Used Goped?

[Friendly Jen]

Wondering if anyone knows of a good place in northern california / bay area to buy a used goped?

[skygod]

I looked around and finally just used the internet to buy a new one. 300 bucks with free tax and shipping is as good as I could find. Theres not much market in California cause you can't ride em on the street. Ebay has a good selection, but some of them are "high performance". I think that means they are noisy, with aftermarket muffler mods. Who would want a high performance goped LOL. Tooling around the open playa at 5 mph as quietly as possible is all I'm looking for.
Noise is the main deal with these things so be sensitive to others. I plan on carrying it a lot, using it only away from people as much as I can. Phil says ti turn it off when you get somewhere, I can't imagine anyone just parking it and letting it run. Some peole have had experiences that make them expect the worst fromgoped users so please be careful.

[AntiM]

Just checking, you do know a goped with a seat falls into the mutant vehicle category, while stand-up scooters need no license? Yes?

Okay, mom mode off.

There's tons of the things in Utah; they just looove thier gas powered toys in this state.

[HughMungus]

Wondering if anyone knows of a good place in northern california / bay area to buy a used goped?

You mean with a gasoline engine?

[Friendly Jen]

I would prefer one that was electric, but I've only seen the gas ones for sale used.

[HughMungus]

I would prefer one that was electric, but I've only seen the gas ones for sale used.

I don't think gas gopeds are allowed. I think they confiscate them at the gate.

[Chai Guy]

You can use them, again like AntiM said, if they have a seat they must have a DMV license.

The problem with them (the gas powered ones) is that they are loud and obnoxious, and you can't ride them more than 5mph anyway, which is just about as fast as you need to propel them to keep you from falling off.

[HughMungus]

You can use them, again like AntiM said, if they have a seat they must have a DMV license.

The problem with them (the gas powered ones) is that they are loud and obnoxious, and you can't ride them more than 5mph anyway, which is just about as fast as you need to propel them to keep you from falling off.

So they'd have to be registered as a mutant vehicle, right? That wouldn't be easy to get. I was thinking outside the mutant vehicle registration classification.

[Chai Guy]

IF it has a seat then yes, it must be registered, no seat= no registration.

[HughMungus]

IF it has a seat then yes, it must be registered, no seat= no registration.

Right. And if it's just a goped with a seat, I doubt that just that will qualify it as a Mutant Vehicle, right? My point is that you can't just put a seat on a goped and expect to be able to drive it around Burning Man (so that the OP or anyone else won't think that).

[Chai Guy]

"sigh"

seat = registration

no seat = no registration required

I'm sorry if that was unclear in my previous posts.

What constitutes a "Mutant Vehicle"??, I have no idea. Judging from the past few years there appears to be absolutely no rhyme or reason as to what gets a DMV sticker and what does not. Your guess is as good as mine. You might want to start here:
http://www.burningman.com/on_the_playa/playa_vehicles/index.html

[HughMungus]

"sigh"

seat = registration

no seat = no registration required

I'm sorry if that was unclear in my previous posts.

What constitutes a "Mutant Vehicle"??, I have no idea. Judging from the past few years there appears to be absolutely no rhyme or reason as to what gets a DMV sticker and what does not. Your guess is as good as mine. You might want to start here:
http://www.burningman.com/on_the_playa/playa_vehicles/index.html

Wow. I thought gas-powered scooters were completely banned. My apologies.

[BigGiganticBirdthing]

I'm considering a GoPed too, but I'm curious how the chain and electric motor will take to the playa dust.

This will be my first burn and I want to learn and participate as much as I can without offending, so I really like the idea of the quiet electric type. I'd love to ride a bike so I can keep up with my friends, but because of a pelvic injury I will need to either stand or walk most of each day. The GoPed looks like a good solution.


Big Gigantic Birdthing

[AntiM]

I'm considering a GoPed too, but I'm curious how the chain and electric motor will take to the playa dust.

This will be my first burn and I want to learn and participate as much as I can without offending, so I really like the idea of the quiet electric type. I'd love to ride a bike so I can keep up with my friends, but because of a pelvic injury I will need to either stand or walk most of each day. The GoPed looks like a good solution.


Big Gigantic Birdthing

Standing gopeds are out there, and they do okay. Many die a slow death in the dust.

[gyre]

There are off road versions.
You often need wide tires.

You probably qualify for a disability permit.
That will give you more flexibility in transport.

[gyre]

There are sealed electric motors.
If they stay cool enough, the dust is no problem.

[BigGiganticBirdthing]

Thanks for the replies! I realized after posting my comment that the last one was in 2006, so I expected nothing.

I probably can qualify for disabled status. They say not to decorate it if it's for medical need, but I feel a little extra compelled to given how much certain people are offended by the gas-powered go-peds.

Now I just need to find an affordable electric one that'll hold a full day's charge.

[gyre]

There is no proviso against decorating yours, it just isn't required.

A full day of charge is optimistic, without a costly battery pack.
It depends on use though.

[gyre]

Be sure to get your disability application in to the bm dmv as soon as possible.

With a disability permit, you can use a golf cart or other vehicles.
Smaller is easier.
Could you use a re-fitted electric trike?
I've seen many seats used.

Driving in the city is very difficult.
Speeds may be too slow for a goped at times.

Light up anything you bring, esp on the sides.

[crstophr]

Did two of these one year. Both gas powered with no seats. I bought them used from craigslist. Spent days in the garage fixing them up and repairing stuff. Bought large tires, etc. Spent a few more days applying fake fur and LED lights. Mounted a fire extinguisher to one and a basket to the other. They looked awesome... but yep totally noisy. They rocked running around the neighborhood streets.

On playa they became a weak ass form of transportation with a bunch of maintenance hassles.

The Bad:

Mixing 2 stroke fuel sucked
Chains gunked up with dust quickly which tightened them to the point of binding. Had to readjust frequently
Had to clean the chains after every ride
Had to clean the air filters frequently
They simply would not handle deep soft spots. Had to get off and push despite having engines on the large size
Two days in something shorted and fried the electrical components in my scooter, no more LEDs or electric start
I carried several tools with me just in case of breakdown or other issues. Also carried spare fuel and chain cleaner in the basket.
main point is they they needed a checkup after every ride

The good:

They folded up and gate didn't give them a second glance despite being in plain view
because they were very well mutated people generally didn't react negatively.
I'm not sure where people get the idea that they cannot go below a certain speed. If you have decent balance you can stand still on a scooter and not fall over while holding the handle bars. This was not an issue for us. We could crawl along very slowly.
One day we did practically circumnavigate the entire city. We rode for miles and saw stuff in the far reaches of the city. We never would have done this on foot or on bikes.

Best advice I can give is to use a dry chain lube and make sure you know how to fix things when they break.

They only went once and have been rusting to shit ever since. We just want to be rid of them now. This year I found a tandem recumbent tricycle and added on an electric motor and batteries. Much quieter, nice for two people, and can be pedaled as desired.

Hope this helps someone looking for information along these lines.

[gyre]

Some are geared wrong or tires are too small for slower speeds.
They bog down.

There are four cycle models too.