How Far can you Travel on a 50cc Moped...??

pod

Are 50cc mopeds/scooters only suitable for very short journeys, such as a mile or two, or can they comfortably be used for longer journeys?

How many miles can they comfortably be used for?

If you were doing a round trip of 20 miles, would you really need a larger engined moped/motorbike?

seamus

My brother (and his girlfriend) did a trip from Dublin to Cork on a 50cc Vespa a few years back. It wasn't the most pleasant experience, but it proves that you can travel long distances on these machines.
The length of the trip doesn't matter all that much. If you're doing a ten mile trip to work, 8 of which are in built-up areas/traffic, then it makes little difference. Most of your time is spent waiting at lights anyway. If however a big chunk of that journey is on dual carraigeways or long open road, then I would recommend something with a little more poke that can keep up with the rest of the traffic - both for safety and boredom reasons.

pod

Thanks Seamus

- it'd just be country driving, so no major roads.

And very little traffic - if any...

Fighting Irish

When i had mine i would travel at least 5 miles a day just spinning around town and that, you could drive as far as you wanted. You could drive on big roads but it gets very boring

pod

Since mopeds don't have much storage space, apart from maybe a space under the seat for a helmet, is it possible to purchase some type of moped panniers for carrying groceries in?

Pigeon Reaper

you can get a top box for them. I haven't seen any around with panniers.

ifah

i had a 125cc scooter for a 10 mile commute each way to work and almost every day I wished for a bigger bike - my top speed was about 55mph (on a good day) but even so it was tough at times trying to keep up with traffic, not having enough juice to overtake, not to mention the instability of those small tyres etc.

i'd advise against a 50cc for the type of mileage you're talking about - go for a 125cc bike (insurance class 2) and you're laughing.

madrab

i travelled around crete & corfu on 50cc kitana's

Slaanesh

madrab wrote:

i travelled around crete & corfu on 50cc kitana's

Yeah but didn't we all ?

The weather over there is fantastic and you didn't mind the longer journeys because you were having so much fun exploring !

madrab

Slaanesh wrote:

Yeah but didn't we all ?

The weather over there is fantastic and you didn't mind the longer journeys because you were having so much fun exploring !

ahh the memories.....

Hagar

seamus wrote:

My brother (and his girlfriend) did a trip from Dublin to Cork on a 50cc Vespa a few years back. It wasn't the most pleasant experience...

That has made my day.

seamus

Hagar wrote:

That has made my day.

They also drove to Mayo on an FZR250. Racing-style bike, with a rear "seat" that's about 6cm x 10cm, grand for small journeys. Needless to say, she now has a car to make such journeys

pod

ifah wrote:

i had a 125cc scooter for a 10 mile commute each way to work and almost every day I wished for a bigger bike - my top speed was about 55mph (on a good day) but even so it was tough at times trying to keep up with traffic, not having enough juice to overtake, not to mention the instability of those small tyres etc.

i'd advise against a 50cc for the type of mileage you're talking about - go for a 125cc bike (insurance class 2) and you're laughing.

The bike would just be for country roads, so there'd be virtually no traffic to deal with.

Do all 50cc mopeds sound like 50cc mopeds...?

Sometimes I hear a moped going past and it can be quite high pitched because of the small engine.

Do any of the 50cc mopeds have a quieter engine noise, or do most/all 50cc mopeds have this problem of having a high pitched tinny engine noise?

Gurgle

pod wrote:

Are 50cc mopeds/scooters only suitable for very short journeys, such as a mile or two, or can they comfortably be used for longer journeys?

How many miles can they comfortably be used for?

If you were doing a round trip of 20 miles, would you really need a larger engined moped/motorbike?

Dublin-Dundalk and back never gave mine any problems.
Long time ago now, before the motorways.
Wouldn't do it every day though.

pod

Gurgle wrote:

Dublin-Dundalk and back never gave mine any problems.
Long time ago now, before the motorways.
Wouldn't do it every day though.

On a 50cc...? :eek:

Pigeon Reaper wrote:

you can get a top box for them. I haven't seen any around with panniers.

Can you get much in those top boxes? Or are they only big enough for storing a helmet in when you park the bike?

noby

Scooters (vespas etc.) have various front and back carriers available. Perhaps there's something available for your moped, or that can be modified to fit it.

Fighting Irish

ifah wrote:

i had a 125cc scooter for a 10 mile commute each way to work and almost every day I wished for a bigger bike - my top speed was about 55mph (on a good day) but even so it was tough at times trying to keep up with traffic, not having enough juice to overtake, not to mention the instability of those small tyres etc.

i'd advise against a 50cc for the type of mileage you're talking about - go for a 125cc bike (insurance class 2) and you're laughing.

My 50cc moped could do 50mph

Fighting Irish

pod wrote:

The bike would just be for country roads, so there'd be virtually no traffic to deal with.

Do all 50cc mopeds sound like 50cc mopeds...?

Sometimes I hear a moped going past and it can be quite high pitched because of the small engine.

Do any of the 50cc mopeds have a quieter engine noise, or do most/all 50cc mopeds have this problem of having a high pitched tinny engine noise?

peugeot and derbi bikes are not as loud as most other popular models

Tree

my old 50cc ovetto was derestricted and could do about 40mph, used to use it all the time for college and work and goin to town, did about 5-10 miles a day on it. as for storage, i had the space under seat-perfect for helment and stuff the waterproof trousers and gloves into helmet, a top box-fits a really large handbag and a refill pad, a hook behind the front of the bike so i could hang shopping bags between my knees and often had a school bag because i cant go out w/o the kitchen sink!


currently running off a double sized top box on my 125 motorbike, doesnt fit my xxl helmet so i have to carry that around, fits most of my stuff for college and work (refil pad, handbag, change of clothes)

pod

Thanks very much for the info Tree...!

Tree

you can pick up a top box in most shops, my dad got the massive double sized one at some bike fair. shop around. most have standard enough clips

pod

Tree wrote:

you can pick up a top box in most shops, my dad got the massive double sized one at some bike fair. shop around. most have standard enough clips

Do the large top boxes fit onto a moped, a 50cc moped?

Or are they only for larger motorcycles?

Tree

pretty sure it clips on to the same size base plate. then you just attach the base plate ot your rear carrier and youre laughin

Gurgle

pod wrote:

On a 50cc...? :eek:

Thats nothing, try 240 miles from west cork to sligo on a100cc.

Sparky

i made a trip to trim from dublin, had to avoid motorways, and my max speed i reached was 48mph, the bike speedo lies aswell ya know, it said i was doing 85kmh
Btw i will never do it again. ill use the car.