Moped Safety Equipment Laws USA 1976

August 8, 2007

Below is another historical article, reprinted from AMERICAN BICYCLIST and Motorcyclist, March 1976, a trade magazine, announcing moped laws to American bicycle dealers:

Dealer checklist: your lines must meet federal standards

by Serge D. Seguin, Chairman, Motorized Bicycle Association

Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued federal motor vehicle safety standards which apply to vehicle equipment. Many of these standards are applicable to motorized bicycles.

In February 1974, several manufacturers of motorized bicycles [Motobecane, Peugeot, Sinfac(Solex)] petitioned NHTSA for recognition of the motorized bicycle as a separate vehicle category and the establishment of safety standards appropriate to it’s low power and speed. Though NHTSA declined to establish a separate category, effective October 1974 it established a sub-category of motor-driven cycle (a vehicle with a motor that produces 5 brake horspower or less). This defined the motorized bicycle as a motor-driven cycle whose maximum speed is 30 mph and relaxed certain motor-driven cycle standards for this new sub-category. The brakes on these lower speed vehicles are exempt from fade requirements. Both brake controls may be on the handlebar. The stop lamp may have a photometric output of one-half of the existing motorcycle standard. Turn signals are not required.

However, the equipment standards for motorized bicycles are very specific and strict – far more stringent than the standards promulgated in the many countries in which the motorized bicycle is now in use as a principal means of transportation. It is important that you, the dealer, be able to recognize if the motorized bicycle you are considering selling meets the federal standards. If it does not, the potential penalties are severe, including recall of “illegal” vehicles and the possibility of a fine for each vehicle sold. There are presently over 15 million motorized bicycles in use throughout the world, and the potential for sales in the United States is great. But in order to realize this potential, the motorized bicycle to be sold must conform to all standards.

Federal standards apply to lights, brakes, tires, controls, and display equipment. Each machine must have a certification label. Look carefully at the motorized bicycle offered to you for sale. Only if it conforms to the following checklist, does the vehicle meet the basic federal standards applicable to motorized bicycles.

A. LIGHTS

Head Lamp: One White. Must pass moisture, corrosion, vibration and recession tests. Sealed beam conforms. Headlamp must move up and down for aiming.
Tail Lamp: One Red. Should be a combination stop-tail lamp. Must be identified by SAE number. Must have double filament bulb. [later relaxed]
Stop Lamp: One Red. Must be activated by either hand brake.
Reflectors: Two Amber on both sides at front, Two Red on both sides at rear, and One Red on back, all permantly affixed and identified with with SAE number.

B. BRAKES In order to meet the federal standards on braking performance, almost all motorized bicycle will need drum brakes. to check the lining thickness of the drum brake shoe, an “inspection window” must be provided in the brake backing plate.

C. TIRES Each tire must have at least six treadwear indicators so that it may be inspected to determine visually, whether the tire has worn to a depth of 1/16 inch. Some specific markings must appear on the tire:

The symbol DOT
A coded tire identification number.
Tire size in inches
Max load rating in lb, and corresponding inflation pressure in psi.
Speed restriction or rating
Number of plies and cord composition
The word “tubeless” (TL) or “tube type” (TT) as applicable.
The load range letter (most often “B” which is 300lb/tire).

D. CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS There must be two engine stops on a motorized bicycle. One of them must be located on the right handlebar. It must be labeled “ENGINE STOP” and must have “OFF” and “RUN” positions marked.

An electric horn is required, with button on left handlebar, with marking “HORN”.
[The other engine stop is the] Manual Fuel Shut-off Control. It must have the “OFF” marking when the control is forward, the “ON” marking when the control is downward. Optionally it can have a “RES” or RESERVE marking when the control is pointing upward.
A manual choke must have a label “CHOKE”.
The speedometer must be illuminated when the headlamp is activated. Markings must be in mph.

CERTIFICATION LABEL Each motorized bicycle must have a certification label – either riveted or permanently affixed so that it cannot be removed without destroying or defacing it. The label must be affixed to the structure as close as practicable to the intersection of the steering post with the handlebars.

The label must have the following information:

Name of Manufacturer
Month and Year of Manufacture
Groos Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for each axle.
Vehicle Identification Number
Vehicle Type “MOTOR-DRIVEN CYCLE”
Statement of Compliance: “THIS VEHICLE CONFORMS TO ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS IN EFFECT ON THE DATE OF MANUFACTURE SHOWN ABOVE”.

Now you know more about why US mopeds are the way they are. This explains why the earlier 1974-1976 US model mopeds all had sealed beam headlights and double filament tail lights. By 1977 most US mopeds switched to single-filament two-bulb tail lights and non sealed beam headlights, after the sealed beam headlight and double filament tail light requirements were dropped.

The rules about lights, controls, tires, brakes, button locations, etc are different in most other countries. They use a non-electric “ring ring” horn, no brake light, no side reflectors. They can have all their buttons on the left. Their lights are smaller and not as bright as USA ones, generally.

California Motor Vehicle Pollution Laws

August 5, 2007

In California, motor vehicle air pollution laws are in the California Code of Regulations (CCR). It says any street motorcycle with a 49cc or under engine is exempt from California Exhaust Emission Standards.

13 CCR § 1958 Exhaust Emissions – Motorcycles

Cal. Admin. Code tit. 13, § 1958

Barclays Official California Code of Regulations Currentness

Title 13. Motor Vehicles

Division 3. Air Resources Board

Chapter 1. Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices

Article 2. Approval of Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices (New Vehicles) (Refs & Annos)

§ 1958. Exhaust Emission Standards and Test Procedures – Motorcycles and Motorcycle Engines Manufactured on or After January 1, 1978.

(a) This section shall be applicable to motorcycles, motorcycle engines, and the manufacturers of either motorcycles or motorcycle engines produced on or after January 1, 1978. Motorcycles and motorcycle engines are excluded from the requirements of this section if:

(1) The engine displacement is less than 50 cubic centimeters, or

(2) An 80 kilogram (176 pound) driver cannot

(A) start from a dead stop using only the engine, or

(B) exceed a maximum speed of 40 kilometers per hour (24.9 miles per hour) on a level paved surface.

(b) Exhaust emissions from new street-use motorcycles and motorcycle engines, subject to registration and sold and registered in this state, shall not exceed:

Table of Standards

	Engine	Exhaust Emission Standards (g/km)
Model-Year	Displacement	Hydrocarbon (HC)	Carbon
	(in cubic centimeters)	+ Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)	Monoxide
================	===================	============================	========
1978 through 1979	50 to less than 170	5.0 (HC only)	17
	170 to less than 750	5.0+0.0155(D-170) (HC only)	17
	750 or greater	14 (HC only)	17
1980 through 1981	All (50 cc or larger)	5.0 (HC only)	17
1982 and later	50 cc to 279 cc	1.0 (HC only)	12
1982 – 2/28/1985	280cc or greater	2.5 (HC only)	12
3/1/1985 – 1987	280cc or greater	1.4 (HC only), as a corp. avg.	12
1988 through 2003	280cc to 699cc	1.0 (HC only), as a corp. avg.	12
1988 through 2003	700cc or greater	1.4 (HC only), as a corp. avg.	12
2004 through 2007	280cc or greater	1.4 (HC+NOx), as a corp avg	12
2008 and later	280cc or greater	0.8 (HC+NOx), as a corp avg	12

Find out more about the California Motor Vehicle Pollution Laws »

United States Motor Vehicle Pollution Laws

August 5, 2007

In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ), has limits for motor vehicle emissions. There are exhaust emissions limits and there are evaporative emissions limits. Below is a excerpt from the EPA Regulatory Announcement of Dec 2003:

EPA Finalizes Emission Standards for New Highway Motorcycles – December 2003

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adopting more stringent emission standards for new highway motorcycles. Under the current standards, which are over 20 years old, today’s motorcycles produce more harmful emissions per mile than a car or even a large sport utility vehicle (SUV). These new standards will reduce the combined hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions in the exhaust by 50 percent as well as the harmful health effects of mobile source air toxics.

