The latest in the world of mopeds and scooters. http://www.mopeds.com/blog/ Automotive Copyright 2005 mopeds.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en-us Sat, 25 Nov 06 11:00:00 +1200 Mon, 29 Aug 05 12:17:34 +1200 http://www.mopeds.com/blog/mopeds.gif http://www.mopeds.com/blog/ The latest in the world of mopeds and scooters. 89 14 Discovery channel has rated the Honda C50 Cub moped 1st in their greatest ever motorcycles show, and it certainly deserves its ranking after selling something like 50 million plus over the last 50 years. Plenty of other mopeds have sold in their millions like the Velo Solex or the Motobecane Mobylette, or the NSU Quickly, but the Honda was a technologically superior moped with 3 speed transmission and full suspension. In fact under its plastic façade the Honda C50 is a motorcycle that simply sold more than any other which is of course why it won. The runner up was Ducati which started out in the motorcycle business by bolting engines onto bicycles, number three was Honda again and they also made motorized bicycles before diversifying into everything with an engine, (almost). Also on the list was Triumph who found success with their NVT moped, and Moto Guzzi who sold their Trotter moped in the 1960’s, and their Robin moped in the 1970’s. Vespa of course which should have been higher came in at number eight with their PX125 scooter, why they chose this particular model beats me, everyone knows the best Vespa was the Ciao moped (not). Harley Davidson which came in last don’t mention the mopeds they sold to stay afloat during the 1970’s, maybe they should have released the Sportster moped after all. In all out of the top ten motorcycle marques featured, seven have from time to time found success by building and selling mopeds. Although Britten didn’t make mopeds, sixth place went to the Britten V1000 which was made right here in New Zealand. Anyway after awarding the 50cc Honda Cub the mantle of being the Greatest ever motorcycle they then proceeded in some bizarre expression of hate to destroy it by replacing its engine oil with old cooking oil, overloading it and generally trying to break it before finally giving up and dropping it from a crane, but of course they couldn’t kill it,(See video here). I doubt that Harley or Ducati would have received the same abuse had their machines achieved the top position, I mean they don’t go and kill the winner of American Idol, or execute the president when he wins an election, (or should I say they haven’t recently). On that note as we head toward the congressional elections and the price of oil is rocketing back to earth, this is good for everone but me so I guess it would be mean of me to wish for higher oil prices but in my dreams I saw oil passing through $100 a barrel and now its just over $60 and dropping fast, just shows what I know. It’s funny how everyone thinks the world is running out of oil so the price goes up to a point where it becomes worthwhile to look for more again, then six months later a huge new oil reserve is found in deep water off the gulf of Mexico, big enough to bring the US back to 50% self sufficiency again which is the same as turning the clock back to 1994. Its all about Peak Oil, a phenomenon some people are taking so seriously that they are building bunkers in Oregon to survive the predicted chaos should the Peak be realized. That might be taking things a bit too far but Peak Oil has reached the mainstream media with this Bloomberg article on Peak Oil which is something considering Bloomberg is a mainstream news channel that provides content to newspapers globally and the article as I read it comes out pro Peak Oil, well worth a read. Anyway it just means a few cents more or less to fill a moped, and mopeds have been around regardless of oil feast or famine. Mopeds aren’t really about economy although that is one of their many virtues, mopeds are all about fun and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Mopedguy http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1158209002 Thur, 14 Sep 06 00:43:22 +1200 Something that brought a smile to the mopedguy this week is Scooter.com and its apparent new home at “Spinlife”, a supplier of mobility scooters and electric wheel chairs. Scooter.com was for many years the home of the highly respected “Scoot Quarterly”, a mainstream magazine pitched squarely at the Motor Scooter market. But it seems while scooter enthusiasts everywhere continue to refer to their rides as scooters, a cultural term used for generations to describe any sort of Vespa type motor scooter, to most people these days, a scooter is something with 3 or 4 wheels that an old person uses to get around on. The irony is that it’s the same baby boomers who in their youth pushed motor scooters like the Vespa and Lambretta to the height of cool in the 1960’s, that have again chosen scooters as their vehicle of choice in retirement, this time however names like “Guardian”, “Phantom”, and “Buzz Around” are dominating the scooter scene. The