'What if?' scenario: 50cc two-stroke for loooooooong trips

[mj]

While driving through the city on my beloved Hercules 50cc mokick yesterday enjoying the sun my mind started to wander. I've had one of those 'what if' moments that are mostly gone as fast as they came, but this one stuck. I'm not sure why, maybe because this thought has crossed my mind several times now...

What if one was to embark on a really loooong trip on a 50cc two-stroke scooter / moped / mokick?

I was seriously starting to consider pros and cons and caught myself debating the logistics of such a trip in my head. Obviously, a 50cc two-stroke is not a very powerful machine and tops out at 45-55 km/h. Thus, one would need a lot of time to get from A to B. At the same time it has several advantages - easy to fix (it's a two-stroke, there's pretty much nothing that can go wrong), very light (my Hercules weighs 62kg, 50cc scooters tend to average around 80-90kg), and has amazing fuel economy (my average in the city is more than 120 mpg US / 140 mpg UK). They're small and would save a lot of money when shipping / flying, and they're dirt cheap. If one was going out of Europe one could also modify the engine a bit - a 50cc two-stroke can easily do 70-90 km/h without showing any significant increase in wear and I highly doubt that anyone outside of Europe would really care. Spare parts and capable mechanics shouldn't be much of a problem either since pretty much all of Asia and huga parts of Africa still run on two-strokes.

So, anyone ever done something like that before? I remember reading about this one guy from California who went on a several week Sasquatch hunt on a moped but he never faced shipping, insurance questions, etc. Compared to travelling on a big bike it would obviously be quite a different experience but I'm not quite sure it'd be as enjoyable...

[drewmillar]

Have a look at Voyage en Mobylette. the photos are good and it's worth translating the french text.

I met him in Ireland on his Mobylette before he went back to france and then on to north america.

Like most trips, his depended on him rather than on his equipment.

drew

[nKmS]

There was a report in advrider some time ago of someone going with a moped fron Syndey to London.

Sydney to London on a moped called Dot - ADVrider

anything possible

n.

[mj]

Ah yes, I remember the Postman. Big difference though: it's a 7.5kW engine that tops out at around 80-90 km/h and not a ~3kW engine that tops out at around 50 km/h. In other words, his Dot is pretty much like a 125cc motorcycle. Didn't know about the Mobylette guy, that looks quite intesresting. After all the only difference between a moped and a mokick is that the latter has a kickstart instead of pedals.

[backofbeyond]

I've done medium length trips (= within Europe) on a 50cc bike (Honda C50) and on a number of 100 -125cc bikes. The larger bikes were ok - even on the autobahns, although having huge trucks a few inches off your back wheel for miles on end can be a bit intimidating.

Once, on a 100cc Suzuki, I got boxed in by 4 trucks - front, back, left and right on the autobahn near Frankfurt. It was dark and wet and I'm not sure three of the truckers knew I was there. The (two stroke) bike was flat out for about 2 miles before the formation broke up.

The C50 was just too slow - more akin to cycling (that's on my bone shaker bike, not Tour de France stuff). Even with the right "mind set" it was too slow. Speed I'd accept as ok on a pedal bike (at least I'd be getting fit!) was just frustrating on the Honda.

I suppose it might have been different if I'd had an open ended schedule and could live with just covering a few miles each day but I didn't. The second time I used it in Europe I left it in Germany and got a pillion ride back on another bike.

[mj]

Originally Posted by backofbeyond

The C50 was just too slow - more akin to cycling (that's on my bone shaker bike, not Tour de France stuff). Even with the right "mind set" it was too slow. Speed I'd accept as ok on a pedal bike (at least I'd be getting fit!) was just frustrating on the Honda.

That's what I'm afraid of, to be honest. It might be different outside of Europe though but then again it might not be powerful enough for going offroad - one might get stuck somewhere.

[backofbeyond]

Certainly two up the C50 ground to a halt when my wife and I tried off-roading one in Crete (and no, we're not hugely overweight!).

At least it was light enough to push fairly easily but if you have to do that you might as well walk.

Pic taken just before we got to the off road section:

[masukomi]

Couple Links:
2 people two up on a Yamaha C3 across Canada (the long way)
Scooter Across Canada - Home

The adventures of Wan. An excellent thread about a Korean guy who circumnavigated the U.S. on a Honda Ruckus.
TotalRuckus :: View topic - The Adventures of Wan - Rucking Across the US! [Part 1]

[Robertsmits]

Your story reminds me of my teenage years when all we did was riding 50cc,s, done them up so they would do 70/90 km/hr. This was Amsterdam in the 70´s and we had Yamaha´s , Kreidlers, Zundapps and the odd four stroke Honda´s. Germans would occaisonally come to Holland on their Herculesses and they were somewhat of a novelty for they weren´t on sale in Holland. Anyway we did take our mopeds on holidays as far as Luxemburg and France, with campinggear etc. strapped on the back.
The lack of speed can be a bit awkward at times especially uphill and a poorly tuned two stroke can clog up the engine and exhaust after extended drives, I know this out of experience! We were young and silly, took many risks driving on German roads (from Echternach to Trier to meet up with some girls) while the traffic was screaming past us. We are the living proof that it can be done!

Rob

[uganduro]

Schwalbenflug - auf der Zugvogel-Route nach Afrika


MJ,
their ride tales until Cape Town got printed in a few german magazines, even in the free "Motorrad Szene Bayern".