Why buy 50cc?..

[Austen]

I have decided to (try) to buy myself a brand new moped. First I will say KYMCO is the only brand I will consider spending my hard earned money on. (Please no comment or discussion on this topic as my dedication to KYMCO is not open for debate)

While doing my normal pre purchase research I had a dealer explain to me that if I want to buy a 50cc moped because I do not need to register it, I should buy a 125, or a 150 because they are the same exact size and the local law dog can not tell them apart except one says 50 and another says 150. Remove the lettering and suddenly you have a 50. (Any comments or discussion on this is appreciated, just as long as it is friendly)

The same dealer also told me I can buy a brand new 50 and de restrict it to it's full potential and it still would not go much faster than it did out of the box. When I explained I once derestricted a brand new KYMCO Cobra 50 to it's complete potential and had it up to almost 70MPH. He told me those days of KYMCO are gone forever since everything was switched over to four stroke.  (any thoughts on this is welcome)

So now I am considering stepping up to the 125, or 150 class, getting my motorcycle license,and registering and insuring it. Does this defeat the very reasons we ride unregistered 50's? Or would I be better off with the larger bike so I can actually go faster than 30mph? I do not want to buy a new machine and find out it wont go fast.

[MaryK]

This may start a real storm, I have a problem with the lack of requirements on the owner of a 50cc bike.
No license and no Insurance...... that just seems wrong when the rest of us should and do have to meet these requirements.

I want liability insurance no matter what sized bike I ride and I benefit from taking the training and getting a license to ride.
Society benefits also...

So, you might guess that I vote for a larger scooter and all those requirements.
Besides there are some great 150cc scooters out there to choose from.  And they go faster without mods.

Scoot safely,

[Peters]

You have several bad pieces of information there. This is the problem I have with dealers. They think they know everything.

First off this is Kymcoforum. Nobody on here is going to try to sway you away from Kymco.

True no registration is needed for 50cc scooters with a CVT(transmision).

Should you buy a 150 and take the decals off? Absolutely not! Authorities can and will seize your scooter and sell it at auction.

Can new Kymco's have as much performance as the older ones? YES! Sure the stock exhaust and jetting are extremely restricted on the newer models but they have just as much potential. Example: Super 9 2t, super 8 2t, People 50 2t, and I believe the Like 50 is a 2t too, don't know how it performs though.

Cobra going 70mph? Maybe with every aftermarket part you can buy and a 90cc kit. Of course, that's going way past just derestricting it. Derestricting is only removing factory installed restrictions(Drive boss, rev limiters things like that), anything more that that you're full on building for street performance or race.

Is the 2-stroke engine still alive? YES! I love 2 stroke engines! It's probably the only reason I chose to buy a KYMCO.

IMO if your going to get a motorcycle endorsement, registration, and insurance, why buy a scooter at all? Buy a real bike!

If you do choose to buy a 50cc and plan to build it up, buy a used one. Good ones can be found dirt cheap.

[juice]

AS for police not knowing the difference between scooters , most 50cc scoots have a single rear shock , ALL scoots of over 50cc have dual rear shocks . A cop told me this is a dead giveaway . I have a people 50 and I love it , no insurance , no liscensing , no inspection , no personal property taxes . MY p50 will do 45-50 mph , ok for in town but if you need to go on any highway you will need a bigger scoot . Good luck .

[ts1]

... I should buy a 125, or a 150 because they are the same exact size and the local law dog can not tell them apart except one says 50 and another says 150. Remove the lettering and suddenly you have a 50.

Nonsense! Engine sound, speed & power obviously differ.

When I explained I once derestricted a brand new KYMCO Cobra 50 to it's complete potential and had it up to almost 70MPH.
He told me those days of KYMCO are gone forever since everything was switched over to four stroke.

Perhaps 70mph on the wildly optimistic speedo. Or 70kph.
Kymco still has several 2 stroke scoots. At least in Europe and Asia.

I don't know your local laws, but you shouldn't drive an illegal unrecstricted scoot in Europe. Offense of driving without license, threatened with 1-3 years jail. And illegal modified vehicles don't have coverage. An accident with personal injury could ruin your life.

[Austen]

I should clarify about the Cobra. It was built past being derestricted. But it did cross 65MPH

What I am reading in posts across the forum people are better off with the older kymcos than the newer ones.

[streido]

I have a 2008 Agility 50 and i love it. Its a 4 stroke but derestricted with a few tweeks 50mph+ downhill is realistic, 60 is unlikely tho without a BBK. I average 45mph on flats when all is good. Expect 42-50mph indicated and you should get to that pretty easily and cheaply, if you need more than that then go larger and sit the test.

I agree, buy nearly new and let someone else take the initial deprieciation hit.

Im in the UK so our laws are slightly different but not too far away from your. I can ride a 50cc  scoot restricted to 31mph on my car license, if i derestrict it, which i did, i am technically breaking the law if i ride it. Cops here wont bother you on it unless your racing around town or riding crazy, the states may be different tho? No cop will be fooled into thinking a 125/150 is a 50cc, they will know. A simple run of the vin plate will tell them its a 125cc surely, or do they not do that over there?

Dont chance it, you may be ok for a while but eventually you will get caught of you try fool them.

