50ccs

Coolest moped ever?

2011-12-15T14:19:00.000-08:00

According to at least one source, when DKW introduced the 1965 Hummel 155, the European cycling press immediately named it the "Tin Banana."I don't think it looks like a banana; I think it looks incredibly cool.

While DKW made bikes as big as 348cc, as well as the world's first Wankel powered motorcycle (the 1975 W2000), they began as a maker of small cycles- indeed, the name DKW is an acronym for "Das Kleine Wunder"- the little wonder. The 49cc Hummel was produced in various versions between 1956 and 1959, most of them not nearly as cool as this one.

Way less than 50cc

2011-10-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

Chuck's Street Legal Dream 50

2011-09-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

Just got this from Chuck Actor, the second correspondent who's made his Dream 50 a street legal machine. Chuck tells me he brought the bike back from Japan in 2007, and has added the following custom bits:

From Takegawa:
- 89cc kit
- Super head (ported, big valves and cams)
- VM26 carb
- 2-1 pipe
- Hyper CDI
- high flow oil pump
- oil cooler
- 160km/hr speedo

Bridgestone BT39SS tires
HRC fork preload adjusters
Bitubo shocks
Different gearing

That's one nice looking bike.

1970s Garelli Moped

2011-06-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

I spotted this 1970s Garelli on the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a few weeks ago. Nicely maintained, too. Could be a student bike. Nice to see all that polished chrome- obviously who ever owns this 'ped puts a lot of effort into maintaining it.

Garelli started in 1919 with a record-breaking 350cc bike, and later went on to dominate small displacement motorcycle racing in the mid-80s. They still make a number of 50cc scooters and mopeds as well as some 125cc bikes. Their 1970s mopeds are solid, reliable machines, right up there with Puchs. Like the Puch engine, the Garelli has a chromed bore, which means they can't be rebored; but if you're careful not to damage the cylinder bore during piston or ring changes it'll last a very long time.

Detroit Thunderdrome!

2011-04-29T11:10:00.000-07:00

I wish I'd found out about this earlier, but better late than never. This Saturday- tomorrow- is the first event of the Thunderdrome series, which the organizers describe as:

"a racing series for mopeds, pit bikes, scooters, minibikes, geared road bikes, fixed gear bikes, mountain bikes and go-karts."

The race is being held at the Dorais Velodrome, a decaying concrete bicycle track on the East Side of Detroit that was once Detroit's premier bicycle racing venue. Today, it's not a place you'd want to take a track bike with 20mm wide 120psi tires, but I suppose the decay just adds to the urban charm of the event:

The second race of the season will be June 12th at the Gilmore Car Museum near Kalamazoo, MI, and the third and final race will be September 12, back at the Dorais Velodrome.

You can find out more about the Thunderdrome series at http://thunderdrome.com/.

Bolt-On Moped Power

2011-04-28T17:56:00.000-07:00

My friend (and motorcycle/moped sensei) Barry dropped by the other day with this inexpensive cruiser on which he'd mounted a bolt-on 49cc engine kit. I took it for a ride, and frankly I was surprised at the performance. The engine is a simple 2-stroke affair that delivers power to the rear wheel via a sprocket that clamps on to the left side of the wheel. There's a sharp looking fuel tank, a twist throttle, and a left hand clutch lever, just like the big bikes.

Performance is surprisingly zippy. You start the engine in traditional moped style by pulling in the clutch and pedaling up to speed. Braking on this particular bike is done via the coaster brake, but I'd add a front caliper brake if it were my bike.

Barry tells me the supplier of these engines also has a kit that uses a freewheeling front crank and a jackshaft to route power through the crank. This allows the engine to take advantage of the bike's derailleur or hub transmission, meaning you can have a 50cc moped with a 16 speed (or more) transmission. I'm not saying this will make a bicycle into a TT competitor, but it would be interesting to see exactly how fast such a bike could be made to go. And you know, I think Barry has some cans of Nitrotoluene-spiked 2-stroke racing oil in his garage...

I don't have a suitable bike to bolt one of these kits on at the moment, but I think I'm going to keep my eyes open for a large cruiser frame- and maybe a 5 or 7 speed rear hub, too.

1960 Sears Allstate Mo-Ped

2011-03-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

This gorgeous little bike is from the 1960 Sears catalog, and I think it may be the very first moped sold by Sears. Made by Puch, so it has an indestructible engine.

The price seems cheap, but it translates to about $1300 in 2011 dollars. Actually I suppose that is pretty cheap. Just try and find a quality moped- let alone an Austrian-made one- today for that little!

Compressed Air Powered Moped

2011-02-11T16:45:00.000-08:00

I was searching the web for some Puch information when I came across this intriguing photo at one of those sites that exists solely as a place to put ads. There wasn't any useful info there, but there was this fascinating photo. It's a classic (70s?) Puch frame, with stock wheels, seat and handlebars, but that's where the similarity ends.

First of all there are those huge tanks hanging off either side. Since that much gasoline would let a 50cc Puch go coast to coast without refueling, I'm guessing that hold either LPG, or more likely, compressed air. Zooming in, I can see what look like air pressure regulators of the sort found on low pressure compressors on the tank, as well as what look like quick-connect fittings. In place of the usual engine is what could be a pair of industrial air motors linked together.

UPDATE:

I found a link with the rest of the details:

http://green.autoblog.com/2008/04/16/moped-gets-in-on-the-air-powered-fun/

It was created for a U.K. National Geographic special by Jem Stansfield, and can go 7 miles at 18mph. If you had a compressor at home, and one at work, I suppose this could almost be practical.

Vespa LX-50 sale

2011-02-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

Vespa is currently running a sale on all models, including a $400 off deal on the LX-50. At $3,299 the LX-50 is one of the most expensive mopeds on the market, so this should come as good news to Vespa fanciers who've been saving up toward an LX-50. I've never driven an LX-50 myself (I've driven some larger Vespas) but I've never met an LX-50 owner who was displeased with their 'ped.

There are other high quality mopeds available from Honda, Yamaha, Piaggio (Vespa's parent) and Kymco but what distinguishes the Vespas is their styling. They're gorgeous, and they define what a scooter should look like. My Yamaha C3 was a super reliable 'ped, but face it, it looks like it should be delivering Good Humor ice cream. Even my Vespa-wannabe Yamaha Vino doesn't quite manage to pull off that beautiful Italian styling. There's only one Vespa.

Drag Moped?

2011-01-28T06:05:00.000-08:00

What, exactly, is going on here? Long trailing arm suspension, oversize rear slick... if this were a 1200cc bike I'd say it was a drag racer, but I don't think there's a 50cc 2-stroke engine in existence that develops enough torque to make a moped do a wheely under acceleration. Maybe it's just another odd example of creative Japanese moto engineering.

Hero Puch Moped at 1977 Mopeds

2011-01-28T05:59:00.000-08:00

If you're still looking for a classic Puch moped in excellent condition, 1977 Mopeds has a few Hero Puch Mopeds at $1550. These are actually made by Hero, of India, and not by Puch of Austria, but they're made on Puch tooling, and are pretty close to the originals, right down to the chromed cylinder bore. 1977 Mopeds has plenty of spares and aftermarket parts, making this 'ped a good choice for daily riding or customizing into that killer moped of your dreams. Given what a mint 1970s Puch sells for these days, the asking price for a brand new one is pretty reasonable.

Les Triplettes de Bonneville, pt. II

2010-11-29T04:31:00.000-08:00

The Triplettes are still chasing 50cc land speed records with their highly modified 50cc moped, having set four records back in 2008 when we first visited them. Their latest project also uses a small engine, but this time it's a streamliner propelled by a compressed air reciprocating engine:

You can read all about this car and their other projects at http://www.lestriplettesdebonneville.com/.

Black Cyber Weekend Sale at 1977 Mopeds

2010-11-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

My go-to store for classic moped parts is having a 17% off on everything sale through Monday (11/29/2010).

Dual Engines?

2010-11-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

Found this on a forum called retrorides. What caught my eye was the fake Harley-style "motor" ahead of the real power plant, which looks like a 25cc weed wacker sort of motor. My friend Barry, whose projects can be seen from time to time at this blog, converted a very similar bike to electric power for a customer not too long ago. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos before the owner picked it up, but he said it was a very successful conversion.

Wheelman 50cc Skateboard

2010-08-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

At 50cc, it does seem to be a bit overpowered for a skateboard, but there it is. It has a hand controller (with the obligatory "dead man's switch"), spokeless wheels, and a stated maximum speed of 25mph- though I suspect there's a lot more capacity there with creative carburation and gearing. If this doesn't scare the bejeesus out of you, you can buy one here for just under $500.

