50cc Quad Bikes

dh-biker

Few quick questions. I have been googling this quite a lot and have come to find that you can ride a 50cc quad on the road.

Are quads generally sold restricted or de-restricted? as riding a restricted one would be rather awkward as i live in a very hilly part of cornwall.

Has anybody owned a 50cc and if so what are they like?

Can 50cc's be riden much like a 50cc moped? on a provisional license at the age of 16?

cheers

Big n Daft

If your over 17 you should be able to ride a 125cc one on a CBT and provisional license.

Edit: I've just found that you cannot ride a 50 quad as a moped, so that rules it out.

http://www.uk-quadbikes.com/faqs.htm

Anything up to 14.5 bhp i believe.

Enough to do 65 mph.

Just make sure its road legal.

Lights, indicators, horn, tax, insurance etc etc.

Most 50's are sold restricted but its usually just either the air box filter or the exhaust, should be pretty easy to remove.

I had a 50cc moped when i first started riding.....its not until you get something bigger you realise how crappy they really are, two strokes are a little better on acceleration but top end is only going to be about 40 even on a de rizzed one.

But be aware....if you insure it as a bog standard 50 and remove the restrictor (i.e. don't tell the insurance company) you will be riding uninsured.

Ed 81

I have friends who ride quads. They tell me that you need a full car licence to ride on road. But they ride big 400cc race quads. I assume this is so for all quads.
DVLA website?

Judging by most the sites I've looked at you need a full car licence to ride any size quad on the road.

And besides that, there bloody leathal on the road, not what there designed for. Don't do it!

Fantastic Mr Fox

You could do what I did, get 4 small wheels (from a lego technic set/Knex) and carefully place them under a hair drier. Bobs your uncle, you have a crap road going contraption.

dh-biker

i've had a look around at quad prices and have decided against them anyway. I have started looking at 50cc scramblers which many people ride. Have flicked through the free ads and have seen a few. Mainly just trying to get information on prices at the moment. It would be impractical of me to ride a twist and go as they lack any power and the ability to cope with any off road surfaces and I live at the bottom of a road which is incredibly rocky and we snapped suspension in a car from coming down it.

Bit of a bugger the bike not being insured if its derestricted. Is it possible to tell the company of the modifcations or would that then classify it as a motorbike instead of a moped?

Thantos

dh-biker wrote:

Bit of a bugger the bike not being insured if its derestricted. Is it possible to tell the company of the modifcations or would that then classify it as a motorbike instead of a moped?

Nail on the head. IIRC the maximum you can have when you are 16 is 3hp from a 50cc.
If i were you, i'd save my money, wait a year and get a car.

dh-biker

Because i live in the countryside (well in a small town) any amenities are outside of the area and it would be practical to have a bike of some sort to get around on (my mtb doesnt quite cut it), trains only come once ever 1.5hours and buses are rarer than that. The main reason for me getting a bike is that I work part time and its a 25min walk, this is getting to be seriously annoying in the rain at 1am.

I know very little about motorcycles.

What actually happens if you get pulled on a moped and its derestricted?
Is there any visible alterations when derestricted?
Do they accelerate and climb hills any faster when derestricted?

Ed 81

Not all bikes are restricted. Some thing like an aprilia 50cc may be because there used for racing. I ride a CG 125 and its not restricted, just slow at its best!
My advice would be wait untill your seventeen and get a car. Or if you really want a bike get a 125. you'd be better off using you mtb than a 50cc.

dh-biker

It's not that i really like mopeds or anything its just for easability. They're practical. I wont be in cities or on busy road but country lanes and private roads. The main thing is lately i have been cheffing in a take away and dont leave work till 12.30am which isnt too much fun when its raining and pitch black in the lanes (i could take a torch i know) but i have been thinking about buying a moped just to last me until end of college.

Ed 81

www.motorcyclenews.com

Good helpful reviews.
Reading it just now reminded me that u.k laws restrict sixteen year olds to 30mph, so most 50cc probably are restricted. Get a bike thats quick and you can use it de-restricted when your seventeen.

