just turned 16, what bike shall i get?

[rhys1005]

Hi,
Ive new to the forums and ive joined due to me turning 16 and getting a moped very soon.

Of course it has to be 50cc (30 mph restricted) but i plan to de-restrict it so that i can keep up with the traffic and don't die!

I was looking at the aprilia rs 50, yamaha tzr 50 and derbi gpr 50.
My brother had a 125cc aprilia rs when he was 19 but got rid of it due to it always breaking which has put me off the aprilia rs 50.

Ive got £800-£1000 to spend on a bike (second hand) but i want something that looks 'sporty' and is fast as well as reliable.

I was going for the gilera dna 50 but i saw one the other day in person and it looks very small and i hate the look of it, looks like a scooter turned into a sports bike.
I also hate the fact its a automatic and not geared (plan to get a bigger bike when i'm older)

[Paxovasa]

If you want fast, then wait until you are 17
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Suzuki GSF600 K3 (in the fastest colour, black).

[pinkyfloyd]

[Paxovasa]

Don't waste your money on buying a 50cc bike/scooter and then trying to get it to go faster.

Just buy a cheap reliable one, then when 17 get a geared 125

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

^^^Yeah .. Look at this baby
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[rhys1005]

[pinkyfloyd]

[rhys1005]

[Paxovasa]

[rhys1005]

[Paxovasa]

[SirEdward]

https://thelipstickdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/mercedes-benz-folding-pushbike-2-600x450.jpg
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"Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.

Pardot Kynes in "Appendix I: The Ecology of Dune""

[rhys1005]

[Nai]

Not sure how good MCN are at reviews but they have MCN ratings and reader ratings.

https://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikereviews/searchresults/_/N-60+189

Have a look through the 0-125cc range, there's quite a few 50cc bikes / scooters with ratings in there. Might at least give you some aid in gauging what's good and what's rubbish.

[Teflon-Mike]

If a moped goes over 35mph, its NOT a moped, its a motorbike.
Doesn't matter what it says on the log-book, it does not conform to the requirements of registration to be a moped, so it isn't one.
Riding a de-restricted 50, on a moped licence or provisional moped entitlement is NO different to riding any OTHER motorcycle for which you dont have a licence.
Might as well go get an R1, or a fire-blade, and ride that.
JUST becouse you might have a set of legit looking paperwork for the thing, in no way makes it legal. Just cranks up the number of laws you are breaking riding the damn thing.
AND, unlike riding an unrestricted 125 on L's or a full power 600 on A2 33bhp restricted licence, where its pretty hard for the feds to PROVE you are riding a bike you dont have a licnce for, hence dont have valid insurance, hence have commited insurance fraud, obtaining cert by false declaration.....
Criteria which says a MOPED cant go faster than 35mph makes it a PRETTY damn easy one for them to 'nick' you for, and get a safe conviction......
PERSONALLY, I'd keep the thing stock and reliable, having 'done' the silly 50 thing in my youth and spent more of my time replacing main-seals and piston rings than riding the damn thing....
Riding a 250, on the road, without any right to do so is a tad more risky these days.... as well as just as foolish..... BUT actually less illegal than a muggered about with ped......
But, its YOUR call.....
And, end of the day, even a REALLY well tuned 50 will strugle to keep up with traffic on anything but a traffic calmed housing estate... may be able to go 45, but it'll not do that up hills, so anything more than a 30limit road, where every-ones chuntering along at 40, you are going to be holding up traffic, aren't you....
May as well do it legal.
Least that way when some muppet pulls out infront of you, you are insured, and can claim off them.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
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[TheManWithThe...]

no-one rides mopeds that only go as fast as 30 (except the shit Chinese ones that have a top speed of 30 de-restricted) i wouldn't bother getting a high performance moped like an aprilia, as it will most likely break down at the end of your street.
also, a geared 50 might sound a tiny bit beefy-er than an automatic, but your gonna be changing gear every 3 seconds on your way up to 30.
I'm on an MBK Nitro, 03 plate, 3rd hand (used for cbt's for a while, brought by my brother, now I've recently brought it off him) with about 4k miles, and the only thing that's ever gone wrong is a small leak on the water pump. its nice and nippy from standing (as most peds probably are:P) and its restriction makes it top out at about 45 on a flat road.
and DON'T BUY CHINESE.
____________________
MBK Nitro 50, Sold. Kawasaki ER-5, Honda ST1100
"Anyone can jump a motorcycle! The trouble begins when you try to land it..."

[tvr321]

No matter what anyone tells you there's nothing wrong with a geared 50. Just make sure you get something that hasn't been messed around with. Stock or stock derestricted is what you are looking for. The people who "tune" them are 16 year olds who think they know what they are doing but really they don't know shit.
My advice is to try to phone the seller first, just a simple conversation can give you an idea of the kind of person they are.

