50cc bikes for 16yr olds

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afc

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Hi,

my boy is 16 in Oct and desperate for a geared bike to use on the road for a year.

The market is small for these and they're limited to 30mph (which seems dangerous??)

The 2 I've been looking at are the Lexmoto Hunter https://www.lexmoto.co.uk/TD50Q-E4.php which is ?1k new, and the Aprilia RS50, which is expensive but available used for 1.5k-?2k with a bit of travel.

I guess my dilemma is the cost and effort to get him set up on this, only for the bike to be redundant in 12 months when he's after a 125.

On the flip side I take opportunities for him to get in to bikes and engines because it's not something I can teach him myself. All I do is ride but for him he's a petrolhead and wants to study mechanical engineering. Riding and maintaining a 50cc for a year then seems like time well spent.

Any opinions either way on these (other than he's spoilt - which he is :encouragement:)
 
Buy him a second hand bike that needs work done to it and a set of spanners. He will learn lots of lessons about maintenance (and himself) and it won't be kick in the wallet come 125 time.

At 16 I had a DT50 that needed constant fettling and I remember cracking the carb on it on a day out, everyone thought that was the end of my trip but some wriggleys spearmint gum jammed into the crack and then the cold fuel on it to solidify the chewy not only saw me home but it was like that for months, lol.
Fast forward a couple of years and I was servicing RAF Strike aircraft and then Nimrods, there is great satisfaction from getting a machine serviceable with limited tools and equipment, I wish your son well with his chosen studies.

JimmyMac
 
Thanks guys.

I just had another chat with him - he's not interested in going out of town, just to school and back and his girlfriends, so all 30mph limits within a couple of miles, which makes me feel better.

Jimmy Mac - thanks for the story! Last year he bought this cheap engine on ebay and racked it onto a bicycle and it actually works. It's impressive and terrifying (and no doubt horribly illegal). I wish I could post a video of that thing!

Your suggestion of a bike needing work sounds ideal for him

Thanks
 
He his honestly better with a twist and go.. i had a Yamaha Aerox and had in unrestriced. I was honestly much safer. Buy i bike that he can drop and not be to gutted about.
 
He's set against a scooter but we've found several Aprilias under a grand that fit the bill.

Really appreciate the advise, I have no-one irl to bounce motorbike related stuff off.

I must put in more to this forum as I have taken so much out.

Afc.
 
I had a TS50 and it was bulletproof, my mate had a DT50 and so was that. Slower then a sloth in a slow race though but good bikes.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
MZ50 for me, had a head on crash with a car a month after I got it new! No compulsory training in those days.... :crash_smilie:
 
Lol, I'd have been better off riding a horse for all the speed those restricted 50's had, no its was an MD in his company Sierra going too fast round a blind bend and the bastard wouldn't cough up at all - not good when your 16 and your income came from washing up in a pub..
 
I had raced schoolboy motocross from the age of 10 so was well used to powerful 2 strokes, however, I can remember the feeling of being let loose on the public road on my Honda MB50 when I turned 16 - FREEDOM !

I stripped the head and barrel of it, ported it and re-jetted the carb then fitted a Micron exhaust and after I was finished with it I could get 56mph crouched down / tucked in as long as there was a tail wind lol....I even got caught speeding on it in a 30mph zone whilst leaving school complete with school uniform - and being only 16, it was on a provisional licence :)
It was always powershifted to maintain steady progress and was thrashed everywhere I went on it

I also remember that I used to tow my mate behind me on his roller boots and that we managed to get him up to 40mph before pulling a nice big hockey stop on the main road in Falkirk - thankfully dash cams didn't exist then !

I have great memories of riding my 50cc and it was a great part of transition from Dad's taxi to my own freedom.....
 
Lol, I crashed my DT50 into the rear of the school double decker cause I was riding one handed waving to my girlfriend who was sitting on the back seat, when I got home my Dad said "That's 3 times you've crashed now, you better get insurance before you go out again!".
Cost me ?17 for a 3 month policy from the local bike garage, they wrote the certificate out in a duplex book and if you went back in after 3 months in one piece the owner would rip up the old cert. and write a new one for a tenner.

Fun times, the beautiful girlfriend from school is still with me after 35 years, Heaven help her, she's had it tough. But not as hard as yours Colin, lol.

JimmyMac
 
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TS50 for me... KDS 7 something V May 79... 550 quid it cost. Ten bob to fill the tank, Centurion Sprint Polycarb lid...and a pair of Wranglers..Eddie Kidd from Dumbarton !

Stuart's Galaxy sent this !
 
TS50 for me... KDS 7 something V May 79... 550 quid it cost. Ten bob to fill the tank, Centurion Sprint Polycarb lid...and a pair of Wranglers..Eddie Kidd from Dumbarton !

Stuart's Galaxy sent this !

Aye, Wrangler bell bottoms were mandatory along with a black harrington jacket, burgundy stay press for the Friday disco............

JimmyMac
 
Aye, Wrangler bell bottoms were mandatory along with a black harrington jacket, burgundy stay press for the Friday disco............

JimmyMac
Fuckin... A ...Separated at birth us....lol... ! ... KDS 758V... just remembered that...

Stuart's Galaxy sent this !
 
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If you can find an old honda SS50 4 stroke that would be ideal, no way near as Fast (or cool) as my Yamaha lol. My Bike was the only one out of all of my friends that had SS on the side panel, all the others had FS1E. Oh, and DM's were the only Boots that I wore.

149185_10150097321531131_126716431130_7775910_2940996_n.jpg
 
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Looks like you are due a good bit of money for your road tax............

31d6bd48fbd589348dfdd13520573794.jpg


Hope your boots had yellow laces Phil.

JimmyMac
 
Holy shit my 1st bike haha.... I found one of my 80s gixxers online last year.. I'm away to see if it's still breathing

Stuart's Galaxy sent this !
 
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