Posted: 4/17/2011 6:16:26 PM EDT
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What do I need to drive this on the streets in my small town in WI?
I guess my main question is that because it is under 50ccs: do I/my son need a motorcylce license, vehicle insurance, etc? Or is it treated like like a bicycle but motorized? Link Is there anything aside from this: WI DMV link Any personal info/experiences would be great. Email and IMs are fine...because: I already know, the fat girl is like a moped scenario..LOL. So no need to beat a dead horse. Thanks V OUT |
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Since it's got the stuff to be street legal (lights, brakes, etc), you should be fine licensing it as a moped.
I believe I rode one of those a couple of years ago as a volunteer at the Oshkosh EAA fly-in. Kinda stiff suspension as I recall, riding it over the grass. You could definitely feel the surface you were riding on. ETA: yeah, you'll need a DL. Insurance would be a good idea. |
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A regular DL is all you need. M class not required. I recommend the MSF course to ANYONE that is considering rolling around on two wheels. If you get that far I'll give you a couple of books to read on more advanced topics in 2 wheeled maneuvering.
The 50CC 2 stroke models top out at about 25-30 MPH and they'll be screaming for mercy to do it. It's never comfortable to commute around on a vehicle that can't get out of it's own way; especially when it's totally exposed like a scooter. We have an older Honda 125CC four stroke. It'll quickly accelerate to the low 40's and then creep up to about 50 with my 200lbs on it. Much more reasonable for commuting on. I didn't operate it at all last year, so I have to rebuild the carb and dump the gas. I was planning on getting it running this spring and selling it to one of the college kids for $600 or $650. Looks like this, but rough. 
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I've got 4 years of small town WI mopedding under my belt. Coldest I've ever been out is -20F in the middle of February. You don't need a M endorsement if under 50cc, all you need is a drivers license.
Advice...Stay off the main roads as much as possible, take side streets, cut through subdivisions, whatever. The biggest annoyance is the lack of acceleration, mine would do 35mph but it would take a 1/4 mile to get there. |
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Commuting subdivisions in the winter on a moped has totally destroyed your pimp image. Turn in your gold teeth. au contraire, my then girlfriend now wife put a "Chick Magnet" sticker on the back. 
ETA picture is actually after I sold it in case anyone id's the digs. |
| worth noting is that for the price of a ruckus, you could probably buy a decent used motorcycle. It would require the MSF and M class endorsement, but you should get that, even for a moped. A real bike would be much more useful, get good mileage, and be more fun. I had a 600cc sportbike that got 52mpg, no matter how I rode it. I wouldn't have traded its ability to do highway speed for an additional 40 mpg. My current bike only gets 35mpg, but I'm ok with that, I ride fast. |
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I had a 600cc sportbike that got 52mpg, no matter how I rode it. I hear people say this. I get 30-35 no matter how I ride it. The folks I ride with get about the same. My Gixxer 600 gets about 50 if I drive normal, when I am running it rough (90% of the time), it gets about 38 to 42. Depends how rough and where. Great bike, wouldn't trade it for anything! Only problem is finding a road around here where I can get it up to 150 or 160 :( |
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What do I need to drive this on the streets in my small town in WI? Registration a must
You must register your moped and you must obtain a certificate of title. See if the DMV will issue you a registration for it. Without it being registered, you may not legally operate it on the street.... |
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I had a 600cc sportbike that got 52mpg, no matter how I rode it. I hear people say this. I get 30-35 no matter how I ride it. The folks I ride with get about the same. I hate to threadjack, but the reason for this is new EFI mapping. My old bike was a carb'd YZF-600R. mileage was never less than 48. I got a Honda CBR-600F4i, with EFI. It makes better HP / TQ, runs better when cold, and requires zero upkeep / winterization. I get about 35. Part of this is a function of the EFI being better at combusting more fuel to make more power. The other part is that I ride a lot more agressive now than i did when i was new. I'd bet that if you switched to an older bike with carbs that were well adjusted (read lean at cruise) and rode slower, you'd get more. I'm not going to. I like my EFI power. |