Final Rule Highlights

EPA has been working to reduce emissions from motor vehicles for over thirty years, including emissions standards for highway motorcycles that we adopted in 1978. In this final rule, EPA is adopting new emission standards for exhaust and evaporative emissions from highway motorcycles. The standards are based on comparable requirements adopted in California. The final rule extends the California requirements nationwide two years after they initially take effect in California. In addition to updating exhaust emission standards for currently regulated motorcycles, the new emission standards will include previously unregulated motorcycles with engines of less than 50 cubic centimeters displacement (scooters and mopeds). We are also adopting new evaporative emission standards to control the loss of gasoline (described as “permeation”) through the walls of fuel hoses and fuel tanks. The permeation standards apply to all classes of highway motorcycles.

Before 2006 model year, Class 1 was Class 1b (50 to 169cc), Class 1a (under 50cc) was exempt. Because of the new EPA standards, most 49cc two-stroke motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds stopped being made after 2005. Tomos and only a scarce few others still make two-stroke street motorcycles, which must meet the same standards as four-stroke engines.

Highway Motorcycle Exhaust Emission Standards

	Engine Size	Implementation	HC	HC+NOx	CO
Class	(cc)	Date	(g/km)	(g/km)	(g/km)
========	===========	============	=======	=======	=======
Class 1	less than 170	2006	1.0	–	12.0
Class 2	170 to 279	2006	1.0	–	12.0
Class 3	280 and above	2006	–	1.4	12.0
Class 3	280 and above	2010	–	0.8	12.0

HC = hydrocarbons (unburned gasoline or oil), CO = carbon monoxide = poisonous odorless gas

NOx = nitrogen oxides (with water makes nitric acid, leads to acid rain)

Click here to see the real thing: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/roadbike/420f03044.pdf

Consumer information from EPA about non compliant inexpensive gas scooters:

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/roadbike/22-scooteralert.pdf

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions to the EPA about Motorcycle Emissions Laws:

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/roadbike/420f03045.pdf

Here is an exerpt from the above link:

Would new emission standards make it illegal to customize my motorcycle?

Many motorcycle owners personalize their motorcycles. Indeed, this is one of the joys of owning a motorcycle, and owners take their freedom to customize motorcycles very seriously. We are not changing existing provisions of section 203(a) of the Clean Air Act, as established in 1977, which states that it is illegal “for any person to remove or render inoperative any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine in compliance with regulations under this title…after such sale and delivery to the ultimate purchaser…”. In other words, owners of motor vehicles cannot legally make modifications that cause the emissions to exceed the applicable emissions standards, and they cannot remove or disable emission control devices installed by the manufacturer.

We use the term “tampering” to refer specifically to actions that are illegal under section 203 of the Clean Air Act; the term, and the prohibition, do not apply generally to the wide range of things that a motorcycle enthusiast can do to legally personalize their vehicle, only to actions that cause the emissions to exceed the standards. The new emissions standards do not change this “tampering” prohibition. In fact, it is not within EPA’s ability or discretion to change this statutory prohibition, which Congress put in place more than 20 years ago. Owners are still free generally to customize their motorcycles in any way, as long as they do not disable emission controls or cause the motorcycle to exceed the emission standards.

Highway Motorcycle Evaporative Emission Standards

Other emissions can come from the crankcase on a four-stroke engine, a result of blow-by past the rings, and from fuel that escapes into the air through permeation and evaporation, on all combustion engines.

More to follow…

Tomos EPA Certification Labels

August 1, 2007

Vehicle Emission Control Information labels are required on all 49cc 2006-on US models.

More discussion to follow…

Motorcycle Noise Emission Control Information labels have been required since the early 1980’s.

Besides exhaust emissions and permeation (evaporative) emissions, there are also noise emissions limits. Noise limits have been in effect since the 1980’s. Since then it has been illegal to change the exhaust to a louder one, even though most motorcycle owners do it anyway.

Above left, 2009 Tomos LX Emission Label says 1.4 HC+NOx g/km, Engine Family: 9TOMCO.04A79

Above left, 2010 Tomos (all 6 models) Emission Label says 1.4 HC+NOx g/km, Engine Family: 8TOMCO.04A79

Above right, 2010 Tomos Noise Label says 70dbA @5415rpm.

Above left, 2011 Tomos ST Emission Label says 1.0g/km HC, 12g/km CO, Engine Family: BTOMCO.04A79

Above left, 2012 Tomos Sprint & ST Emission Label says 1.0 g/km HC, 12 g/km CO, Engine Family: CTOMCO.04A79

Above right, 2012 Tomos Noise Label, 70dbA @5415rpm. It’s been the same for many years.

						Trans	Fuel
Year		Make/Model	Exhaust Emission Limits	Engine Family	Permeation Family	Oil	Octane
====	=	===========	===================	============	==============	====	====
2006		Tomos			not required	ATF-A	90
2007		Tomos			not required	ATF-A	90
2008		Tomos ST	1.0g/km HC, 12g/km CO	8TOMCO.04A79	not required	ATF-A	90
2009		Lazer	1.0g/km HC, 12g/km CO		not required
2009		Tomos LX	1.4g/km HC+Nox	9TOMCO.04A79	not required	ATF-A	90
2009		Tomos Smate	1.4g/km HC+Nox		not required	ATF-A	90
2010		Tomos Smate	1.4g/km HC+Nox	8TOMCO.04A79	not required	ATF-A	90
2011		Tomos ST	1.0g/km HC, 12g/km CO	BTOMCO.04A79	BTOMPMETAL 10	10W30	87
2012		Tomos ST	1.0g/km HC, 12g/km CO	CTOMCO.04A79	CTOMPMETAL 10	10W30	87

Peugeot Ignition Upgrade to External Transformer

July 22, 2007

Please, beware. Before you blame the magneto or the coil, always first connect the black engine wire to ground, with an clip lead or something equivalent, and disconnect the brown engine wire. This isolates the engine from the rest of the bikes wiring. Usually this will fix the problem of no spark. Usually it’s just a loose brake light/ignition ground wire, often inside the headlight, or unplugged at the brake light switch and unplugged at the brake light (or the brake light filament burned out). Read more in the ignition sections.

Welcome to Myrons Mopeds Peugeot Ignition Upgrade tutorial. This is an explanation of how to repair 1976 to 1979 Peugeot two-coil ignitions, with a clear-coated-copper colored lighting coil on the bottom and light golden colored ignition coil on the top. After 1979, Peugeot 103 & 102 mopeds came with a “star” magneto, where several coils are arranged radially like the rays of a star. Those 1980 and later “star” magnetos already have this external transformer upgrade.

Above is the parts book exploded view of the 1976-79 Peugeot 103 magneto, with external ground (the black wire on top). On the bike, this whole assembly is rotated 80 degrees clockwise. The fingernail-sized notch in #2 stator plate, for the spark plug wire and grommet, should be in the 12 o’clock position, straight up, not in the 9:30 position shown here.

Below is the 1980 Peugeot 102/103 magneto, with internal ignition ground, that always has spark no matter what the lights are doing. At bottom is #32, the external transformer, aka “the coil”, that’s bigger and isolated from the engine heat. Both of these Peugeot factory upgrades, internal ignition ground and external transformer coil, made the 1980’s bikes more reliable than the 1970’s models. Most Peugeot 103 mopeds in the USA were the early years 1976 to 1979. In 1981 Cycles Peugeot USA stopped selling motorized bicycles, but continued their main product, bicycles. So the newer magneto/ignitions were in the US for only one year, while the early magneto/ignitions were in the “boom” years.

What is a “Upgrade to External Transformer”? All ignitions have a transformer, commonly called “the coil”. The transformer changes the pulses of electricity from low voltage to high voltage. On most mopeds and larger engines, the transformer coil is located outside the engine. On Peugeot, some older mopeds, and most hand-held gardening equipment engines, the transformer is located inside the engine, to save space, weight, and cost. If the high voltage spark plug wire comes from inside the engine, like on a chain saw, then it has an internal transformer. If the spark plug wire comes from outside the engine, then it has an external transformer. The Peugeot Ignition Upgrade is modifying the internal transformer to work with an external one, and then adding an external transformer (ignition coil), mounted on the frame, just right of the carburetor.

