Suddenly considering a moped. Opinions?

[LunaP]

Saw this on CL, and found myself surprisingly fond of the look. Like, very surprisingly fond. Lokky did a quickie bit of research for me... so far as we can tell, the clutch is centrifugal (similar to CVT), so I don't have to worry about shifting with my foot, which is not doable for me, and it's also an electric start, which is great bc I'd prefer not to be forced to kickstart anything.

However, Lokky warned me that he'd heard somewhere that Tomos had been bought out by one of the chinese companies and turned into crap. Can anybody confirm or deny these suspicions? Scoot Richmond has a dedicated moped mechanic, and we have a friend or two that have reliably ridden older Tomos models and been very fond of them, so intially, I'm not opposed.

Opinions/advice... GO!
(Also, in the photo it looks like the pipe is not stock, if anybody happens to recognize it, shout out)

Possible new ride for Luna??

[az_slynch]

Tomos is pretty solid. It is a two-speed transmission with automatic centrifugal clutches. Tomos has sold Chinese-made bikes, but they were scooter offerings (ie. Tomos Nitro). I believe the mopeds are still made in Europe.

They are two stroke, but come with an auto lubrication system and some of the nicer models offer electric start. The current engine is the A55. Stock, it will do 28mph. They can easily top 40 with very little modification. Best of all Treats carries tons of tuning and customization parts for pretty cheap and freakishly fast shipping.

The two weakness of the Tomos are the starting chain and the clutches. You kick the pedals backward to start it if not electric-start equipped. There is a tiny chain in the crankcase which transfers the kick from the pedal shaft to the transmission section. Kicking it too hard can bust the chain, which requires an engine tear down to fix. The clutches are particular about lubrication and shifting. Check Moped Army for info on best practices for lubrication ( I believe it is a blend of oils). As for shifting, when the engine winds out first gear, roll off the throttle a little for the second-gear shift. Keeping it wide open on the gear change can damage the clutch. A little kindness goes a long way.

If you go for it, enjoy it. I own several mopeds and love to tinker with them; it's hard to have a bad day with a buzzy little bike.

P.S. The pipe is a BiTurbo. It works, but keep an eye on the rear can, they like to snap off. I'd go for a Techno Estoril or a Technigas Next.

[JHScoot]

i do not believe tomos has been bought out. they sell some scooters made by chinese companies and rebadged as tomos. the mopeds are not part of this. i think either way a moped will take timkering, though. most likely

[redhandmoto]

The trade press in Italy reports that TOMOS, a Slovenian company who also sold some Chinese-made/Taiwan-designed scooters under their name, is getting out of the moped & "noped" business, transitioning the factory to making more profitable stuff.

I had an '09 ST; as was pointed out, you really need an aftermarket pipe, re-sprocketing, and a 65-70cc BBK to get the most from them. You will not keep pace with your scoot-riding pals without those enhancements.

The A55 engine is solid, but the rest of the bike is sketchy at best. The quality is not what you are used to. I don't think there's any Chinese ownership in the company: the falling-off in materials and build quality over the years was entirely the Slovenians' (or as they were then, Yugoslavians) idea. The brakes are non-existent, the electrics hit-and-miss.

That said, they are wonderfully "moddable", easy to work on, crazy fun to ride, and more reliable than you would think. See mopedarmy.com - it's a different world.

[JHScoot]

^ sounds like a moped

[50CC Cape Cod]

Hi Luna glad to see you are thinking about riding. I have a vintage Honda Urban express 50cc moped which is very easy to ride low seat and has foot
pegs and electric start. Almost looks like a small motorcycle from the front.
I am looking to sell it since I have a scooter and may get a Stella and did not get a chance to use it and have a new battery which I have not even installed. It has the owners manual front and rear racks. I could forward you an e-mail with picture if you like and can discuss. Lenny

[Dooglas]

If this one does not work out for you, you might also give some consideration to the Sym Symba. It is a reincarnation of the iconic Honda Cub. Electric start and centrifugal clutch. A nice little around town bike that is well built and easy to keep running.

[LunaP]

Wellll I shot the guy a message and I haven't gotten a response, so oh well. Square one is okay with me. Unless it's something I *SUPER* adore the look/idea of, I'm not keen on spending very much on a pair of wheels I won't be riding all that often.

Hi Luna glad to see you are thinking about riding. I have a vintage Honda Urban express 50cc moped which is very easy to ride low seat and has foot
pegs and electric start. Almost looks like a small motorcycle from the front.
I am looking to sell it since I have a scooter and may get a Stella and did not get a chance to use it and have a new battery which I have not even installed. It has the owners manual front and rear racks. I could forward you an e-mail with picture if you like and can discuss. Lenny

Thanks Lenny... I googled for images of the Urban Express and I'm not sure that I like the style all that much, but either way I don't have any way to get scoot or moped down here from all the way up north where you are, so it's a moot point atm.

I think I'm going to keep an eye on CL every now and again for something just right, at just the right price.

