Moped - Parent's Dilemma !!

Raven_k42

Folks, a cry for help !. With no experience of motorbikes...me that is...my 17yo needs (??) a moped. First of all...Golden Pages for moped shops ?? or any particular gems known to people ??. Secondly...other threads insist on some training...seems a given. Thirdly...new or second-hand ??....and price range ??. Finally, insurance. Will a 17yo Dublin-based provisional holder get insurance ?...what might I expect to pay ??...and who are the likely insurers ??.

Not asking for much...am I ??

Any help gratefully received.

Thanks,
Kevin.

Victor

Raven_k42 wrote:

my 17yo needs (??)

Hmmm, what wrong with cycling?

Yes, lessons are essential. Insurance will probably cost an arm and a leg (alternative is not replacing an real arm and a leg). Is it possible for him to avail of someone else's moped first, to see how he handles it? I'm not sure if driving schools one provide one.

Seth Brundle

Kevin,
Firstly, the majority of moped riders are young and immature and destined for a collision. Don't let your kid be an asshole on the bike - get them some proper(!) training - worth it in the end. Motorbikes are safe, it is the people riding them and everyone else on the road that are dangerous. At least if your kid is porperly trained, it is one less worry.
Secondly, this is a 1st vehicle so will possibly get thrashed - buy 2nd hand.
Not sure about insurance but the market for this is very limited (Hibernian/Norich Union only?).

seamus

Moped drivers, and particularly young ones, are one of the worst groups of drivers on the road. Safety needs to be your number one concern. Get him a good helmet, a decent jacket and a good pair of gloves with it. Don't worry about him wearing them - it's not like a bicycle, his safety gear will actually be cool to his mates.
Try get your hands on some really gruesome videos of what happens to bikers who crash after doing stupid things. The more missing limbs the better. Get a local Garda to have a quick chat with him, about some of the stuff he's seen.

Ideally, you shouldn't pay for it. At least not totally. Do a loan agreement with him - you buy the bike, and he pays you back a certain amount each week, on the agreement that he pays for all maintenance, damage or fines he gets. If the bike gets written off, he continues to pay you off, and if he can't afford a new one, or to get it fixed, tough.
You'll find then that he's much more likely to take care of it, if he's fully responsible for it. But it's up to you

Curious, why does he "need" it? Surely he's been getting along fine the last 17 years wihout it

Tommy Vercetti

When I was 16, I had my heart set on getting a moped too. A couple of my friends had them, and this was long before they were as popular as they are now. My parents were dead against it at the time, they knew they couldn't really stop me but they pleaded with me not to because they knew that the chances of me crashing were pretty high, so they convinced me to hang on for a few months and get insured on my dad's car when I turned 17. Have to say it was the best thing that ever happened to me, although at the time it only cost me about €700 to get insured.

spockety

for insurance, you are looking at at LEAST 2,000 euro third party only.

If that doesn't put you off, then nothing will.

Hibernian or AON are the only people who will insure you.

http://www.hiberniandirect.ie should spit a quote out for you.

FX Meister

Are you serious with that insurance quote? When I was 19 it was 650 fully comp, could it be that much different

spockety

I'm deadly serious yeah.. first time rider, provisional license, 17 years old, Dublin... recipe for insurance disaster

When were you 19?

seamus

spockety wrote:

I'm deadly serious yeah.. first time rider, provisional license, 17 years old, Dublin... recipe for insurance disaster

When were you 19?

€2,000 sounds about right. A little low tbh. Hibernian attempted to charge me €2,500 on a Group 2 bike (the group above mopeds) at 22 with 2 year's NCB.

Motorcycle insurance premiums have shot up since the Government decreed that all injured pillion passengers must be compensated in a crash, whereas before they weren't covered except where the policy said so. Group 1 and Group 2 riders would be a) Mostly on provisional licences and b) young guys, so they'd tend to carry their mates about, because said mates have no transportation of their own when they're heading to the off-licence/cinema/wherever.

a_ominous

Agree with Seamus and Spockety. I did a quick quote on Hibernian and 4400 for a 17yo on a 50cc moped in Dublin 1. There won't be a big variation in other postcodes.
AON who now insure with Axa might give a quote. Just don't forget to laugh in their faces when they tell you the price.

BTW there is a MAG rally in Dublin on the 25th September protesting at the exhorbitant insurance prices we have to pay. Details

I'm paying 830 yoyos FC on a lardy 400cc and I'm an old git!

Interceptor

You know your son better than any of us - has he any road sense, does he cycle and if yes, have you watched him to see if he is safe? Has he ever had a lesson in a car and if yes, did he show any aptitude for it?
Where is he going to ride this moped - will he be in high-risk traffic? during rush hour? Does he drink and is he likely to take risks?
Sorry to ask so many questions, I got me first bike at 17, drove all over the country on it and had some near-misses. My parents were also dead against it but I showed up one friday with the bike, a helmet and offered to let my father take it for a spin. Sold.

'ceptr

Interceptor

Oh and as a result of bike accidents I lost three really good friends before I was twenty - they can't post there opinions up here and I wonder what they would say? Or their parents?

'c

Raven_k42

..thanks to all who took the time to respond.....really useful....and general message received loud and clear !. Thread gets a 5-star rating from me !!.

Thanks again,
K.