moped on back of widebeam

[Kwacker]

^{OK, Here we go...... Your UK licence was issued after 2001. therefor you have a full UK car licence and a full moped licence. It is the category P. This category is NOT valid until you have completed a CBT. Oddly enough you only have to do it once and the CBT certificate, despite its printed expiry date, stays valid for life! Having completed CBT you have a full category P licence and you may carry a passenger so long as the machine is fitted with seat and footrests. A modern moped is restricted to a top speed of 28 MPH (God / Allah / Darwin help you) . If you are going to buy one then make sure you can get spares. £400 is going to be a living nightmare! Tell you what; just send me the £400 and I will send you nothing in return. Believe me it will be cheaper in the long run. My suggestion is to buy a 2 stroke for around £1000 that has been well looked after. They are restricted but a lot more powerful than the 4 strokes I would suggest an Aprilia sr50 (because I sell Aprilia) and when they are derestricted will happily carry 2 up. But beware if you have derestricted it, it is now a 50 cc motorcycle which falls into category A. So my credentials; Been riding for 43 years, teaching people to ride for 31 years and selling the things for 30 years. Hope this helps. P.S. a car driver needs to recognise, understand and compensate for the vulnerability that they are exposed to when riding a motorcycle. Its as simple as that, and yes riding restricted mopeds terrifies me only slightly more than riding a pedal cycle on the road.}

^Steve

The one advantage of a pedal or electric bike over a moped is that, unencunmbered by a full face helmet, you can actually hear the car that is going to knock you off coming.

[DeanS]

Would not a bicycle be better if only 12min trips, 2-3miles? You'll be able to go on the towpath then.

 

No. It's all uphill from Castlefield to Ancoats

The way I see it, if I see someone about to step in a cowpat, I give them a shout.

From his post, I got the impression that Dean has no experience of mopeds, and what a forum like this should be good for is letting those with experience help those without it. Learning by experience can be expensive, and in the case of mopeds, bloody dangerous.

 

I have much experience of how this forum works ;-)

[pquinn]

save the hassle and just get the bus.

[DeanS]

very interesting comments.

very interested in the elec bike. It's a bit "girly" though.....but I'll be riding it at night I expect..so I might get away with it. The charging issues worry me...but I have loads of solar panels....so it's a possibility......maybe.....to be thought through. I could always leave it connected to the bollard at my marina mooring over weekends so it gets a full charge once a week.....so this is looking quite good.....for the price. Wife would probably feel happier riding it too, ....cant see her on a moped by herself...

 

Does it honestly go up hills by itself, on elec power?

[Robbo]

 

No. It's all uphill from Castlefield to Ancoats

 

Downhill on the way back tho

[system 4-50]

Be careful around Ancoats. A disagreement with a lorry cost me 48hrs unconscious there, many years ago. Mind you, I was only a pedestrian so it was an uneven contest.

[Phil Ambrose]

Dean we have a chap on our marina who is, er how can I put it delicately, a bit on the large size and he swears by his electric bike, it fair flies along with him grinning away so I reckon it would be just what you are looking for. I'm sure a seller would give you a chance to try before you buy.

Phil

[raymondh]

Hi,

Good ebikes are great, cheap Chinese may or not work, will rust and fall apart if left outside and use batteries that will fail

if used daily

The best use Panasonic or Bosch motors and are all made in Germany

Ray

[Robbo]

Dean we have a chap on our marina who is, er how can I put it delicately, a bit on the large size and he swears by his electric bike, it fair flies along with him grinning away so I reckon it would be just what you are looking for. I'm sure a seller would give you a chance to try before you buy.

Phil

Perhaps I'd he got a normal push bike he wouldn't be so large!

[Paul C]

Dean did you ever sell your motorhome?

[DeanS]

Dean did you ever sell your motorhome?

 

Nope. Father in law moved onto a farm, and has decided to use it for himself

[Bettie Boo]

very interesting comments.

very interested in the elec bike. It's a bit "girly" though.....but I'll be riding it at night I expect..so I might get away with it. The charging issues worry me...but I have loads of solar panels....so it's a possibility......maybe.....to be thought through. I could always leave it connected to the bollard at my marina mooring over weekends so it gets a full charge once a week.....so this is looking quite good.....for the price. Wife would probably feel happier riding it too, ....cant see her on a moped by herself...

 

Does it honestly go up hills by itself, on elec power?

Oi!! less with the "girly"

 

Dave has never had a driver license nor driven a car. His choice. When we moved to Coventry he ended up getting a job that was 7 miles away from our home, for the first couple of years he did the 14 mile round trip on a normal pedal mountain bike; then around his 50th birthday he decided he'd like a bit of an upgrade, so bought himself an Electric Bike. It not only cut his journey time down by over half, but it was much safer than a normal pedal bike. Keep in mind he was travelling both ways in rush hour traffic. To give you an idea of how well it does going uphill Dean, all I can say is he did start putting on a few pounds after getting the electric bike And yes, as the "wife" (who hasn't been on a bicycle for over 25 years), I plan on using it as well when we start cc'ing

[pquinn]

Oi!! less with the "girly"

 

Dave has never had a driver license nor driven a car. His choice. When we moved to Coventry he ended up getting a job that was 7 miles away from our home, for the first couple of years he did the 14 mile round trip on a normal pedal mountain bike; then around his 50th birthday he decided he'd like a bit of an upgrade, so bought himself an Electric Bike. It not only cut his journey time down by over half, but it was much safer than a normal pedal bike. Keep in mind he was travelling both ways in rush hour traffic. To give you an idea of how well it does going uphill Dean, all I can say is he did start putting on a few pounds after getting the electric bike And yes, as the "wife" (who hasn't been on a bicycle for over 25 years), I plan on using it as well when we start cc'ing

i like his style..

