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A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or
automobiles A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...
. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typically travel only a bit faster than
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...
s on public roads. Mopeds are distinguished from motor scooters in that the latter tend to be more powerful and subject to more regulation. Some mopeds have a
step-through frame A step-through frame (also known as open frame, drop frame, or low-step frame) is a type of bicycle frame, often used for utility bicycles, with a low or absent top tube or cross-bar. Traditionally, bicycles with a step-through frame were known ...
design, while others have motorcycle frame designs, including a backbone and a raised fuel tank, mounted directly between the saddle and the head tube. Some resemble
motorized bicycle A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it sometimes retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-power ...
s. Most are similar to a regular motorcycle but with pedals and a crankset that may be used with or instead of motor drive. Although mopeds usually have two wheels, some jurisdictions classify low-powered three- or four-wheeled vehicles (including
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and go-kart) as a moped. In some countries, a moped can be any motorcycle with an engine capacity below (most commonly or lower).


Etymology

The word ''moped'' was coined by the Swedish journalist Harald Nielsen in 1952, as a portmanteau of the Swedish words and . The claimed derivation from the term ''motor- velocipede'' is incorrect. According to Douglas Harper, the Swedish terms originated from "(''trampcykel med'') ''mo(tor och'') ''ped(aler'')", which means "pedal cycle with engine and pedals" (the earliest versions had auxiliary pedals). Like some of the earliest two wheeled motorcycles, all mopeds were once equipped with bicycle pedals. The term ''moped'' has now been applied by some regional governments to vehicles without pedals such as
motor scooter A scooter (motor scooter) is a motorcycle with an underbone or step-through frame, a seat, and a platform for the rider's feet, emphasizing comfort and fuel economy. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles ...
s, based on criteria of restricted engine displacement, speed, and/or power output. This is a misnomer, as they are no longer "mopeds" at all, and might instead be called a "noped" if they appear to look exactly like a typical moped, but no longer include pedals.


History

The term "moped" now only applies to low-power (often super-economy) vehicles, but pedals were fitted to some early motorcycles, such as the pictured 1912 Douglas. Pedaling away from stationary was a great improvement over "run and jump" and light pedal assistance (LPA) was valuable for climbing hills. Better transmissions with wider ranges, better
clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
es and much better engine performance made pedals obsolete on most motorcycles by 1918 but the pedals on mopeds remained valuable for their original purposes as late as the 1990s. The earliest mopeds were bicycles with a helper motor in various locations, for example on top of the front wheel; they were also called cyclemotors. An example of that type is the
VéloSoleX VéloSoleX is a moped, or motorised bicycle, usually just referred to as 'Solex', which was originally produced by the French manufacturer Solex, based in Courbevoie near Paris, France. The company manufactured centrifugal radiators, carburetors ...
brand, which simply has a roller driving the front tire. A more innovative design was known in the UK as the Cyclemaster. This had a complete powered rear wheel which was simply substituted for the bicycle rear wheel, which originated from a design by two
DKW DKW (''Dampf-Kraft-Wagen'', en, "steam-powered car", also ''Deutsche Kinder-Wagen'' en, "German children's car". ''Das-Kleine-Wunder'', en, "the little wonder" or ''Des-Knaben-Wunsch'', en, "the boy's wish"- from when the company built to ...
engineers in Germany. Slightly larger machines, commonly with a engine were known as autocycles. On the other hand, some mopeds, such as the Czech-made Jawa, were derived from motorcycles. A further category of low-powered two-wheelers exists today in some jurisdictions for bicycles with helper motors – these are often defined as power-assisted bicycles or motorized bicycles. Other jurisdictions may categorize the same machines as mopeds, creating a certain amount of confusion. In many countries three-wheelers and microcars are classified as mopeds or variations thereof. This practice is not restricted to the third world; France and Belgium classify microcars such as the
Aixam Aixam-Mega is a French automobile manufacturer based in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie. It was founded in 1983 to make microcars following the acquisition of Arola. On 11 April 2013, US based Polaris Industries announced that it had acquired Aixam-Mega ...
similarly or as " light quadricycles". The
Ariel 3 Ariel 3 (UK 3 or United Kingdom Research Satellite 3) was a satellite in the Ariel programme, a satellite partnership between the US and UK. Three of the onboard experiments continued research from the first two missions and two experiments were ...
, a motorised three-wheeler is classed as a moped. In 1977, the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic considers the moped any two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicle which is fitted with an internal combustion engine having a cylinder capacity not exceeding 50 cc. File:Woman on Velosolex.jpg, A woman riding a 2005
VéloSoleX VéloSoleX is a moped, or motorised bicycle, usually just referred to as 'Solex', which was originally produced by the French manufacturer Solex, based in Courbevoie near Paris, France. The company manufactured centrifugal radiators, carburetors ...
Black'n Roll S4800 in France File:Flat twin Douglas 1912 N 3.jpg, This 1912 Douglas has modern chain-drive but still has pedals File:1947 Moped, Bangor, ME IMG 2522.JPG, 1947 Italian-made moped on display at the
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in Bangor, Maine


