Check a scooter’s weight limit before you buy – it might better suit a ballerina than a Kiwi bloke.
SCOOTER STUFF
A poorly maintained scooter is a crash waiting to happen. Make it a habit every time you fill up to take a few minutes to check your brakes, tyre pressure and tread, oil, indicators and lights.
KNOW HOW TO CHECK THE BASICS
Learning how to check the basic functions of your scooter means you’ll reduce the chance of it becoming the hazard that causes you to crash. For example, if the oil runs out, the engine can overheat and lock-up.
CORRECT BRAKE ADJUSTMENT
When your brakes are correctly adjusted, the lever will pull about half way in and feel firm. If your brake lever pulls right into the handle bar, or very close to it, your brakes are ready to fail. Learn to do basic brake adjustments by
tightening the rear cable.
TYRE PRESSURE
The correct tyre pressure for scooters is usually about 25 psi on the back tyres and 22 psi on the front ones. Wrong tyre pressure makes a scooter much harder to handle. The correct pressure for your scooter will be described in its manual. Learn how to check the pressure and to use the air hose at the petrol station.
TYRE TREAD DEPTH
The tread on your tyres should be at least 1.5 mm right across their width. As scooter tyres are quite small, they wear down pretty quickly and need to be checked regularly. Replace the tyre when the tread gets low.
WEIGHT AFFECTS HANDLING
The maximum weight scooters are built for varies quite a bit. Over loading can make a scooter difficult to handle, especially when you’re braking and cornering. Check the maximum weight for your scooter, and stay below it.
MOPED SAFETY IS UP TO YOU
You don’t have to have a Warrant of Fitness for a moped, so it is up you to make sure your moped is maintained in a safe operating condition,
see the Rules.
BUYING TIPS
With a little help and straight-up advice it’s easy to avoid the things that take the fun right out of your riding.
Check out the buying tips ›