[agrogod]

Some links for you

http://www.fiveflagsmotorbikes.com/MotorenoMoped.htm

http://cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/gare ... France.htm

http://cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/pagl ... _Moped.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Moped_065.jpg

http://www.mopedarmy.com/photos/brand/39/12790/

http://www.mopedarmy.com/photos/brand/2/2730/

[anthony]

Some links for you

http://www.fiveflagsmotorbikes.com/MotorenoMoped.htm

http://cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/gare ... France.htm

http://cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/pagl ... _Moped.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Moped_065.jpg

http://www.mopedarmy.com/photos/brand/39/12790/

http://www.mopedarmy.com/photos/brand/2/2730/

That Paglianti is kind of awesome.

[jd]

Forget the SYM Symba. It's motorcycle class, requiring motorcycle endorsement and everything that goes with that. More importantly, however, is that you have to shift it. Even with the semi-automatic clutch, you have to manipulate the shifting with your foot. We bought one for my wife last year and sold it shortly thereafter because she didn't want to deal with the shifting. It is a well-made machine, however, for anyone who appreciates the manual control over the transmission.

We have had several Tomos mopeds over the years. They are fun little bikes, easy to work on and easy to modify. The problem is that they are less dependable than your average scooter. I wouldn't call them unreliable, but it seems like I was always messing around with something or other on those bikes. On the other hand, our Tomos bikes were always heavily modified with performance pipes and cylinder kits (65cc instead of 50cc), and the extra power put additional stress on components that weren't designed for it. The clutches were only good for about 3,000 miles, and the brakes a little more than that. While I'm on it, the brakes are designed for a 30 MPH bike. Once you kit one of these things, it will easily do 40 MPH and the lack of braking power becomes apparent.

If you keep one stock, however, it ought to hold together much better.

Yes, Tomos is going out of business. But there are so many parts in inventory around the world, and so many people who know how to work on them, that I wouldn't worry about it. They are cheap fun and easy to ride.

jd

[LunaP]

So I'd kind of decided to lay back and check CL every so often, and just let something find me. You know, that something that just... speaks to you? Or maybe it's just the right color or just the right price?

http://richmond.craigslist.org/mcy/3410366808.html

It's my color turquoise. And just a few hundred. And I think it's kinda smart lookin.

But quite obviously I don't know shit about mopeds, and I've never purchased anything like this from CL before. I'd like to know if any of you have any insight as to whether this is a good deal or not (let's assume that the seller isn't lying when they say the worst it needs is a carb clean).

I tried my amateur internet-fu to find out more about Garelli... KBB does not even have them listed, so even if I knew the year, I wouldn't be able to get a value. The Garelli website doesn't even show moped models anymore, and this guy looks several years old- in fact, it looks exactly like the 1978 Garelli Super Sport pictured here, which is neato.

I pre-emptively emailed the seller and said I'd give the asking price if they were willing to meet me at Scoot Richmond and have a mechanic give it a once-over.
They have already responded and said that they wished they could, but they don't currently have a way to transport it.

I'm thinking I might either offer a ride or ask one of the more mechanically experienced club members to go look at it with me...

[redhandmoto]

aw, Gee, Luna; real tempting, just for what it is (and i don't know squat either) buuuut...

it's reallllly rusty, for one thing; like, scabrous. Serious cosmetology called for. On those pullback buckhorn handlebars...so what rust might not be seen so easily in the photos?...this doggie been living out in the backyard weeds?

Those parts it needs? How hard to source? What can be made to work?

Has this C-list ad been discussed by the denizens on mopedarmy? Lively moped scene in RVA; they don't miss much.

[LunaP]

aw, Gee, Luna; real tempting, just for what it is (and i don't know squat either) buuuut...

it's reallllly rusty, for one thing; like, scabrous. Serious cosmetology called for. On those pullback buckhorn handlebars...so what rust might not be seen so easily in the photos?...this doggie been living out in the backyard weeds?

Those parts it needs? How hard to source? What can be made to work?

Has this C-list ad been discussed by the denizens on mopedarmy? Lively moped scene in RVA; they don't miss much.

Yeah, I saw that. But I'm just so attracted to it, and it seems like something that doesn't just pop up every day. I could be wrong.

I requested more specs and details from the seller and asked if we could work out either getting it to the shop to be looked at, or me bringing somebody (I may ask Ed tonight) to look at it.

I haven't set foot on mopedarmy, I'm a little hesitant to do the join just to make a n00b 'should I buy this' post. I did message Chelsea and ask if she or anybody at the shop already knew of the bike, but I haven't received a response yet.

[redhandmoto]

I hear ya; whenever I see some appealing derelict like that, I just gotta buy it, ya know? Because they don't pop up every day, because they have a design character not seen anymore, because you just want to get it running again, mod it, amp it. For me, it's one of those 'the heart wants what the heart wants' deals

Know watcha mean about mopedarmy; some of those more, ah, exuberant lads have been known to eat their young. OTOH, many were very helpful to me, once upon a time.
Shoot. It is a damned good thing I'm two hours away...

[ravenlore]

The posting has been pulled :-/

[LunaP]

The posting has been pulled :-/

That's because the guy probably made a quick sale to somebody who will love it much less than me. Possibly for less money just because they didn't want to take the time to coordinate with me (or bc they had something to hide).

Jerkwad.

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