The Tomos Sprint

2010-07-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

I was in a local bicycle shop the other day and was surprised to see a couple of Tomos mopeds on the showroom floor. Not only are they still importing mopeds into this country, they're still making a quality moped of the sort that flooded the US in the 1970s- right down to the 2-stroke 50cc engine. Thanks to a new A55 engine design and a tiny catalytic converter in the exhaust, Tomos engines still meet emissions requirements in every state except California.

The most basic Tomnos model, and the one that most resembles the Puch (and other) mopeds of the 1970s is the Sprint, seen above. And just like on those 1970s mopeds, the Sprint owner has to mix oil and gas in the proper ratio when fueling up- no fancy oil injection here. But for around $1050, it's hard to fault these machines. The quality is much better than the typical cheap Chinese moped of the sort that are now flooding the market, and it costs half or a third what a good Japanese, Italian, or Taiwanese moped would run. And like those great Italian mopeds of the past, there are a lot of aftermarket tweaks and mods available to turn this 28mph commuter into a 40+mph screamer.

The Honda Solo 50, part two

2010-07-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

Three years ago we featured the Honda Solo 50 in this forum. I was reminded of this by reader Davin Cleary, who sent the photo below, and then I found the photo above at Wikimedia, so I thought it was as good a time as any to revisit this bike.

Derbi GPR 50

2010-07-02T13:08:00.000-07:00

Derbi is back, their web site tells us, with a large selection of bikes, including 15 different 50cc bikes! The most striking one is the GPR 50, which is intended for the European moped market. It looks fast, but the guys at Team Calamari say it's a "slug." No surprise there, as it's intentionally speed limited for its intended market. But they also say it's pretty easy to turn it into the rocket it wants to be. Just removing the exhaust restrictor restores a lot of power. The next stage involves replacing the 14mm Mikuni carb with a 24mm flat slide unit. Adjust jets, put in a temperature gauge, and you've got, in the words of Team Calamari, "the best watercooled 50cc race bike on the market today."

What's a Motoped?

2010-07-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

Something new and unusual from Unreal Cycles: The Motoped is a custom fabricated frame designed to use the running gear from a Honda CRF 50 (or a Chinese clone), together with mountain bike wheels and fork, to create a full sized ultra-lightweight dirt bike. You can buy just the frame, frame and engine, or a complete bike. The frame and swing arm assembly is under $1500. Complete bikes range from $3250 to $3995, depending on parts. (Thanks to Davin Cleary for finding this.)

1990 Honda Caren

2010-05-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a very rare bird- the 1990 Honda Caren, only one of which was ever reportedly imported into the US. This particular example was found at the Microcar Museum. 50cc (of course!), a CVT transmisison, and a top speed of 35mph.

I'm particularly impressed by the sharp interior. This one even has an AM/FM/Cassette radio- state of the art for 1990. More photos and details (and microcars) at the website.

70s Honda SS50

2010-05-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

This image can be found at Dutch correspondent Marcel's web site, MotorParade. This is the 70s era SS50, not the 1960s era Benly SS50, which had a 5 speed gearbox and could hit almost 60mph at 11,000 rpm. The 70s era bike was sold as a moped in most countries, and generally had a rev limiter to keep speeds under 30mph or so. It was succeeded by the MB50, which had road racer styling, solid tri-spoked wheels and a 5-speed gearbox.

Marcel has a lot of images of motorcycle-related collectables, like bike ads, books, and brochures (see below) on his site, as well as a blog that features things like like his personal SS50 that you see at the top of this posting.

1979 Foxi GT Moped

2010-04-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

I'd never heard of the Foxi brand until I came across this photo, but it turns out they're fairly common- maybe my European readers are more familiar with them than I am. This unit- which may be customized- is certainly one of the sexiest looking 'peds I've ever seen.

At any rate, they're common enough that there's a Facebook group devoted to Foxis with a lot of great photos and useful links.

The MBK Crazy, Part 2

2010-04-06T18:17:00.000-07:00

Regular readers may recall this bike, the MBK Crazy, from a previous post. I just received an email from Sébastien Connac, who is not only a fan of these rare mopeds, he actually has a web site devoted to them at www.crazybike.org, entitled Crazy Bike Addicts, with tons of information on these bikes. You can find photos, videos, a full history of the Crazy Bike, copies of the original brochures, and more. Well worth a visit.

Custom Built Moped

2010-03-19T17:27:00.000-07:00

Found at at The Kneeslider. There, they say it's not a moped, as it doesn't have pedals... but you be the judge. Kneeslider thinks it's built on a BMX frame, with a liquid cooled Polini engine and CVT transmission. A reader from France says no, that's a Motobécane 51v model wheels and fork on a cut down Peugot 103 frame. Whatever it is, it's pretty sharp.

Guerrero Magic Econo G50

2010-02-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

Here's something you don't see every day, from Leo in Argentina: A Guerrero Magic Econo G50. Leo tells me that this bike is made by Jialing of China, and assembled in Argentina, by Guerrero Magic. It's very similar to a Honda Cub, with a Honda-derived 50cc 4-stroke engine and 4-speed transmission with centrifugal clutch. Leo notes that styling-wise, it's very similar to the Honda C90, but with the light and the speedometer of the Kawasaki Magic 110cc. You can read more about this bike and other Guerro Magico motorcycles and mopeds at the company's web site.

Thanks very much for the photos and the the information, Leo, and happy riding!

1983 Yamaha RX50

2010-02-22T16:32:00.000-08:00

This was the very first motorcycle I featured in this blog, and I'm featuring it again because I came across one for sale locally (actually in Warren, Michigan), again in Craigslist. The seller is asking $700, which is pretty reasonable as this is perhaps the most rugged, reliable and easy to start motorcycle engine I've ever come across. Mine once sat for six months in a garage and still started on the first kick!

1960s Peugot BB3

2010-02-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

I found this gorgeous 1964 (or 1964) Peugot moped at the Detroit Craigslist- it's actually in Ann Arbor. This is what a classic motorcycle should look like, at least according to my particular preferences.

Although this would still be considered a moped in most of Europe, technically it's not a moped by Michigan law (it has a 3-speed transmission) but the seller notes that probably wouldn't stop the next owner from licensing it as a moped ;-)

The 60mph Puch Moped Project

2010-02-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

I just found this great project blog at http://50cc60mph.blogspot.com/. Builder Harold Smith started with a stock Puch Magnum and a plan to build a totally custom bike with the following specs:

MKII Magnum Frame
EBR Magnum length forks
Black and chrome 300mm shocks
Magnum LTD headlight fairing
Completely custom seat with PVC seatpan
1981 Supermaxi motor with roller crank
50cc reedvalve athena kit with 4 petal intake
19mm phbg dellorto carb
HPI 2003 race ignition
Jolly Moto hand made race exhaust

Check out his blog for further project developments.

The Honda Hobbit

2010-01-31T16:48:00.000-08:00

Certainly one of the most embarrassing moped ad campaigns ever, but underneath the tacky name was a solid bike, Honda's answer to the great moped surge of the late 1970s. The engine was one of Honda's very few 2-stroke units, and required 32:1 premix- rare for Honda but very common in the moped world. Two versions were available: An unregulated 30mph model, sold in Europe and parts of the US, and a 20mph speed regulated model sold in most of the US. Parts are a bit hard to find for these 'peds, especially engine and carb parts, as this was a pretty unique buike in Honda's range.

UPDATE: Fred David writes to tell me that the Hobbit was known as the Camino in Europe. He says that while stock performance wasn't very impressive, a number of Italian tuning parts could be used to squeeze more out of the engine.

Monoshock Moped!

2010-01-21T11:08:00.000-08:00

Could this be the world's first monoshock moped? Judging from the costume, I'd say it was back in the late 70s/early 80s. "Paging Disco Stu... we found your hat." Pretty cool, nonetheless. The saddle looks like it may have come off a Puch, but the frame appears entirely custom fabricated.

Credited to Steve Gavin and found at this web site.

Honda Ruckus- L.A. Style

2010-01-08T17:05:00.000-08:00

Check out this this sharp looking custom stretch Ruckus at Super Street Online. They have photos of other custom Ruckuses, and customized parts and assemblies, too. Quoting from the site:

With two wheels, a spirited 49cc engine (pushing a paltry 180 lbs. of total weight), an infinite number of possible customizations and a low sticker price that could fit within most student credit card limits, the Ruckus is to choppers what the Civic was to hot rods.

I came very close to buying a Ruckus myself, until I discovered that the handlebars hit my knees! If you've run up against the same problem, I've found that several suppliers offer a handlebar riser.