Why does it need an upgrade? The original coils go bad, sending sparks that damage the points and condenser, or sparks that jump (arc) through the coil and into the aluminum wall of the stator plate. The result is the engine misfires (hiccups), or worse, spits and sputters chaotically, unpredictably, especially when hot. The cause is tiny cracks in the insulation that let sparks escape. Some old coils go bad this way, by deterioration from old age. Peugeot and certain other “new old stock” coils are no good, because of their age, 35 years old (1977 to 2012).

Below is Myrons Mopeds display board, normally hanging above and near the cash register at the shop. It shows the original Peugeot ignition on the left, and the upgraded Peugeot ignition on the right, before and after.

Notice that everything is the same, except on the upgrade ignition, (1) the coil has a horizontal cut through it, and (2) the brown (maroon) ignition wire has a “T” with a branch going to the new external ignition coil (red). Those two things are all that’s different. They are easy to say, but not easy to do.

At the bottom of the display board is a Peugeot ignition coil (internal transformer) with it’s outer (secondary) windings completely removed, exposing the few hundred inner (primary) windings. The outer windings do not need to be removed completely. Each of the thousands of hair-thin outer (secondary) windings needs to be cut. If too many are left uncut they can still cause some residual misfiring. Below is a close up of the Peugeot ignition coil with it’s outer (secondary) windings removed. Some of them are shown at left, and below embedded in the outer insulation shell. They are hair thin, and clear coated with varnish. Some of the individual hairs are barely visible.

Below is that same coil, showing inner windings even with, or a hair below the first steel plate.

What are the symptoms? Very often the points will have a white crust from sparks arcing across. Below left is an example of the white frosting around the outer edge of the round contacts. When the engine is running, the whole magneto might be lit up in blue flickering light from the strong sparks jumping, brighter than the spark plug spark. Normally the points spark a little, but not steady and bright. The sparks that jump the points also damage the condenser. You can’t see the little burnt spots inside the condenser, but they’re there. Another symptom of a bad Peugeot ignition coil is black dots or lines near the high voltage output wire. Below middle and right, are two bad coils with burnt spots on the back side where sparks were escaping. It’s only about 1/2 inch away from the stator plate aluminum wall. When a spark jumps there, it makes the spark plug not fire.

Why does it often happen only when fully hot? When solid things get hot they expand slightly. Any microscopic cracks that are closed tight when the engine is cold, will be opened up wide when the engine is fully hot. Open cracks in the insulation are shortcuts for sparks to jump through, or leak out of, instead of going to the spark plug and jumping the gap there. Usually it takes 10 to 20 minutes before a misbehaving Peugeot cuts out and leaves the rider to pedal back home. Once back home and cooled down it might re-start and run fine.

How it’s done:

1. Remove the flywheel nut. An impact wrench, air or electric is needed, because the flywheel turns with the nut. Or else a piston stop is used in the spark plug hole to stop the piston from rising, and the flywheel from turning. Put oil on the threads before and after removal.

2. Remove the flywheel. There’s no key to locate where it goes (what timing angle) on the crankshaft. A flywheel puller tool pulls on the center threaded hole in the flywheel while a bolt pushes on the crankshaft.

3. Remove the stator assembly. Two slot head screws secure the stationary part of the magneto to the engine case. Check if the threads on the crankshaft got damaged during the flywheel removal, by screwing the M10 x 1.00 flywheel nut on with your fingers. Often the threads are damaged (flared) from the removal and a M10 x 1.00 die is needed to repair the threads. In severe cases, careful grinding and rethreading are needed. That is very difficult/expensive but so is a new crankshaft.

4. Cut through the outer windings. A hand-held disk grinder is what Myrons uses. The cut can and should be wide, so you can see what’s at the bottom. Below left is a coil that is cut to a perfect depth on the sides, but needs more depth in the middle. The perfect depth is the gold colored insulation layer that lies above the inner (thick) windings, and below the outer (thin) windings. Below right is a coil that is cut too deep. It’s only perfect below the P in the word “deep”. The individual thick windings are visible. Some of the first layer of inner windings is cut through. Also there are cut marks in the steel plate, near the bolt holes. If the cut was made farther away from the bolt holes, either way, then cutting to the depth of the steel plate would not be too deep (because the windings are rounded).

Below is a Peugeot coil cut just almost perfect, with only a few outer windings still showing. Some lines of gold plastic are visible at the very bottom of the trench, surrounded by the copper of the outer super fine hair thin (invisible) windings.

The above example also shows Myrons technique of cutting the coil in place, without removing it. When the cut is just above the 7mm hex M4 nuts, the proper depth is near the level of the steel plate.

5. Replace the condenser. Since the display board was made, Peugeot 20mm condensers have become not available. So the board does not show how an external automotive condenser can replace the original burned out internal one. Any automobile from the 1950’s and 60’s has a suitable condenser. There are different mounts. You must mount it, somehow, onto or near the external ignition coil, which is grounded to the frame. The condenser shell must be grounded solid to the frame. Another “T” can be made from the brown wire, for the external condenser. The original condenser should be removed, and the three wires that went to it all soldered to each other and covered with shrink wrap and positioned so that they never touch or rub against anything, especially the flywheel, and stay there forever.

6. Put the flywheel back on. Clean the crankshaft taper and the flywheel center tapered hole. Clean the points and check them with an ohmeter for continuity, both open and closed. Clean and grease the points cam with high melting point silicone grease, for points. With the spark plug removed, locate top dead center, by feeling the top of the piston with a pen or pencil. While holding the crankshaft at the exact TDC position, place the flywheel on the shaft with the fire mark (line) on the flywheel 7/8 to 1 inch away (toward the front of the bike) from the rubber grommet where the original spark plug wire came out of. While holding both the crankshaft and the flywheel in that position, strike the center rivets of the flywheel with a steel hammer. This will make it “stick” to the tapered crankshaft.

7. Put the flywheel nut back on. In the same way it was removed, either with a piston stop or with an impact wrench, tighten the M10 x 1.00 flywheel nut. Do not hold onto the flywheel, or it might slip and change the timing setting. Once tight, check if the mark on the flywheel is still 7/8 to 1 inch in front of (toward the front wheel) of the mark on the engine (which is the pointer on the black rubber grommet for the original spark plug wire). Once the nut is fully tight (25 ft lbs) the flywheel never slips.

8. Adjust the points. Adjust the points gap until they open on the mark. An ohmeter across brown wire and ground, with the black (ignition ground) wire unplugged, will read near zero when the points are closed and near infinity when they’re open. There are some triangular notches for prying the points by twisting a small flat head screwdriver. The more wider the points gap is, the earlier they open. Too wide a gap means they’ll open before the mark. Too small a gap means they’ll open after the mark. The flywheel rotates clockwise, when viewed from the right side of the bike. As the piston rises, the points are closed. When the piston gets almost at the top, at 1.5mm BTDC, which is about 1 inch along the edge of the 5 inch flywheel, the points open, and the marks line up. Set the points to make that happen and tighten the screw.

9. Install the external coil (and condenser). Many (1978-79) Peugeots already have a mounting bracket for the external coil. Some (1976-78) Peugeots do not have any coil mounting bracket. Then one from a Puch, or a custom made bracket, must be welded on exactly right, to barely fit under the right side engine cover.

10. Reconnect the wires and put the spark plug back in. Always ground the black wire if there is no spark. It gets a ground in the left headlight bolt. The ignition ground black wire is often loose there, because tightening the headlight bolt makes the inside locknut looser. Always do this first, way before suspecting somethings wrong in the magneto. If the engine looses spark when idling slow, at the instant the brake is applied, then put in a new NGK B6HS spark plug. If it still does it, reduce the spark plug gap a little.

