Weekend Warriors

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$MTVX Motopeds May Be the Best New Form of Transportation

Main Street Moto is teeming with speed from hundreds of sport and vintage bikes to shiny, high-end exclusive motorcycles such as the 2016 retro-style ZERO Engineering Type 5. Front and center in the shop are three skinny and stylish Motoped mopeds. “It’s about the same horsepower as my legs, I think,” says a customer and friend looking at the mopeds. “Yeah, but you’re a pro [motocross] race guy,” says shop co-owner Tara Pierce. “If you are expecting it to operate like a motorcycle, you’ve got the wrong idea,” she says. “If you think of it like a bicycle on steroids, then all of a sudden, it becomes a lot more fun.”

The Motopeds come in three distinct designs: the traditional dirt bike-style Pro, the beautiful vintage-style Curzer with a brush-metal tank and wood features, and the all-black Mad Max utilitarian Survival. The 130-pound, electric-start, automatic “hybrid machines” get 100 miles to the gallon and go about the same speed as scooters (around 24 to 30 miles per hour). Pierce says they’re for anyone, from those with zero riding experience to the Harley guys.

The mopeds have advantages dirt bikes and regular bicycles do not. Because of the smaller engine (49ccs), they don’t require a motorcycle license, but they are still street-legal. And due to the light weight, extra power and similarities to an extreme downhill mountain bike, they can go places where pedaling alone won’t cut it. If more power is a must, Main Street Moto can customize the bikes, like the 125cc Pro the owner will use to climb Northern Nevada trails.

Prices start at $2,999. 831 S. Main St., LasVegasDyno.com

http://dtlv.com/2016/10/05/motopeds-may-best-new-form-transportation/