1978 Puch Board Track Racer

2009-12-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

Things have been slow here at 50ccs.com, what with the winter weather sweeping across the Midwest. But people are still buying and selling and building cool vehicles, like this amazing Puch custom job I found at 1977Mopeds. According to the site,

The taillight is off of a 39' Ford, the gas-tank used to be soda fountian tank, and the kill switch is from an old Volkswagen. Oh, and the tank is held on with a belt!

How cool is that? If you're thinking, hey, perfect bike for me, sorry, as it's sold. $3100 bought some lucky collector a very nice example of the custom art.

The Best Moped Movie Trailer- Ever!

2009-11-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

Dominic Campillo, creator of the fantastic custom Honda P50 moped seen in the last posting, has just created this hilarious movie mashup to show off the bike. I bet you'll enjoy it as much as I did:

A Custom Honda P50 Chopper

2009-10-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a long email arrived from Dominic Campillo, along with a number of photographs. I'll let Dominic speak for himself:

I owned my first Honda P50 in 1973. I was fascinated by the originality of this moped and by the complexity of its engine: when the rear tyre was punctured you had to take the engine out! I was a Japanese motorcycle enthusiast in the 60’s/70’s (Honda PS50, Honda 125 MK5, Honda CB450). When I start working, I left that passion… I earned money, I became adult.

In 2000, I made a trip in the USA . In a little town of Arizona , I saw in a road a riding CL350 Honda Scrambler as new… I remembered “Vanishing Point”, “Easy Rider” and all my youth with girls, bikes and Rock&Roll… and the passion came back.

A French importer (Alliance Motocycle) sold me a CL350 Honda, as new!!! Then I bought a CL450 as new, too. Then, came Ebay: I sold a 500 Kawasaki H1 (everyone has to have at least one H1 once in his life). Today I still have and use all theses bikes (and more).

My son Martin was growing. I decided to make him a perfect genuine P50 for his 14 years Christmas. So I bought 2 old P50 and 1 old engine more.

Then, with him, I chopped the other one, selling all the useless parts, and buying parts for Schwinn bicycles, BMX, etc... and in 2009 appeared ... "The Wild Child"

We conserved only the frame, the wheels and the engine.

The idea was to find parts, perfectly adaptable to them and the one to the others. The aim was to reach a perfect aesthetic harmony and equilibre and to give to it an Old School Chopper Look.

During one year I looked at Ebay to find all these parts:

Schwinn Stingray Handlebars
Chopper Bicycle 20'' vinyl seat
Chopper Bicycle Fork
Genuine grips, Hodaka Ace levers, Rupp throttle assy
Maltese Cross Taillight and Mirror
36 inches high sissy bar for muscle bicycles
Triumph Cub type muffler ... a real megaphone with removable silencer
Amal type choke & decomp. levers.
Mini chopper headlight with genuine P50 switch
Honda CL 160 Badges
BMX Footpegs
Bullet dust cap
TNT air filter

Then:

I restored completely the engine
I made weld an aluminium tube with Fuel Tank Filler Neck Bung and Vented Cap
I made polish the aluminium crankcase and tank
I made made a Muffler adapter and stem adapters
I painted the rims and hubs in black (because they were in bad condition!)
I made a Taillight sissy bar bracket/plate to hide the sissy bar back
I made all the cables

Then we painted and varnished the frame and sissy bar plate with sprays (It’s not totally perfect… but it looks like). And we assembled all that stuff.

You can find more photos of Dominic's superb custom P50 on Flickr.

Solex Tripoteur

2009-10-08T17:44:00.001-07:00

Just in from Fred David, our regular correspondent in France: a three wheeled Solex! I haven't found any evidence that Solex actually turned out any three-wheelers, so I'm assuming that this is a home made job. Making a Solex three wheeler is relatively easy, as you don't need to come up with a new power transmission system. Both rear wheels can freewheel- although it's a good idea to have rear brakes.

Doing a quick Google search, I also found a few more three-wheel Solex conversion projects here and here.

Rare Bird: The Puch Tri-Rad

2009-09-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

(photo from visforvoltage.com)

The Puch Tri-Rad is probably the rarest of all Puch Mopeds, at least here in the US. It wasn't a stock Puch model, but rather a custom conversion made by the Specialty Moped Company in California, and sold as a small, cheap shopping, delivery or vending (i.e., ice cream) vehicle. The roof was a standard option, as was a rear basket and an insulated ice cream box. One source claimed that the Tri-Rad had a differential, but looking at photos it's pretty clear that it had one driven wheel and one left to freewheel. (You can't use a solid rear axle, as the 'ped would tend to hop and skid in turns as the wheels followed arcs of different length.)

This photo was found on eBay- sorry, it's been sold.

Jawa Moped

2009-09-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

This Jawa moped showed up at my pal Barry's garage the other day with the request that Barry "get it running." Can do, although it is tempting to do a full restoration on a moped in such overall good condition.

Like many mopeds of the era, the Jawa uses a dual chain drive system- one for the pedals and one for the engine, making it a true moped that can be pedaled independently of the engine. You can start it on the center stand, or by pedaling to speed, or you can to push start it as well.

JAWA mopeds were not actually made by JAWA, but by Povazske Strojarne (PS) who sold them as Babettas. Through a marketing arrangement they were sold as JAWAs ouside of Czechoslovakia.

The 1993 division of Czechoslovakia into Slovakia and the Czech Republic put PS, its moped-making division, and Molotov, the distributor, into separate countries, and the complications from this put an end to Babetta (and thus JAWA) moped manufacture.

You can read more about JAWA moped history at www.jawamoped.com.

Labor Day Sale at 1977 Mopeds

2009-09-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

A quick note: 1977 Mopeds is having a 15% off Labor Day sale. A good time to get those spare parts and performance parts you've been thinking about. The Peugot 104 seen above (at least, until the image link expires) is $510, as is.

Moogeot?

2009-08-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

The folks at 1977 Mopeds have a container full of interesting used mopeds from Europe that they're selling for $400-600 each, including the Peugot "Moogeot" seen above. Condition varies, and there's no warranty, but where else can you get a deal like this? And of course they have all the parts needed to keep you classic Euro Moped running. If I didn't have way too many two-wheeled vehicles I'd be driving over there right now.

A Brief History of Motobecane Mopeds, Part 3

2009-08-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Our final photos from Frederic David, showing some later racing developments from Motobecane, starting with a 51CF, Group 2 racer with air cooled engine:

A Group 3 racer, with liquid-cooled engine:

Engine detail:

Not a race bike, but an MBK/Yamaha moped, trading on some of the Motobecane racing cachet:

And last, a Bedelot, a racing bike designed by former Motobecane Engineering Director J. Bidelot.

Thanks again to Fred for the photos and the information.

A Brief History of Motobecane Mopeds: Part 2

2009-08-16T13:52:00.001-07:00

Continuing our Motobecane history (photos and info courtesy of Fred David):

We're now up to 1978, and with the end of the post-war shortages and rebuilding, adults have moved on to cars (and motorcycles), and Motobecane begins concentrating on the youth market. The above has a pressed-steel fram not all that different from earlier 'peds, but the motorcycle style compression fork is back, and the engine has been improved, with a new intake port geometry. This new engine will be the basis of many race engines that follow.

The 70s also saw the beginning of serious factory involvement in racing. Below, a full race bike that share the same chassis with the 51V, above, but with some major changes: Racing seat and tail fairing, clip-on style handlebars, cast alloy wheels, and of course no pedals.

Next: More race developments.

Apollo Moon Moped?

2009-08-14T08:20:00.000-07:00

Back in those heady days of the Apollo program, all sorts of vehicles were being considered for travel on the lunar surface. They eventually decided on the 4-wheel car we've all seen, but one of the contenders was this 2-wheel battery powered scooter seen here undergoing micro-gravity testing aboard the modified KC-135 Stratotanker, better known as the "Vomit Comet".

(Yes, technically this is not a sub-50cc engine, but it's in the same power class, and I already did at least one steam engine. And now, back to gasoline, and the sweet smell of burning castor oil.)

A Brief History of Motobecane Mopeds: Part 1

2009-08-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

Regular French correspondent Frederic (Fred) David has sent me a number of photos of early "Mobylette" mopeds along with his notes and commentary, and asked me to share them with you. With pleasure, Fred!

Above, the very first model- essentially a modified bicycle frame, with the engine and transmission tucked under a curved down tube, and the fuel tank behind the seatpost. Interestingly, it uses a compression motorcycle-type fork, with a hub brake- overkill, perhaps, for a low-power moped.

