Welcome to CompareMoped.com

This website is designed to assist you with your first scooter purchase. Back when I was shopping for a scooter, I searched around for over 20 websites just to get all the info I needed, so I decided to create this website on my spear time and try to help other potential scooter buyers, and to educate them in order to make a smart decision on which scooter is best suitable.

A motor SCOOTER is a motorcycle with a step-through frame in which the rider sits without straddling any part of the engine.  Most modern motor scooters have wheels smaller in diameter, between 8 and 14 inches (20 - 35 cm),  than other motorcycles. The engine is usually found under the seat with a continuously variable transmission transferring power to the rear wheel. Most scooters have typically smaller than engines than other motorcycles (between 30cc and 125cc with a single cylinder), although some makers produce quite powerful scooters, such as the Suzuki Burgman 650 which has a 650cc engine. 50cc scooters are classified in most countries as a moped and are subject to reduced safety restrictions and licensing fees. Until recently, most modern motor scooters came with air cooled two-stroke cycle engines with automatic 2-stroke oil injection although some of the higher spec small ones and large ones are water cooled such as the Honda FC50 or the 2002 Yamaha YQ50s. Recent scooters increasingly have four stroke engines to meet stricter emissions controls. High powered electric road scooters are on the horizon now that small electric motorcycles like the Viento and the eGO have been released.

MOPED are a class of low-powered motorized vehicles, generally two-wheeled. Moped classification is designed to allow the use of small motorized vehicles, avoiding the safety restrictions and licensing charges required of larger motorcycles. Some motorized bicycles, small scooters, and small motorcycles fit the definition of a moped. 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 45-50 km/h (28-31 mph) and engines less than 50 cc. Some localities require pedals, thus making them a form of hybrid transport, using both human power and machine power. Because of their small size, many jurisdictions consider them "limited speed motorcycles."

History The Vespa originally manufactured by Piaggio in post World War II Italy with aircraft materials and styling became the first of the road motor scooters and defined the vehicle type for three and a half decades. In the 1980s new versions of scooters began to be released and become popular, especially in Japan and Far-East Asia. This styling of scooters began to reflect that of larger, sporty, higher-performance motorcycles of the time and the trend has continued to the current day. With the release of the Honda Ruckus, there may be a new trend towards dirt-bike scooters just beginning. The classic styling of the Vespa has never lost its popularity, however and remains the most popular and most imitated scooter design. Almost all manufacturers now carry both a classic/retro model and a sporty/modern model.

Popularity In many parts of the world such as Europe and Asia, motor scooters are a popular form of urban transportation due to their size, fuel-efficiency, weight, and typically larger storage room than a motorcycle. In many localities, certain road motor scooters are considered by law to be in the same class as mopeds or small motorcycles and therefore they have fewer restrictions than that of larger motorcycles. In the UK from the 1960s, Mods and Skinheads rode customized Vespas and Lambrettas, adorned with many extra mirrors and chrome parts. The scene is still alive in the UK, and has spread to other countries as far away as Australia and the United States. All around the world people continue to gather their vintage scooters at rallys nearby, far and in between. Joe Pancho, an American entusiast, threw Hawaii's 1st ever scooter rally in October of 2005.

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