1960s
The moped was basically a commuter device, but also a passport to freedom for teenagers. Publisher and pedal-pusher David Beare describes his initiation to the road
When I was a teenager in mid-1960s Switzerland owning a moped provided a form of freedom unknown in previous years. I was no longer tied to bus timetables or having to cadge a lift from my parents. A moped represented complete freedom of movement and a canny way of increasing my geographical network of girlfriends, a very important aspect of being a teenager! Back in those days, neither helmets nor protective outerwear were required. We just rode around in whatever we were wearing on the day – unless it was wet, in which case a mackintosh was used.
My first moped was a 1963 Paloma, a French make with a Lavalette engine, but it was restricted to 30kph (18mph) by legislation then current in Switzerland. It soon became apparent that French-sourced Palomas were a lot faster than this, so I bought all the derestricted bits in France (bigger carb and inlet pipe) and knocked out the restrictor ring fitted to the inlet port. It was a revelation! However, I got arrested several times for speeding by municipal cops pursuing me in a VW Beetle, so had to put back all the restricted gear to get it through the technical inspection again.
The moped market in Britain had taken off during the Suez fracas of in 1956. Ration cards for petrol had been printed (though were never used), making the idea of 100mpg two-wheelers seem especially attractive to car drivers, who could ride them without L-plates on their existing licence.
The market came to be dominated by Continental makes, which had benefitted from much more relaxed legislation in their home countries. In France you could ride a moped at 14, without the trifling complications of a licence or insurance, and most other European countries were almost equally casual – no wonder they were popular there. In the UK you couldn’t start riding until 16, but you were allowed to ride a 250 (and larger machines until 1961) so a 50cc pedal-and-pop wasn’t exactly a teenage dream machine.