Below, the AV40, which first appeared in the mid 50s. The tube frame has been replaced by an easier to build pressed steel frame, still the most common design used in mopeds. The motorcycle type front fork and hub brake are gone, replaced by a simpler unsprung fork and caliper brake.

The powerplant has been upgraded to a higher power, schnurle ported engine, and the transmission now has an automatic, centrifugal clutch. Some models also had a variator (CVT) transmission, like most of today's scooters.

Next: The dawn of the racing moped.

Customing your Moped

2009-08-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

Cargo space on a moped or small motorcycle is always an issue- but the people at Marushin have a range of options designed for food delivery. Suitable for noodle shops, sushi, and general restaurant delivery, with appropriate options. (Thanks to Scooter Scoop for the pointer)

Supercharged Honda 50

2009-08-11T10:53:00.001-07:00

From Elsberg Tuning, in Denmark: A supercharged Honda 50 racer.The site has a lot of detail on Anders Elsberg's projects, both two and four wheel, as well as information on various 50cc racing motorcycles and a 50cc land speed record vehicle. This particular engine produced 1.2HP in stock form. Elsberg managed to rework it into a supercharged engine producing 8-10HP, with plenty of midrange torque.

Homemade Polini Powered Moped

2009-08-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

A friend just alerted me to this bike at the Kneesliders web site. According to some of the comments on the site, it has a Motobécane 51v model wheels and fork, frame from a Peugot 103, and various Polini competition parts. You can read more about it and see more photos at the link above.

That's a Harley? The Harley Davidson M50

2009-08-06T15:31:00.001-07:00

Back in the 1960s, the people at AMF who owned Harley Davidson was starting to notice that those tiny bikes from Japan were starting to make inroads into the American motorcycle scene. They weren't stealing sales from Harley- yet- but they sure were selling a lot of bikes, and it might not be a bad idea for HD to get some of those sales. Problem was that tooling up for what was a speculative venture would cost a lot of money. Harley made big, OHV, 4-stroke engines, and the new craze was for small, lightweight bikes- mostly 2-stroke. So instead of designing new bikes from scratch, Harley contracted with Aermecchi of Italy to supply a series of motorcycles emblazoned with the Harley-Davidson badge. Above is one of the first- the 1966 M50, a 50cc 2-stroke bike.

Later there would be the Sport version- the M50S, seen above (from http://bikerswag.com), as well as bikes in the 125cc, 200cc, and 250cc class. All reports say that these were exceptional bikes, but Harley didn't quite know how to market them. They did sell a fair number, up until (I believe) 1972.

Aermecchia no longer makes motorcycles today (they make jet engines) but there are still a lot of devoted Aermacchia fans, and web sites devoted to these bikes. Not surprising, as these are without exception gorgeous bikes, and very well constructed. Spare parts are available, and there's even a firm in the Netherlands that can supply parts, new frames, and even complete replicas of Aermacchis.

Everybody Has To Start Somewhere

2009-08-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

Rene Rumkorf is a motorcycle enthusiast and electronics specialist living in the Netherlands who maintains a web page detailing his various motorcycles, those of his friends, and rides they've taken. He made it into this blog because he was brave enough to post a photo of the his first project ever- the customized Flandria moped seen above. A bit crude- no suspension, and wheels that look like they came off a baby buggy- but it did launch him on a lifetime of fun with larger bikes.

Flandria built mopeds from 1958 until 1981, when all production ceased. I'm not sure how many made it to the US, but judging from European web sites, there are still quite a few on the roads the other side of the Atlantic.

Puch Magnum Limited

2009-07-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Two in a row from the nice people at 1977 Mopeds. This may look like a run of the mill Puch Magnum, but it's actually the Puch Magnum Limited, one of only 500 made, and maybe the only one left in this condition. TheMK-II Limited featured a two speed transmission, oil injection (!), special mag-style wheels, a hydraulic suspension, a motorcycle type dashboard, key switch ignition, turn signals, an optional tachometer, and low clip-on style handlebars. It was available only in a metallic cream color

Ordinarily a Puch of this era in mint condition would sell for around $1400-1800, with highly customized bikes getting the higher prices. 1977 Moped is asking a breathtaking $7800 for this bike. There may yet be a number of these floating around whose owners think they have just another Puch Magnum, or that have been customized far enough to be unrecognizable as Limited Edition models. Me, I'm going to take a closer look at every Puch Magnum I see from now on.

Custom MBK at 1977 Mopeds

2009-07-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist including this photo from the people at 1977 Mopeds. It's not a current stock model, going by the MBK website, and there aren't any details on the 1977 Mopeds web site, but I suspect it could be an "X-Power" with some of the body work removed and a custom paint job. I think I'll wait for the definitive word from my expert MBK/Motobecane correspondent in France.

Garelli Moped Grand Prix Racer?

2009-07-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

Motocross Action editor and 70s racer Jody Weisel, riding his Garelli moped in a 50cc Grand Prix Race, until the promoters made him quit fooling around. More pictures and stories here.

JAWA Gimo 50cc racer

2009-07-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

Another rare bird. My understanding is that this bike was built by the GDR's Dieter Girschik, and the 50cc engine was based on a 90cc JAWA engine that was short stroked.

Les Triplettes de Bonneville!

2009-07-06T10:12:00.001-07:00

Another exciting contribution from our French correspondent, Frederic David, who not long ago sent an update on the more recent history of Mobliette. His most recent communications had to do with a team of two-wheel mechanics with a sense of humor who go by the name of Les Triplettes de Bonneville. Fans of animation will no doubt recognize the play on that great movie, Les Triplettes de Belleville, released in North America as The Triplettes of Bellville.

These "triplettes" are a team of clever mechanics who are preparing a highly modified 49cc Mobliette to run at Bonneville during Speed Week. (They're also preparing a car- a Relient- but that is outside of the purview of this blog.) I'm not sure what class, exactly, this runs in, or why they added a sidecar- possibly to find a category that hasn't been too overrun with competition yet.

It's an exciting project, and if your French is better than mine you'll find a lot of exciting detail about past and present work on this project at the blog linked to above. (Even if you don't speak any French at all, there are plenty of good photos.)

UPDATE:

I've just received this communique' from the Team:

I confirm we've bought home 4 World class records back in 2008,
SC-VG, SC-VF, A-VF and A-VG. SC stands for sidecar, A for Special Construction,
VG for Vintage (pre-1956) Gas, and VF for Vintage Fuel (unlimited gas).
"Saline Contender" was built out of 2 assembled AV32 1955 frames,
along with an Oct 55 AV7 engine. We've transported the whole sidecar dismantled in our luggage, then we re-assembled it on the Salt (3 hours job) to successfully pass the Tech inspection.

Racing at Bonneville was a real pleasure for us, and we are now back with 3 racers. We've been the first French team to se ta record at Bonneville since 1956, when the Renault team set 4 (!!...) records with l'Etoile Filante.

We've had a photo session at the Renault Heritage dept, with both our Reliant and the famous Renault turbine car, at the wheel of which we've put the famous French illustrator Denis Sire www.denissire.com.
See the pics at http://www.lestriplettesdebonneville.com/Pages/Album/Album.aspx

Saline Contender, our Moped, will now compete in APS-VG. PS stands for Parial Streamlining, since we will rave in the 2008 solo version, but with the front fairing. This should allow us to set a 5th World record !!

Then we will race Saline Warrior, our 750 GSX-R powered Reliant, a purpose built Competition Coupe, that has been lowered, lengthened and chopped, with an additional complete tubular frame.

The 3rd racer is Saline Pepper. This 1936 100cc Monet-Goyon was lent to us by a member of the Monet-Goyon French club, in order to bring it to him with a trophy !!...

Follow our 2009 project on www.lestriplettesdebonneville.com

I'll be watching very closely.

Locomotief HiFi

2009-07-01T07:41:00.001-07:00

"Locomotive" seems like an odd name for a moped, doesn't it? So does "HiFi". But Locomotief was originally a bicycle maker, and back in the early days of bicycling, locomotives were a popular symbol of power and speed- like "rocket" was in the 1950s- and "HiFi" was a word that suggested modern, cutting edge technology back in the 1950s.

Dutch manufacturer Locomotief produced a successful line of mopeds, like this model seen at The Moped Archive. After a series of mergers, the remnants of Locomotief ended up as part of Dutch bicycle and motorcycle maker Batavus, who continue on to this day.

