hi I am going to be getting a moped soon I haven't ridden before and don't know what gear or bike to get. Any help appreciated thanks
Hello Joeb and welcome to the scooter shack lets start with Gear : Jacket, a good textile jacket with shoulder - elbow and back protector pads will do, if you can get one with a removalbe inner liner they are great, unzip the inner liner in the summer and pop it in for winter to keep you nice and warm. with your jacket a neck warmer will keep your upper body nice and warm and protected, the neck warmer helps keep the cold out and your neck and chin warm. Overtrousers : padded overtrousers that are waterproof will be your godsend in wet weather, im not going to lie but all us chaps hate having a damp crotch due to not having waterproof overtrousers, plus side in winder that extra padding keeps your legs warm, we taned to wear a good thick pair of jeans under these, for work just pop your work trousers in a bag and get changed at work, remember being safe is the key styling we leave that to supermodels Gloves : most of us riders have a dual pair of gloves, one pair are summer gloves, they offer protection but also are not thick so allow your hands to be airy and not super sweating, our second set are purely winter gloves they will be leather like gloves with a nice thick lining to keep you hands warm in the winter months when riding. Boots : this is not by choice ..... trainers wont save your feet, but a goodpair of work boots or motorcycle boots they will keep it intact and offer good protection , you only have one pair of feet so always think about wearing boots even if its in the summer. trainers look flashy but will be torn off in a crash so be safe wear some old work boots or if you can look at getting some cheap'ish motorcycle boots. again its all down to safety HELMET : ok DO NOT buy a second hand helmet this thing has to save your brain from damage and the forces that come when your head hits the ground, a second hand helmet could have been dropped and wont be safe..... the more you spend on a helmet the better. start around the £70 upwards . i started with a caberg stunt and then moved onto a Spada intrepid both in the £100 range and very comfy. remember helmet is the key thing it is what stands between your head and the concrete , the more you spend the better quality and crash proetction your getting. Scooter : we cannot tell you what scooter to buy, we can advise on scooters to stay clear off, ie some chinese brands like henglinglog .... if you never heard of the name its best to stay clear....... here are some cheap'ish scooter but good makes Kymco Sym Lexmoto Honda yamaha Suzuki first three are tiwainese/ chinese brands, the other three are main stay brands everyone knows, most bike shops will service these without a problem ...... one maker to stay clear of is Direct bikes, these scooter always have problems and we tend to encouter these direct bikes a lot when people have problems, they are made poorly and just not to a good decent standard to be honest. Popular scooters , kymco agility - lexmoto fm - honda Vision - yamaha aerox - piaggio zip - suzuki katana , there are many other scooters. and its more down to you the rider what you like in style wise, be it a retro look or a sporty look. Hope this helps a little and i am sure the other members will pop along and welcome you to the forum and offer advice and tips to
Just to add never order clothing/helmet by mail order. If you have a clothing superstore near you or a bike shop with a decent selection of clothing try it on first as sizes of the clothing can vary a lot. S/hand clothing is fine if you are on a budget but get a new helmet even a cheap one but in general get the best you can afford. If you haven't done the CBT yet they will insist on sturdy boots and they generally have a selection of clothing for trainees to wear.
Both nice starter scooters Joeb before you buy, go to a local dealers and perch yourself on both models going just by looks is not really ideal, but getting the old rear end on a seat lets you get a feel for what your buying , things like getting your feet/foot down, how far the bars are away from you. mirror hight etc etc, another thing is seat caacity, lift the seat have a look inside, could your hat fit inside or would you have to carry it around, could you squeeze your overtrousers in there. center stand can you get the scooter onto its main stand fairly easy all these things help you choose your scooter, BUT you must remember its NOT going to be like a super fast bug splattering speed demon, its going to do around 30mph max speed untill you tinker with it and if its new that means your warenty will not be valid so be warned its going to be a little slow for a while until you have garnered some road riding and handling control. the best part is you have a huge amount of freedom, no sponging lifts from parents, no sitting on the bus your free to go where you want when you want and at what ever time you feel like its a joy to have two wheels but its also a task to look after it to, it needs care like a pet, dont feed the pet it dies, dont look after the scooter it breaks down and that means a good few pennys to fix it again
I have quite a few dealers so was gonna pay a visit also there is a Honda dealers up the road that do peds which is handy.
Never ever buy a 2nd hand helmet.!. - reason is simples., No matter how good it looks on the outside,the actual damage will not be apparent to the naked eye.as it will affect the structure of the internals which are designed to protect your head. Sods law dictates that even dropping it when your walking along/at the the proper angle under the right conditions and angle could probaly cause as much damage as a crash..... So someone who's prepared to sell you a helmet/say that's never been worn per say.....but been owned for a while & been lying around - isn't worth the risk.. P.s.,mate......enjoy the hell outta your experience..
How you doing with your purchase? Give us an update - as I went through what you are going through last Sept 2016 I'm also local (but oldie ) Hope you aren't the Joe from top end of Wollaton Vale
Late replies I forgot about this lol I live up in Mansfield so not actually mansfield Also i have dicided what a otter to get This is a peurgeot speedfight (but still need to buy one) Thanks for advice Any info on licence and cbt how does this work. Will I have to do a bike theory aswell??
Just apply for a provisional licence (if you haven't got a car licence) and once you have it book a cbt with a local school. That's it you'll spend a few hours on the theory and practice off road followed by a couple of hours on the road. The CBT is not a test it's instruction on basic riding to make sure you are safe. It's rare not to pass but some schools offer more lessons until you pass. If you already have some offroad experience you'll pass. Some schools offer a practice session if you are nervous.