Are there other ways to do it? Yes. Instead of slicing the original coil, a Puch ignition source coil can be used. It must be from a 6-wire 1977-later, with a blue and a blue/black wire, not a 4 or 5-wire 1977-earlier, with only a blue wire. The bolt holes are closer together on Puch, about 52mm instead of Peugeot’s 55mm, but the bolts bend in and still work. The clearance between the stack of steel plates and the flywheel is much more, with the Puch coil, but it still gives a good strong spark. Another way to do it is to swap out the entire magneto for a 1980 “star” magneto, if you can get one, then rewire the brake light the “1980 way”, which is right and left momentary closed switches in parallel, and brake light in series with that, rather than the “1976-79 way”, which is right and left momentary open switches in series, and the brake light in parallel with that. See more in wiring diagrams.

What external coils will work? Any 1970’s or older moped or small motorcycle, with magneto and points ignition, external coil will work. More modern 1980’s and later CDI (capacitor discharge ignition) coils are too small. Car coils are too big. The best kind is the Bosch coil (transformer) used on Puch mopeds. The worst are certain generic India or China made ones, with a weaker spark.

Where did this idea come from? Starting around 1980, Shaun used to replace a lot of Peugeot condensers, like over 100. Sometimes the points would still have arcing, even with a new condenser. When that happened, 2 or 3 condensers, connected in parallel and externally mounted, were needed to stop the misfiring. Trouble was, the new condenser(s) would not last long. Soon Shaun realized that the Peugeot coils were sending sparks to the new condensers and causing them to “burn out”. When Cycles Peugeot, western USA, moved out of Compton CA, Royal Cyclery bought plenty of new Peugeot coils, like 100, and lots of new complete stator assemblies, like 50. These new original parts lasted into the late 1980’s. By then some of the new coils were bad almost right out of the box. Out of desparation, in about 1988, Shaun got the idea of changing to a different source coil, since all of the Peugeot ones were turning out to be bad. He found that of all the different moped source coils at Royal Cyclery, only the Puch 6-wire one was suitable. All others were either too small, too scarce, or did not have the external ground blue/black wire needed to operate the Peugeot brake light and be compatible with the Peugeot wiring. Gradually through the 1990’s all the Puch source coils got converted to Peugeot upgrade ones. By the late 1990’s there were almost none available. Shaun did about 50 Peugeot Ignition Upgrades from 1988 to 2000 using Puch source coils. Again out of desparation, in the year 2000, he got the idea to use the core of the Peugeot one. He found by trial and error how to cut away the outer windings and re-use the core as a source coil. From 2000 to 2010 Myrons Mopeds has done about 80 Peugeot Ignition Upgrades, recycling the Peugeot coil by cutting it, in place. Now this highly valuable information is free to the public, courtesy of Myrons Mopeds. May your Peugeot 103 never spit, sputter, or say bad things again!

Jet Drills

January 27, 2007

Above, a Tomos A55 idle jet (M4 thread) is physically bigger than a Puch Maxi main jet (M3.5 thread), but the hole size is much smaller. The photo shows how the #25 jet, 0.011″ (eleven thousandths of an inch), will allow the thinner wire of the wire wheel to pass through the hole, but not the thicker wire of the wire brush. This is a useful cleaning technique.

This will help you visualize how small these drills and jets are!

Moped main jets range from 0.018″ (#77 drill) to 0.026″ (#71 drill).

Moped idle jets, like Tomos A55, are 0.011″ (smaller than #80).

An average human hair is 0.003″ (three thousandths of an inch).

So moped jet holes are 4 to 9 hairs wide!

Shauns well used jet drill container from the 1980's

Shaun’s well used drill container from 1987

Jet Drills: All through the late 1980’s and 1990’s, Shaun (at Royal Cyclery and later at Myrons Mopeds) used the USA-made jet drills to service carburetors. The drill sizes are an American wire gauge. They did not vary in size. Those 20-piece Drill Sets 61 to 80, cost $40 in 2015, $33 in 1998. and $29 in 1987. Some are in clear plastic round dome containers, and some are in conventional metal drill set boxes.

Drill Set USA-made

Set 1 China-made

China-made Drills: In the 2000’s there were many China made tools sold in “surplus” tool stores. The China made 20-piece Drill Sets 61 to 80, sell for $7 to $10, or one fourth as much. They have an excellent blue plastic container, that only lets out one at a time. But the drill sizes are all wrong. From about 2010 to 2014, Myrons Mopeds sold these inexpensive drill sets, not knowing that the drill sizes were inexact, to say the least.

So although the China sets cost one forth as much, they only have about seven or eight different sizes, and they lack the smaller sizes below 0.4 (or sometimes 0.6) mm. Each set is different.

Jet Drills made in USA

Set 2 China-made

Some have poorly made drills, twisted funny, bigger at the cutting end, or lumpy, varying in thickness. Some have poorly made cutting tips, so they might wander, grab and break, or not cut well.

Despite the poor quality and inexactness, the inexpensive drills are still useful for cleaning purposes, but not for measuring and maybe not for drilling. Fortunately, brass carburetor jets are the easiest thing to drill, with a drop of oil and a pilot hole already there.

Micro Drills and Wires for Sale Individually

These drills are measured at the shank (the smooth part). At the cutting edge they are 1 or 2% bigger.

These wires are steel guitar strings, cut into 5 inch lengths.

“Metric” jets have a number that literally means hundredths of a millimeter, so a 64 jet is 0.64 mm.

inch   mm/# price moped jets that it cleans
0.011 wire   N/A Gurtner Motobecane diffuser – two idle holes (.013)
0.0135 #80 $6.00
0.0145 #79 $5.00
0.0157 0.40 $3.00 Dellorto 38 (.0162), Bing 42 (.0162)
0.016 #78  $4.00 Dellorto 40 (.0168), Bing 44 (.0167)
0.017 wire $0.50 Dellorto 42 (.0177), Bing 46 (.0175)
0.018   #77  $3.50 Dellorto 44 (.0186), Bing 50 (.0188)
0.019 —— $2.00 Dellorto 46 (.0194), Bing 52 (.0194)
0.0197 0.50 $2.00 Dellorto 48 (.0202), Bing 54 (.0200), “Metric” 51 (.0201)
0.0200 #76  $3.50 Dellorto 49 (.0207), Bing 56 (.0206), Gurtner 210=52 (.0210)
0.021   #75 $4.00 Dellorto 51 (.0215), Bing 58 (.0213), Gurtner 220=54 (.0220)
0.0225 #74 $5.00 Dellorto 55 (.0231), Bing 62 (.0229), Gurtner 230=56 (.0230)
0.023 —— $2.00 Dellorto 56 (.0235), Bing 64 (.0234), Gurtner 240=58 (.0236)
0.0235 0.60  $2.00 Dellorto 58 (.0242), Bing 66 (.0239), Gurtner 245=59 (.0239)
0.0235 0.60  $1.50 Dellorto 58 (.0242), Bing 66 (.0239), Gurtner 250=60 (.0242)
0.024 #73 $3.00 Dellorto 60 (.0247), Bing 68 (.0248), “Metric” 63 (.0248)
0.025 #72 $3.50 Dellorto 62 (.0255), Bing 70 (.0254), “Metric” 65 (.0256)
0.026 #71 $4.50 Dellorto 66 (.0268), Bing 74 (.0267), “Metric” 68 (.0268)
0.0275 0.70 x N/A Dellorto 70 (.0280), Bing 78 (.0280), “Metric” 71 (.0280)
0.028 #70 $4.00 Dellorto 72 (.0287), Bing 80 (.0287), “Metric” 73 (.0287)
0.0292 #69 $4.50 Dellorto 78 (.0306), Bing 84 (.0301), “Metric” 77 (.0303)
0.030 wire   N/A Dellorto 80 (.0312), “Metric” 79 (.0311), Gurtner K80 (.0311)
0.031 #68 $4.50 Dellorto 82 (.0318), “Metric” 81 (.0319)
0.0315 0.80  $2.00 Dellorto 84 (.0324), “Metric” 82 (.0323)
0.032 #67 $3.00 Dellorto 86 (.0331), “Metric” 84 (.0331)
0.0325 —— $2.00 Dellorto 88 (.0337), “Metric” 86 (.0339)
0.033   #66 $4.50 Dellorto 90 (.0343), “Metric” 88 (.0346)
0.034 wire   N/A “Metric” 90 (.0354)
0.035 #65 $3.00 “Metric” 92 (.0362), Gurtner MB (side mount) diffuser (.0358)
0.0354 0.90  $2.00 “Metric” 94 (.0370)
0.036   #64 $3.00
0.037   #63 $2.50
0.038 #62  $1.50
0.039 #61 $1.50
0.0394 1.00  $1.00

Deluxe 40-piece Micro Drill Set

Myron’s Mopeds two case deluxe micro drill set, 80 to 72 (small) and 71 to 60 (large) plus many in-between sizes.
Price none, sorry no more.