And since I mentioned Batavus... here's a 1978 Batavus Regency, from Wesley's Moped Collection at www.moped2.org:

Lusuardi 50cc

2009-07-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'd never heard of Lusuardi before, but I recently discovered this great web site on 50cc road racing motorcycles, with photos and information on dozens of bikes. Claudio Lusuardi was a champion 50cc road racer who won the Italian Championship in 1974 and 1975, and then temporarily retired from racing to develop racing bikes. As he worked alone, without sponsorship from a major company, his aluminum chassis bikes carried the name Lusuardi. Later, after a brief return to racing, he worked with Team Italia and Cagiva, and eventually retired from all racing activity and opened a Ducati dealership.

Dougie Nassif's Street Legal 2004 Honda Dream 50R

2009-06-23T15:52:00.001-07:00

Just received these photos from Dougie Nassif of his street legal Honda 50R conversion. When I wrote this bike up, I said that it wasn't street legal, and as a race bike it was a bit outdated, so I guessed most people bought them for display and collecting. I hadn't counted on the creativity of people like Dougie.

Dougie's added the biggest headlight I've ever seen on a 50c bike, as well as all the other required lighting- turn signals, and (I assume) brake lights. If this were a car, getting it licensed for the street would be a bit more difficult. But for a bike, at least in Michigan, all you need is an inspection. I'm guessing that's the case for Dougie's locality as well.

At any rate, great bike, great conversion, and thanks for sharing it.

Malaguti mopeds!

2009-06-16T18:59:00.001-07:00

Malaguti may not be as well known as some makes in the US, but they did sell a fair number in the great moped boom of the 70s. The company is much better known in Europe, as it goes back to the 1930s, and its scooters and motorcycles are still produced and sold throughout Europe, and beyond. Seen above is a 1960 model Malaguti moped posted at Mopedarmy. Interestingly, back in the 1960s Malaguti exported most ofi its scooters to Vietnam (!) where they were marketed as the Saigon 50.

The Superquattro, seen above, appeared on the market in 1974. Mechanically it wasn't too different from the earlier Malaguti mopeds,- you still needed to premix oil and gas, and there was no battery- but the styling was definitely up to date. This image is from an article that appeared in Motorcycle Mechanics magazine, one of my favorite periodicals.

Vintage Moped Land Speed Records?

2009-06-10T14:27:00.000-07:00

We've seen a few land speed record 50cc bikes here, but this is the first time we've featured a stock 50cc moped that's been run at Bonneville. An author posting under the name "DelSolid" at MopedArmy.com two years ago reported that running under the classification of 50cc, 1955 and older, stock appearing, including pedals, his team set a record under the Vintage Production, Vintage engine category, as follows:

Bike 5291B Run #1 36.823 MPH
Bike 5291B Run #2 30.144 MPH (problem)
Average of both flying miles is 33.483 MPH.

I get dizzy just imaging those speeds- at least, on a 54 year old moped! ;-) The author of the post notes that the fastest 50cc production vintage motorcycle ever to be timed on the salt flats (4,400 ft altitude) is a 1955 Express Radexi moped, which clocked in at 41MPH.

The bike was also run in various modified categories. By removing the seat and padding the step-through are for a lower driver position and less drag, the team was able to squeeze out a few more MPH.

A Solution for Crowded Roads

2009-06-10T14:13:00.000-07:00

Today's ride is actually a 150cc scooter, so it shouldn't be here at all, but I didn't do anything special on April 1st, so think of this as a belated April Fool's Day posting.

But the scooter shown here is real- a Vespa 150 modified by the French armed forces to carry a US-made M20 mm recoilless rifle, making this the only tank-killing scooter ever made. They were intended to be deployed in pairs, with one carrying the gun and the other, several rounds of ammunition. The two riders would work together as a team, one loading and spotting, and the other firing.

Between 600 and 800 were air-dropped with French airborne forces to Algeria, where they proved less useful than the inventors thought. The guns were stripped from the scooters and used in more conventional service, and the scooters themselves proved useful for messenger duties.

1964 Tohatsu 50cc Racing Twin

2009-05-31T17:34:00.001-07:00

50cc race bikes aren't all that uncommon- but 50cc twins are. Tohatsu's was the first 50cc twin in road racing, as far as I can tell.

Here's a good photo that shows the tiny twin cylinders and carbs with remote float. This engine, according to H. Marc Lewis' web site, produced over 11HP at 13,000RPM:

Bridgestone followed Tohatsu's lead in 1965 with their liquid-cooled EJR-01. Tohatsu went bankrupt in February of 1964, and the entire Tohatsu racing development team moved to Bridgestone, where this bike reportedly became the basis for the 1966 liquid-cooled Bridgestone EJR-2. Honda followed in 1966 with the twin cylinder RC-116, producing 16HP at 21,500RPM, and a redline of 22,500RPM!

Then the tide seemed to turn against 50cc twins, and what 50cc road racing bikes remain today are singles. The only twin cylinder 50cc engines I know of today are designed for giant-scale model airplanes. But you never know; maybe someone will decide to put one in a motorcycle.

Racing Cub

2009-05-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

From the pages of the July 1996 Motorcyclist (Japan), by way of Eurospares. A real Honda Cub-based racer, with dry clutch, and water cooling- check out that radiator:

Honda CT50 Motra

2009-05-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

The Motra was a 3-speed, 50cc bike designed as a rugged off-road vehicle that was only made in 1981 and 1982, mainly for the domestic Japanese market. If the design looks familiar, that's probably because Honda resurrected the design of the Motra in 2004 to produce the PS250, better known in North America as the Big Ruckus. Alas, the Big Ruckus only lasted two years before disappearing from the market. Maybe Honda will someday produce another bike with this look; we can only hope.

I received the photo above from a correspondent in Switzerland who signs himself "Lopetz" and has a website devoted to interesting motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, minibikes and even bicycles, but most of all the Honda Zoomer/Ruckus- it's called ZoomerBoys. Well worth a visit.

(Does anyone else think the name "Motra" reminds them of "Mothra"?)

The BSA Ariel 3

2009-05-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Perhaps not the oddest moped I've ever come across- but then, how many other three-wheeled mopeds can you name? I found this one at a Norwegian motorcycle fan site. The Ariel name is curious; the 'ped bears little resemblance to the original Ariel, other than that both are odd machines dreamed up by a company management that was often said to be completely out of touch with the motorcycle riders of Great Britain!

There's an excellent history of the bike at this web site, from which I quote:

With a conventional (rigid) tricycle, steering, as for a sidecar outfit, is by turning the handlebars either left or right. However, the Ariel-3 is meant to be ridden by leaning on bends, as for a conventional moped and for this type of riding, turning the bars as well is an unnatural act. Yet, because the Ariel-3 is a tricycle, albeit with the rear part hinged, leaning over on its own is not enough to initiate cornering by itself and it has to be steered as well, and this is done by steering the rear wheels to push the vehicle into a turn. The two torsion rods are adjusted up so that as the front leans further over, the rear wheels steer a tighter turn and provided that the adjustment is correct this all happens smoothly and gives the same results as would be expected with a normal bike. However, with the rods out of adjustment what happens is that when the rider first starts to lean nothing seems to happen and they continue straight on. Panic then sets in and the rider leans further, at which point the slack in the rods gets taken up and the Ariel-3, seemingly with a mind of its own, shoots into the bend far sharper than the rider intended.

Perhaps this is why the bike was not a resounding success. Then again, the typical European moped buye of that era was a 14 or 15 year old male who can't wait to own his first motorcycle, and the Ariel 3 didn't exactly conjure up images of racing Triumphs and BSAs. It remains an oddity in the history of mopeds, but like all oddities, that's a big part of its charm.

Phillips Panda

2009-05-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

Another moped that never made it into the US- the Phillips Panda, seen here at http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~pattle/nacc/arc0411.htm. Follow that link for details on how the owner restored the bike, starting with this:

The Phillips was introduced in 1955, and was reportedly not a big seller. I don't believe any examples were produced in the 1960s or beyond. But it did have style.

Cimatti Moped

2009-05-07T12:21:00.001-07:00

Found on Craigslist in Philadelphia. A not too unusual example from the great 1970s moped boom. It does have a few different features- note the rear gas tank (seen on some Hondas) and stylish front fender.

Few Cimattis were imported here, and what came in were mostly mopeds. A pity, as they had some really handsome 50cc race bikes, like this DX:

And this 1962 Cimatti C50:

There's a fair amount of info out there on Cimattis, but most of it seems to be in Italian- at least most of what I've found. More photos at Sheldon's European Motorcycle Universe.

Monkeying around on small motorcycles

2009-05-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

I have nothing to add to this video- which pretty much speaks for itself:

Definitely smaller than 50cc.

Moto Guzzi Sport 60

2009-04-29T08:15:00.000-07:00

Once again we feature a motorcycle that exceeds the limits of this blog by 10cc- but looking at this photo, I'm sure you can understand why. This is an absolutely gorgeous little bike. I found it at Jim Downey's restoration page, but haven't been able to find much of any information about it.

