The late 70s to early 80s appears to have been the peak of the moped craze in the U.S. There has been a renewed interest in recent years, probably due to high gas prices and older people harking back to the 70s era when they were teens. Nearly all of the mopeds marketed in the U.S. were of European or Japanese origin, such as Tomos, Puch, Sachs, Batavus, and Honda. The 70s and earlier offered bikes with beautiful style and frills such as chrome and stainless steel fenders, much of which seems to have disappeared in today's market. A neat book describing the old school bikes is Funky Mopeds by Richard Skelton. http://books.google.com/books?id=c-...q=funky+moped+skelton&ei=rsB5SYX2NJGoM86ywbcE .
there was a moped craze? i never knew that. everyone thought i was stupid and weird, to waste my money on that "japanese pice of shit", (it was a honda) when i bought my first moped back in 1979. those were the same people who thought, i was also crazy to throw my money away on "that computer fad" also back in 1979 too! i still own both a coumpter and moped to this day, not the same ones though. i guess time has shown that i'm just not so crazy, stupid, and weird as alot of people thought i was back in 1979.
There are still many vacation destinations around the world that rent mopeds as a means of travel for tourists. Even Martha’s Vineyard Isl. off the southern New England coast rents mopeds year round for the tourist trade :cheers2: With only several hundred accidents reported yearly Hotwater
People acting carelessly with them is part of what led to the demise of the moped market in the 80s in the U.S. The laws governing them became more strict in the 80s. .
In the U.S., the prevalence of mopeds varies by state. Some of the states where mopeds seem to be the most abundant include New Jersey, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. .