Slide clear top plastic until hole is over drill (and pointer is on desired drill number). Only lets one drill out at a time. Never take out more than one at a time, or they can get mixed. The case keeps them organized. If any get lost, dull, or broken, individual drills can be bought at some hardware stores for $3-$4 each.

Useful for sizing to tell how big a jet really is (sometimes they’re drilled out or labeled wrong).

Useful for cleaning varnish or corrosion coating the inside of an old jet. It doesn’t really clean out any other way. The drill is used as a file, held with a needlenose pliers.

Useful for drilling jets to make a new size, as an alternative to buying ones. The drill is held with a needlenose pliers, and the jet is rotated with your fingers, with a drop of oil. To go down in size, fill the hole with solder and re-drill it smaller.

Here is a pin vise, a mini drill chuck, price $8

Other Tools for Cleaning Jets

Using a micrometer to measure a 0.017″ wire

Guitar steel string 17 thousandths of an inch

Guitar string

Guitar Steel Strings in the smaller sizes are excellent tools for cleaning small holes. Here is a 0.0170 inch steel wire guitar string, perfect for cleaning out a 1974-85 Tomos stock jet size 46 that has a 0.0175 inch hole. A Honda Express NC50 (Keihin) carburetor, has a long brass idle jet tube with a tiny jet hole at the far end, too far for a drill to reach. For that, only a 2 or 3 inch piece of 0.010″ steel guitar string will reach to clean it. Ultrasonic cleaners, carb spray, or soaking are not effective for that. Other examples are a Sachs 52 jet 0.0190 would be cleaned by a 0.018″ wire, or a Motobecane 230 jet 0.023″ would be cleaned by a 0.022″ wire. The wire has to be a little smaller than the hole. Plain steel strings range from 0.008″ to 0.017″ in steps of 0.001″. Wound strings range from 0.017″ to 0.065″.

Torch Tip Cleaner Set

Root Canal Files (say ahhh)

Welding Torch Tip Cleaners are another excellent tool for cleaning small holes. The tip has a cutting surface but not the sides. So it is made to clean the hole without widening it.

Wire Feeler Gauge Sets: There are also wire gauge measuring sets that look the same as the torch cleaner set shown.

Dentist’s Root Canal Files are also good for cleaning small holes. Color coded files range from 0.06 to 1.10 mm (0.0024 to 0.0433 inch).

Shop Tour

August 12, 2006

In 1977 thousands of moped shops sprang up across America. About half of all the bicycle shops and half of all the lawnmower shops became moped shops. Myrons Mopeds and Bikes sold Ross, Mongoose bicycles and Puch, Tomos, Motobecane, Derbi mopeds. Below left is the original logo, in it’s cleanest version, before it was copied over and over. For the first time you can see the bike has rear springs and the riders tongue is hanging out. It is a 1980 Orange County Yellow Pages Ad. There were 55 moped shops in that phone book alone. So Southern California probably had 150-200 moped shops. Mopeds were as common as motorcycles on the streets of America in 1980. Only Volkswagen Beetles were more common than mopeds, it seems.

In 1982 Myrons Mopeds celebrated it’s Fifth Anniversary by having a 2-day parking lot sale. Below right is a newspaper ad, where 1980 Tomos Bullets were on sale for only $399, regularly $549. Now the equivalent 2011 Tomos Sprints cost $1199, or a little more than double.

In 1986, below, Myron was at his desk on the phone, with his employee Sam. This was the old location on La Palma in Anaheim. Many of the signs and things like Myron’s fan (from a different photo) and the 1980-style Tomos clock are still around and working. By then Myrons Mopeds was a licensed motor vehicle dealer, selling new and used motorcycles, especially the 1986-87 Trac DH100, a Korean bike with a Honda 90 compatible engine. You can tell Myron liked the DH100 by the lone poster on the front of his desk.

In 1986, below left, Myrons Mopeds, under Myron Hankins ownership, ran a small ad in the 1986 North Orange County Yellow Pages. In 1990, below right, Myrons Mopeds under Sam Townsend’s ownership, ran a small ad in the Cal State University Fullerton newspaper. The first mention of Go-Peds appears. Look up Go-Ped in Mopeds A-Z if you want to know what one is. In the 1990’s Go-peds ruled the moped shop.

In 1988 Myron was ready to retire. Below are Sam and Myron in front of the shop. Myron is getting ready to hand over the torch. In 1989 Myron was living in Costa Rica. In 1999 he visited the “new” shop on Commonwealth, when Shaun, soon to be “Myron #3” had the privilege of shaking Myron’s hand. Nobody knows when Myron Hankins passed away. We can only assume that he’s no longer alive, because of his age, would be well over 100.

In 1997, below left, Myrons Mopeds proclaimed 20 years in business in this North Orange County Yellow Pages ad. Sam and his enthusiastic employee Steve Roy were one of the first moped shops on the Internet in 1993. In those 1990’s Internet postings, Steve was the “Moped Guru” who wrote the famous “shade tree moped tutorial”. In it he starts by advising the reader to find a shade tree to work under. Steve fixed hundreds of mopeds at Myrons until around 1997, when mopeds were pretty much dead and go-peds were the exact opposite – booming. In about 2002 Steve Roy passed away, from lung cancer, even though he hadn’t smoked for many years. That’s two less pillars of moped society, Myron and Steve.

In 1998, Sam changed the name to Myrons Extreme Machines, as go-peds became 99% of the business. In 1999, above right, Shaun Strahm was working for Sam at Myrons Extreme Machines. Here he is out back fixing a smokey pizza delivery Tomos trike. Strahm came from Royal Cyclery, an entirely different moped shop on the other side of Los Angeles, in Hawthorne. He had been fixing mopeds there since 1978, working for his father, Gary Strahm. In 1993, below, Strahm is standing in front of Royal Cyclery with Cummings’ 50cc speed record motorcycle.

In 1994, above left, Gary Strahm and Bear with Shaun Strahm’s 1990 Honda NS50, in Royal Cyclery’s showroom. Above right, Gary Strahm in 1987 on the roof of Royal Cyclery’s new location at 13339 Hawthorne Blvd, Hawthorne CA, later to become 13355 three doors down, in 1990. You can see the bicycle and moped each have an equal share of the sign. From 1977 to 1987 Royal Cyclery was in at 2686 W Imperial in Inglewood. That’s where he learned how to fix mopeds. Tragedy struck Royal Cyclery in 1996 when Gary Strahm was killed in an armed robbery. Two years later Royal Cyclery was closed for good and liquidated. The only remaining moped shops in the LA area were Cycletime in West Los Angeles and Myrons Mopeds in Fullerton. For a few months Shaun helped out at Cycletime, and also did a summer of mobile moped service on Catalina Island.

In 1998 Strahm came to work for Sam Townsend so he could continue his passion, to fix and sell mopeds. Until late 2000 he worked for Myrons Extreme Machines, where there was barely room for both mopeds and gopeds. Then Strahm purchased the moped department of Myrons Extreme Machines and the name Myrons Mopeds from Townsend. Sam passed Myron’s torch to Shaun, and moved the go-ped department out to another unit. So then there were two Myrons in Fullerton, as there still is. What’s even more confusing is they’re both on Commonwealth and their phone numbers are almost the same.

In 2002 Myrons Mopeds had all of the showroom bikes outside for this picture. Electric bicycles on the left, used mopeds in the middle, and new mopeds, Avanti, Solex and Tomos on the right. In 2004 Myrons stopped selling electric bicycles. In 2010 Myrons stopped selling used mopeds. Now it’s only new Tomos.