moped community has no such worry given that the moped is now firmly entrenched as a legal class of vehicle in many countries including; The U.S., U.K, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. The only problem for us is the continued bad press we’re getting when inexperienced riders of 49cc plastic scooters and mini choppers get injured or killed in traffic accidents. The press will report the court findings which usually use the legal description, “moped” which is what most scooters and mini bikes get registered as these days..........In my last blog I predicted that rumours of $75 a barrel oil would come true in July, at the time this prediction was based on lower U.S. gasoline inventories squeezing the U.S. summer driving season. Now as we approach mid July, the price of oil has already passed through the $75 all time high, with the next psychological barrier of $80 a barrel firmly in sight, and the inflation adjusted peak price of $90 per barrel creeping closer almost daily. This weekend, eight of the world's most powerful leaders will be meeting in St Petersburg, Russia for the G8 economic summit meeting, and the outcome of this meeting is in my opinion highly likely to cause further upward pressure on oil prices. The key point of discussion at this years meeting is not the usual US trade deficit or Chinas trade surplus, these will be mentioned, but by far the most important item for consideration is Iran, or more accurately whether Iran’s political and spiritual leaders will accept an offer to end Iran’s nuclear research program. This offer was submitted to Iran last month by the UN Security Council. Iran must respond by Wednesday July 12th, or risk sanctions from the West. Iran has so far vowed to ignore the deadline which leaves only two places the price of oil can go, up or up. If Iran chooses to ignore this deadline which has been set by the UN security councils five permanent members; The U.S., U.K., France, China and Russia, there are really only two possible outcomes. The first would see The U.S. and its allies retaliate against Iran with the result that oil market traders will try to buy up oil before Iran starts shutting off its oil exports, this is bad for oil prices because Iran is the second largest oil exporter in OPEC and the fourth largest in the world! The second outcome would see The U.S. and its allies allow today’s deadline to pass without action which will only serve to promote Iran’s strength in a world divided like never before from East to West. Upon this news oil market traders panicked by this new dynamic will attempt to secure oil supplies ahead of Iran’s inevitable power plays further pushing up the price of oil. Mopedguy http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1152766612 Thur, 13 Jul 06 00:56:52 +1200 Buying insurance for your moped may be a wise decision, but there has always been another kind of moped insurance where the moped itself is the policy. With oil prices again heading toward an all time high of $70 a barrel it’s useful to ask why oil keeps going up. Last September oil prices hit an all time high when cyclone Katrina cut a swathe through the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry. Katrina had a devastating affect on New Orleans, but the damage to the oil industry was relatively short lived. Now six months or so later another set of drivers are pushing oil prices back up toward the same highs. The oil market like any market is subject to supply and demand and as I research this blog energy market reporters are quoting a bunch of data to do with gasoline inventories and consumption which is 0.9 percent higher than a year ago. So in spite of price increases and over 200,000 new hybrid cars on the road, demand for gasoline keeps pump prices rising. Last September it was a threat to supply due to Katrina that caused gas prices to jump and on that occasion price increases were supply driven. No-one can predict the actions and destructive path of a category 5 hurricane, but gasoline demand is something that can be closely monitored and allowances made to maintain supply inventories, so why are inventories down at the start of the crucial summer season. That could be a slip up on someone’s part but its not, blunders that big don’t just happen unless there’s an underlying problem with supply. The supply of gasoline is struggling to match demand and it’s happening at the most crucial time of year, the summer driving season. Summer is when people use their motorized toys; cars, boats, RV’s, planes, motorcycles, mopeds even, all have a demand for gasoline. Now with lower inventories to replenish just when demand is approaching its highest, we might see oil prices rise beyond last Septembers $70 a barrel historical high, by July we could be seeing oil prices reach $75 a barrel. Speculation as to why oil and gas supplies appear to be failing is all over the web and a visit to one of the many Peak Oil sites might shed some light on the Peak Oil dilemma now facing the world. Adjusted