A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both

bicycle pedals The pedal is the part of a bicycle that the rider pushes with their foot to propel the vehicle. It provides the connection between the cyclist's foot or shoe and the crank allowing the leg to turn the bottom bracket spindle and propel the bicycl ...

and a

motorcycle engine A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle. Motorcycle engines are typically two-stroke or four-stroke internal combustion engines, but other engine types, such as Wankels and electric motors, have been used. Although some moped ...

. Mopeds typically travel only a bit faster than bicycles 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 design, while others have motorcycle frame designs, including a backbone and a raised fuel tank, mounted directly between the

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not k ...

and the

head tube The head tube is the part of a cycle's tubular frame within which the front fork steerer tube is mounted. On a motorcycle, the "head tube" is normally called the steering head. On bicycles the manufacturer's brand located on the head tube is kno ...

. Some resemble motorized bicycles. Most are similar to a regular motorcycle but with pedals and a

crankset The crankset (in the US) or chainset (in the UK), is the component of a bicycle drivetrain that converts the reciprocating motion of the rider's legs into rotational motion used to drive the chain or belt, which in turn drives the rear wheel ...

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 ATVs and

go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance racing ...

) 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 A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsvelocipede A velocipede () is a human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede today is the bicycle. The term was probably first coined by Karl von Drais in French as ''vélocipède'' for the French translation ...

'' is incorrect. According to

Douglas Harper Douglas A. Harper (born 1948) is an American sociologist and photographer. He is the holder of the Rev. Joseph A. Lauritis, C.S.Sp. Endowed Chair in Teaching with Technology at Duquesne University, a chair funded by a grant from the Mellon Found ...

, 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 scooters, 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 clutches 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 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 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 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-powere ...

. Other jurisdictions may categorize the same machines as mopeds, creating a certain amount of confusion. In many countries

three-wheeler A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles. Ove ...

s and

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are oft ...

s 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 similarly or as " light quadricycles". The Ariel 3, a motorised three-wheeler is classed as a moped. In 1977, the

Vienna Convention on Road Traffic The Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by establishing standard traffic rules among the co ...

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 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 Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor,

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

Emissions

Mopeds can achieve fuel economy of over . The emissions 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 automobile standards. In the same study, four-stroke 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 A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious c ...

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 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 Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is ...

and

motorcross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

ers,

cafe racer A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

s 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 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.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Motorcycle classifications Swedish words and phrases