In 2004 Japanese 50cc sport bike magazine Moto Champ did this article about Myrons Mopeds.

In 2007 the showroom contained about 10 used and 10 new mopeds. They’re all looking at the camera like puppies in a pet store, wondering if someone will take them home.

Welcome to Myrons Mopeds shop, a 20ft x 60ft industrial unit, packed full of mopeds and parts. The parts department is made from about 20 other moped shops buy outs. Many local moped shop that went out of business in the 1980’s would sell their remaining inventory to Myrons Mopeds. The parts are located in alphabetical order by major brand. At the front is Batavus, Cimatti Derbi, Foxi, then Garelli, General, Honda, Minarelli, Morini, Motobecane, Peugeot. Then there is universal parts surrounding the service area. To the rear of that is Puch and Tomos. Upstairs is Sachs, Trac, Vespa, more universal, and overstock.

The number of dealer notebooks gives the estimate of about 20 buyouts. There are 12 Motobecane Dealer Manuals. There are about 8 Puch Dealer Manuals. There was a large wall full of printed material, mostly parts manuals, some service manuals, advertisements, and a few historic documents. The paperwork was in disarray, with pages missing, falling out. In 2000 to 2002 Shaun organized all of the documents, restored missing pages, and found the best original photos. The Mopeds A-Z Encyclopedia was made from all that printed material.

The main part of the Universal Section, for things that are mostly not brand specific, like mirrors, spark plugs, chains, bearings, batteries, levers, points, bulbs, pedals, etc.

This is Blue Fly One. It’s a 2007 Tomos ST with a aero body. It has over 9000 miles and was Shaun’s daily driver from 2007 to 2009. It was Shaun’s project to go over 50 with a stock engine. It went 53 with this fork mount fairing. But then Shaun seized and crashed. A year later he made a frame mount fairing for it. It is called Blue Fly Two and is currently in retirement.

This is the Lama Limo, under construction. It’s a 2005 Tomos Streetmate that goes over 50 with a stock engine, thanks to a fiberglass body. It’s all about safety and economy first, speed second. It carries Shaun’s dog Lama and has been his daily driver since 2009 with over 13,000 miles and counting.

This is Shaun’s “dream bike”, not exactly a daily driver, but faster than anything else that lightweight.

The fastest and latest Derbi road race machine, a 79cc 6-speed that goes 136mph. 50cc did 126+mph.

Myrons Rides 2011

September 23, 2005

Slow Ride 82 Historic Riverside Corona to Riverside 40 miles 42 riders Mar 6 2011

Slow Ride 83 Chino Airport Corona to Chino 35 miles 15 riders April 10 2011

Slow Ride 84 Santiago Park Fullerton to Orange 25 miles 31 riders May 15 2011

Slow Ride 85 Newport Beach F. Valley to Balboa Island 45 mi 45 riders June 26 ’11

Ride 86 LA Harbor Tour Long Beach to San Pedro 43 miles 33 riders July 10 2011

>>> The end of the “scissors and double-stick tape” ride picture mosaics. The start of pure digital. <<<

Ride 87 Redondo Beach Pier San Pedro to Redondo Beach 27 riders Aug 14 2011

Click to enlarge

Ride 87 was Sunday August 14, 2011. About 27 riders attended. The ride met in San Pedro at the Ports O’Call parking lot. The ride was scheduled to go around Palos Verdes. But the group was advised of a LA Sheriffs Department motorcycle safety enforcement operation in effect for the streets we were heading for. After a lot of discussion and voting they decided to change the route and go to Redondo Beach Pier instead. Some people were relieved, and others were disappointed. But the tribe had spoken.

Left top, John’s 02 Tomos – Big Nicks Pizza delivery bike. Left middle, Bryan’s “Tomoxi” Sparta Foxi with Tomos A35 motor. Left bottom, Kyle’s sweet 1979 Motobecane 50VLA (Variator, Long seat, Aluminum wheels), Best in Show. Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge

Wooly Bully Chris rests on the orange Motobecane. Road cyclist Bryan splits the air on the red Tomos Streetmate R. Technology wizard James skillfully operates his silver Tomos A35.

It was a great ride from San Pedro to Redondo Beach and back. Everyone got to see Shaun run out of gas while leading the group. How funny that was seeing him pedalling about half a block, while the group stayed behind, at 10mph, confused. We parked in front of Ruby’s Diner, where about half of the people ate while watching sailboats and wind surfers at the mouth of King Harbor. Many others walked out on the horseshoe shaped pier, where there are many restaurants, almost all with seafood. After lunch, some Redondo Beach Police motorcycle officers were admiring our bikes and chatting. We all made it back OK without any problems.

Click to enlarge

Horseshoe Pier and King Harbor are Redondo Beach’s biggest attractions. Lots of shops, restaurants, fishing, boating, harbor tours, and of course sand and surf. We went there. It was fun.

Ride 88 Two Stroke Extravaganza Orange to Trabuco Cyn 38 riders Sep 25 2011

Ride 88 was to the annual Two Stroke Extravaganza. About 38 hooligans rode their two-stroke bug repellant foggers from the Orange Metrolink Station parking lot, around and around the Orange Circle, east on Chapman Ave which turns into Santiago Canyon Road which goes all the way there. In just a few miles from the historic Sunkist citrus distribution center, you’re outside the city in the foothills of the Santa Ana mountains. Curve around sandstone formations and through groves of trees until you get to Cooks Corner, at Trabuco Canyon Rd. That is “Orange County’s Rock Store”, where motorcycles like to ride to on weekends. (The Los Angeles County motorcycle historic hangout in Cornell is a river rock building on Mulholland Hwy near Malibu).

A variety of over 200 bikes, quads, karts, and oddball things took an hour to just walk through. Various categories were judged. Best Moped was this wild Motobecane, too crazy to explain. There are many pictures in Tumblr of this Myrons Ride and Two Stroke Extravaganza event. To see them click this and then scroll down. Sweet dreams! Wrrraaaeeeing, da dang dang dang!

Ride 89 Brea Canyon Tour Fullerton to Diamond Bar 35 riders Oct 16 2011

Last Sunday Oct 16 was Ride 89, Fullerton to Diamond Bar. About 35 riders attended the slow parade. First we looped twice around the old one-lane path within Hillcrest Park. Then we passed through Brea and the Whittier fault zone, where the Brea Oil Fields lie. Out of the city we motored for a few miles of scrub oak spotted pasture pleasure. In Diamond Bar we stopped for lunch in the shopping center. It was simple. Some old familiar faces made a surprise appearance. Richard drove down from San Jose. Patrick also made it a reunion ride. We love you, man.

Ride 90 John Force Car Show Fullerton to Yorba Linda 20 riders Dec 4 2011

Before the ride, Shaun got to ride Buster’s 35 mph 1914 Yale 1-speed moped in the parking lot. Here is a hi-res close up of the pedal-start side-valve engine that sounds like a choo choo. That’s “great-great-grampa’s moped”. Original paint and finish. Click to enlarge to full glory.

What a well preserved piece of American motorcycling history!

Myrons Rides 2012

August 30, 2005

Ride 91 Toms Farms Corona to South Corona 25 riders Mar 25 2012

Ride 91 went around Lake Mathews and stopped in Mockingbird Canyon at an Indian pictographs (rock paintings) site. We had to walk, hop over rocks, and jump across a small creek to see the Native American religious markings. The reward was a bee hive. What a great defense against trespassers! After that we rode to Toms Farms for lunch.

Ride 92 Tios Tacos Riverside Corona to Riverside 30 riders May 22 2012

First of all, the Ride 92 on May 20, 2012 was excellent. About 30 people rode from Corona to downtown Riverside. The Inland Empire Friends of the Myrons Rides (IEFMR) hosted the ride. The route passed through the famous Mission Inn, and wound through historic downtown Riverside to Tio’s Tacos for lunch. Tio’s Tacos is a 100 year old house and garden, converted into a Mexican restaurant, in a kind of “poor man’s Disneyland” sort of way. It has huge sculptures towering around the house, made of trash items, held in a net. All over, inside and out, are art objects made of stuff that was thrown away. The ride was 30mph until a little after lunch, where it was unlimited for a stretch. Then the last leg was a nice pleasant 30mph cruise through Norco, where horses, open areas, and horse paths are everywhere. Many of Riverside’s best attractions were visited in a nice loop.