for inflation, the all time high needs to hit $90 a barrel to see a repeat of the circumstances that saw mopeds experience their 1970’s boom time. One of the things I advise when people are thinking about buying a moped is potential buyers consider an old skool 1970’s moped. These are classic pedal mopeds that have little in common with the trendy modern scooter mopeds that now make up the bulk of new moped registrations. It’s hard to find a mint 1970’s car or motorcycle that has seen little use in thirty years, but there always seem to be a few mint 1970’s mopeds for sale on eBay. Those mopeds were bought by people who only planned to use them if gas prices put their car off the road, that didn’t happen and those mopeds have sat in garages and basements all over the country seeing little or no use until one day they turn up for sale in unused condition and usually get snapped up at bargain prices by collectors and moped enthusiasts. The moped market is also subject to supply and demand and now for the first time many popular new moped models are being sold on back order indicating the demand for mopeds has been greater than anticipated. I’ve got used to moped sales slackening off in winter and increasing into summer, but this year moped sales have been steady throughout the low season. This tells me people are again buying mopeds as a “just in case” solution should gas prices become unaffordable. In other words by buying a moped they’re taking out insurance that should that situation occur, they will still get to work on time. These days with oil price instability and oil supply uncertainty, buying a moped is a form of insurance against high gas prices. Even people who wouldn’t normally be seen dead on a moped are today buying mopeds destined to be tucked away in the garage until circumstances force their use. Mopedguy http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1144484969 Sat, 08 Apr 06 04:29:29 +1200 “The New Austerity”, if you haven’t heard about it yet you soon will, this is shaping up to be the catch phrase for the new millennium. After all the excesses of the late twentieth century get ready for a little backlash against the mass consumerism that has plagued western society since the post World War 2 years. Ironically that’s about the same length of time mopeds have been around. The rapidly fading “Bling Bling” phenomenon which allowed and even encouraged wealth to be displayed ostentatiously has resulted in a lot of very confused people and a lot of ruined lives of those who went to extreme measures to secure the wealth they thought they needed to satisfy a bunch of created wants. Millions of people have got themselves into severe debt or bankruptcy, while thousands of others have committed crime to secure an empty bling lifestyle, many now find themselves incarcerated and many more have had to suffer the effects of their crimes. Once upon a time wealth was a privilege to be enjoyed with humility and respect for those not so lucky, but these days or at least in recent years the wealthy elite have been in our faces so much that they have become victims of fashion. Since the 1950’s wealth has become more and more visible when once it was considered crass to display wealth it is now considered normal to display wealth or in many cases fake wealth. Many of us feel pressured to own things we don’t really want or need but buy anyway because we think that will improve our lives. The new austerity will be a refreshing change from the mass consumerism that has consumed western society for the best part of 50 years. It all started in post war USA when America found itself an empirical power, the wartime economy was quickly reconfigured to supply a burgeoning consumer driven market where products and services were devised to satisfy the wealthiest citizens on earth. Apart from a few bumps along the way, for the most part humans have become mass consumers of anything and everything; They look at what each other has with envy and slave to achieve the same. Status has become something that can be achieved on zero deposit and a million easy payments. How will this new trend affect mopeds? Well of course the moped is the most austere vehicle around. As displays of individual austerity become more fashionable, so those same personality types who strove so hard for a bling lifestyle will find a moped somewhat more achievable. Mopedguy. http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1139905362 Tue, 14 Feb 06 03:22:42 +1200 New for 2006 is the addition of a top sites list to Mopeds.com and the redevelopment of Moped.com. Moped.com has been in continuous development since June 2001, however it is underperforming and I have elected to remove it from the Internet for an overhaul. During its redevelopment all moped.com traffic will be forwarded to Mopeds.com. Top sites - If you have a moped or related web site you can join the top sites list and simply by linking back, your site will receive FREE TRAFFIC! The online moped community has thousands of