Keeping your scooter in top mechanical condition helps keep you safe. Scooters over 50cc need a warrant of fitness (WOF), but mopeds (scooters 50cc or under) don’t.
While they don’t need a WOF, mopeds must still be roadworthy. So you can get a ticket for having a bald tyre, broken tail-light, or other safety failure. The best way to keep your moped in sound mechanical condition is to have it regularly serviced (at least once a year) by a service agent.
All scooters should have their engine oil, tyre pressure, indicators, lights and brakes regularly checked.
- If the engine runs out of oil it can seize and cost a fortune to repair. If it seizes while you’re riding, it could cause you to crash.
- Excessively soft or hard tyres will affect the scooter’s handling, while a bald tyre is treacherous in the wet.
- If your indicators and lights aren’t working, nobody knows what you’re doing.
- Make sure you can apply full brake pressure without the levers pulling in against the handlebars. If you can’t, have your brakes adjusted so you can apply full braking pressure.
Report by Marc Wendelborn.
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