# moped weight?



## beemer328 (Jun 1, 2012)

Hi All, I am thinking of buying a moped/scooter to put on the back of the motorhome, I plan to get the proper carrier but my question is how do I know what weight I can put on the rear end of my motorhome without upsetting the van or the boys in blue. Also,do I take it that after doing a CBT I can ride a 50cc without L plates and carry a passenger. Many thanks, Gary


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

beemer328 said:


> Also,do I take it that after doing a CBT I can ride a 50cc without L plates and carry a passenger. Many thanks, Gary


Depend when you passed your car test. My pre 1st Feb 2001 licence already allows me to drive a moped.

https://www.gov.uk/cbt-compulsory-basic-training/cbt-if-you-have-a-car-driving-licence


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

you first need to visit HERE

Then you need to check weight of bike and rack for your vehicle, attached is a very good explaination.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Not being funny but...........

Unless the pair of you weigh about the same as a 10 year old a 50cc moped is going to be hopelessly underpowered for anything other than about 20mph on a dead flat road with absolutely no head wind. They are only JUST about powerful enough for one !! 

Having ridden many motorcycles over many years a 125cc machine is the absolute minimum I would ever consider for 2, but of course you will have to have a full motorcycle licence in order to carry any passenger.

Some while ago I had a "P" reg Hymer B544 on a Fiat chassis, that particular vehicle was ALMOST up to its max rear axle weight when empty. So I would suggest the VERY first thing to do is to visit a weighbridge so you KNOW (rather than assume you know) EXACTLY how much payload you have to play with. I suspect you will have a nasty shock!

Dont forget to weigh it in full going away mode !! (passengers, food, clothes, water etc etc)


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## biggles777 (Jan 18, 2006)

125 cc is the minimum size for 2 up , i agree . The cheap chinese ones weigh about 110 kg ( well mine does ) , in my opinion you dont need an expensive scooter if its going to live all the time on the back of a motorhome .


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## beemer328 (Jun 1, 2012)

Thanks for all your replies and the very helpfull chart. The CBT question was more for my wife really but as she has had a car licence for 30 years it seems the CBT is not needed but would be a good idea to get her used to two wheels. As for the bike itself, having been a biker for around 25 years I too would go for a bigger bike but swmbo needs to be able to ride it too, cost and agro of renewing CBT every 2 years is against a 125 and cost of test is against getting a licence. A bigger bike is also much heavier, (Harleys dont come light). The bike will be used for pottering to local shops ( mainly in Portugal, half mile on back roads) not for long journeys. We have been looking at the Vespa 50, 98kg so not too heavy but still want to find out about reliability. I have seen many cheap chinese unknown brands but have heard so many horror stories. Anyone got a Vespa?


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## stewartwebr (May 27, 2005)

Sorry guys need to disagree about the 50cc not being suitable for 2. We had a Yamaha YH50 Why which was a great little scooter and we went everywhere in it. Never any faster than 33mph and never on anything other than city type roads, it would be unsafe on anything else.

We changed the scooter to a Vespa S50 which again gets us around no problem and thats a combined weight of 170kgs.

If like us you do not have a bike license but can drive a 50cc on a car license do not write it off we have had years of fun and will do it again in a few weeks in Germany and France

Stewart


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## beemer328 (Jun 1, 2012)

Hi Stewart, Do you find the Vespa ok for reliability?


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## stewartwebr (May 27, 2005)

beemer328 said:


> Hi Stewart, Do you find the Vespa ok for reliability?


Excellent! It always suprises me how it starts. At times it can be 6 months between runs and it has nevr failed to start on the first press of the button.

I would highly recommend, not cheap but you get what you pay for. As I said we are not light weights and love it.

I tow a car on an A Frame but never take it to Europe, we use the scooter as the weather is far better. Easy to park, just chain to a lampost and you can turn anywhere in the event of getting lost. We see so much more on the scooter.