small web sites dedicated to promoting mopeds; this is a great opportunity for those sites to receive some exposure without having to pay for advertising. Mopeds.com currently ranks well in the major search engines and an “in link” to your site from mopeds.com will improve your sites search engine ranking. Your link will also benefit mopeds.com’s position thus providing more visitors using the top sites list. As the top sites list is brand new I have added a bunch of my own moped type sites just to kick things off. The list will be populated to the first 50 links then expand as required. As this is a new list, this is a good opportunity to join early and receive traffic before the commercial sites join. I also encourage all those large commercial moped sites to join this list where the three highest performing sites are able to display their banner for greater exposure. Perhaps you’ve heard about the importance of "in-links" for search engine ranking, well this is an ideal opportunity to receive an in-link from Mopeds.com, the generic web address for the moped namespace. By its very name mopeds.com receives more traffic from the major search engines and as we enter summer 2006 I expect this to increase, if we see another spike in the price of oil like we did last year, then watch out. Mopeds are the most economical vehicle on the planet, we all know that, as we enter the era of Peak Oil and general oil price instability, mopeds are going to once again rise to the occasion and its up to us, the moped fans, to ensure that they get as much exposure as we can bring them by co-operating on the web. I’ll be turning moped tricks and there’s going to be a clown and a full circus on site, so a link to mopeds.com now would be a wise part of your promotion strategy and the best thing is, IT’S FREE! What are you waiting for? Its time to build a community of moped webmasters so that we can unite and give our love of mopeds to the world, a world that so badly needs their logic. I hope the topsites list grows to become a portal to the online moped community and that it provides a core of like minded enthusiasts to promote mopeds on the Internet. I hope one day soon to offer an affiliate program to these sites and allow the little guys to earn big money by driving moped and scooter sales on partner sites. Let’s show the world what can happen when a bunch of moped nerds set their top sites on another moped boom…Mopedguy. http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1137926650 Sun, 22 Jan 06 05:44:10 +1200 Seasons Greetings to all that read this I wish you and your family a happy and safe holidays. Down under its summer and that means while you all freeze I get to bake in the summer and enjoy the sun on my face, ah life’s simple pleasures. Mind you we can’t go out in the sun too long because of the ozone layer or lack of it. In New Zealand the increasing rate of skin cancer is forcing us to change our lifestyle in a way that destroys an important part of what it means to be a Kiwi. New Zealand is a land of great beauty, but now that it’s becoming more and more dangerous to spend extended time in the sun, we are losing access to the great outdoors. It’s the purity of the air that allows much more of the suns lethal radiation to reach us than can shine through the polluted atmosphere of the northern hemisphere. The ozone layer also for whatever reason is depleting faster in the southern sky’s than it is in the north and combined this is giving New Zealanders the highest rate of skin cancer in the world! So what can we do about it? Not much, I think the damage is already done. We humans have evolved much faster than the rest of nature which is still obeying Charles Darwin. We were once in harmony with nature and now we are at war, but of course it’s a war we can never win, so its time we stopped fighting and started fitting in again. The human race is intelligent and highly evolved, yet we continue to consume for consumptions sake. Last century we started to use oil at a significant rate and its use has been increasing ever since, only now oil is starting to run out, not in terms of running out completely, but we are approaching the point at which the supply of oil is failing to meet demand. Supply and demand is what sets the price for everything from mopeds to mood enhancers, but nature doesn’t follow the same rules and what we’ve seen in the floods and mad weather recently is a bit of natural self correction. Unfortunately nature doesn’t solve such problems quickly; it might take millions of years for the delicate natural balance that existed just 100 years ago to repeat itself. I ask myself how likely it is that we can continue to survive on this our only planet if we continue to live in a manner that defies its rules. But of course I’m forgetting that Human beings are also a part of nature and that we ourselves are merely following nature’s rules precisely by reaping the hydrocarbon based bounty that exists all around us. The fact is that by dumping billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the environment nature has through us started something that may not now stop for thousands of years and for destroying the ozone layer we will probably fry. Is our behavior governed by nature? Or will we somehow grow out of nature and eventually succeed it as managers of our own environment. One things for sure, nothing lasts for ever and no matter how good or bad a job we do of surviving, its inevitable that we will one day face extinction, so to quote Bart Simpson, “why try?”