The Age of Mopeds? | TheaterFire

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1_21-gigawatts@reddit

Anybody remember the saying, something about being seen riding mopeds and dating women of great density?

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OtakuTacos@reddit

Fun to ride until your friends see you

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EnjoyingTheRide-0606@reddit

They’ve been replaced with electric “bikes” aka motorcycles that should require a license!!

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Awkward-Actuator-596@reddit

My mom got a moto guzzi robin during the gas crisis. I used to ride on the rack on the back…helmets no I was too small we only had adult sized ones. I was about 10 when it officially became my toy.

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303FPSguy@reddit

Kids now have E-bikes that do 40 mph.

I remember a friend of mine had one when we were like 14-15. We’d rip around in the neighborhood and he’d tow us around on our bikes.

Fun and dangerous, perfect Gen X pastime

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My State requires you to be 16+ (under 18 requires parent permission) to have at least a moped license if you don't have a regular driver's license, moped must be registered and insured, and you can't be revoked or suspended. That will cut out the folks that lost their licenses.

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Fast_Drink_9516@reddit

I see them all the time, E bikes!

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vistaculo@reddit

This is the answer. E bikes are the modern mopeds; and the kids are riding them everywhere.

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Fast_Drink_9516@reddit

Boomers "mountain biking" on e bikes is the worst!

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D1sp4tcht@reddit

E-bikes have replaced them. 10 yr olds doing 45 down sidewalks with no gear. Any bets on if these will last longer than 3 wheelers? 😄

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_Aardvark@reddit

In NJ ebikes are basically mopeds now after a recent law change. I believe you need a license and have to have them insured or something.

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FailureFulcrim@reddit

Totally this they're a scourge around me. There have been dozens of accidents and at least one death. They have also caused multiple house fires. I cannot believe they haven't banned/controlled them yet. At least with a moped you needed some kind of license to use them.

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MegaWorldPeace96@reddit

~Half the girls I dated in the 90's had a tailpipe scar (including my wife) 🛵

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tultamunille@reddit

E-bikes have replaced them and become a scourge

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accidentallyHelpful@reddit

MoPeds back then were also ridden by guys who lost their license

We had Harley wannabe guys from Jr High to their late 20s riding MoPeds with the chain from a belt loop on big bell jeans to the brown leather wallet ... the white waffle long sleeve thermal under a black s/s Tshirt with the name of the local H-D dealership

eBikes are the new MoPeds

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Squirrelhenge@reddit

If you had a Puch, you were clearly elite

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ancientastronaut2@reddit

My sister had one but my dad took it away when she crashed it and burned her leg on the tailpipe or something. I was like eight and had a couple rides on it.

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Sad-Corner-9972@reddit

My friends got Honda Express scooters (no pedals). One kid had a Puch Maxi-which we called “douche maxipad” …I got pretty fast on my 10 speed trying to keep up. Late ‘70s.

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wigrey@reddit

I got a used Honda Express when I was 13 and rode it until I could get a license. I could get it up to 28MPH going down a hill with a tailwind. I remember filling the tank took something like $0.75.

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redfyv@reddit

I live in a college town and they are everywhere. Mostly college students but some high schoolers as well. They don’t seem as popular with middle schoolers as in our day. We actually have two moped dealerships in town.

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thirtyone-charlie@reddit

My parents were adamant that I would never sit astride anything with two wheels and a motor. One of my buddies got a moped so I was relegated to hop onto the book rack as soon as we went around the corner from my house. Dumb and dumber 1981

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hedgehog77433@reddit

In New Jersey, you could not get a moped license until 15. I had one until I could get my normal DL at 17.

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lubbockin@reddit

80s moped gangs like mini outlaw 1%ers then gone overnight.

I remember the era and even had a moped in 1985

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Ok_Transition7785@reddit

There were MOPED bikie gangs? LOL Motorcycle 1%ers were everywhere in the world but Im LMAO about forming a gang with a 8 hp toy :-D Was it like the Backstreet Boys of gangs?

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lubbockin@reddit

About 10-15 lads on various mopeds all tearing along at 28mph.. Wonder if any went on to join an MC later.?