I think you might be able to resrict a 125cc to 30mph and ride it restricted untill your seventeen then de-resrict?

Big n Daft

Ok,

You cant have anything more than a 50cc at 16, whether restricted or not.

De-restrict it and its illegal. You cannot tell from the outside, but its a dead give away when you razz past the coppers at 40.

They will stop you, they will take your bike and get it examined. Once they find out its illegal, you will be charged with driving without insurance & driving without a license and will receive a hefty fine and numerous points on your license. When you come to try and get insurance for a car or bigger bike when old enough.....it will cost you thousands. Oh and they will crush your bike as well.

This is not the worse that can happen btw....have an accident and all of the above will happen, plus you'll have rather a large bill for any damage you cause.

It aint worth it.

Ride, but ride legal.

BnD

dh-biker

cheers, thats summed it up. I am going to be getting one but have thought about what i really need it for and that has determined that i dont need an uber powerful bike. Infact it doesnt need to exceed 30 so i would look at buying a small twist and go which is new rather than a scrambler which is going to need mot'ing and most likely cost more to insure.

thanks for the help

Thantos

As a very rough idea about how much it will cost:
New moped, anywhere from £800 to £2500
CBT, around £40 i think.
Road tax, pennies
MOT, new bike so it doesn't need one.
Insurance, Possibly just under £150

You could probably just about do it all for £1000. However, if you bought a 2nd hand ped, you could do it for £300.

---*SD*---

Why would you want a 50cc?
Thats shizzle...
You'd want 100cc at the most :?
EDIT: Or least rather...

Big n Daft

---*SD*--- wrote:

Why would you want a 50cc?
Thats shizzle...
You'd want 100cc at the most :?
EDIT: Or least rather...

I believe he's 16......cant have more than a 50

Unless of course he can wait a year and get a rather razzy 125!

Big n Daft

A lot of the 50cc mopeds now come with a years free third party, fire and theft insurance, so that will save you a few hundred quid.

I'd recommend a Piaggio like this one.....http://www.piaggio-center.co.uk/bike.php?bike_id=11

It will come with 2 years warranty, should be a years free insurance and possibly a years free breakdown cover.

Yes its £1600.....but....it's not Chinese, you can get parts for them, they hold a fair price when it comes to resale value, their pretty nippy for what they are and they are dirt cheap to run.

No mot for 3 years.
£15 tax per year.
80 to 90 miles to the gallon.
About 7 quid to fill up.
Get a years no claims bonus and it will cost you less than a few nights out to insure.

Buy a reasonable helmet that fits, (not the one with the coolest graphics) gloves and an armoured jacket at the least. (take it from me, even a crash at 30 will mess you up)

Whatever you buy.....do yourself a favour, keep it standard.

Sports exhausts do not make them go faster.
Neons make you look like a chavvy t**t.
Add something and dont declare it, you invalidate your insurance.
Ride safely and sensibly on the road, the police love to take those that act like tools off the road and with good reason.

dh-biker

trust me there would be no neons or anything of a similar nature on it. I deteste anything like that, vehicle modifications should be done tastefully and that immediatly rules out neons. Are you aware wether TLD D2 helmets are motorcycle legal?

Big n Daft

Had a look,

To be honest, i dont think so.

Your looking for a helmet marked with either of the following: BSI 6658 or ECE 22-05. These are the recognised safety standards for motorcycle helmets.

Popular helmets for the younger rider are Shark and AGV (which Rossi wears) they both offer good value for money and meet these standards.

Looking at the prices of Troy Lee helmets.....you could buy an Arai or Shoei for that kind of cash.....both thought to be amongst the best, safest helmets in the world.

Glad to hear about the neons....fit them and you might as well paint...."i'm a chav, please stop me constantly" on your back!

dh-biker

ahh, its not that i have to buy a tld, I have one and i use it for dh racing, i was hoping due to the price that it would be motorcycle standard and recognised. I'll have to buy a mtx one as if i ever happen to break my tld and have to race dh i still have something to fall back on.