Maserati 50cc Motorcycles

2009-04-22T17:29:00.001-07:00

I had no idea, until recently, that supercar maker Maserati also made motorcycles. The Maserati story actually begins back in the early 20th Century, prior to WWI, when Carlo Maserati began making engines to bolt onto motorcycles. But manufacture of motorcycles did not begin until 1953, when Maserati- then mainly a maker of spark plugs and other parts for cars- purchased Italmoto. More on the history of Maserati motorcycles can be found here.

The bike seen above is a restoration seen at the site of a restorer of Ducati motorcycles who has a page devoted to a variety of bikes than came his way, including the one seen above. The seat and tailpipe were fabricated by him, and so differ somewhat from the original, but it's still a gorgeous bike, isn't it?

Here's a later bike, from 1960, in even better original shape:

Designated the 50/TT/SS, it was reportedly better known by its nickname, the "Rospo" or Toad.

Two Puchs from Craigslist

2009-04-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

I spotted these two 50cc Allstate labeled Puch bikes on the Detroit Craigslist yesterday, both under $300. The recession is forcing a lot of people to unload motorcycles these days. Usually what I see are big and expensive bikes that someone can't may the payments on, but a lot of collectables of all sorts are popping up, too.

I'm pretty sure these are Sabres, from the mid to late 1960s. They may look a little rough, but it looks like all the parts are there- and Puch engines are very well made. There are tons of spare parts around, too.

Revopower

2009-04-07T09:00:00.001-07:00

The saga of Revopower begins in 1997, when Steve Katsaros began working on a new design for bicycle wheel with a motor built in. Wheels with built in motors were not a new idea; such designs go back to the early 20th Century. One of Honda's first products was a bicycle motor contained within the rear wheel of a bicycle. What was unique about Katsaro's idea was that he put the motor in the front wheel. This meant that any bike could be converted to a motorized vehicle and back again by simply swapping wheels.

By 2002 Katsaros had published his patent, and by 2003 he had a business partner and had formed RevoPower, Inc. Production was scheduled to begin in 2006, and numerous deposits were accepted for the inital product, a 26" wheel with a 25cc, 1HP gasoline engine. Other sizes were promised for the future, along with version powered by diesel, alcohol, and even a hybrid version. Then delivery was pushed back to 2007, then 2008, and early buyers started asking for their deposits back.

As of this writing, RevoPower, Inc. appears to be defunct. Their web site is gone, and their phones have reportedly been shut off. Perhaps the design may yet be launched again.

1960s Perugina 49cc

2009-04-07T08:02:00.001-07:00

This rusty example of a 1960s Perugina moped was found on eBay. I'd never heard of Perugina before, and there's not a lot of info out there on this marque. I couldn't find a single example at Mopedarmy.com, usually a great resource for photos of older moped. As far as I've been able to determine, they were around for a few years during the 1960s and possibly before; the earliest example I've found is a 1960 125cc bike.

Even through the rust you can see that these bikes had style.

Derringer Cycles

2009-03-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

How about a 49cc moped with the styling of a 1930s board track motorcycle? The Derringer is a new moped-class bike that may look like an ordinary bicycle with one of those cheap Chinese bolt-on engines, but this is a carefully thought out package with a real 49cc Honda-made 4-stroke engine designed for mini-generators:

There's a lot about the Derringer that's well thought out. A custom tank, special handlebars, a large rear centrifugal clutch, a leather saddle- this is certainly worth checking out. The only downside is the price- around $3500. Cheap for sculpture, but a lot for a 49cc moped. You can get a pretty decent motorcycle or scooter for that much.

If you'd still like to check these bikes out in person, you can visit Derringer Cycles at 7954 ½ W. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90048. The rest of us will have to be satisfied with checking them out on line.

Another Custom Puch from 1977 Mopeds

2009-03-12T18:26:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist posting another fantastic custom job from those clever folks at 1977 Mopeds. It's a complete scratch build, and features:

Powdercoated Frame
Rebuilt wheels
Recovered seat
Hutchinson GP1 Tires
Custom Cabling
Port Matched 64cc Polini Kit
Techno Boss Expansion Exhaust
Primo Tenderizer pedals
Bing 15mm Carburetor

You can see more photos here.

The asking price- $1979- might seem high, given that you can still find old Puchs in garage sales for a few hundred dollars (if you're lucky), but given the quality of Puchs, and what new mopeds of lesser quality are selling for these days- I think it's a bargain.

Another (pink) Honda we can't buy

2009-03-04T13:25:00.000-08:00

The Honda Today is a 50cc, made in China, scooter that's available in Australia (I found this photo at an Aussie site), most of Asia... but not here. It's relatively cheap, uses a Chinese-made clone of the classic Honda 50cc OHC engine, and has no speed regulator, which means that it'll do close to 50mph with a lightweight rider- or so say reviewers. Asking price in Australia is $1499 AUD, which translates to about $973 US. Sure, you can get a lot of Chinese-made scooters for under $1k, but how many come with Honda engineering and a real warranty?

Oh, and it's available in other colors besides pink, too.

Win a Pink Moped!

2009-03-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

Those crazy guys at 1977 Mopeds are raffling off a custom Puch Maxi in hot pink, and if you buy your ticket by the 5th of March (2009), you might be the proud owner. It comes with:

Rebuilt ZA50 engine
Parma 80 kit
Techno Boss Exhaust
21mm Dellarto PHBG
Powdercoated frame
Hutchinson GP1 tires

...and more. I think if I won this bike I'd put it on display in my living room.

UPDATE: I bought a ticket... but I didn't win :-(

A Site for Jawa Moped Fans

2009-03-01T19:39:00.001-08:00

Check out this 1978 "Transistor 40" from JawaMoped.com. The site has scores of photos, manuals, FAQs, a full history, and just about everything the Jawa moped owner might need. They report that a Chinese maker has resurrected the Jawa name, and is making both modern models and a replica of the old Jawa Pionyr 50.

Bob Munden's Modified Honda NS50F

2009-02-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

Turns out one of our readers is an Iron Butt rider with a modified 50cc motorcycle. Bob Munden took a stock Honda NS50F, modified the fairing for better aerodynamics, and repainted it for good measure. Nice work, and that red paint is a lot more attractive than the stock "Barbie Bike" look, as Bob calls it.

The NS50F was a street-legal version of Honda's NS50R race bike, which lacks the lights but has disc brake and alloy wheels. Otherwise I think the two bikes are identical. Both share the water-cooled 50cc reed-valve engine and six-speed gearbox.

Check out more photos of Bob's bike here.

Gilera 50cc Runner - a hybrid scooter?

2009-02-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

I chose to feature the Gilera 50cc Runner today because it illustrates a growing trend in scooters today- the hybrid bike that's not quite a motorcycle, and not quite a scooter, but something new, with features of both.

Scooters (these days, at least) have tiny wheels, automatic transmissions, and step-through, or step-in frames. Motorcycles have big wheels, manual transmissions and are ridden sitting astride, with feet on foot pegs. Scooters are for Mods, 60s retro types, and... well, girls. Motorcycles are for guys. Or so it used to be.

But today's younger riders (and some older ones) aren't necessarily locked into the old stereotypes. They like the convenience of automatic transmissions, but they like the style of motorcycles. Hence the growing number of these fusion bikes, with automatic transmissions, foot pegs, medium sized wheels, and styling that's not quite scooter... but not quite motorcycle. It has a lot of traditional scooter styling, but a lot of crotch rocket style as well. No doubt we'll see a lot more bikes like this.

More on Gilera bikes and scooters here.

Coast to Coast on 50cc?

2009-02-23T10:22:00.001-08:00

If you're looking for a real 50cc challenge, how about this one, sponsored by the Iron Butt Association: Ride Coast to Coast in under 50 hours. And to make it more interesting (and to fit into the theme of this blog) do it on on a 50cc motorcycle, scooter or moped! Now that could be a great adventure.

The real 50cc challenge isn't for 50cc displacement bikes- the "50cc" stands for "50 hours coast to coast"- but this is a blog about 50cc displacement, so I couldn't help but speculate. Is it even possible?

I wonder how many 50cc bikes could survive 50 hours of continuous riding? My first choice would be an old Honda Cub. The new Ruckus might make it. Perhaps a 50cc Vespa? And I'll bet my old 50cc Yamaha RX50 could have done it, too; that's one indestructible bike.

