Modern Vespa

Okay, hipsters or urbanites.....I have seen somewhat of a resurgence in the old 50-70 cc mopeds usually either Honda or Puch. Are these things still as embarrassing to ride as they used to be in the 1970s and 1980s? OR have they somehow gained a bit of respectability? The other thing I am seeing a few of is gasoline-powered bicycles........

I have noticed the same in my suburban town. It probably still depends on who you ask. I think they're different and cool, cuz I be like dat.

Iowa?

I've recently seen college students buzzing around on Honda mopeds. I would definetly ride one. Looks like fun.

Take a look at mopedarmy.com ...

yep, moped army.

Sadly, the shark has jumped. Prices on vintage mopeds are very high now because of the popularity they gained in the past 5 years or so. I'd say that whole community is going through what the vintage scoot community did 10-15 years ago with prices and availability.

I've restored a Puch and Honda and sold them because they are much more work and not nearly as much fun to ride as scooters. You may not agree with my synopsis... 8)

Throw a kit on it kid!

id go puch or vespa. generally i lean vespa. the problem is in philly they're 500+ and i can get an actual scooter for that so i dont bother.

Both of my mopeds had kits, which are the "fun" part. I've been a two-stroke guy for many years and am at home with high performance engines. Most people get lost very quickly with tuning to get kits working correctly. Kitted mopeds can be much quicker than stock 'peds. However, going from 2HP to 8-10HP is substantial and magnifies the shortcomings of the rest of the 'ped (drive system/final drive gearbox/brakes/"shocks" (no damping)/swingarm/forks/etc.).
Great fun for a while though!

We have a decent sized moped contingent here in Sacramento. I think they're cool (and I love that Hollywood Holt song) but I've always loved anything with two wheels.
I want one to go with my GTS but I also want a shifty Vespa so...

I had a PUCH back in the mid 70s and just a year ago I felt nostalgic and bought one again.

I dig 'em. Plus in Calif., not sure about other states and countries, I just had to license it one time for life. Plus no motorcycle enforcement needed for friends who come over and want to ride a motorbike.

Here's a photo of the day I brought it home:

Yes, Sacramento has a great group of moped folks.

I should get a moped for that reason alone. Not much in the way of organized all-vintages scooter groups here. I'd like one like Seattle's.

Nothing wrong with mopeds, other than my scooter is not a damn moped!

Check Mopedarmy and Scooter City for Sacramento riders.
I'm originally from Portland. I found Sacramento folks to be a little challenging. They're not all friendly in a Western USA way. Had to come to the Bay Area to find friendly... 8)

This is my moped a 2000 Kinetic ,which ia a Vespa ciao clone from
India. Everything works on it and it goes about 30 mph. I picked it up
for 175.00 dollars.I met our local sheriff the other day and he tried to
buy it from me,said it took him back to his younger days.

Why... that's a Puch!

[quote="The Mocker"]Throw a kit on it kid!

Never thought I'd see rappers glamorizing mopeds. Changing times.

I bought this beauty about a month ago. Runs like a top the ad said. I've probably got close to 20 hrs in and it's running. Not sure it ever ran like a top but it's pretty damn cool looking...right?

Very sharp. Looks a lot like a Motobecane AV88, lots of goodies for those bikes. Classic Moped Spares might be a good resource for you if anything is missing.

Three Ciaos, three Puch Maxis and a JC Penny Pinto here. Might have a problem?

I would love to own a moped like that.

Gorgeous Raleigh (?) but

MUST. FOCUS. ON. SAVING. MONEY. FOR. GTS. STUFF.

I had 3 ppl ask me on sunday how fast my moped went. then when I passed them at 55 they knew.

It's a Motobecane made for Raleigh, Supermatic or RM5 from what I understand. I'm new to these things so learning as I go. Just installed new suspension bands on the front and now the fender is tight on the back side, front is way up in the air. After 4 hours I gave up and will go back to it this weekend. Front light doesn't work although bulb seems fine, no real corrosion anywhere but I'm guessing a loose wire somewhere.
Thanks for the link. I can use all the help I can get with this thing.