[Biggles]

Electric Bike is the way to go.

 

This is mine

 

18 months later I am still very impressed with it.

[Guest]

Electric Bike is the way to go.

 

This is mine

 

18 months later I am still very impressed with it.

 

It's a 'no brainer' to me too.

 

It would seem for not a lot more than the price of a used (and probably very unreliable) moped or scooter you can have something brand new, potentially more reliable without all the attendant rules and paper work requirements.

 

The obvious down side on a boat is the charging requirements but if on shore power or with a good solar set up the associated hassle could be minimised.

 

This thread has certainly prompted me to look into the electrification of the bike I use at home (I no longer have one on the boat) and to see what is involved with doing that and how much it would cost.

[Robbo]

The obvious down side on a boat is the charging requirements but if on shore power or with a good solar set up the associated hassle could be minimised.

 

The bikes batteries seem to be all around 10ah, taking that plus charging losses would be a conservative 15ah from the boats batteries. Not a great deal on the whole.

This thread has certainly prompted me to look into the electrification of the bike I use at home (I no longer have one on the boat) and to see what is involved with doing that and how much it would cost.

Ditto!

[DeanS]

Electric Bike is the way to go.

 

This is mine

 

18 months later I am still very impressed with it.

 

Thanks for your post. I think this is the way to go

[nicknorman]

We are in Tel Aviv for a few days (Jeff ran the Marathon yesterday) and it is Electric Bike City! Every other bicycle (apart from the "Boris Bike" type public bikes) is electric. There are also a lot of electric scooters. By the time I thought about taking a video of one it was getting dark so I didn't get one of the really chunky ones, but I did get this one. I think it would be ideal for a Dean to whizz along looking super-cooooul on!

 

Edited March 1, 2014 by nicknorman

[Athy]

I plan on using it as well when we start cc'ing

Continuous Cycling?

[Bettie Boo]

LOL - I wouldn't go quite that far Athy

[Athy]

Betty, you would not need to - surely you have heard that CCers rarely move far? I've read it on here so it must be true.

[tjderby]

Dean, you are a nutcase! No problem carrying a small motor bike on a canal boat, especially a widebeam. Minor risks getting it on/offboard but how long will you survive on the road?

 

My father would not allow me to have a motorbike . My five years younger brother secretly kept his Trail Bike at a friend's house. My brother assured me that his 500cc Honda was much safer on the road than the little trail bike. He was a keen, all-weather, London commuting and long distance 80mph+ rider even when he also owned a 3 litre Ford Capri. I am sure he was a competant rider and I know he had decent 'leathers', boots and crash helmet.

 

Unlike me, he aquired the skills to survive on a motorbike when he was young enough to consider mobility more important than the risks. Since he aquired a wife and children he has not owned a motorbike. I have considered the economy of a small motorbike but I am too old to contemplate the falling off and

chance of being wiped out by today's inconsiderate car, van, bus and truck drivers that I would rather walk and use public tranport than ride even a pedal cycle let alone a moped on a road. I often fear for my life these days when walking on a highway but at least I can, mostly, leap up the bank or into the hedge.

 

If you must do it, please get a proper motorbike (max 250cc?) and all the gear, do the training and get the licence. I enjoy your contributions to this forum - long may they continue.

 

Alan

just wanted to pick up on this, im a motorcyclist and have been since i was 17. ive had no trouble what so ever on a motorbike. nor with car drivers. and this includes a period of living in London. so as long as your aware of your surroundings and dont ride like an idiot you'll be fine.

[ditchcrawler]

We saw the ultimate for towing path travel today, a chap on a scooter (not the engine type) towed by his dog.

[Biggles]

We saw the ultimate for towing path travel today, a chap on a scooter (not the engine type) towed by his dog.

Another sub group of towpath user to bitch about. :-)

[jelunga]

I had a 400/4 on the front of my widebeam but it was a pig to get on and off. Sold it and used the wife's 100cc scooter which was much easier to load and unload.

The Honda 400/4 was lovely bike. Had one a long while ago now. I also had a Suzuki GT380 which was also great. It would be hard to choose between the two. Prob the Suzy since no engine oil changes, one less plug and carb and I love the smell of 2Ts. No valves to adjust either.

just wanted to pick up on this, im a motorcyclist and have been since i was 17. ive had no trouble what so ever on a motorbike. nor with car drivers. and this includes a period of living in London. so as long as your aware of your surroundings and dont ride like an idiot you'll be fine.

Me too for 44 yrs. a broken collar bone tk show for it, due to idiot woman driver not understanding the function of a mini roundabout! Edited March 2, 2014 by jelunga