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Thin-Telephone2240@reddit

In San Diego in 1978 I bought a used Batavus moped (made in Netherlands) that I commuted to work with every day. It was cheap to buy, cheap to own. Perfectly fine for getting around and I rode it all over the city. Someone stole it.

After that I found a deal on a used Motobecane moped (made in France) and used that one for a couple of years before the plastic Variator Guide cracked. Took a year to receive a replacement from France! In that time I'd decided to get the hell out of California and moved to another State. I took the moped with me, eventually gave it away to a nephew.

The Motobecane's engine had been worked over by a motorcycle mechanic/machinist. He got it to be capable of 40mph on long straight runs. That dropped the 108mpg claimed for it down a bit but it was still wonderfully cheap to operate. And I rarely exceeded 25mph on it anyway.

By the way, I may be the only person to ever visit Mount Palomar Observatory on a moped. I setup the Motobecane to hold my backpacking tent and gear. Carried an extra gallon of mixed gas and a small tool kit. Took the back roads from San Diego all the way to the top of the mountain. Returned in a big loop that took me south over the Cuyamacas.

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wrm340@reddit

I still have a Jawa T40. I also had a Motobecane but sold it last year to biker dude.

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WilliamTK1974@reddit

Being born in '74, I may have missed the biggest part of the moped craze, but I remember knowing what a moped was and wanting one badly. They sounded like cool fun. When I asked for and badgered the parental units about getting one, their response was, ummm, no. It probably didn't help that one of our cousins was badly injured and rendered paraplegic on a three-wheeler.

In retrospect, memory suggests that mopeds were more of a "rich kid" thing in my area. My family wasn't poor, but nor were we wealthy, so even if parental disapproval hadn't been an issue, I doubt we would have bought anything like that.

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Practical_Wind_1917@reddit

When I was scooter driving age in the early 90’s. We couldn’t afford one, not many families around me could. Only the kids from the rich families had them.

They always ran around in a little scooter gang.

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RadioStalingrad@reddit

OP is talking about mopeds though, which have always been a lot cheaper than scooters and typically associated with a decidedly not-rich demographic. I recall the joke always being if you saw someone over 16 driving one you assumed they had a DUI.

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Practical_Wind_1917@reddit

A moped and a scooter are the same damn thing when we were growing up. You could call them each the same thing and people know what you meant

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RadioStalingrad@reddit

A moped is a motorized bicycle. It has pedals and can be ridden like a bike when the motor isn’t running. Not the same at all.

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Reader47b@reddit

E-bikes are pretty big around here. Not as much mopeds.

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MissDisplaced@reddit

I think these E-bikes are the modern equivalent to mopeds. Some scooters too.

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Bishop-Logan@reddit

My dad got me a JAWA in the 80's before I could drive a car. Loved riding that thing until HS bullies ripped the gas tank off of it @ school.

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SnowblindAlbino@reddit

There is a household of three younger men in our neighborhood, probably all about 30. They have three shiny mopeds in their garage, the legit kind that actually have pedals (not scooters, but mopeds). In the summer they ride them around town, often all three of them side-by-side, in the evenings and on weekends. We call them the Moped Mafia.

Other than those I have not seen a moped on the road here in 30+ years. Lots of scooters though. My dad got a scooter (a Honda Xpress in fact) around 1978 and used it to ride to work for a couple of years.

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Dead_Is_Better@reddit

Seemed like everybody I knew had one in the late 70's early 80's. The coolest one was a Harley-Davidson moped a friend had that was manufactured in Italy. That one had some zip to it.

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Mysterious_Winter164@reddit

A Harley Topper?

https://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/1962_harley-davidson_topper-ah_img_3388-76422.jpg?fit=940%2C627

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RetroBerner@reddit

Growing up in Germany everyone had one, but I don't know a single person in the US with one.

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JKT5911@reddit

In 1975 I bought a Puch Maxi for $502.95 from Bernie’s Bike Shop in Woodbridge NJ. It was a time when you didn’t need to register them or need a helmet and insurance. A couple of years later everything changed and you need a license, registration, insurance and wear a helmet.

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Fringelunaticman@reddit

Why moped when you can ebike?

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stlcdr@reddit

Mopeds just don’t have the power for those that can afford them now. Younger generations done need the mobility that we needed. As noted, electric bikes likely fill that niche.

