Vintage moped..

[Haste]

So on way home ran into a vintage 2 stroke moped.. He said it was ported and had a little work done. I'm on a stock 48v bafang hub motor. I smoked him completely from 0-20 mph... I maxed out at 32mph with a tuck. He barely got by me to the next light. Moral of the story, ebikes are very much the future...

 

[dkw12002]

Those old smokey 2-stroke mopeds are chain driven and not good hill climbers. At least they are light enough, you can walk them up a hill. A 50 cc modern scooter..like the Aprilia Sportcity 4-stroke 50cc, has a speed of about 42mph and will climb very steep hills with the CVT. In other words, they out-perform legal e-bikes by a wide margin. They need to be registered as motorcycles though, which is one disadvantage. Hill climbing is the problem with legal e-bikes. By the time you have enough power to tackle hills with motor power alone, they won't be legal. I'm talking about real hills though, like you find in San Franisco and Hill Country, Texas where I live. Without being able to change gears on an e-bike motor, it would probably still be possible to make a great hill-climber and stay within 750 watts and 36 volts, but it would be pretty slow. On the other hand, the DD motors which are great for speed are lousy hill climbers. Maybe a geared motor on the back and a DD motor on the front would give you the best of both worlds. Pretty expensive though, but if you compare it to a small 50 cc scooter, maybe not any more expensive over time.

 

[John in CR]

Good job Haste. I'm firmly in the camp that kind of stuff is the best thing we can do to promote the cause. I embarrass small cars and small motos on every ride, and almost every time I stop I get positive comments and questions from people who see me regularly zipping around the area.

 

[emoped]

Keep up the good work John. I was in Tamarido last time in CR. what part of paradise do you live ? eMoped

 

[johnrobholmes]

A more modern variated moped will be hard to best with a regular ebike kit. Even a stock PAII hobbit will hit low 40's with a bit of work. Under 10mph the electric really shines, over that speed 50cc can start making pretty good power.

All the chain drive 50cc bikes get stomped though, except for long flat top speed runs. In downtown traffic electric wins hands down.

 

[Spicerack]

A mid drive ebike setup with the motor set at peak efficientcy/power rpm, running to a nuvinci cv rear hub. That's the way to go! There's some on here already and I like the idea.

 

[Drunkskunk]

Mopeds are limited to a max of 2.5hp, 1875 watts, and 1 speed, sometimes varated (CVT). The old belt drives had no torque below 6000 rpm, and a power band of not much. Modern 4 stroke scooters have far more torque than even a hot kitted moped.


Its not too hard to beat a moped with an ebike. modern scooter is a bit harder to beat but still passable on most 500watt motors pushed above 2000 watts.

 

[deronmoped]

Mopeds have a lot going for them.

150 MPG. They have about a gallon on board, so you can see that is quite a long way you can travel. No registration or insurance. You do need a plate though. No charging required. Just carry a couple of ounces of oil mix with you and you can fill up at any gas station.

 

[deronmoped]

Mopeds are limited to a max of 2.5hp, 1875 watts, and 1 speed, sometimes varated (CVT). The old belt drives had no torque below 6000 rpm, and a power band of not much. Modern 4 stroke scooters have far more torque than even a hot kitted moped.


Its not too hard to beat a moped with an ebike. modern scooter is a bit harder to beat but still passable on most 500watt motors pushed above 2000 watts.

Here in California, it's 2HP max, 30 MPH max, under 50cc, has to have pedals. Some bikes I have are 1 speed, some are two speed, others are CVT. I have a old Sears And Roebuck Puch, it's a 2 speed, with the shifter incorporated into the left brake lever.

Mopeds are not know to be drag racers. That would require a total different animal. The way most are designed, they get the job done, quite well. Getting you from point A to point B in a efficient manner.