according to the DMV, what would be considered a moped, and what would be considered a scooter?
Friday, March 19th, 2010 at
4:58 pm
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Most places its 49 cc.
I don’t know about the State of Louisiana’s. I would think its based on vehicle category.
For Instance, New York and others states:
Anything 50cc and under,
Top speed under 35mph,
With or without pedals,
Regardless of manual or auto tranny.
Whether Scooter or moped falls in the category of: MOPED
(Also, known as limited-use motorbikes and can’t ride them on the highway.)
And anything over 50cc,
Speeds over 35mph
Whether its a scooter or motorcycle falls in the category of: MOTORCYCLE
For a moped to go 90mph. Must had a serious bore job or engine upgrade. ( And someone dumb enough to try to ride the highway with it.)
Your best bet. If you have a picture of what you’re going to ride with the written specs. Go to your local Motor Vehicle office and ask them what registration category would it fall under.
Sounds like Louisiana and New Jersey using same definitions – Moped must have the bike pedals . Scooters even under 50cc without pedals don’t get a moped license so need motorcycle endorsement on drivers license. The Law you quoted for Louisiana is quite clear- you will need pedals to be classed as a moped or motorized bicycle and 25mph restricted top speed with under 50cc engine, less than 1.5 hp, no shifting transmission. Higher speed ‘Mopeds’ may exist and be classed as mopeds under different laws- 90mph is a bit much – give a specific example- as older Puch Maxi with the 70 or 90 cc engine and pedals, centrifugal clutch that in some countries did 50 mph. Indian made Hero clone of Puch can do this with a bit of tweaking- but wouldn’t be legal as a moped in Louisiana, might get a motorcycle classification though.
A moped is one that you can pedal and usually under 25 mph. A scooter to be considered a scooter which doesn’t need a motorcycle license must be 49cc and under, they are usually capable of speeds around 30mph. They don’t have pedals. Another scooter, over 49cc is capable of greater speeds requires a motorcycle license. To be highway eligible they must be 125cc or larger.
what they are classified "by law" may be different than what they actually are…
moped- driven both by a motor, and by pedals
scooter- no pedals, rear engine, foot well instead of pegs
motorcycle, no pedals, mid-engine, footpegs, no foot well..