It's not just enough for the bike to last- you need enough speed to get there in time, too. The shortest route would be around 3,000 miles, which means an average speed of 60mph! How many 50cc bikes can do that? A very light rider on an up-geared RX50 could pull it off. The other question is how to do it legally- 50cc bikes aren't allowed on freeways. You'd need to find a lot of fast two ane highways.

Last, riding 50 hours straight is a recipe for serious fatigue and a very high likelihood of an accident. I'd want a 4-6 hour sleep break in there, which means we need to average 65-68mph. Maybe a custom bike with a fairing and a CVT or a six-speed gearbox. Or a 50cc TT race bike with a 10 speed gearbox and a fairing.

The IBA has a lot of other challenges, ranging from 1000 miles to 100,000 miles, on bikes of all sizes. How about Key West to Deadhorse, Alaska, in 30 days or less? Check 'em out.

A 50cc Ratbike

2009-02-11T08:54:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite web sites is The Rat Bike Zone, a site that celebrates "rat bikes"- motorcycles that value function over form. There, you'll find a bizarre collection of everything from well maintained motorcycles that have been given the once-over with a can of black Krylon to bikes that can only be described as a loose collection of random parts flying in close formation.

You'd expect that such a site must feature a 50cc bike or two, and you'd be right. This sterling example is a Honda SS50 with a bicycle saddle in place of the original seat, numerous dents, missing bodywork, and of course the obligatory once-over with the can of black spray paint. Gotta wonder where that non-standard headlight came from as well. I'd have a rat bike of my own, except the bikes I buy are always in too good condition to treat that way. But I'm still looking.

Custom Mobylette

2009-02-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

The Motobecane Mobylette was a fine moped. Not quite as good as the Puch- it lacked the Puch's chromed cylinder- but a solid, reliable bike nonetheless. You don't see as many in the US as you do in Europe, as it was never imported in great numbers during the Moped boom of the 1970s.

But in France they love their Mobylettes, as you can see in this custom example from a French moped site. At first, I thought this had a lot of custom body work, but a correspondent from France and some more research tell me that MBK- the follow-on to Motobecane- produced some very interesting looking mopeds! This is a custom bike in some ways though. The motor features a 15mm Dellorto carb and an aftermarket tuned pipe. The engine is also a production item, though it's a far cry from the typical air cooled moped engine you may be familiar with. See that thing under the tank? It's a radiator. This is a liquid-cooled engine.

Reader Frederic David, writing from France, wrote me a very informative email that I'll quote here:

The manufacturer is MBK, the new name of Motobecane after Yamaha has bought it in early 80's.

Compared to the Motobecane you may have face in the US in the 70's / 80's, it can be considered as a evolution.

Commercial names have evoluted from 50V (the basis for former export to US), then 51V and finally Magnum or Rock racing.

Technically speaking the frame is really similar to 50V. The engine has had 2 major evolutions.

The AV7 engine (the export to the US by the past) 2 strokes, chrome coating cylinder, 13 mm carburator,inlet by piston skirt, 2 inlet ports, air cooled ==> approx 2 HP.

The AV10 engine (Europe market when the 51V appears to replace 50V approx. 1978)2 strokes, chrome coating cylinder, 13 mm carburator,inlet by valves to the crankcase, 3 inlet ports, air cooled ==> approx 2.5 HP.

The MBK512 engine (mid 80's)2 strokes, chrome coating cylinder, 14 mm carburator,inlet by valves to the crankcase, 4 inlet ports, liquid cooled ==> approx 3.2 HP.It is the one of your picture. As you've noticed it is fit with an aftermarket exhaust (french regulation limits mopeds to 45km/h, and the manufacturer choice to limit was the exhaust) expected max speed will be now around 80 km/h.

Thanks very much, Fred.

The Russian IZH 2.673 Coronet

2009-01-21T19:09:00.000-08:00

The Izhevsk Mechanical Works produces a wide range of mechanical devices, including lathes, cannons, missiles, and the famous Kalashnikov assault rifle. They also make cars and motorcycles, and the object of this post, the Izh Cornet 50cc motorcycle.

It doesn't appear to be a particularly sophisticated motorcycle- the Izh web site states that the bike uses a 25:1 premix. That means there's no oil injection, and that the moped/motorcycle is designed for very low quality oil; most 2-stroke motors these days run on anything from 32:1 to 50:1. Claimed power is 3.7HP, with a top speed of 50mph. Weight is listed as "98"- I assume that's kilograms, which puts it on the heavy side for a 50cc bike.

Styling is unusual- sort of a chopper front end and an enduro back end. The solid brake disk is unusual looking. Everything just screams Soviet-era styling.

It's not likely to ever be imported into the US, given the simple 2-stroke design, which would never meet modern emissions standards. I don't know if any are actually sold outside of Russia, which might not be surprising given the reputation of Russian motorcycles. Still, might be a fun collectible- you'd certainly be the only one in your crowd with one.

The Lohman Diesel Moped Engine

2009-01-11T18:29:00.001-08:00

Not only was there a real diesel moped engine- the 18cc Lohman, sold in the 1950s- but this blog has done a great job of documenting it and collecting photos. Nice work, there.

1971 Zundapp C50 Super

2009-01-07T18:27:00.000-08:00

This cool looking 50cc motorcycle/moped was found at a collector's website. You can find a lot of 50cc Zundapp Supers and Supersports at the Moped Army site, too.

I love the looks of this bike- the styling is similar to the Japanese bikes of the era, but it has a European flair not seen in those bikes. Zundapp made a wide range of bikes (and the 250cc Zundap Janus microcar) between 1917 and 1980, when the last tooling was sold to Enfield of India. If you're interested, you can read a lot about them at this Zundapp fan site and at the Wikipedia entry for Zundapp.

Moped to Alaska?

2008-12-30T11:11:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun web site about a poorly conceived and very entertaining adventure undertaken on a Tomas moped.

The Electric Option

2008-12-30T10:59:00.000-08:00

This is- no kidding- a commercial bolt-on electric conversion kit that can turn any bicycle into a bizarre front wheel drive electric bicycle powered by DeWalt cordless tool batteries. More details from the people at Neodynamics.

The web page suggests that this is more of a prototype looking for investors. As it is, it doesn't look terribly practical. It's heavy (40 lbs), uses four expensive cordless tool batteries, an expensive bicycle shock absorber, and a very kludgy suspension design. It would be easier and much cheaper to design a motor into a bicycle from the beginning.

Yamaha RD60

2008-12-21T15:53:00.000-08:00

The Yamaha RD-60 is actually a 55cc bike, and as such it's still 5cc over the limit for this blog, but it such a cool little bike I couldn't help but include it here. Despite the tiny engine and limited power it has the style of the bigger RD series Yamahas, and is reportedly capable of 53 mph. Like all tiny bikes, the trick is to keep the revs high and use the 5-speed gearbox. Under 5000rpm the engine produces very little power, but it starts coming on above that point and builds to a peak near the 10K rev limit.

With a fuel tank capacity of 2.1 gallons this little screamer should have a range of close to 200 miles, but most of the well-maintained RD60s left aren't being ridden regularly, if at all. Spares are reportedly scarce, and so this is a bike for serious collectors, not riders.

Microdiesel Mopeds?

2008-12-17T07:56:00.000-08:00

There's a thread that's been running in various moped-oriented blogs about the practicality of a biodiesel powered moped. All that's really needed is a suitable engine; you could take any existing moped or bicycle platform and pop an engine on it.

There have been tiny diesels for a long time, thanks to model airplane builders, but most are very fussy things that require a short-lived fuel mix and have a relatively short life. Now there's a Dutch-funded initiative to produce a practical small diesel for farmers in China that might just have applications for small mopeds.

The Practica Foundation's Microdiesel produces 0.6 HP from an 18cc engine. Now that's pretty small, even by moped standards, but it's enough to power a bicycle at 12mph, and if your aim is to save the planet, rather than to set a land speed record, that might be enough. Anyway, the design could probably easily be scaled up to 50cc and perhaps as much as 2HP- enough for 20-30mph, depending on rider weight. At a cost of $60 (FOB China) you could afford to put two or three on a moped if you liked.

Scooter Inflation

2008-12-04T10:47:00.001-08:00

This ad from 1965 should make a lot of you nostalgic- not just for that classic bike, the original Honda 50, but also for that price- $215. I'm sure a lot of you are saying "I'll take two." But what does that $215 in 1965 dollars work out to in 2008 dollars?

Surprisingly, less that you think. That same amount of money, adjusted for inflation, works out to only $1400 today- or about $700 less than a Yamaha C3, or Honda Ruckus or Metropolitan. You'd have thought that 43 years of improvements in plant automation and manufacturing design would have made the cost lower today. Certainly labor costs should be relatively lower; today's scooters are made mostly not in Japan, but in countries like Taiwan with lower labor costs, and there is indeed a lot more automation.

