Just kicking around ideas. We live in a golf cart community, and I have no desire for a golf cart. My boys are now ages 12 (nearly 13) and 9. The older one is starting the crocodile tear bullE36 M3 about how he wants something to drive and has been bugging my wife and I to get a go kart or golf cart or anything. He's been talking for years that when he's old enough he wants to race in LeMons with me (Sonic, if you're reading this, we'll have a rookie driver some years down the road...LOL). Some of it for him is "keeping up with the Jones'" because some of his friends get to drive mommys' golf cart or have a tiny moped. Like I said, just don't want a golf cart that I really have no use for. Go kart could be a possibility if I can find a good one at a bargain.
Then there's the moped. Personally, I'm afraid of motorcycles. It's not the actual bike I'm afraid of, I know I'd absolutely love it, it's the knuckleheads on the road that scare me...remember, I work in auto insurance claims, I've seen nearly everything. Anyway, I digress on my own personal fears. I could be a little more comfortable with the idea of a 49cc moped if it's confined to the sidewalks of our golf cart community. That would keep him off the street with other cars. But I know very little to nothing about them. Either on CL, or even just browsing Google, I've seen new or under 3 year old mopeds for $300-$550. Brands like Jonway. I like that they're electric start with a kick start back up. But in my mind, Chinese built doesn't ring a bell of quality. Am I wrong? Would they make decent transportation to make 1-2 mile each way trips to friends houses or the community pool? Yeah...the kids can walk that far, and sometimes do, but I will say we live at the bottom of a VERY steep hill.
Are you looking for a moped or scooter? People use the terms interchangeably, but they aren't the same thing.
I like playing with Chinese scooters and pit bikes, I'm not an expert, but have decent knowledge on them.
I can't speak for Jonway brand, because I don't think I've ever been around one, but for the most part, Chinese scooters are like Legos, and are just mixing and matching parts from a few different factories, with different brand labels.
IMO, quality is better than most give them credit for, but they do require maintenance and tinkering to keep them in top condition.
A 50cc "gy6" style scooter could be a good choice, but it could be faster than you think it is.
Yeah, I don't know all the differences between moped and scooter, I guess I was using the term interchangeably. I know what a pit bike is, and wouldn't rule it out, but I was looking more at something like this:
Moped has a motor and also pedals. That thing in your photo is a scooter. How fast do you want them to go? What are the restrictions on what they can ride in the golf cart zone?
Yeah, this is a moped. 49cc, pedal start:
I spent my college years playing around with and modifying Puch, Vespa and Tomos mopeds so if you have any interest in going that route I can help.
In reply to pointofdeparture:
I very badly want to stick one of the larger Lifan engines in a Tomos Targa if you want to derail this thread right now 
Possibly with a tiny little turbo.
A friend of mine has acquired a couple 49cc Chinese scooters in the past year, I think for about $100 each. They're fast enough to get you hurt, but probably not seriously hurt (unless you get run over by another vehicle, I guess). In full out Moto GP style tuck, I can get them up to about 45mph with my 190 lb 6'3 frame on board. Parts seem to be cheap and available on eBay, everything from plastics, to switch gear, even hop up kits for the engine, though his haven't needed anything but broken plastic replaced. They're a lot of fun.
Electric Scooters seemed to dominate the streets of the parts of China I frequented while working over there. In talking to my Chinese co-workers they indicated that the quality of them have greatly changed over the past few decades to a point where they are very good quality for the higher end buyer and then dirt cheap and spotty quality for the low wage workers. They did point out that the low cost poor quality ones were also the easiest to fix which was also a plus selling point for some there.
The issue is I almost never see those electric ones here in the USA. There are similar ones but not the ones my coworkers rode to work. Sorry I can't recommend any of the products I find here. But as HappyAndy said many of the parts are standardized from legacy PRC official scooter manufacturing sizes.
Maybe someone will start importing this one to the US NIU Scooter
If he isn't riding far away from home then any of the chinese scooters will work.
BTW how much do golf carts go for anyway? They seem sooooo cheap. Or are his friend riding fancy Hummer Golf Carts?
These are mopeds, they have sub-50cc engines, almost always 2 stroke, and pedals.
They can have step through or top tube style frames.
Some states regulate all 50cc two wheelers as mopeds, and some are more specific.
Golf carts are generally regulated to under 20mph, above that they would require seat belts. Just about any 50cc two wheeler will go faster than that with a light weight rider. You may want to look into the local regulations for the cart trails.
The scooters being sold in the US market today are all 4 stroke powered, but in the used market there are still a 50cc 2 strokes running around. With tuning they can be properly fast, so don't let the kids talk you into one of those if you don't want them speeding
Ah ha, never thought of it like that. So with that definition, I'd prefer a scooter, but wouldn't say no to a moped. I'd almost see them as the same for my needs. We already have a Razor type electric scooter...looks like a skateboard with a handle and a small seat. It can go 10mph top speed. They do use it, but the problem is that even with a new battery, it still has a hard time getting up our hill with my older son (115 lbs) on it. Plus, he wants something faster/cooler. Anything I get would be 100% confined to going up our residential street and/or going on the "main" community sidewalk/cart trail to get to the pool.
As far as how fast I want them going? Not very fast, but enough to get them around...roughly 20mph or so? I know the 49cc scooters can go faster than that, but I'd have to trust that my boys would listen to what I tell them (they're pretty good with that, because I don't joke around).
No restrictions on what they can ride in the golf cart zones. I already checked with the HOA on that when we bought our house. I've seen golf carts, GEM EVs, scooters, go karts, you name it. The sidewalk on my actual street is normal size, but it's a cul de sac and traffic is very minimal (both on the sidewalk and street). The sidewalk on the main roadway is very wide, built for carts/karts.