[Teflon-Mike]

Nothing to do with 'faith' in law. Point is, pratting about with peds these days is a mugs game.
They ARE out to get you, and they have got the legislation on thier side.
They need little proof & little excuse enough, and they can take your bike, have it crushed without question THEN chuck the book at you.
In my day, they'd come round the chippy and 'av a word', and about the only thing they could actually do, was give us a warning for riding on the pavement.... to which the answer, from a smart arse like ME was, perfectly legal to ride up to 18m off the marked highway for the purpses of parking.......
These days, get smart with them, you'll loose.
They see a kid on a ped, and they dont need MUCH excuse to pull you, simply becouse of the chances that the bikes nicked or not legit.
And they dont have to work hard, to clock up any number of misdemeanors, from a failure to display an L-Plate, through to the bike not complying with C&U regs or the requirements of your licence etc.
& Getting clocked at over 40 on a ped, is a sure way to give them the 'evidence' its not a ped, and you are entirely at thier mercy.
EVEN if they dont chuck the book at you, on a provisional, and two years from test, you are on a 6-point probation... rack up the points loose the licence, back to square one, re-doing tests.
Can you afford two points, and fine, JUST for an undersize L-Plate?
Entirely up to you IF you want to run the risks, but the bottom line is its a HELL of a lot of risk, for a fucking small reward!
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Willson]

I agree with Mike,

I think I saw a story somewhere on here about a lad that did that, and the coppers confiscated it and crushed it, even asking the lad to come and press the button on the crusher.

You might as well wait until you're 17, get an A2 license and get on a 33bhp bike: It's what I wished I'd done anyway, would have saved loads of money!
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[Gone]

[rhys1005]

[-LG-]

[Gone]

[Teflon-Mike]

Ah, the gap between perception & Reality!
YES, actually I DO remember how long a year felt when I was 16....
Also remember how, when I was 9, and told I couldn't have a motorbike until I was 16 seemed like, well.... forever!
Hence I discovered Scool-Boy Scrambles, and after realising that I'd be about 50 before I'd saved enough pocket-money and odd-job money to even think about buying a bike, discovered School-boy trials, which offered a CHANCE to get and ride a motorbike before I was 16.
After saving long and hard for five years, I got a Trials-bike!
I then looked at 50's, and thought 'What's the Point!'
But I got one anyway.... came by way of a bit of bartering bike bits & at the heady age of 15, I thought I had ALL SUMMER to fix it up before my 16th Birthday in November.......
Think it was about MAY the following year before it turned a wheel under its own power.... saving the pennies for new seals and bearings and stuff saw it sitting around in bits most of the year....
THEN when it DID turn a wheel in anger..... it had a habbit of blowing up!
Becouse it was rather desasterousely 'tuned' by the succession of previouse owners.......
After a couple of tentative probes into the engine, I bit the bullet, and stripped it down.
Bottom end was rebuilt, which took no small amount of time, again saving up between buying main bearings and the like..... and it almost stopped altogether when the cost of a new barel to replace the one that was beyond any rebore was discovered..... but a 65cc 'big-bore' kit proved slightly more ecconomical, and after a lot more time saving up for that.... EVENTUALLY, I had it back on the road.........
Was riding it around, and a coppa tugged me..... showed him my licence.......
"Well, I WAS going to have a word about not having a Front L-Plate" He said...... "But if you take the one of the back, I'll let you off"
I stared at him dumnfounded for a few moments..... "Ugh?!"
"You passed your Car test last month, didn't you?"
I nodded...... "Counts as a full moped licence...... you can loose the L-Plates"
And walked off......
Dow! Moment!

Yup.... by that time, I'd had the bike well over a year, become 17, been bought driving lessons for my 17th Birthday, and passed my car test!

BEFORE I was 16, the six weeks of 'All-Summer' seemed like an age....... but when it actually came to it... the 12 months of BEING 16 flew past so fucking fast I can hardly remember!

What with girls, beer, parties, and O-Levels (Think you call them GCSE's now!) didn't even have time to stop and THINK how quick it was all going..... it just DID!

THESE DAYS, seems the other way about! Seem to need to start planning Summer holidays or Christmas almost a year in advance, becouse a year SEEMS like almost no time at all..... but then when your IN that year..... seems NEVER to bludy end!

ANYWAY......

Moral of the story is, dont rush..... sure way to hurt yourself on a motorbike.

The year WILL 'fly-By' believe me.

A 35mph Moped, might not seem very exiting, BUT, as your first motorbike, it will be!

A TUNED Moped..... is a mugs game.

The Risks are stupid, these days. And the idea of just not getting cought..... self delusion!

Regs are so tight, the laws ALL on thier side, and unlike in my day when the local beat bobby rode a bike.... chances of getting cought, between unmarked police-cars, mobile enforcement units, hidden Gatso's and the ABSO patrol....... you might as well take your bike to the Cop-Shop, and ASK them to crush it for you! Save yourself the headache, fines or ponts on your licence of letting them catch you doing 5mph over the Mopeds legal limit!

Meanwhile, you will have to chuck money at the thing to make it LAUGHABLY any faster, and more unreliable.

Without a big-bore kit and or lots of tuning goodies, most you can really expect out of a De-Restricted, no-longer a moped is about 40-45mph..... and that will only be on the flat, on a good day! It will bleed speed on hills and into headwinds and PRACTICALLY not prove significantly any faster than the standard, legal, restricted version......

So WHY bother?

Just enjoy being 16 (and ALL that that means), and actually able to LEGALLY ride a 'ped, rather than resenting the fact that its so slow!
____________________
My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Penguin]

Read the OP and thought "Honda Zoomer" failing that something like the Honda X8R would be perfect for you.