50cc is NOT and issue take it from us, you wont win any races but getting from sites into towns etc not an issue


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## Fatalhud (Mar 3, 2006)

I have a Gilera SKP50 (Stalker), 2 stroke, De-restricted, good for 50mph+ and i aint no lightweight   

Alan H


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

If you are only looking at half a mile or so then why not go for a couple of cheap electric bikes ??? Almost as good, especially if you get the "Twist and go" type. I bought a couple from Pro-Rider Mobility 2 years ago (about £550 each) and they are the best accessory I have EVER bought for the MH (and much lighter than a scooter!!)


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## flyinghigh (Dec 10, 2012)

I had a Honda vision 50cc at first, the two of us weigh about 23 stone
And had no problems reaching 40 mph on the level with a different variator from standard, It was great fun but could have done with a little more power on the hills, 
so I changed it to a Vision 110 thats will go faster than I need by a long margin, It has great storage for two helmets
Or shopping, 
the large 14 inch wheels make it very stable and it's a very easy ride with great MPG, IMO a great machine


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## beemer328 (Jun 1, 2012)

Ok guys, I have done the measuring, but how do I find if my van will carry the weight, I am looking at around 115 kg.


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

beemer328 said:


> Ok guys, I have done the measuring, but how do I find if my van will carry the weight, I am looking at around 115 kg.


Beemer, is that just for the bike ??

You will need to look at your rear axle weight, get the van weighed, in its fully laden state. you should have a plate that will tell you what you rear axle limit is.

Add the rear axle weight (as measured) to your bike rack and Bike weight (calculated on the excel spread sheet I posted). if its under your ok, if its over, your not insured (technically)

Steve


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## beemer328 (Jun 1, 2012)

Hi Steve, no that should be the weight of the bike and carrier. so next job is the weighbridge then, Thanks for your help mate.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I used this calculator when we fitted our rack and scooter but its basically the same as the one posted earlier.

http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/advice/safe-loading-and-payloads

Be careful with the rack. Our scooter is 100cc and weighs 95KG. I was quoted that the rack and towbar we had to have fitted would be 25-30KG but I think it came in a bit heavier.

I did all the calculations over and over again estimated we would be under on the back by about 20KG. We were bang on the limit when I got weighed but I guess these machines could be out a little bit as they are designed for huge vehicles. I moved a lot of stuff forward and store bikes and boats and things up front and up in the Luton.

Works great for us only just! Technically we could take a lot more weight on the back as we had a new Alko rear axle fitted a couple of years ago and it can take more weight but I never bothered doing the paper work as I didn't want to be over 3500KG unless I had to be.

I think you could easily do better than 98KG for a 50cc if you look around.

I also think you could have more fun and see plenty of places on a 50cc. After all a lot of the places we end up are small country roads. If you plan well you could spend all day tootling around Provence, Brittany or the Dordogne without going down major A roads.

The issue you will have is as has been mentioned hills. We spend a lot of time in the Alps and the little 100cc bike has been up to 7500ft and beyond a couple of times but it screams its little piston off and is practically melting at the top. As long as you bare that in mind I don't see why you wont have as much fun on a 50 as a 125 just not as quickly.

I prefer to be pootling along small roads at 30 or 40 anyway. Its a bit monotonous belting 20 miles up an A road at 50 or 60 on a scooter to be honest.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Here! What about this one

http://www.peugeotscooters.co.uk/peugeot-scooters-detail.php/V-Clic-50cc-14/

Only 79KG!

No idea what its like but we have a 2004 Peugeot Speedfight 2 which we have had five years and apart from a few daft things its been a great little bike.


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## pneumatician (May 1, 2005)

Looks as though there is little weight difference betwixt 50 and 110cc.
(12Kg).

I have a Chinese 110 cc that weighs in at about 110kg. Cheap as chips and not missed a beat in six years.
We do now however prefer a larger bike on a trailer.

Be careful of the quoted weights some of the racks are built like the Forth Bridge and weigh in at 50kg plus. Look good but far heavier gauge than the parent vehicle.
It's all a question of moments.


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## pneumatician (May 1, 2005)

As an aside some Peugeot scooters are manufactured in China.


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