Golf carts, even used, run $1500 for a decent one. The lifted, fancy crap is $4k+. I've seen used 49cc scooters in CL for a few hundred...and look to be in great condition.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote:
In reply to pointofdeparture:
I very badly want to stick one of the larger Lifan engines in a Tomos Targa if you want to derail this thread right now
Possibly with a tiny little turbo.
Turbo/efi gy6 150s are a real thing.
I have two Tomos Targa LX mopeds, got one when I was 14 (other was my step brothers).
They will go 35mph and were required in both Ohio and Maryland to use public roads. In Ohio, it had to carry a motorcycle license plate and I had to pass a written test (and be 14). In MD it used to be more free (no tag, but license for driver), but now you have to register the moped and get a tag-sticker.
Just looked up GA law, they need to be 15 and have a permit.
I am interested in selling one (possibly both) of mine. It will start, but doesnt want to keep running. Problem is due to storage. (early 2000's Tomos Targa LX, the one I am more looking to sell is black, the other blue I'm in southern MD)
I did lay one down (the blue one) on asphalt at 35mph. Had a helmet on, but still had skin abrasions that took well over a month to stop bleeding and I fractured my elbow. Dont think you can't hurt yourself on them.
None of those should be ridden on a sidewalk - not only are they too large and fast for a narrow sidewalk, those (and bikes) are treated as vehicles by the motor vehicle code and must be ridden on the street. As a long time bike commuter I would argue the kids are safer on the street anyways - peds are less predictable than cars.
Would an e-bike conversion be a viable option?
Klayfish wrote:
Yeah, I don't know all the differences between moped and scooter, I guess I was using the term interchangeably. I know what a pit bike is, and wouldn't rule it out, but I was looking more at something like this:
My sister has a buddy 125 that was her primary summer driver in Cleveland for 3 years, she loved it but then got a Smart and hasnt used the scooter much since she realized it's safer in a car with our potholes. I can see if it's available if you want
szeis4cookie wrote:
None of those should be ridden on a sidewalk - not only are they too large and fast for a narrow sidewalk, those (and bikes) are treated as vehicles by the motor vehicle code and must be ridden on the street. As a long time bike commuter I would argue the kids are safer on the street anyways - peds are less predictable than cars.
Would an e-bike conversion be a viable option?
Like I said, the sidewalk on the main roadway was built specifically for golf carts and such. I certainly respect your opinion as a bike rider, but no way on earth would I put them on the main road. On our cul de sac, they'd be on the road, but I'd be OK with that. In our community, belive me, they wouldn't be the first to be riding scooters/pit bikes/mopeds on the community sidewalk. There are lots of kids using them...none with tags or licenses. I've never heard of or seen any issues. It's a quiet suburban community, nobody bothers the kids, and it's not total craziness with carts going everywhere. Think of it as living in a bubble and you just want to get around inside that bubble, not into the outside world. If they were going to be out on public roadways or outside of our community, I'd feel very different. But just staying within the confines of the development, even as safety oriented as I am, I'm comfortable with it, especially having seen it in action for a few years now.
It was funny, when I had first called the HOA to ask about it (this was 2+ years ago), the lady laughed. I forget the exact wording, but it was something to the effect of "Yeah, even golf cart drivers have to be 16 according to state law, but that's for the police to enforce, not us. The police don't enforce it." No joke, I've seen 7 and 8 year olds driving golf carts.
an old ATC70 doesnt sound unreasonable 
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The one reason I don't want to look at a 3 wheeler or 4 wheeler is that our house backs up to the woods. Our kids already explore them on foot. One of their friends has a dirt bike he takes back there. As much as my kids listen to me, and they really do, I still don't know I'd feel good about them back there with a 4 wheeler. A scooter can't go there...and if I came home from work one day and found the scooter all muddy, they'd be in very, very deep E36 M3 with me.
In reply to Klayfish:
You could do a badass street quad thing, it would maybe be cool enough to keep them out of the woods:
Apexcarver wrote:
I did lay one down (the blue one) on asphalt at 35mph. Had a helmet on, but still had skin abrasions that took well over a month to stop bleeding and I fractured my elbow. Dont think you can't hurt yourself on them.
Yeah, I don't get the "not fast enough to hurt you seriously" idea at all. Even 20mph is really fast to fall onto anything much less pavement. Picture being at an all out sprint and then throwing yourself at the street. You go first!
I'd make them wear helmets and would tell them the scooter is sold the minute I find out they're not wearing helmets. That's just my opinion, obviously.
Sounds like a cool place to grow up, though! We had something similar for a while as kids, and I had no idea it still existed. Riding around on our 3-wheeler and bikes was a blast.
In reply to dculberson:
All of this can be said about a bicycle as well, the only additional risk is the weight of the vehicle and maybe the ability for the throttle to stick. I've clocked over 60mph on a bicycle, you need a hill or a tow but no motor doesn't necessarily mean low speed.
If you get one, but want to keep their speed down, restricting the top speed on a GY6 scooter should be as simple as putting a properly sized washer in between the two variator halves
Tom went through a faze with these things and rebuilt engines (multiple times for some strange reason). We are in LA and will be taking a Redeye tonight to Daytona, but when the dust settle, I am sure he will chime in.
How about those 5hp cycle carts. Build it with the kid and be the envy of all the Joneses.
Become the commissioner of the local racing league!
Teach Jr to build them and have him create a little industry of selling them.
Sample:
