Moped to Chopper Project

[yavor]

Hello everybody.
As you see I'm new to this site and forum. I'm not very familiar with the english terms, so please excuse me if I make mistakes.I have Peugeot Vogue moped, I don't know the exact year,but I guess it's 10-15 years old. I found the customer's manual for Peugeot 103 which is older model, but it's the closest to Vogue.
It says it is 49cc and can handle up to 163 kilograms in weight.
I was thinking of welding mini chopper frame and use the most of the parts from the moped - engine, fork, wheels, lights etc.
I'm thinking of something similar to this :

or this :

Maybe in a smaller scale. And with not very big rear tire, but bigger than the original.
And the actual thing I own is pretty much like this :

So I'm worried if this 49cc engine can handle the task. I read that some of the newer models have this CDI unit which reduces the speed of the moped. The 103 manual that I quoted
says top speed of 32 miles per hour. And I read in other forum that the top speed can be increased by changing the exhaust and the carb. This will add another 10-15 miles.
Another thing I want to add is that my town is placed on couple of hills..if you know what I mean...
I really need your advice.

 

[Kenny_McCormic]

I would keep the moped the way it is and scratch build a chopper, or hack up a bicycle. Engines are cheap, much cheaper than what you could sell that ped for.

 

[SpyGuy]

I agree with Kenny - if your moped looks that good, and is complete and running, then try to keep it as original as possible. As he said, engines and parts are cheap - find a discarded bicycle and cut it up, find a small engine (like off a lawnmower), and use those parts instead of the moped.

You can probably sell that moped for a good price. Put that money towards getting your parts for the chopper.

 

[BradenM]

Lawnmower engines can be a headache to start out with, without machine facilities or reasonably deep pockets. I would suggest looking for a B&S on a roto-tiller or an edger before anything else. They can be had rather cheaply, and with minimal modification, yield good results.

 

[yavor]

Thank you for your answers. The moped has a sentimental value to me so I'd rather modify it then sell it. I'm still considering everything,but I didn't get the answer I was searching for. Is the motor good enough ?
You really got me thinking. So what 50cc motor should I look for if I decide to do the mini chopper ? In my town the aren't many choices, but I could look for some scrapped parts and use them. I want it to have the biggest rear tire a 50cc engine can handle and still have enough power to climb smaller hills and I'm not looking for no more than 30mph on flat terrain plus modifications if necessary.
I know I may expect too much of a 50cc engine, but that's why I ask.

 

[Kenny_McCormic]

You expect too much, get a 200cc 6.5hp "honda clone engine" for about 100 of your monetary units and graft it into a bike frame with a minibike rear end(also rather cheap). Your english is very good BTW.

 

[yavor]

You expect too much, get a 200cc 6.5hp "honda clone engine" for about 100 of your monetary units and graft it into a bike frame with a minibike rear end(also rather cheap). Your english is very good BTW.

Thank you. The problem is that I recently got my drivers license and that gives me the right to drive moped with no more than 50cc engine. I'm not much of a fan of high speeds at least not for the moment so I guess that will be enough for me.
What about these 50cc choppers like Aprilia Classic 50, Gilera Eagle 50, Honda Magna 50 ? What engine do the use ?

 

[porsche930dude]

the engine will be fine if you stick with the stock gear ratio and tire diameter or if you change you need to compensate for that. also youve got to deal with your pedal starting setup that might be a problem. Before you go chopping you should find out if its allowed in your area. you might not be allowed to deviate from stock and keep it street legal. Also imo stock mopeds are just as much or more fun that choppers

 

[SpyGuy]

Well, one thing you can do is take out the seat post, and set the seat back on the rear fender. I bent up a couple of brackets that ran from either side of the bolt on the seat to the original seat post adjustment bolt on the frame to hold it down - no welding involved, just straight bolt-on. Kick the handlebars back a little, and it will feel like a chopper. (Did that with a Sachs moped with a Puch front end, worked great.)

 

[yavor]

Тhank you both. I'll try that SpyGuy. PorsheDude I read that if you plan to use certain engine and it's mounted on something working and functioning properly according the law, like this moped and register it and than place the engine on different frame and..well.. use it for something else you will be ok with the legal stuff. That's because the serial number is on the engine.Of course you've got have light,stops etc, too.
If I can put bigger rear tire, move the seat as SpyGuy suggest and change the hadlebars I'll be most pleased.

 

[SpyGuy]

You may not be able to put a larger rear tire on it because of the way the frame is bent, plus you'll be moving more of your weight over the rear end, which will make the shocks compress just a little more - you may bottom out and rub the tire on the frame. (Unless you make it a hardtail by replacing the shocks with struts, but that makes for a REAL hard ride .... ) The taller bars would be cool - I swapped mine out for a tall set of BMX handlebars - and changing the seat would be good. If you do the handlebar swap, make sure your cables will fit - I found out the hard way AFTER I changed the bars that the original throttle cable was an inch too short.

Also, if you really want to be slick, one of my other tricks was using an old Army .30 caliber ammunition can for a saddlebag. I dropped a pair of brackets down from the original luggage rack bolts (your seat will be sitting on the luggage rack, by the way), took off the handles on the tops of the cans so they wouldn't rattle while riding, and then drilled the cans for mounting. I left 'em in the original Amy olive green, and they even still had most of the original lettering on the sides. One of my mopeds had them on the sides like real saddlebags, another had a .50-cal down at the curve of the frame between my legs.

Can you get us a shot or two of your ride?

 

[yavor]

Wow.
SpyGuy you've been very kind to share all this. I'll listen to your words and try your suggestions. The truth is that the moped is not in my place at the moment, but it's exactly the same like the ped on the pic. Maybe not so clean, but black, with chromed front fender which I thinks is cool and it says Vogue on the gas tank.
I'll post pictures of it as soon as I get it and I will think about these rear tire problems you mentioned. What you shared about the army can sounds awesome, I've seen similar use of it for DIY projector and it looked so cool.