# Mopeds...and why I should buy one!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mopeds-and-why-i-should-buy-one/352495>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 13, 2006, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mopeds-and-why-i-should-buy-one/352495 "2006-04-13T07:29:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mopeds-and-why-i-should-buy-one/352495/41 "2006-04-22T11:00:10Z")

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[QUOTE=lk1932]  
I have over 2000 miles on my moped and I just used the last of my first qt. of oil. I’m sure your car is spewing out more poluttion than a moped.  
[/QUOTE]

Does your oil mix with and get ignited with the gasoline? That’s what happens with a 2-stroke moped engine. Some unburned fuel and oil also leak out with every cycle of the engine.

[http://science.howstuffworks.com/two-stroke6.htm](http://science.howstuffworks.com/two-stroke6.htm)

My car, if i had one, might be said to “burn oil,” but the oil isn’t part of the combustible fuel. I suspect that when one says a car “burns oil” it means that the car loses oil via other means: oil breaks down, leaks, perhaps evaporates…

In any case, the linked Wired article states Vespa engineered a 4-stroke moped engine that solves that problem.

Also, you’ll note that newer lawnmowers are frequently if not entirely equipped with four-stroke engines for environmental reasons.

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**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mopeds-and-why-i-should-buy-one/352495/42 "2006-04-22T22:50:38Z")

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[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.]  
**Gas mileage** : My R1 gets almost 40 mpg. My 600cc XJ-600 gets 50 mpg. So IMO a 600cc motorcycle is better (mileage vs. utility) than a scooter.  
[/QUOTE]

You get 40mpg with the R1 ? :eek: The best I’ve got with the R6 is 30-35 mpg. It drops to 25 when I am pushing it really hard. My R6 is a 2000 model (carburated). Is your R1 fuel injected?

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mopeds-and-why-i-should-buy-one/352495/43 "2006-04-22T23:00:20Z")

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[QUOTE=Dog80]  
You get 40mpg with the R1 ?  
[/QUOTE]

Almost 40. In L.A. traffic, where I can’t ride too fast With the lane-splitting and the open sections and the carpool lanes, I averaged up to 40 mpg. I’ll have to check it again when I just go out riding. (Which I just did, but there are old people and slow speed limits here.) I’ve just assumed it has carburettors. I think the new ones have fuel injection. Mine’s a 2003, so I think it has four Mikunis.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2006, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mopeds-and-why-i-should-buy-one/352495/44 "2006-04-23T04:30:19Z")

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[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.]  
Mine’s a 2003, so I think it has four Mikunis.  
[/QUOTE]

Correction: It’s a 2002. I bought it in 2003.

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