his buddies might cop the hell on, they obviously don't care too much for their own safety :rolleyes:

rymus

I had some stupid bitch in a bog standard Nissan Micra yesterday trying to race me off lights. It really was pathetic... I dunno how she expects a 1L Micra to be able to move faster than a 1.3L Star. Bloody woman just about blew her engine trying to keep up with me off the lights.

Jaysus Eye, you're making me miss my 650cc drag star