streetstrip80
New Member
Is this subject tabu on this site? I have not seen much. I recently aquired a 1978 Motobecane in a parts trade, and I like it a lot.
Production Mopeds
- Thread starter streetstrip80
- Start date
wheelbender6
Well-Known Member
In my opinion, if it can be pedaled, it belongs here. However, I am not part of the management of this site. Mopedarmy.com is all about mopeds, but most people find their members a bit strange.
Allen_Wrench
Resident Mad Scientist
wheelbender6
Well-Known Member
The pics on some of the Mopedarmy members' public pages were disturbing.
BarelyAWake
New Member
Mopeds are our close kin... tho it's mebbe tru we tend to cannibalize them a bit lol, so ofc we'd not be against the discussion of such.
However as they aren't actually motorized bicycles we ask only that you create any threads relating to just the discussion of mopeds be made in The Tavern.
With that in mind, I've moved the thread
Lance Portnoff
New Member
motorized bikes can be peadled with the engine off, scooters and mopeds cannot, that is the difference, this is a MOTORIZED BICYCLE forum not a ride with your knees together forum
silverbear
The Boy Who Never Grew Up
I think it is a gray area and some tolerance is good. I've become a real fan of moped suspension forks and drum brakes for vintage cruisers and at least one member has used a two speed Puch in a bike build. I have a Tomos 2 speed set aside for an inframe bike build some time or other when I have a welder and some money... probably around the twelth of Never.
Some mopeds more closely resemble a bicycle, like the Velo-Solex and others are more like a scooter as in the current flood of plastic Chinese mopeds... and others are borderline motorcycles as with Puch and Tomos and some of the Italian stallions... just like it is with our builds. Some use a little friction drive weed whacker and at the other end of the scale, 6.5, 8 and 10 hsp monstas. Some can be pedaled. My Greyhound is not pedal friendly and sometimes I feel like I'm riding a wide motor with wheels. I think there are things to learn from mopeds and they are great for scavenging parts, including some high performance engines of low CCs. I think they should be open for posts so long as it relates in some direct way to motorbicycling. Gonna be hard to remember they are supposed to be in the tavern section.
Moped Army likes to have a kind of bad boy image... like a junior tough guy with water based tattoos you can wash off and armed with squirt guns on each hip ("swarm and destroy"). Kind of funny. There are some very knowledgeable people there and it can be a good place to locate parts. It does not feel like the kind of community we have here, but I am admittedly biased toward members of my own "tribe".
SB
Some mopeds more closely resemble a bicycle, like the Velo-Solex and others are more like a scooter as in the current flood of plastic Chinese mopeds... and others are borderline motorcycles as with Puch and Tomos and some of the Italian stallions... just like it is with our builds. Some use a little friction drive weed whacker and at the other end of the scale, 6.5, 8 and 10 hsp monstas. Some can be pedaled. My Greyhound is not pedal friendly and sometimes I feel like I'm riding a wide motor with wheels. I think there are things to learn from mopeds and they are great for scavenging parts, including some high performance engines of low CCs. I think they should be open for posts so long as it relates in some direct way to motorbicycling. Gonna be hard to remember they are supposed to be in the tavern section.
Moped Army likes to have a kind of bad boy image... like a junior tough guy with water based tattoos you can wash off and armed with squirt guns on each hip ("swarm and destroy"). Kind of funny. There are some very knowledgeable people there and it can be a good place to locate parts. It does not feel like the kind of community we have here, but I am admittedly biased toward members of my own "tribe".
SB
Allen_Wrench
Resident Mad Scientist
I can't remember if I could have ridden my old Puch Magnum with the engine off. I'm trying to remember the set-up. I don't think I would have wanted to, though. I think the pedals were really only good for starting the thing. I tried riding it just under pedal-power once. MAN! Your legs are spinning like the cranks on an egg beater but you only crawl slowly forward. It felt like being a snail at the Tour de France.
motorbiker
New Member
This is my moped. 1978 AMF Roadmaster, made in the USA.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x218/biodiesel_2007/Picture034.jpg
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x218/biodiesel_2007/B7NOkQWkKGrHgoH-C4EjlLl0-E2BKey8G04.jpg
Easy to pedal if the motor runs out of gas. Factory friction drive replaced with a Staton kit.
They were sold at Harley dealers.
It's now undergoing an electric makeover !
Oh yeah, it's real easy to get a tag for these, they are on the moped list !
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silverbear
The Boy Who Never Grew Up
This is my moped. 1978 AMF Roadmaster, made in the USA.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x218/biodiesel_2007/Picture034.jpg
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x218/biodiesel_2007/B7NOkQWkKGrHgoH-C4EjlLl0-E2BKey8G04.jpg
Easy to pedal if the motor runs out of gas. Factory friction drive replaced with a Staton kit.
They were sold at Harley dealers.
It's now undergoing an electric makeover !
Oh yeah, it's real easy to get a tag for these, they are on the moped list !
Is it easy to get a tag? What if you don't have a title? I bought one of these last winter to rob for parts and did use the drum hubs. Mine was pretty rusty and the engine was missing much. I still have it and in the spring cut off the little extension below the main part of the frame where the pedal goes. My plan at the time, which may yet happen, is to weld in that spot the engine hanger for my Tomos 2 speed 50cc which is a pedal start and can also be pedaled to ride (not far I would think). I have the Tomos wheels which fit right on and have the rear sprocket gearing ready to go. It should scoot. I figured on a behind the seat V8 gas tank and use all the electrics from the Tomos. If I did that I would want to be able to title it so that it was legal even if I was in Canada. I think it could make an interesting bike that might be a lot of fun to ride. I know there are engine kits to up the engine to 80cc. Reed valve carb, 2 speed transmission, can set it up to pull a bike trailer. I think it has possibilities and would mostly be labor and not much expense... (other than upgrading the engine).
How was it with the Staton setup? These were strange little mopeds and I think the only one which was made in the USA. I believe the frames were made by what was once known as Cleveland Welding and later became AMF, standing for what I don't remember. It has a suspension front fork, came with very beefy wheels with thick spokes and big drum brakes... yet a wimpy McCullough chain saw motor friction drive... I read up on it at the Moped Army site (where it is ridiculed) and also watched a utube video of a guy riding his yelling out "how fast am I going?" An unenthusiastic voice answers, "12 mph". Ha! I understand that 15mph is what they were capable of. No wonder they stopped making them. Too bad, because with a different engine It could have been a kind of cool little bike. Cannonball2's Predator friction drive back there could push it right along I would think... At one time I had a HT motor sitting in the frame to consider that and it would have been a pretty easy conversion... have to use a different rag joint sprocket than what comes on kits, but it would fit. As an old guy, one thing which appeals to me about my converting it to an AMF/Tomos is that it would be easy to climb aboard and get off again. Thanks for sharing.
Show some pictures of what you're up to with the electric conversion.
SB
motorbiker
New Member
Florida did not have moped titles. I don't know anymore. It has a legal tag.
It is heavy tubing. The Staton kit is smooth.
I tack welded the bracket so it stays straight.
Very little wear on the moped tire.
They are not hard to find in Florida.
Harley people collect them and plenty of Harley people in Florida !
CrazyCatLady
New Member
I like mopeds. One thing I learned though, DO NOT tell a moped fanatic you're buying parts from that you're using them on a motor bicycle, especially before you buy the parts, you'll never hear from them again.