Tio’s Tacos entry. There’s much more amazing folk art, inside, outside, in the gardens, and on the roof top.

Tio’s Tacos, in Riverside CA, is the most folk-art-decorated restaurant anywhere. Thanks IEFMR for Ride 92!

Ride 93 Beach City Mopeds F. Valley to Laguna Beach 39 riders June 24 2012

And now, Ride 93 to Laguna was arguably one of the best of all time! You’ll remember it for life if you were there.

Left, in black leathers, Trevor on his silver Free Spirit looks menacing but is well prepared for possible 60mph gymnastics tumbling. At right, Sam and Kanika behind head down Pacific Coast Highway on twin blue 1988 Yamaha DT50’s, 50cc 6-speed buzz bombs. In the background is the Edison power plant in Huntington Beach. This first part of the ride was a “stay together” group ride, at 30mph.

At far left is Shaw riding an 1978 Arciero top tank moped, with a 2003 Tomos A35 engine in it. The engine is special and amazing, in both power and longevity. If it was a painting it would definitely be called a masterpiece. That engine was in Colby’s 2003 black Tomos Sprint from Ride 2, on July 27, 2003. See the Myrons Ride 2A Picture. After it had a few thousand miles, Shaw modified the 49cc cylinder heavily and very beneficially, by fabricating a much larger reed chamber, to fit like a small dirt bike 4-petal V-shape reed valve, and also modified all of the ports. The engine has been in the Arciero for about almost 4 years now, with 8000 miles and dozens of Myrons Rides. See Myrons Ride 64A, where on September 7, 2008 the Arciero was clocked at 61 mph on Shaw’s GPS, and has topped 65 at times. That’s with the original Tomos A35 cast iron (originally flat reed) cylinder that came with the bike.

Left, Trevor is actually smiling inside that safety gear. The three black Tomos STs and one black Tomos LX are most of the Corona Brewmasters, left Malcolm, behind him, Rich, and right, Eric and somewhere else, Gil, rode to the ride from Corona, hard core. Third row right, orange shirt Carl and wife Marty on the high tech Honda SH150. Far right, jammin Jerry on the four stroke Lazer moped uses hand signals, owner of J and J Motorsports, in El Monte. Check out http://www.jjmotorsportsinc.com/ to see the many scooters and Lazer 4-stroke pedal mopeds he sells there. Third row left, wise comic Ron rides a black 95-ish Tomos Targa LX.

The front of the line for the Balboa Ferry. Front row left, Jamie has pole position on the red Free Spirit. Front row right, Shaun’s fully faired primer grey Tomos Streetmate, with large route map on the back for everyone to see.

Another view of the ferry waiting line. Second row right, Mark and his silver-blue and white Honda Passport. Later on he wound up getting a flat tire in Laguna, and did not get rescued for at least 2-3 hours, maybe more. Third row right, red Yamaha Vino commanded by veteran rider and coach Nancie. Nancie and husband Ray were on Myrons Ride 2, July 27 2003, and dozens of Myrons rides since then. They are professionals and role models and weekend scooterists. Front row left, Gil is not too big for that little Tomos LX mighty mouse that carries twice it’s own weight like an ant.

Loading the 3-auto ferry with 39 mopeds and light motorcycles. Front right, Wal steadies his brand new SYM 100cc scooter, similar to a Honda Passport. He got it at Beach City Mopeds, and he’s very happy. In his Targa LX days, Wal was on Myrons Ride 2, July 27 2003 and dozens since, but not many lately. He rode his new SYM all the way from La Verne, about 50 miles. Far left, taking a picture, southern California’s fastest moped racer, the honorable Christophe at www.tomahawktuning.wordpress.com/ rides a black Tomos. See his exotic 50cc French racers there. He was the fastest person at La Grange kart track, no matter what class he was in. Salute!

Crossing the sea water of Newport Bay. The ferry stopped in the middle of the channel to give the attendant more time to collect the $1.50 fee from each of the 35 or so mopeds and light motorcycles. Far left, Bryan’s red quarter fairing is shaped well and looks fantastic on that red Tomos Streetmate-R.

One of the world’s most serene and beautiful places, Crescent Bay Point Park in Laguna Beach, California.

View of Crescent Bay from Crescent Bay Point. Shallow water is light blue with dark underwater rocks visible.

Above, looking down at the wave-cut-flat rocks of the Laguna Beach rugged shoreline. Scuba divers were enjoying the underwater scenery there.

After Crescent Bay Point, the group rode to Beach City Mopeds and Scooters, about two miles inland in Laguna Canyon. The Myrons Riders arrived at 1:20 pm. There was a feast of sandwiches, chips, cold drinks, courtesy of our comrades Lee and Sheri. There were about 60 scooters by Kymco, SYM, Genuine, and others, and about 10 Tomos mopeds there, all super clean and spotless, like they were all freshly made yesterday. What great place to buy a high quality scooter, starting from around $2000. Check out www.beachcitymopedsandscooters.com/. For people who want the stability of safety of big 16″ wheels, like mopeds usually have and scooters usually don’t have, and want more power and speed than a Tomos moped (40+mph with de-restriction, sprocket and exhaust), or want to carry a passenger, check out the Kymco People 150 (MSRP $2799 plus F & DP). Freeway legal, it can go about 70mph, where Chinese 150 scooters go about 60mph. Go green, save gas, save money, have convenience, and of course, fun.

At about 2:45 they left Beach City Mopeds, and headed back up PCH. After a breif gas stop in crowded Laguna, it was a free for all. Everybody got back between about 3:50 and 4:20 pm, except for about half who peeled off and went their own way. Tyler’s Derbi Sport Laguna (with Euro model Sport Coppa plastics) was the fastest moped, by far, at near 65 mph (Felix speedo said 70). Felix and wife Adela rode the Honda 450 alongside the fastest mopeds on PCH, to measure their speed. Next was Shaw’s Arciero at around 61 mph (Felix speedo said 65), third was Ryan’s Puch at 54mph, and fourth was Shaun’s Aero Potato, at about 52 (Felix speedo said 57). The reported speeds are estimated for still air and level ground. Actual speeds are more, especially on PCH, where there’s traffic wind sucking you along and rolling gentle hills. There were several other mopeds that could go over 50mph, but no one ever did that day, probably because they did not want to risk seizing. Only one bike seized. Ryan was screaming the Polini-kitted Puch at about 58mph for awhile before it stuck. Ouch. Only one friend Mark, had a flat and got stranded. Other than that it was fun, fun, fun until the CHP motor cop almost pulled Shaun over, after the ride driving home, for acting “goofy” by tucking down and racing on the Tomos, to catch up to the Derbi Racing Team of Shaw and Tyler in the truck, heading north on Magnolia. Fortunately, Shaw gave Shaun the Vulcan Cloak of Protection. Thank you, zen master.

Ride 94 Palos Verdes San Pedro to Point Vicente 30 riders July 22 2012

Ride 94 line up minus about 11, regrouping on 25th St in San Pedro on the return. Click to enlarge.

Ride 94 was Sunday July 22 2012. It went from San Pedro California USA, new home of the WWII battleship USS Iowa, counter-clockwise around the Palos Verdes penninsula. Lunch was at Point Vicente Interpretive Center, next to the Pt Vicente lighthouse, on the picnic tables near the cliff edge overlooking the ocean.

