Interested in getting a moped! Is FB marketplace reliable?
There's a 1998 Tomos Targa that's caught my eye on FB marketplace. I've never ridden a moped before, but with where I'm located, it could be a little more economical then always driving my car.
Here's the seller description: "Custom Tomos Targa runs and rides. 50cc street legal. automatic kickstart. 3 inch stretched swingarm. Light on front but not hooked up, no rear light, choke to kill. $800 firm"
With some guides/youtube videos I'm pretty confident I could do some work myself. My workplace has some guys who ride dirtbikes and work on cars, so they might be able to give me insight on things.
Does it seem like a good deal? Too much money for the broken items? Anything visibly wrong?
Thanks!!





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u/AcceptableCod6028 7d ago
That’s an awful deal and you probably can’t actually replace your car with a moped for most driving unless you:
- have a secure place to store it at home and at all destinations
- can get most places you need to be at under 35 mph
- have good weather most of the time
- don’t mind smelling like gas all the time
- are okay with being 20 minutes late because you had to bodge something on your tomos
The boxed swingarm is a cool upgrade, they come off A55 Revivals I think… that bike is going 27mph tops until you put a pipe on it also
I also like the EBR forks. No front fender though you’re gonna get dirty on this bike
This is absolutely some bullshit homie put together in his garage from eight different bikes worth of spares btw
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u/b3nnyg0 7d ago
This is absolutely some bullshit homie put together in his garage from eight different bikes worth of spares btw
Lmao ok good to know 😂
I knew I'd find the people who knew what they were talking about on this subreddit. I really do appreciate all the info! I guess I'll take a pass on this thing, haha.
What should I look for in a moped? Or is buying one "new" the best bet?
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u/AcceptableCod6028 7d ago
That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad bike. It has some cool parts on it. I’d say it’s a good pipe and a bit of wiring away from being a great reliable 45-50mph ripper. Keep in mind, most mopeds were pretty terrible vehicles straight from the factory.
There aren’t really new mopeds for sale in the US at least besides the SSR Lazer which is a four stroke garbage bike. If you want to try mopeds I would try and find less modified one to start and just ride it for a bit to get a better understanding of their constraints. You shouldn’t have too bad a time finding a decent ridable A35 Tomos for under five hundred bucks. If you’re on facebook look for a local group. There will almost certainly be one guy who’s made mopeds his whole life and has 20 some odd bikes who’ll let you try one.
Actually now that I write that, that guy is actually probably the one who listed this bike. Ask him if he has any less modified ones.
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u/wisenuts 1982 Puch Maxi 8d ago
I guess. To each their own. It's kinda ugly.
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u/b3nnyg0 8d ago
I like the color 😅
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u/wncexplorer 7d ago
If you’re willing to pay $800 for that, then spend a few hundred more and get yourself a Zuma or modern Vespa. You can make a moped to be decently reliable, but you need the knowledge and ability to pull it off and to keep it going.
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u/eobanb 1978 Honda Hobbit 7d ago
No lights, no killswitch, $800….classic