If You Don’t Like My Riding, Stay Off the Sidewalk!

With an electronically-governed top speed of 20 MPH in its normal “Economy” mode, the Bolt M-1 motorbike is fully sidewalk legal in its home state of California. Which means that you should probably take your earbuds out if you intend to keep, you know, walking on sidewalks!

Regardless of the Bolt M-1’s sidewalk legality (which, by the way, is ludicrous), the electric moped/bicycle’s makers seem to have put together a decently styled package that combines the aesthetic of a cafe racer/Tomos Streetmate with just the right amount of smartphone interaction- a charger and a dock- to make it feel modern. Best of all, the M-1 features a 29 mile all-electric range and a top speed of more than forty miles-per-hour in “Sport” mode.

At an estimated $5000 once Bolt starts delivering production bikes, the M-1 isn’t cheap. It is, however, less expensive than many other boutique bnoike- and those don’t can’t deliver a 40 MPH top speed if you need to get away from the neighbors’ crazed Rottweiler!

What do you guys think? Is the Bolt M-1 worth the asking price when you compare it to Local Motors’ Cruiser or the Honda-powered Motoped, or are other sidewalk-legal EVs like the Ryno or something like the Ford Pedego project a more worthy adversary? Check out all of the contenders, then let us know who you think your moped/electric bike money should go to in the comments section!

BOLT M-1 Electric Moped

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  Modern, functional instruments.

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Source | Images: Bolt Motorbikes, via Dude I Want That.

Motoped Launches Off-road Survival Moped

Part extreme dirt bike, part motocross racer, the original Motoped was one of my favorite discoveries of 2013. In 155cc form, the ultra-lightweight motoped could break every speed law in the book, and its narrow form, upright seating position, and excellent brake/suspension bits conspired to make it one of the best urban road missiles money could buy. Now, however, Motoped is going off road.

Like, way off road. “Where we’re going, we don’t need. Roads.” off road.

Meet the Motoped survival bike. Like the Cogburn CB4 hunting bike we talked about a while back, this bike promises to take you and your gear way out into the woods with silent, zero-emission pedal power. Where the Motoped is different, however, is that it has a motor- so you’ll be able to drag back that dear/pig/turkey you shot without excessively taxing your muscles. Granted, that gasoline engine won’t do you much good if there’s a real apocalypse (gas goes bad after a few months), but with nearly 100 MPG fuel economy on offer, it’s not like you’ll burn up what little gas you may have too quickly, you know?

In any event, what you’re buying when you pick up a Motoped is actually a kit. It’s a frame, in other words, with all the difficult engineering like mounting points, swingarm, and the Motoped’s patented pedal-drive system already in place. From there, you can build the bike you see here using the bodywork, seat, and engine/transmission from a Honda XR50 mated to high-end dirtbike components, or you can go completely psycho and build your own Motoped from the company’s ever-expanding list of parts and accessories.

So, check out the photos of Motoped’s off-road adventure/survival moped, below, then let us know how you’d spec yours for ultimate survival in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Motoped Survival Moped

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Originally published on Insteading.

DIY Motoped Kit Combines Mountain Bike With XR50 - VIDEO

This is the Motoped. Stop whatever meaningless thing it is that you’re doing right now and send these guys money. I’ll wait.

Did you do it? If you did, you can stop reading now. You’re awesome, and you recognize awesome when you see it. Well done, awesome guy/gal! Way to be awesome!!

If you didn’t, pay attention, because I’m going to tell you about one of the most exciting mopeds to come along in years. If you “get it” by the end of the article, there’s a chance you might, one day, be awesome. Ready? Here we go …

What you’re buying when you pick up a Motoped is actually a kit. It’s a frame, in other words, with all the difficult engineering like mounting points, swingarm, and the Motoped’s patented pedal-drive system already in place. From there, you can build the bike you see here using the bodywork, seat, and engine/transmission from a Honda XR50 mated to high-end dirtbike components, or you can go completely psycho and build your own Motoped.

To show the versatility of this “build-a-bike” kit, the makers of Motoped showed a 100+ MPG 50 cc 3-speed bike based on the XR50, and a MUCH faster 155 cc version also based on XR performance parts. Kits start at around $1,000 on the Kickstarter, which has raised about $31,000 of the $250,000 they’re seeking.

The whole concept of the Motoped is, actually, not that far from Honda’s own Grom 125 (aka: the most fun thing you can spend money on that won’t give you chlamydia). Where the Grom brings the fun of the kiddie-dirtbike you remember from kindergarten to your morning commute, the Motoped brings all the awesome action of a BMX downhill run to your morning commute. Both bikes prey on a particularly painful sliver of nostalgia that not everyone had … but those few who do have it have it BAD.

Source: Gas2.0