30 riders gathered at the start place, the north end of the Ports O’Call parking lot next to the trolly tracks. The first stop was at the USS Iowa, a retired WWII battleship. The early photos of that and the starting line up were terribly blurred by the camera focus set for “close-up”. Operator error. They left San Pedro by heading north on Gaffey, past historic Agajanian Drive and the Naval Reservation, then left onto Palos Verdes Drive North. Up the hill, through Rolling Hills Estates, with trees most of the way, and horse paths, they enjoyed the beautiful country. After entering Palos Verdes Estates they turned left on Via Campesina, which delitefuly passes the PV Tennis Club and the PV Golf Club and a couple of hairpin curves down to Malaga Cove Plaza. Across PV Drive West and down to the “path of the ocean”, Paseo Del Mar. They stopped at the first view spot, looking north at Redondo Beach. Further south-west to almost the furthest west tip of the Palos Verdes penninsula they went to the second view spot, at Paseo Del Mar and Epping Rd. There isn’t much left of the 1964 ship wreck, but the view of ocean and rock formations was good enough.

Looking at the ship wreck site, at the tip of Palos Verdes Point. That black speck is an abandoned bulldozer. To the left of that is a dark horizontal finger coming out of the 45 degree slope edge. That piece, about 2 car lengths long, is all that’s left above water, of the Dominator, a Greek freighter carrying grain that wrecked here in 1964. One of our riders, Larry, used to dive there in the early 1970’s and spear fish. He was snooping around near the wreck when a 300 pound sea bass appeared. He said the fish’s mouth was big enough to easily bite off a human head. It’s skin was so thick his spears just bounced off it.

Here are some of the bikes at Paseo Del Mar and Epping, the ship wreck view spot, north of Lunada Bay.

What the group saw while eating Subway sandwiches. Pelicans flew by, just yards away, every few minutes.

After lunch, the return leg was east along Palos Verdes Drive South, past the old Marineland site, Abalone Cove, Wayfarers Chapel, and then through the natural roller coaster of the Portuguese Bend landslide area. PV Drive South turns into 25th Street in San Pedro.

Returning back downhill to the Port of Los Angeles, one of the busiest ports on the planet.

A somber reminder that one of our riders is no longer with us. We will remember the times we had.

Jack Woolf had some amazing stories:

In like 1947-49 during World War II there was a shortage of tires and rubber products because of the war effort. Jack could not get any new or used tires for his Schwinn bicycle. After riding his tires through the cords in places by stuffing them with rags, he eventually had to ride on the rims for a few months. It was bone shaking but still better than walking.

In 1968 Jack bought a new red Honda CT90 Trail 90, specifically for pig hunting on Santa Cruz Island. Santa Cruz Island is the largest of the Channel Islands about 20 miles from Santa Barbara, California. The domestic pigs turned wild had become too numerous and were destroying the natural habitat. So hunting them was encouraged. He had it equipped with a rifle holder, a spare gas tank, and a large luggage rack for carrying the dead pig. He went there and enjoyed the adventure. Afterwards, he kept that bike for the rest of his life. It was in several Myrons Rides and is in the ride pictures, somewhere.

Ride 95 Queen Mary Tour F. Valley to Long Beach Aug 19 2012

Ride 95 was August 19 2012. 30 riders were ocean air cooled from Fountain Valley to Long Beach, and back, a total of 47 miles. The heat was on, like 100 inland and maybe 85 at the beach. Everyone did a great job and had a good time. There were no mishaps. No one broke down, or got pulled over, or got dropped. Let freedom ring!

Above, the group line up at 11am. Soon 30 little engines will hum in unison.

Ride 95 is going west on Talbert during the first mile. First stop was Bolsa Chica wetlands overlook. Then they sped northwest on their beloved Pacific Coast Highway through Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, past Bolsa Chica Wetlands, Huntington Harbor, Anaheim Bay, and Alamitos Bay, to In-N-Out Burgers for lunch at 2nd St and PCH. Then it was on to the fun part, after passing through the crowded-in-a-good-way Naples district and Belmont Shore, it was time for looping over water and under bridges and going on one special section of the 710 freeway. The after lunch destination was the end of Scenic Drive, always peaceful and quiet on Sundays.

The south end of Long Beach Harbor Scenic Drive is Berth 260, AKA the Knuckleheads spot.

That row of container cranes at Berth 268 is immense. The blue sometimes-off-limits line is for port security.

Above, relaxing at lands end. Two empty container ships wait outside of the Long Beach Outer Harbor.

Left, storming back east on Shoreline Drive at the Pike. The black tire marks were made by Indy cars in April 2012 when the Toyota Gran Prix of Long Beach was held here. The finish line is less than a quarter mile ahead. The fake roller coaster commemorates the real one that lasted for many decades into the 1960’s. The group just turned right from Aquarium Way, where they just passed the Aquarium of the Pacific. Before that they went around and around a traffic circle almost under the Queensway Bridge. Complex and spectacular for all to enjoy!

Ride 96 Two Stroke Extravaganza Fullerton to G.G. Sep 23 2012

Ride 96 was Sunday Sept 23 2012. About 27 riders met at Myrons Mopeds between 8:00am and 8:30. They departed at 8:35 for an 8 mile ride that only lasted 30 minutes. It was all about the destination, the Two Stroke Extravaganza, an annual gathering of mostly two stroke street motorcycles.

Left to right: 1) a classic Kawasaki, late 60’s maybe, 2) a 1976 Kawasaki KH100 in showroom condition, unrestored and preserved in a climate sealed garage. It still has some of the original peel off protective clear plastic. 3) a 1970’s Kawasaki KV75 two-stroke mini-motorcycle. The babies of the tribe.

At 12:00 noon this is the Smoke Out, where all 150 engines are started at once. Behind the blue tent is the music stage where the white smoke of two stroke oil mist clouds the air.

One of the regulars on the Myrons Rides is Doug Kirk, of Pasadena Moped. Besides racing mopeds in the Polini Cup, and downhill mountain bikes, he also used to road race at Willow Springs on a 1981 Yamaha RD350LC, white with 2-tone blue stripes. It was called an RZ350 in the US, but Doug’s is a Japanese model. He had two of the same early RZs, the racer and a mint condition show bike one. These bikes would out accelerate a 1981 Honda CB750F four cylinder four stroke. Half the displacement, half the cylinders, but twice as many power strokes per revolution, less weight, and lower price tag.

Left, a land speed record motorcycle, for Bonneville Speed Week, made from a 1985 Motobecane/MBK 51V moped, heavily modified for speed and for safety rules. From the mid 1980’s to the mid 1990’s these mild mannered French mopeds were modified for road racing, mostly 49cc, the stock displacement. This was one of those French 50cc “variated” road racers, shipped to the US for Bonneville speed record attempts. It has a Conti liquid cooled cylinder. Before they had the frame modified for an aerodynamic rider position, the top speed was 72mph, and after, it was 78mph. At Bonneville in the 50cc A-G class the record is 85.927mph by Cathy Butler on an Aprilia RS50 (with no fairing). The best speed at the 2011 Bonneville Speed Week for bike 523 was 77.611mph.

None of these show bikes were on the Myrons Ride. There was no group photo or pictures of the rider’s bikes this time. It was all about the Extravaganza!

Thanks to all the talented Myrons Riders. Thanks to Mark, Farrell, Taylor, Wicked Motorsports, for hosting. Salute!

Ride 97 Historic Orange Circle Fullerton to Orange Dec 9 2012

27 bikes lined up before the start in the cool sun. Click to enlarge.

Wow! 29 riders attended the last ride of the season. Ride 97 went from Myrons Mopeds in Fullerton to the city of Orange, with several attractions along the round about way. First, wooden suspension type foot bridge, across Fullerton Creek. Second, a view of the back side of Knotts Berry Farm, that included the 1920’s Iowa church, the replica of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, and the Soak City waterpark. Third, a slow tour of residential neighborhoods along peaceful Orangewood Av. Fourth, a view of Angels Stadium and the Santa Ana River crossing. Fifth attraction was the best, a loop through Hart Park and Santiago Creek Nature Preserve. It featured a concrete parking lot that was also a dry river bed, so the center was a shallow “V” shape, like a mild half-pipe, 200 yards long, followed by a short stretch of bike path with a foot bridge, then a stop at the nature center under the ribbon of mostly sycamore trees. Sixth and last was the glorious Orange Circle, a two-lane continuous left turn at the center of historic Orange, once the citrus capital of the western US. After several loops of that, the group parked nearby for an hour and a half long lunch stop at the various restaurants and sidewalk bistros.