I’m in my 50s and have been looking at new Vespas (why? I dunno…mid life crisis, I can afford it, nostalgia, why not?)

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ClassBShareHolder@reddit

Look into the Suzuki Bergman. Basically an adult scooter that can go highway speeds. It’s for people that want to get into motorbikes but don’t want to throw their leg over the seat. Step through just like the Vespas.

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Wactout@reddit

In Chicago, they’re having the 32nd anniversary of an entire Scooter convention. It’s called slaughterhouse. I’ll be tattooing at it. It’s a ton of fun. I’m this >< close to buying a vespa because of it.

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Likinhikin-@reddit

I had 2 mopeds! First was a Ciao? Only went about 26 mph. Paid $100 used.

Second was a Puch, and it topped out at about 33 mph. Paid $150 used.

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Bartlaus@reddit

I had an old Tempo Panter (iconic 1960s-1970s Norwegian moped) I inherited from my great uncle. Was born just barely too late to be allowed to ride it without a license (as they tightened up regulations) but a tractor license was sufficient and I needed that anyway since we had a farm.

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CollectsTooMuch@reddit

I just saw one on the road a few days ago! I pointed it out to my 16 year old daughter and described it. Apparently, they’re suss. Whatever the hell that means.

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TheFightens@reddit

Yep. Had a red Jawa. Drove it everywhere around town when I was 13-15 years old. It took several years before I got pulled over and plead ignorance about needing to be 16 to ride one.

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Reddiculusness@reddit

my dad was a Tennessee Vols fan , he bought me one of these and a matching 3/4 helmet in the mid 70s

I wasn't a fan of the color, but it sure was easy to spot me from a mile away

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randallwade@reddit

I remember them well. I crashed a moped and a mini bike. Modern equivalent is an e-bike. There are a bunch of kids in my neighborhood that have ones that are built to look like dirt bikes and wear the full face helmets to match

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Machinebuzz@reddit

We all had motorcycles and 3-wheelers.

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Carefree_Highway@reddit

Heck yeah. We had a kid in our hometown who was like 12 and had one. Omg he’s breaking the law! Just ripping around town. Dad must’ve been city something or other

Now I just see all these kids w 25mph e-bikes and I’m insanely jealous

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theghostofcslewis@reddit

We had "Moped Gangs" in Raleigh. There was a pond near the mall where all the stolen ones ended up.

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RadioStalingrad@reddit

I remember there being a moped gang in RVA when I was in my 20s. It seemed to be a sort of indie-kid response to the Vespa scooter revival.

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Redhook338@reddit

I had the brochure for Honda Elite 80 back in the day. Just couldn't convince my mom after I got busted by the cops driving my mini bike around the neighborhood. Also wanted a Honday Odyssey really bad too.

By high school you were the shit if you had a vintage Vespa.

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TheJokersChild@reddit

Sorry, I can't picture a Honda Odyssey as anything but a minivan. Didn't know that name had a former life.

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Ok_Transition7785@reddit

In America? It never happened. The Vespa trend never caught with our huge freeways abs suburbs etc. In Europe and especially India, it was huge. Indias is massive now.

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RadioStalingrad@reddit

OP is talking about mopeds though, not scooters.

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LVMom@reddit

Anything that goes over 15 MPH is considered a motorcycle in Las Vegas. These have been creating an impossible situation for us. Do we treat them as pedestrians or motorcycles as they assume to adopt pedestrian laws as necessary and motorcycle laws when necessary

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TheJokersChild@reddit

This might be part of the dilemma that made NJ require license & reigstration for e-bikes: they've got a motor and two wheels like a motorcycle, motorcycles require license & registration, so now e-bikes have to, too.

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2_Bagel_Dog@reddit

Honda Spree came out just before I turned 15 and those things were EVERYWHERE.

I couldn't afford one, so I bought a really small ancient Yamaha motorcycle and somehow got the registration as a moped - I guess things were a bit more lax then.

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TheJokersChild@reddit

Motor Vehicles classified it by engine size, most likely.

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RedditSkippy@reddit

I can remember there was a hot minute when Vespas were the rage. Cool idea, but at least in the Northeast US, they don’t run for several months during cold weather. I think a lot of people bought them without realizing that. I also knew someone who had two of them stolen.

