Owning a 50cc moped gives you the freedom to travel to your friend’s house or into town when you want to and they are a great way to prepare for a real motorbike as they only reach 30mph which is the perfect way to gain road confidence. You can then upgrade to a 125cc or above when you want and go much faster.
The low insurance costs on these mopeds are also a good factor and they don’t require much petrol. They also have the bonus of being able to get into many places that cars can’t because of their size and easy manoeuvrability. However, the drawback to this is the safety issue as you don’t have much protection on a scooter and some road users will give you less than enough consideration. Overall, however, this is the only set back and the benefits of a moped are numerous in comparison.
Once you turn 16 in the UK you can legally get a permit for a 50cc scooter. The same with driving a car there are lots of responsibilities when riding a moped and you’ll need to use your common sense. Experience on the roads will come with times and treating your moped as a proper vehicle rather than a toy to show off on is the first step. Mopeds can leave you very vulnerable on the road as you have no protection, so until you’ve passed all your tests and are fully confident keep L plates on your moped to alert other drivers.
Traffic is daunting when you first encounter it in any kind of vehicle and mopeds are no different. You need to be able to adapt quickly to changing conditions on the road even more in a moped and this in turn will keep your reactions highly tuned. 50cc mopeds can only reach 30mph and this speed allows you to be able to pay more attention to your surroundings and become more self aware. Every road bump will jolt you more than in a car, so balance is a key factor in good moped control!
Your body is much more responsible for controlling a moped than you would need to in a car and all of your body has a part to play. Your left hand controls the clutch to change gears and your right hand is responsible for the brake. In addition to this your left foot then changes the gear and controls the signals, reversing, lights and moving to the reserve fuel tank whilst your right foot is mainly for balance.
50cc scooters and 125cc motorbikes are the best kinds of vehicles to use in order to gain road sense in preparation for a proper bike or even a car. However, think about what you as a person would be the most comfortable with. You will need to be mature and responsible to ride a moped and be able to pay your way much better than a tank of petrol in a car will.