I want a moped like MAD.

Unfortunately it has to wait.

My clandestine parking went away, so next on the purchase agenda is a Genuine Venture. Once titled I'll have it "serviced".

it has to be a scoot so it can do double duty-a moped legal commuter ride, and a big-wheeled 4stroke for my sister to borrow if/when she comes to visit me.

(also love "Throw a Kit")

Over here where the moped was invented it was a MOtor assisted PEDal cycle. Hence MO-PED. It needed a 49cc or less engine and usable pedals. Over the years it has come to mean whatever the user wants it to mean. Last ticket received from the police alleged my failure to yield at a red light in my "moped". It was a GTs300. This may add info to the thread but not help with your question, other than to the best of my knowledge Vespa have never sold a moped.

Actually they did! Only one model made specifically for the French market/legislation. These are UBER RARE and pricey collectors items

Kudos to you, and I stand corrected. Is that wonderful machine yours?

I WISH!!! I am not so wealthy and, as I said, not so easy to find. the people who owns them are normally not in the market for a sale.

I was watching one of these on eBay this winter. It was listed as a Vespa moped and doing a google search it comes up as a Vespa but maybe it's not since I don't see the Vespa logo on it anywhere.

But the Piaggio logo IS clearly visible.

This bike IS known as a Vespa Ciao. There is also a Vespa Grande.

(i'd sell a kidney for either.)

So it is indeed a Vespa? Figured as much but without seeing the Vespa logo I wasn't positive.
One just like this sold on eBay this winter for around $700-800 I think. It was in the NE region, CT I think.

This past winter I have been restoring a Solex. They are 49cc with a friction drive on the front 19" wheel. The hp is rated at .78 ( how can you measure that?). A friend has finished his motor and I like the way his pulls up small hills. There are some who really enjoy them and seem very dedicated.

Last weekend we were at the Antique Motorcycle swap meet in Waseon Ohio.
Mike took his and several people stopped him. Most have never seen one running since the early 70's. I think Solex fell out of favor as They were easily surpassed by others who were pushing 2 hp and of higher build specs.
Most Solex were ignored and sat to rot never to run again. Well he took a piece of junk and made it something to be proud of. I don't think he is in love with it but he sure enjoys it's relaxed demeanor. For what they are they are real cool.

I nabbed a '74 Solex 4600. Needs bunches of work but I'm looking forward to buzzing around at 30kph (18mph). I've seen them go faster, but pulling speed out of a Solex is no mean feat!

One of my Ciaos has some mild tuning and can hit 70kph (43mph), but it's somehow less fun to ride than one of the stock and civil 40kph (25mph) versions. It's loud, rowdy and sketchy as hell at top speed; I've blown several spokes in the rear rim when riding crumbly pavement at top speed and the thing's so buzzy that my hands feel buzzy for a bit after a ride. The one upside is when cars have to make a big deal of passing when I'm running at a sensible speed in town, I can crank open the loud 'n rowdy and pass 'em right back!

We had the Ciao, Bravo, Grande and Si here. Most were marked with the Vespa brand.

I know that the Ciao and Bravo used to display only the model name on the tank badge. In 1978, the tank badge was changed to say "Piaggio Vespa", but I think that may have only been a US thing. The Euro bikes had "Piaggio" on the tank padge, unles it was a special model like the TuttoRosso vesion of the Si.

to a Swedish site, which has a bit of everything, but also mopeds.
Texts mainly in Swedish, but there's a bit of English and Finnish thrown in - but plenty of interesting pictures once you start clicking and digging.

http://www.mo-ped.se

Yeah, mopeds are growing in my locker

VV cool. Tons of them over here on Oahu. Do you guys already have your mopeds plated and inspected? Stupid lawmakers IMHO.

My dad bought me a Mobylette from Montgomery Ward back in '62. It was the base model - $133. I had a hard time keeping up with the gang but that came in handy one time when the cops pulled us over and I was far enough behind to switch over and pedal by.