I see people zipping around on those e-scooters now. If that’s your thing, then these make more sense to me in an urban environment than Vespas do.

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integrator74@reddit

In the mid 80s they were fairly expensive around me. One “rich” buddy had one and that was it.

Seems like golf carts took over around here 7-8 years ago, and now e-bikes are the thing.

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MostlyBrine@reddit

The amount of work it takes to keep a moped running, not to mention the smell and dirt, had made them lose the game to the electric bikes. Granted, there are sone cool mopeds out there, however the price tag doesn’t help an average person. You can buy a used car for the price of a moped, and at least you are out if the rain.

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GrandMarquisMark@reddit

I had a Puch and bent it in half taking it over a sweet jump.

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stlcdr@reddit

But it was worth it, right?

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GrandMarquisMark@reddit

Oh hell yeah! I was airborne for at least a tenth of a second!

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Ray_The_Engineer@reddit

Yep, we had a moped, a Motobecane; my dad would use it to run errands around Charlotte...which seems suicidal now given modern Charlotte traffic. It's the first motorized anything that I drove alone. Mopeds seem to have been replaced (at least around here) by scooters, ATV's and small electric bikes.

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Cool_Dark_Place@reddit

Can confirm... I had a scooter when I lived in Charlotte about 10 years ago. Lived close to Mt. Holly on Mt. Holly/Huntersville Rd., and rode it 13 miles each day to work on Tryon St. Lol... let's just say it gave me my daily "adrenaline fix." Although traffic had gotten so bad, I could usually make better time on the backroads on my scooter than my roommate could make taking I-77 to Brookshire Blvd. back home in his car.

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Ray_The_Engineer@reddit

Wow, I lived in Huntersville for 26 years, and know Mt. Holly/Huntersville Rd well! I rode motorcycles quite a bit in the 1990's, would commute to work on one most days. Everyone is so distracted now in traffic that I hesitate to re-enter that world.

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Blue-Yellow-Werther@reddit

There is a gang of them in Portland called, “The Puddle Cutters”.

https://www.mopedarmy.com/branches/puddlecutters/

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Grunge4U@reddit

It's just evolution to electric bikes. I see far more of these than there ever were mopeds

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102aksea102@reddit

E-bike, e-scooters, and golf carts oh my.

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WiseAce1@reddit

They are out there at a lot of college campuses.

Although they have basically been replaced by e-bikes now which go almost as fast

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JJQuantum@reddit

My wife is going on a girls trip in a couple weeks to visit a historical town. She says she’s going to rent one to get around as the town isn’t huge. I told her I want a pic.

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rogun64@reddit

I had one around the same age. My friends and I rode all over the city and had a blast. I can remember filling it up for 50¢.

I was shocked that my parents let me have one, and despite all the fun I had, I'd never let my kids have one.

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TN_Geek@reddit

You see them. They just have gone electric. We call them E-bikes now.

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Neat_Ad_3268@reddit

I think you had a fun drunk dad who'd let you drive the moped.

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rottenbox@reddit

Ebikes and escooters have that market around me. Some of those scooters are fast too. Mostly adults on the bikes and teens on the stand up scooters. The scooters look like tonnes of fun and if I'd landed that job really close to home I could have seen myself getting one. Could ride my bike in the nice weather but I'm also a guy who gets sweaty really quickly so scooting over would have been fun.

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WatchPerfect6066@reddit

I dunno...im in my 50s and have always ridden big inline 4s...

but I recognise & take note of all types and respect their choices,

recently...I was nicely surprised,

this last summer just passed & in seQLD just before Xmas I seen a large bunch of new ' mods ' '...young guys and girls in their early - mid 20s on mopeds & scooters & honda groms at Willowbank raceway.

one of their mates was running a 2 stroke lambretta race scoote.

fucking awesome too....ran 11sec quarters & pulled wheelstands through the gears.

they were good people.very cool.

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vistaculo@reddit

A buddy of mine won a court case by bringing in the owner’s manual for his Vespa and showing the judge the manufacturer’s stated top speed to prove it was impossible for him to be clocked at 107mph…that mfer had a stroked and ported 180SS with a 210 barrel and a flat slide Mikuni, the thing did like 125. 😂

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