. A few million years and it will all start over, only this time there will be artifacts of our existence, many man made objects are likely to survive for millions of years like ceramic and tungsten carbide cutting tools, or solid gold Buddha’s. Don't just worry about how much higher the sea level will be in 100 years, (probably about 3 feet). Big deal I here you say, in a thousand years life could be very different. Do we want future humans to suffer for our greed, or are we counting on our great great great great great great grandchildren being much cleverer than us. It worked that way until now, but will the burden of human knowledge become too much and like any good loser, our successors forget the basics. Will it be fair to expect our old age to be extended to a time with no beaches? What will it mean to future generations as the rising sea level and lethal solar rays take toll on the planets life forms, what will they think of us. Let’s hope it’s not just to relish our achievements and our conflicts, but that they can find ways to harmonize with nature. A good start would be to sort out our trash, put recyclables aside. Mopedguy http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1135854665 Thur, 29 Dec 05 06:11:05 +1200 This years New York City Marathon featured the usual handful of mopeds among the entourage of support vehicles which follow the leading bunch of runners. Every year I tune in expecting to see the mopeds replaced by a bunch of plastic fantastic scooters, but for some reason, whether sponsored or otherwise, mopeds still seem to be the vehicle of choice for at least some of the marathon support personnel. It’s great to see mopeds still holding down this role in what must surely be one of the few opportunities mopeds have to receive a substantial amount of mainstream media exposure. A look at the New York City Marathon website shows this year’s event attracted a world wide viewing audience of 260 Million with local spectators numbering 2 million, that’s some nice exposure for the mopeds and their sponsors. The first NYC Marathon was run in 1970, at around about the same time mopeds were starting to get a foot hold in the US market and they were the ideal machine to keep up with the race while not making an impact on the overall event. I first started watching the NYC Marathon after New Zealander Allison Roe won the women’s event in 1981. I can’t say I’ve been a religious watcher, but whenever I’ve watched I’ve noticed a few mopeds cruising along behind the athletes and in recent years this has sparked my interest. Conspicuously absent from the event are scooters, in fact in all this years coverage I only saw one scooter. I guess this has something to do with the relatively low speeds involved and scooters with their smaller wheels do become directionally unstable at lower speeds. With the top runners covering the 26 mile distance in just over two hours, they average about 12 mph which is actually quite fast, but then NYC marathon is famous for its hills so it’s probably safe to assume the entourage of chase vehicles has to be able to slow to about 6 mph on the hills which is getting seriously slow for a two wheeler. We all know the one thing mopeds do well is go slow and they remain stable at low speeds because of their large wheels, mopeds are actually designed to operate safely at extremely low speeds because they have to be able to crawl along on pedal power only. The moped riders all wear headsets for communication so I guess their role is commentary for the various media channels. The mopeds themselves looked to be late model Tomos step-thru and tank models easily recognizable by their distinctive engine cowling. They were noticeably tiny riding alongside the Harley Davidson Police Specials that were flanking the runners and as most of the coverage is filmed from a camera truck looking back on the athletes, the mopeds which are just behind also get plenty of exposure. Its rare these days to see mopeds on TV, but one place you can is the NYC Marathon, long may it last! Mopedguy. http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1132043243 Tue, 15 Nov 05 03:27:23 +1200 Mopeds of the old school are mopeds of a traditional design, which means they have a set of pedals and a 49 or 50 cc engine. Old skool mopeds were sold in large numbers in the US during the 1970's oil crisis, mopeds were promoted as a solution and became a craze as a result. These bikes are fine examples of 1970's design and I believe these classic