[ScooterWolf]

IMO if your going to get a motorcycle endorsement, registration, and insurance, why buy a scooter at all? Buy a real bike!

Nothing against Peters personally, but I disagree here. Scooters -- especially 150 and above are real motorcycles. Scooters just have a step through design, and most have automatic transmission, but I needed a motorcycle license to ride and operate mine, and even when I earned it my decision was to get a scooter and not a motorcycle. Scooters are (for what I need) better in my opinion

I also agree with the majority of the advise given here -- getting a 125 o5 150 cc scooter and trying to pass it off as a 50 cc is a recipe for a disaster -- legally and financially. If you cause or injure someone in an accident in a bike you are not license or insured to operate your life could be in ruins for the short and long run.

Personally I think it's a stupid decision.

-Wolf

[blue]

Dealers are just there to make a sale thats all. A true dealer would have a repair shop and the know how to fix kymcos.

[bleys]

50cc scooters definitely have their place...they are fun, inexpensive, and if you are looking for a fun short commute, they fit the bill fine.  However going faster than 30-35 will likely cause you to drive WOT all the time which can (and probably will impact engine life).  If you are looking for a faster scooter, then look at a larger cc engine...you will be happier in the long run as you will have less limits on where you can go and what you can do.  Also I highly recommend a motorcycle class and getting your license.  You can never learn to be too safe, and having the license is so worth it...you will have a wide variety of scooters and motorcycles to choose from.  A 50cc scooter is not safer than a bigger scooter or a motorcycle...only slower.  Good luck and I hope you find the ride of your dreams.

[streido]

I agree with most of bleys points, i do a 19-20 mile daily commute to work each day on mine thro town and its fine. The limit where i ride is 30mph with a couple miles of 40mph limits so i dont really need to go much over that to keep up with traffic. Its all down to what you want it for? If its for work commuting then what is your planned route like? Speed limits? Lots of hills? Town/city riding or open country roads?

I would have to disagree slightly with this one point tho

going faster than 30-35 will likely cause you to drive WOT all the time which can (and probably will impact on engine life)

I do ride WOT most of the time yes, but, im not revving the balls off the engine because it takes a while to get up to top speed so i only open up WOT to get up to speed, my revs are not at or anywhere near the limit. Once i hit traffic speed i ease off and cruise along, depending on traffic speed thats anywhere from 30-45mph @ 4500 rpm to 6000rpm normally. So yes i do ride mostly WOT but its not running at true WOT too speeds all the way to work, unfortunately 

Work out what you need it for and what kind of journeys you want to be making on it. Once you know that it should be easy to decide if a 50cc will suit your needs or if you'll need a bit more power, acceleration and top speed.

Let us know what you finally decide on and maybe post up some pics once you get your new ride 

[zombie]

WTF? Get a Harley engine, strap it to a skateboard, and tell the cops it's a 12cc noped! Put some Cox airplane stickers on it to PROVE it.
I agree get a used 50, and build the balls out of it if you want a bike to play with. If you want a reliable scoot to hold it's value, and run for years get a 150 whatever model. Why would you even consider Kymco... They su(k. We are all here cause our scoots don't work, and the Dealers don't know how to fix them.    Just messing. Kymcos are fine.
If you do deciede to go with a second hand scoot DO NOT buy one that has been modified. You Never know how well the parts were prep'ed/installed. Buy a stock scoot, and do the work yourself. If I were to buy a NEW 50cc Kymco... It would be the People 2t. Same engine as the old S9's. If I were looking for a used one it would be either the ZX if I were to heavily modify one or the S9 if I were to mildly modify one. In some states you Have to have a valid D.Lisc. too.

[Peters]

Nothing against Peters personally,

I take no offense. Everybody is entitled to their opinion.

[Peters]

IMO the difference I hate between scooters and motorcycles is that motorcycles have a clutch and gears. I even hate those stupid trikes and the Can-Am 3 wheeled POS. Something about them just urks me. Just my opinion.

[MikeKymco]

Don't trust anything you hear at a dealer.  Most dealers, anyway.  I am fortunate enough to live near not one, but two pretty honest ones, but that's mainly because I live in a good scooter market, and the businesses and their salespeople are not hurting.

I couldn't tell your location but it sounds like your laws are like mine.  The 50cc scoots, while cheaper and easy to derestrict, will not do what a 125 or 150 can do without being loud, obviously modified and nearly as expensive.  I say get the license, avoid the non-licensed rider price markup on the 50cc bikes.  I also have a 600cc late-model motorcycle, and live in a place where each has it's purpose.  There are a lot of jaunts where I wouldn't consider the big bike, and a lot where I wouldn't consider the little bike.  I would like a 50 if I had one, but for what one costs, plus the time, effort and money to make it traffic worthy, I'd go with a more powerful scooter.

Caveats would include:  Students on small or rural campuses.  (Campi, or campae?  I am not terribly well educated...)  People who have a dire need, financially motivated, to travel a short distance frequently.  And hard-and-fast budget limitations.  If a 50 is all that's in range, you're getting a 50.

But on the subject of Kymco, I like you am unyielding.  A comparable deal (used, generally, but reasons to buy new abound...) on another brand/model may occasionally arise, especially if you have a lot of tools and a lot of time, but no one makes machines this nice for these prices.