Emissions

Mopeds can achieve fuel economy of over . The
emissions Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: **Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit rad ...
of mopeds have been the subject of multiple studies. Studies have found that two-stroke 50 cc mopeds, with and without catalytic converters, emit ten to thirty times the hydrocarbons and particulate emissions of the outdated
Euro 3 The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a ser ...
automobile standards. In the same study,
four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...
mopeds, with and without catalytic converters, emitted three to eight times the hydrocarbons and particulate emissions of the Euro 3 automobile standards. Approximate parity with automobiles was achieved with NOx emissions in these studies. Emissions performance was tested on a g/km basis and was unaffected by fuel economy. Currently in the United States, the EPA allows motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds with engine displacements less than to emit ten times the NOx and six times the CO as the median Tier II bin 5 automobile regulations. An additional air quality problem can also arise from the use of moped and scooter transportation over automobiles, as a higher density of motorized vehicles can be supported by existing transportation infrastructure.


Safety

Safely riding a moped mostly requires the same considerations as safely riding a motorcycle. However the lower speeds reduce some dangers and increase others. The biggest danger is that other traffic may not notice the presence of a moped; bright clothes and reflective fittings help. Drivers may even see the moped, recognize it as harmless to them and simply forget it is there, pulling out of side-turnings into its path. Similarly, a car approaching a moped from behind will approach it more quickly than the driver expects, and the driver's attention may be more attuned to other automobile traffic rather than the moped, increasing the likelihood of an accident. This is a particular problem for mopeds used on high-speed roads where they may not be intended to travel. Mopeds are often illegally tuned for higher speeds, powers or engine displacements than allowed. For this to be legal, such vehicles should be re-registered as motorcycles, and their driver's license requirements, taxes, insurance costs, and minimum driver age would be higher. A tuned vehicle, not designed for higher speeds, is not as safe as a purpose-designed motorcycle. A survey of Finnish high school vocational and gymnasium students found that 80% and 70% of their respective mopeds were tuned. Only 10% of trade school students had a moped that conformed to legislation. The average maximum speed was 72 km/h, far higher than the legally allowable 45 km/h. Another study reported that of school-age moped owners, 50% of boys and 15% of girls have an illegally tuned moped.


Individual countries/regions


Sports moped

In the United Kingdom during the 1970s, a high-performance derivation of the moped concept was developed, aimed at 16-year-olds. It was created in order to circumvent governmental legislation aimed at forcing young motorcycle riders off the road. These new laws, called the "Sixteener Law", were introduced by John Peyton, the then
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
Minister for Transport in 1971. They forbade 16-year-olds from riding motorcycles of up to capacity as they had done before, and limited them to machines until they were 17. The law provoked motorcycle manufacturers to develop new class of motorcycle which were then called "sports mopeds" or, colloquially, "sixteener specials" and was subject to much criticism. The market for these was primarily young males. Sports mopeds were ostensibly motorcycles, capable of doing more than in some cases, with bicycle-style pedals added to them which the law required were capable of propelling the vehicle. Models were produced by Japanese manufacturers Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki, and European companies such as Puch, Fantic, Gilera, Gitane and Garelli from 1972 onwards, the most famous of which was the Yamaha FS1-E. They included roadsters, enduro and motorcrossers, cafe racers and choppers or scooters,The Motorcycle Book. Alan Seeley. MotorBooks International, 2 May 2004 and led to a boom interest in motorcycling similar to the early 1960
rocker Rocker or rockers may refer to: Places *Rocker, Montana, a neighborhood in Butte, Montana, United States People *Rocker, a British drummer, formerly of The Flatmates *Fermin Rocker (1907–2004), painter and illustrator *John Rocker (born 1974), ...
period. The government responded again by bringing in even more restrictive legislation in 1977 which limited mopeds to a weight of and a top speed to . The move contributed to the demise of the UK motorcycle market.Funky Mopeds!: The 1970s Sports Moped Phenomenon. Richard Skelton. MBI Publishing Company, 1 May 2007 In Continental Europe no such restrictions existed and such vehicles could be ridden by 14-year-olds.


See also

* Daelim (Trac) * Honda * Jawa Moto * Moped Army * Motobecane * Personal transporter * Peugeot * Piaggio * Puch * Rabasa Cycles (Derbi) * ZF Sachs * Tomos * Vespa


References


External links

* {{Authority control Motorcycle classifications Swedish words and phrases