mopeds find their modern calling as 70's retro art. Old skool mopeds speak of simpler times and evoke feelings of fun and happiness, sunshine and holidays, they should be preserved, collected, remembered and loved. The broad moped legal description allows many different types and configurations of vehicle to fall within the moped category, but old school mopeds own the classic moped style and most importantly they can be ridden with or without their engine in use. These days a modern moped is more often than not a scooter and it’s only by virtue of its small engine that a 49 or 50 cc scooter can reside in the moped category. The “scooter moped” benefits from modern modular design where components are manufactured to incorporate several different functions, i.e. the engine, suspension, transmission and rear wheel on most scooter mopeds is essentially one component. This has lowered their price relative to pedal mopeds which have to manufacture and assemble a bunch of different components separately and still find money to pay for a set of pedals. Some moped manufacturers reduced the cost of manufacture by dispensing with the pedals while still retaining the classic moped style, for obvious reasons these bikes are often described as no-peds. Some states still require mopeds to have pedals and in these areas scooters generally have to be registered as motorcycles. In some places mopeds don't require any registration at all and in these areas mopeds are treated as bicycles. The number of new pedal mopeds has dropped from a high of literally hundreds of different moped marques and models in the late 1970’s to a situation today where the number of new pedal mopeds available off the shelf can be counted on the fingers of one hand. To me this is a sad situation because I don’t believe pedal mopeds ever reached the peak of their design, namely to my knowledge no moped was ever released that allowed the pedals to be used at any speed above a crawl. This had a lot to do with the need to use the pedals to start the engine, but with most modern motorized vehicles now having electric start this is no longer a barrier. Most of the time the pedals on an old skool moped are used as footrests because they have no means to raise the gearing with forward speed as does any multi-speed bicycle. If the rider could assist the engine at any speed the mopeds hybrid nature could be fully utilized and its rider could get some exercise without having to provide the whole effort as with a bicycle. So why has fifty years of moped history passed without such a seemingly obvious improvement being incorporated into every moped? I believe it is because of the stop start nature of moped design where mopeds have only really come into their own during periods of oil shortage. The evolution of the moped has been most dramatic during periods when oil was in short supply and it is during these times that mopeds have boomed. But the oil shortages have generally also been for political reasons and therefore were relatively short lived so that high gas prices were never sustained long enough to allow moped design to reach its full potential. Today we have a somewhat different situation where many analysts are predicting the end of cheap oil and even the peak of oil production on the planet, (Peak Oil). This is allowing many new hybrid vehicle technologies to flourish; my hope is the same drivers will finally allow the first and purest of hybrid vehicles and the only one that utilizes human power to reach its optimum level of usability. Once the benefits of an extremely economical vehicle that also provides is user a level of exercise are fully understood by the wider population, I think the moped I describe above will go on to experience a boom time greater and longer lived than any previous. Stubborn but faithful moped enthusiasts will finally be rewarded for backing the vehicle which so many would ridicule. The moped is dead, long live the moped. Mopedguy. http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1127815098 Tue, 27 Sep 05 05:58:18 +1200 My last blog spoke of the prospect of cyclone Katrina and the effect it was having on oil prices, since then of course Katrina has done a lot more than just increase the price of oil. The devastating effects of cyclone Katrina are shocking to us all and I want to offer my personal condolences to all those affected. From an outsiders perspective America has shown a great deal of courage in overcoming the adversity of recent years. It takes a deep breath, but we all need to remind ourselves how blessed we are to be alive and to be living through a period that future generations will surely look back on and describe as one of the most challenging to humanity. It is said that 3/4 of the sum of human knowledge was gained in the twentieth century, now with the new millennium well under way I wonder at what the future has in store for us? How we tackle the challenges of dwindling natural resources will have a bearing on the balance of future economic power. High