Mopeds are low-speed vehicles, that have to legally have a lower engine capacity than 50cc to fall into this category but safety accessories are still crucial. Helmets, protective gear, a first aid kit, and a USB charger are some of those that should be added to these vehicles about which you can find out more info here.
Cities are becoming larger and more crowded, which means that people are constantly looking for the most effective ways to get around so that they don’t spend hours stuck in traffic. Bikes, mopeds, and scooters have been popular alternatives for quite some time, and e-scooters have been gaining terrain as well in the last years.
With this being said, if you went through all of these alternatives and decided that a moped is the right solution for your needs, then you might wonder what accessories you should buy before taking it for a ride. In the next lines, we’ll go over the main things you may want to keep in mind when it comes to these vehicles in order to enjoy a safe and comfortable ride.
A few facts about mopeds
You may not know this, but the word “moped” was used for the first time in 1952 to describe a vehicle that had both pedals and a motor. Throughout time, technology evolved, and mopeds today no longer have pedals, but the name remained.
From a legal point of view, these vehicles must have a maximum engine capacity of 50cc and many times they fall into the same category as bikes, as they cannot attain very high speeds. In most cities, they can be used on bike lanes, but they are not suitable (and many times illegal) for freeways.
Teenagers and young adults can ride around the city as long as they have completed the Compulsory Basic Training and they are 16 years old or over. From a technological point of view, mopeds offer more safety and comfort features than before, and the fact that they don’t attain high speeds makes them safer to ride.
On the other hand, even in urban traffic things can go wrong and accidents can happen. That’s why, no matter what type of vehicle you are planning to use, your safety and that of those around you is paramount. Scooters, mopeds, bikes, and e-scooters don’t offer the same level of safety since there’s not an entire car around the rider to protect him or her in case of an impact.
For this reason, the first accessories that you should take into consideration are always the safety ones, such as the helmet and protective gear. It’s true that, depending on the city in which you live, helmets might not be mandatory, but this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t wear one every time you ride your moped.
Helmet
As we’ve already mentioned, you should wear a helmet every time you ride your vehicle. There are safety standards that are updated once every few years, so if you want to make sure that the model you choose is reliable, you should look for stickers that indicate it’s compliant with these standards.
Another important aspect to know is that even if the helmet has never been crashed, you should still replace it after a while. Experts say that after five years, the adhesives and materials that hold it together are no longer fully effective and they might break down. If you have questions on a particular model, you can ask someone at a specialized store.
Furthermore, depending on where and how you are planning to ride your moped, you may also want to get some disposable earbuds. It’s true that you are not going to speed around, but the wind might still become somewhat uncomfortable, so you can avoid this inconvenience and enjoy a pleasant ride every day.
If you are riding your moped or scooter around the city and you have (hopefully) decided that wearing a helmet is important, then there’s a chance that you will need to store it somewhere, especially for short amounts of time. This is where a helmet lock can help if you don’t want to carry it with you everywhere, as some riders prefer to do. Either alternative is fine.
Protective gear
Depending on how often and for how long you are planning to ride your moped, you should take a look at a nice pair of gloves as well. We are naturally programmed to put our hands out first in case we fall in order to protect the rest of the body, but this also means that our hands are more exposed to all kinds of injuries.
Moreover, if you are planning to ride your moped during a hot summer day, then the sun won’t be your best friend either. A good pair of gloves can protect you from some of these issues, especially since the one that you choose should feature plenty of cushioning and armor as well.
We know that mopeds don’t seem to be dangerous vehicles, and they are not in most cases. On the other hand, you should not be fooled by their low speeds, because you can still get injured in case of a more serious impact. Besides protecting your head and your hands, you should also think about your knees.
It’s true that bikers usually wear protective knee pads, but if you are planning to ride on a road with plenty of traffic at higher speeds, then this piece of gear might not sound like a bad idea at all. Some products even feel like you are not wearing them at all since they use your body’s heat to mold into place.
Other accessories
Again, this depends on the distance you are planning to cover and on how often this will happen, but it’s a good idea to have a first aid kit with you, even if it’s a basic one. Of course, you can find more comprehensive alternatives on the market as well, but they might take up more space and, given that mopeds are mostly used in cities, you can find help rather quickly.
If you decide to get a first aid kit as well, then you will need to periodically check the expiry date of any medicines it contains, and replace it once in a while, even if it’s not used. Another accessory that will surely prove to be very useful, given that today everyone is connected through their smartphone, is a USB charger.
There are multiple sellers on the market that offer such devices, and you can quickly install one on your vehicle, especially since a large number of resources and websites show you how to do it in step-by-step video guides. The charger needs to be hooked up to the battery in order to work, and once you do this, you will be able to recharge your devices on the go.
One aspect you should keep in mind when it comes to these chargers is that they need to be turned off or otherwise secured when you are not riding the vehicle. Otherwise, they might drain the battery. You should also opt for a waterproof model since this means a lot less hassle on your part.
Maintaining your moped
If you are the proud owner of a new moped, then you surely want to do everything you can to protect and preserve it for as long as possible. In order to do this, you may want to buy some specialized cleaning products.
These don’t need to be too fancy or expensive, but going to a specialized store to see what you should use and how often in order to maintain your moped is surely a good idea. You also want to keep any rust away for as long as possible, and if you want to keep that cool showroom look as well, then you need to invest in some wax polish as well.
Since you might sometimes ride your moped at night as well, then reflective stickers are something that you need to get as well. Two-wheelers are generally not that visible, especially compared to cars, due to their smaller size, so you want to make sure that other drivers are able to spot you from afar to avoid any potential accident.
Reflective rim tapes and stickers definitely help in this matter and they are not that expensive, so definitely check them out and then add them to your vehicle.
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