Legally Derestrict your 50cc Scooter

First of all, let's dispel some myths about the restricting your moped or scooter. A 50cc moped or scooter in the UK is speed restricted to 30 miles an hour and has a restriction on the brake horsepower only when ridden by a rider under the age of 17 ( i.e. a 16-year-old)

While there are still some restrictions on what you can do with your bike in terms of emissions, noise and at the extreme level performance, for all practical purposes if you are 17 years or older and your insurance company is happy with the changes you make to your bike (and they probably will be) then go ahead and make the most of your 50cc scooter and get it de restricted and achieve greater performance.

Here's a simple video of that in action.

Of course, it does have some practical downsides. Firstly you will need some mechanical expertise to get the job done. It's nothing that you couldn't learn in an hour or two of studying this video and maybe getting out your bikes owners manual and seeing how to apply the knowledge you just learned.

Then of course you are running your 50cc scooter much higher in its performance envelope once you de restricted. This will mean the life expectancy of the engine and other key components may be reduced somewhat.

Given that most scooters mopeds of this engine capacity are normally scrapped long before their engine runs out this property is a minor consideration.

I would also suggest that you take some time out on private land or a safe area first to practice on your newly de-restricted machine. The performance will be quite different. For instance it may take your breaks a little longer to bring you to a stop. Be aware of all this before you set out in traffic!

Having said that, it's unlikely that your new 50cc de-restricted scooter would even come close to the performance of a 125cc machine anyway so if you're used to larger engines in the first place then that should be fine.

Why a Scooter Makes Sense

Why are you telling me about 50cc Scooters?

I'm not an expert or a mechanic, but have had a 50cc or 125 cc scooter or moped for many years.

I took the Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) test several times before advancing to a full bike licence, but I still drive a 125cc machine for convenience and cost purposes.

I'm always being asked advice from people who are considering getting a moped.

• Where should I buy my first 50cc machine from?
• How much should I pay for a new or second hand moped?
• Do I have to pay road tax on a 125cc scooter?
• How much is the insurance on these bikes?
• Are spares easy to come by - what about machines from outside the EU?
• Are there things I can repair myself on the average scooter?
• Are they all two-stroke or four stroke engines in these machines? …

In fact the list of questions I'm asked is almost endless.

What I have noticed over the past three or four years is the age range of those asking these questions has changed dramatically.

There was a time when it was teenagers only talking about mopeds or scooters, particularly of the 50 cc: variety.Now I'm increasingly counselling middle-aged men and women who are looking to buy a small scooter or moped to commute to and from work all the shops.
It doesn't take a genius to work out why this is happening. It's basically the cost of fuel. At well over five pounds per gallon getting two or three times a fuel efficiency by riding a moped or scooter to work, particularly in the spring and summer months in the UK makes a lot of sense.

I have a work colleague who used to commute 35 miles each way five or six days a week.

That's between 350 and 420 miles per week. In traffic this meant 8 gallons of petrol minimum in his relatively modest family saloon.

Put another way 34 gallons of petrol a month at £170.
He bought a moped from a site I recommended and now uses less than 9 gallons a month.

That's a saving of £135 per month.

He bought his bike on credit terms that cost £104 per month. So from day one he is saving £31 per month...
and that includes actually buying the bike!

When he has finished paying for the vehicle (he had it on eight-month terms) he'll be saving the full £135 per month.But again that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Maintenance and repair costs on his moped, should anything go wrong, are far smaller than on his saloon. Road tax is less, insurance is less I could go on.
He is a "two-car family". He is now considering moving to a one-car family and having his scooter has his main form of transport.

It's no exageration to say that he's worked out that the cost savings per year would buy him his wife and his two children a 14 day holiday in the Caribbean, the savings really are that enormous.

Of course, a moped is not for everyone. I would never encourage anyone who felt they may feel unsafe or insecure or to ride a moped or scooter.

But for those of you considering it looking to make huge cost savings on your commute fuel efficiency, then they are a definite option.