debt economies like the US and New Zealand need cheap oil to grow at a rate which allows debt to be serviced and capital repaid. Without growth interest must compound on the capital, this increases risk and pushes interest rates higher to further compound on the ever growing capital. Without growth the whole economy could collapse in on itself like a house of cards. China, Russia and parts of Eastern Europe have the vast Siberian oil fields to hedge their future growth against, but they are also burdened by the same commitments to the Kyoto protocol to which my small nation has subscribed. To compete in what is rapidly becoming a bidding war for oil, individuals and nations are going to have to reduce demand and this is where I know mopeds can help. Every driver who sacrifices their car in favour of a moped will affect the oil price ever so slightly by reducing overall demand. Demand will be reduced because the gallon of gas that would have been used taking the driver to work by car will instead be only a cup full of gas used taking the same driver to work by moped. The moped will take up much less room on the road and this will have the effect of easing congestion. An easing of congestion will allow the other vehicles on the road to travel more efficiently and this will help reduce overall fuel consumption as well. If a million people replaced some of their car journeys with moped journeys, a noticeable reduction in oil demand would result. If 50 million people did this then a substantial reduction in oil demand would be achieved and the oil price could stabilize and begin to drop back to a sustainable level. I ride mopeds for fun, but I know many people wouldn’t be seen dead on a moped, for those people riding mopeds is a sacrifice, but maybe one worth making. Mopedguy. http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1125566715 Thur, 01 Sep 05 05:25:15 +1200 As I write this blog oil prices have just reached a new record high of US $68 a barrel and it now appears that momentum rather than fundamentals may push the price up further and test the next psychological barrier of $70 a barrel. A closer look at why prices are continuing their surge reveals a tropical storm threatening production in the Gulf of Mexico and continued heavy demand in Asia that has seen the price increase by 40% this year. The problem is production capacity or a lack of excess production capacity, currently with only about 1.5 million barrels a day to offset any interruption in global supply. That may sound like a nice buffer, but when put against the average global demand of over 80 million barrels a day this year its not even 2%. What’s all this got to do with mopeds? While I don’t believe oil prices are going to stay as high as they are now, I also don’t see them settling back to $20 a barrel anytime soon and maybe never. Today’s price is again heading toward the inflation adjusted $90 a barrel conditions that saw the last moped boom of the 1970’s and I can see on my web stats evidence that people are once again looking at mopeds as a thrifty mode of transport. I’m getting more and more visitors, they aren’t coming from the search engines, (I wish), they are simply typing moped.com into their browser and I’m interpreting this as a sign that people are again thinking about mopeds. Mopeds aren’t exactly the most desirable of vehicles around; unless you’re me in which case a 1950’s all aluminum Dornier Perle moped would figure pretty high on my all time greatest hits. The average pedal moped is to be honest a somewhat lame machine that any modern plastic scooter will out perform by most practical measures, but when it comes to emotion and gauging the intangibles of life beauty will always lie in the eye of the beholder. Putting styling preferences to one side there are infinite things that mopeds aren’t including fast and cool. But not being cool is also cool because its anti-cool, we can argue about that all day so I’ll point out something less contentious, mopeds are cheap! Cheap to buy, cheap to own and cheap to run. With every increase in the price of gas people are reminded of the little motorbike that you have to pedal to get away from the lights. It’s the pedals that set mopeds apart from every other motorized vehicle and they need their pedals from time to time because mopeds are the first and purest hybrid vehicle. They require physical effort from their user to get under way then use their minimal power to reward the initial effort with an almost free ride. Mopeds are designed to put economy first and performance second so that for most of their fifty year history their inherent economy has been a major but wasted selling point, they have somehow survived on the energy of enthusiasm. From time to time oil shortages have made the normally supererogatory moped a necessity, today’s record high oil price is an indication that the next moped boom maybe just around the corner. Mopedguy. http://www.mopeds.com/cgi-bin/blog/read.cgi?1124965941 Thur, 25 Aug 05 06:32:21 +1200