Moped the planet... lol | Page 2 | Squat the Planet

Moped the planet... lol

hartage

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A lot of stories cover people traveling with scooters. It's not because one guys had a bad story, that they all do have. It's the same with everything in life man?!? The fuck is that. Mechanic is mechanic, that's it, that's all. I'm pretty sure you'll find people having bad times with they motorcycle too if you look for it. You know... We can see shit everywhere if we want to.

I juste hate the sort of thinking "Bigger is better". But not all people are like that, I respect that. I don't have money for that, and don't need it. Like Mouse said, I feel like a scooter is already a luxury. They are totally cool to me. Shit man, I only rode skateboards and bike in life. Trust me that scooter is heaven.

If you can't take that route, you just the other one, kind of simple to me. Pretty much the samething in life in general.

But anyways...

I'm not addressing the issue of money at all. I totally get not being able to afford something, shit I'm just about broke right now. But the title of the thread is "moped the world". There are quite a few people that have ridden around the world and they have all chosen to use enduros (dirt/street bikes). One of the requirements is having he capability to go over very rough roads hence enduros. Another requirement is a large gas tank (5+gallons) some remote parts of the world there is a need to go 250 miles with no gas in between. For the same reason is endurance. If your in the middle of some remote area 100+ miles from the nearest town and your moped wears out. Kind of like trying to cross the pacific on a row-boat. You just can't bring enough supplies with you to get you to the other side. Hell there is a 240 mile stretch of no gas on the Dempsy hwy (a dirt road) up to prudhoe bay. (Dempsy is a 500+ mile long dirt road up to the arctic circle.)

For around town where gas is easy and parts are available mopeds are fantastic and lower in cost. But if your going to travel the world (moped the world) I don't think anybody has even tried it before on a moped for said reasons. This isn't a ding on mopeds. I'm just saying right tool for the right job.
 
M

Mouse

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some states require tags, title, and ins. on moped/scooters. PA does. I wonder if that would mess you up in taking a multi state trip? guess if you have an id from a state like MD that doesn't req. anything you could be ok, maybe??
 

wartomods

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i've read a report of two guys who were riding from uk to mongolia, in some old bmw motorcycles, and in the middle of the russia, in a gas station, the road was more dirt than tarmac, very few cars, and they found two guys that were riding from china to portugal through russia by bicycle. Yes in that way moped touring is pretty doable.
 

jobe

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In New York State for a moped you need a regular license, insurance and a plate on it! It totally defeat the purpose of a moped! And its not like you can ride up from PA with no plate and be like well im from PA. I just got a motorcycle. Its a 650cc gets 80mpg and I only paid 180 bucks...the same price i paid for a moped I didnt know I needed plates for.

If i didnt live in NY Id have a moped for sure tho.
 

gaarie

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Read my mopedarmy topic for some inspiration and ideas. I'm still traveling, but stopped in Long Beach to make some money. Almost home. Next venture will be in a bus. I've been asked to travel the world and make a film with a fellow moped enthusiast/film-maker, but I'd have to spend about $10,000 in plane tickets and food, etc. I currently have $70. =]

Mopeds are slow. With stops to see people, I've been coast to coast in about a month. To appreciate the world would take a few years, but if you have the time, you should do it. I personally would not do it in a moped again. I will ride them for the rest of my life, but never more than a few hundred miles. I've done it with no tail lights, no license, no insurance... Sure you can do it. If you show respect to the law that stop you, you won't have a single problem. They aren't familiar with the laws anyways.

Kitting mopeds... I could get my moped up to 70mph, but I chose not to. Kitted mopeds tend to be completely unreliable. On my stock 25mph motor, I've had to pull my head once (on the steps of the superdome) to seal an air leak, rebuild the carb a few times (takes 5 minutes), and change a few flats. Most people bring their kitted mopeds out for rallies to show off and do short rides. Some of the Creatures from San Francisco did 13,000 miles on kitted mopeds, but they held extensive knowledge of their motors and carried a ridiculous amount of spare parts, which they used.

Licensing... Sure, get legal in the state your ID is from and you shouldn't have any problems in other states. I was respectful and got out of all traffic stops just by explaining what I was doing. I was not in any way legal for my state either...
 
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As far as fuel economy goes an overloaded moped demanding mostly wide open throttle would get poorer fuel economy than a 500cc motorcycle requiring half throttle.

Sorry to get all technical and shit.

I recently saw this demonstrated as a Prius was pushed around a race track as a V8 beemer followed behind. The beemer got vastly superior mileage.

Plus it'd be nice to get up on the highway...no?

It's all good but unless the moped means you don't need a license, tags, and all that bullshit it might be better to go bigger.

Just my 2 cents.
 

ruther

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I've thought about doing this before, and while researching it I came across this thread about a guy who travelled to 32 states on his ruckus.

TotalRuckus :: View topic - The Adventures of Wan - Rucking Across the US! [Part 1]

It seems that with a long distance trip on a scooter, you would end up doing some serious engine work, if not a complete replacement, but has anyone done this before? Any idea of the cost? I'm sure it'd vary greatly on the type of scooter you have, but could someone give me an idea? This would be one of the deciding factors before I'd try something like this.
 

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