Moped

Mopeds are a class of low-powered motorized vehicle under 50cc, generally two-wheeled. A Moped is driven in an upright position with the rider's back at a right angle to the seat. Moped classification is designed to allow the use of small motorized vehicles, avoiding the safety restrictions and license requirement of larger motorcycles. In many countries[citation needed] microcars like Aixam and Piaggio Ape are classified as mopeds because of their low top speed and small capacity engine.


In legal literature, mopeds are normally defined by limits on engine displacement, speed, power output, transmissions, or the requirement of pedals. In some countries, the legal driving age for a moped is lower than for larger motorcycles, and consequently mopeds are popular among the youth. Typically, mopeds are restricted to 30-75 km/h (18-47 mph) and engines less than 50 cc. Some localities require pedals, thus making them a form of hybrid vehicle, using both human power and machine power. Because of their small size, many jurisdictions consider them "limited speed motorcycle."


History
Early moped, a bicycle with a helper motor on the rear hub.

The earliest mopeds, introduced in the early 1950s, were standard bicycles with a helper motor in various locations, for example on top of the front wheel; they were also called cyclemotors. An example of this type is the VéloSoleX brand, which simply had a rubber 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 98 cc engine were known as autocycles. However, 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; see full article there. Some jurisdictions, however, may categorize these as a type of moped, creating a certain amount of confusion.

Some mopeds have been designed with more than two wheels, similar to a microcar, or the three wheeled (two front, one back) transport moped.

Batavus Starflite HS
 
Mopeds and the United States of America

In 1974, the United States was in the midst of a national fuel crisis due to the OPEC oil embargo. Travellers were forced to wait in lines for hours just to get fuel. Most cars at that time were not very fuel-efficient and people looked for a new method of transportation, which could allow them to travel efficiently and reasonably.

The moped, which was half bicycle / half motorcycle had existed for years in Europe but had not made it to the United States, in part because of safety restrictions implemented by the Department of Transportation. In 1972, Serge Seguin of France wrote his Masters thesis on the European moped. After receiving two mopeds and a small amount of money from a company called Motobecane, Seguin travelled throughout the United States promoting the vehicle. After lobbying Congress on its fuel efficiency benefits, Seguin was able to get more than 30 states to devise a specific vehicle classification for the bikes.

The bikes had very small engines and often could not exceed 40 miles per hour. What they could do, however, was run for up to 220 miles (350 km) on one tank of fuel. Because of the problems caused by the aforementioned energy crisis, mopeds quickly became popular, with more than 250,000 people in the United States owning one in 1977. However, as gas prices eventually moved down and automobile companies devised more efficient cars, the moped's popularity and usefulness began to fade.

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The original moped – a bike equipped with a motor


The word moped was coined by Swedish journalist Harald Nielsen in 1952, as a portmanteau of motor and pedal. It is however often claimed to be derived from "motor velociped", as Velocipede is an obsolete term for bicycle that is still being used in some languages such as Russian.[1] 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).[2]

Other terms used for low-powered cycles include: Mofa (Motor-Fahrrad, German for motor-bicycle), Mokick (equipped with kick-start), Motorbicycle, Motorized Bicycle, Motor-Driven Cycle, and Goped (motorized inline skateboard with T-bar), Mopo (Moottoripolkupyörä, Finnish meaning motor-powered bicycle).