You can't blame the same kind of federal regulations that have raised the cost of automobiles- mopeds don't have seat belts, air bags, catalytic converters and crash-absorbing bumpers. I think what's at the heart of the increased cost in light of all the factors that should have lowered the cost is the higher standard of living not only in Japan since 1965, but over the entire Pacific Rim. Given how our collective standard of living has improved in the last 43 years, it seems only fair.

Another Honda We'll Never See- the Americubra

2008-12-02T12:26:00.000-08:00

Now this is a very original, and really striking 50cc moped- or is it a scooter? Hard to say. It has the wishbone frame of a classic scooter, and was based on the Honda Little Cub- itself a development of the classic Super Cub. The Americubra was a styling exercise built for the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show that applied classic American styling to the classic Honda platform.

The flared fenders bring back memories of 1960s Honda motorcycles, as does the trailing link front suspension- no telescoping forks here. The saddlebags scream Harley Davidson to me.

But I don't think it would appeal strongly to North Americans. Harley riders want real Harleys, and scooter riders prefer the Italo-Euro look. This is yet another example of the Japanese fascination with American culture and style, interpreted through their own particular sensibilities.

The Million Dollar Moped?

2008-11-20T10:27:00.000-08:00

There's a fine line between sculpture and just building custom motorcycles- or is there? Chicara Art has built some very unusual (and award winning) bikes of various sizes, including the 50cc beauty. See the web site for more examples of two-wheeled sculpture.

Custom Tomos Frame

2008-11-09T19:01:00.001-08:00

Check this out: It's a neat custom frame designed to work with standard Tomos moped parts. Much cooler than any of the stock Tomos bikes, too. It's reportedly available through 1977 Mopeds and Warbux Mopeds, among others. And- it's hand made in the US, in Seattle!

UPDATE: The Mototromeo frame is now available for both Tomnos and Puch motors and parts.

Benelli 50cc Magnum

2008-10-22T10:23:00.001-07:00

Here's another moped I'd never seen before- a 1976 Benelli Magnum 50cc, from 1976. (Borrowed from minidoodle.com). Benelli made a lot of mopeds and motorcycles that never made it into this country. Actually, I don't think most of the really interesting European mopeds ever made it into this country. There was a brief period in the late 70s when the price of gas had people scrambling for high-mileage vehicles (rather like now) but when prices stabilized and the economy picked up again in the mid-80s, people put the mopeds in the garage and importing all but shut down.

Right now we're seeing a lot of mopeds on the market again, but this time, instead of really neat Italian bikes, we're seeing a lot of scooter-styled mopeds from mysterious Chinese factories, and little or no after-sale support for many of them. Caveat emptor.

Another TS-50

2008-10-12T15:47:00.001-07:00

I haven't seen any Suzuki TS-50s on eBay in a while, but there seem to be more than a few on Craigslist here and there. This project bike caught me eye because the seller said that he "...bought it last summer and was planning to race it in the 50cc class at Bonneville Salt Flats, but never finished it..."

He's installed a larger tank, clip-on bars, and it looks like a cafe type seat was planned. Exhaust is stock. Wonder if there's any engine work?

These bikes pull surprisingly hard. I imagine if you geared one up and put a light rider on it you might get 65-70 or more. With engine mods, who knows?

39ccs of Record Breaker

2008-10-01T17:16:00.001-07:00

I've been looking for a photo of this bike- a custom Victoria Record V38- ever since seeing it a book I have of vintage motorcycles. It's based on what was really a moped, possibly a version of this one:

I'm not quite sure if the bike in the ad is actually the 39cc V38 or the 60cc V48, but I think they're pretty much identical other than the displacement. The record bike replaces the fenders and other bits of trim with a one-off beaten aluminum streamlined body.

I think the bike was build to set a land speed record for small displacement mopeds and motorcycles, but I'm still looking for definitive information.

UPDATE:

I got a great eMail from Melvyn Lewis, who shared this information:

"The Victoria engine was made in Germany in the early 1950s; the bike and engine in the advert was made in Germany in the late 1930's, and the engine is a Fichtel & Sachs 60cc Saxonette. Both types of engines could be fittes to a normal pedalcycle.

"The land speed record took place on the 12th of April 1951 the rider was George Dotterweich. The engine was modified using battery coil ignition and a 14mm Bing carb. I believe a speed was recored in excess of 70 kmh. The engine is a 38cc rotary valve two stroke with a 2 speed gear box.

"The 'Vicky' has a brother called 'The Fuchs' (The Fox). This was made in Austria also in the early 1950's. It was a 40cc rotary valve two stroke with a 2 speed gear box.

"I'm a 62 years young Englishman living in Holland for the last 32 years. I collect and ride bicycle engines that were made between 1900 to 1970; engine sizes range from 18cc to 60cc.

"I hope this info is ok."

It's more than okay- it's great. Thanks a million for your help.

Norwegian Moped Drag Racing?

2008-09-22T19:33:00.001-07:00

Yes, it sounds like a joke, but there really is a Norwegian Moped Drag Racing Association, with rules, races, and more. Here are the rules, for the curious:

Det skal brukes moped motor/blokk (Fri fuel/trim/ccm utover det, det er ikke begrensning på 50ccm)
(Blokken må være fra en moped som har vært, eller har vært mulig å registrere for gatebruk i Norge.)
Kjøre tøyet skal ha 2 hjul
(Dispensasjon kan gis ved eventuelt handikap eller lignende)
Nødvendig sikkerhets utstyr er påkrevd
(All kjøring skjer på eget ansvar, og ikke i beruset tilstand)
Mopeden kan meldes på med en fører og ett startnummer pr. race
(Det skal ikke være flere sjåfører pr. moped pr. race)

Another TS50... or is it?

2008-09-03T09:51:00.001-07:00

No sooner does Barry find his TS50 than another one shows up on Craigslist, this one for $525. But the details don't seem right.

The color is a bit of a puzzler. The styling puts it at before 1979, when the look was modernized to more of a contemporary look, and the upswept pipe says it's a 74 or earlier, but after that identification gets more difficult. The style of the stripe on the tank and other details suggest it's a 71, but all the brochures show only yellow bikes that year.

And there's a bigger problem: The pipe is on the wrong side, and is routed over the engine rather than under. Engine is pretty small, but it looks a little bigger than the TS90 engine photos I've found. I'm wondering if this may actually be a TS70. Still a fine bike, but 20cc over the limit for this blog.

Suzuki TS50

2008-08-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

Back when my friend Barry was a young teen, the bike he dreamed about was the Suzuki TS-50: A really sharp looking little bike boasting a 5hp rotary valve engine and an upswept exhaust finished in matte black that gave it the look of a real racing motorcycle. With a light rider these could hit 55-60mph.

It took him around 30 years, but he finally snagged one last weekend. It's in really great shape, too, with relatively low miles. I took it for spin up and down the block and I was surprised how hard that tiny engine pulls.

It's not surprising that so many riders are attached to the motorcycles and mopeds they started out with. In England, the Yamaha FS-1- or "Fizzie", as it's colloquially known there- has an almost cult-like following. I suspect Suzuki TS-50 fans are just as devoted to their bikes. My youthful dream bike is my 1974 Honda CB125S- but this is a 50cc blog, so I guess I'll have to write about that one somewhere else.

(More on the TS-50 may be found here.)

Yes, it really is only 50cc

2008-07-16T06:45:00.001-07:00

Check out the cars in the above photo from Mitsuoka Corporation. Unlike the tiny "go kart with a body" cars featured here in the past, this is a real, practical, city car, with a real suspension, designed for navigating the urban congestion of Japanese cities.

Weight is a minimal 180kg (397 pounds), and top speed is a modest 50km/hr (31mph), but how much speed do you need to navigate downtown Tokyo? (Assuming you're not being chased by a giant radioactive monster.) With a length just over 8' and a width of only 4'3", it's smaller than even a Smart Car. Claimed millage is 30km/liter, or 70.5mpg; the only car I know of that equals that in city driving is the Honda Insight, a hand-crafted technology tester that cost (and weighed) quite a bit more.

Personally, I'll stick to my scooter for city driving, and for inclement weather I'd prefer something with a roof and windows. But for the masses of people looking for cheap transportation who'd rather not ride a two-wheeled vehicle, this could be a great alternative. (And I'd rather have Grandma tearing up the streets in a 500lb micro car than a three ton Lincoln Continental.)

An even earlier British minicar

2008-06-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

Turns out that 50cc car built on the Isle of Wight was just another in a series of great British motorcars.