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THINGS THAT ARE GOOD TO KNOW

Legal definition in plain English for Ontario: a moped is a motorised vehicle on 2 wheels, legal for one person, with an engine displacement of no more, than 50cc. The maximum permissible speed on a flat is 50 kmh, however with the new Limited Speed Motorcycle license that speed is not strictly enforced.
Mopeds cannot have a 'shifted' transmission, ergo automatic gear change, or CVT is a must. On-board pedals to power the bike by human power alone are required to be on the bike, but that is no longer strictly enforced.

Licensing: in Ontario, since November 2005, a new licensing regimen came into effect, for all small 2-wheelers, defined as 'limited speed motorcycles' by Federal law. This LM (limited speed motorcycle license) now is required for mopeds, scooters and anything else that does not exceed 70 kmh top speed.
Obtaining this license is a graduated process, however not as complex and time consuming, as getting a full 'M'. First, you write and pass a written-only test ('M1'), at any examination centre, without having to make an appointment. This will be valid for 90 days and allows you to obtain insurance coverage, get a license plate and start riding immediately, except at nights. Sometimes after 2 months of having been licensed, but before your M1 runs out, you have to take the M1 Exit roadtest for which you need to make an appointment - best to do that at the time you write your M1.
Having passed the roadtest, you can now ride totally freely (no superhighways, but anywhere else), without restriction for 5 years. Towards the end of this period, you'll have to take a second roadtest ('M2 exit') and with that you're set for life.

Insurance: you have to have at least 3rd party liability coverage. In the first year, you will pay around $500 - more with the optional collison, fire and theft component. This is assuming that your'e over 21 years of age - below that the premiums are somewhat higher. The cost will drop drastically as you gain more and more experience and should come down to around $200, even less within a few years.

Cost of ownership: the current cost of the M1 written test is $15, the road test is $25. The plate is $20 and the validation sticker for 1 year is $12 (!). The average moped has a gas mileage of around 120 kms/gallon or you can do 40 kms per litre. As a basic rule, it will cost you about 1/10th of a car to fill up for a couple of weeks.
Riding a moped is competitive even against public transit.

Parking: free on any city-designated area (metered parking).

Service, maintenance: a basic tuneup once a year should be sufficient . We do repairs and service work on site, let it be at your home or workplace. We also offer roadsode emergency ('flat tire') service.

Feel free to call (416-787-6228), or e-mail for any more information.
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About performance upgrades

The desire to squeeze more power out of a typically 49cc moped engine is as old as the regulations forbidding it. While many things can be done, whether just for fun or for a specific reason (racing), it is irresponsible to 'mod' a bike to the point that it puts not only the rider, but also others at serious risk.

Many aftermarket add-ons are being offered with irresponsible claims of drastically increased performance, most of which unfortunately are not true and because of their poor quality could cause irrepairable damage to the engine.

The key issue before embarking on any type of upgrade is to determine to what extent is your moped's engine suited to modifications and what kind of end result can you reasonably expect without endangering your safety and the life expectancy of the engine?

For this, you need to understand some of the technical stuff.

Stock mopeds (typically 2-stroke, lubricated by the oil mixed in with the gas in a certain ratio) are built for a certain maximum speed and brake performance. Manufacturers achieve this by way of regulating the amount of air, gas and oil getting into the cylinder (combustion chamber) and also presetting the speed with which the exhaust fumes can exit.

Not all moped engines are alike and not all lend themselves to performance upgrades equally.Single-speed, direct drive engines, with easy access to the intake and exhaust ports to be changed or modified are the best, automatic 2-speeds (like Tomos) - not so much, as their internal mechanical components (gears, centrifugal clutches, oil injector pump) are preset for the stock performance. While it is fairly easy to change/modify the external parts, the 'innards' will always remain the same.

In general terms, the power output of the engine depends on 4 major areas, which have to be very precisely synchronised to achieve the best possible result: You cannot just change one, without all the others, or the whole exercise will be self-defeating and pointless. These are: the cylinder (cubic volume), the fuel delivery chain (carburetor, intake manifold, air filter, oil pump), the muffler and the final drive ratio.

The combustion chamber's size (the cubic volume) will determine the amount of fuel/air mixture that can burn and produce the power. Obviously, the more cc, the more (potential) power. For any size, a very precisely matched carburetor/air filter/intake manifold must be used. A'big bore cylinder' will do nothing on its own, nor will 'up-jetting the carburetor". So-called "hi-flow" air filters will make the engine louder (more suction noise, as there's no baffle) which tends to give the impression that there's more power, but in reality, it's a gimmick. They will only work in tandem when matched with the other parts of the entire fuel delivery system.
On engines with oil injection, one has to bear in mind that those are mechanically driven are preset (calibrated) to deliver the required amount of oil for that particular sized engine (49cc). Increasing the cubic volume without 'upping' the amount of oil may cause the engine to seize. Therefore, one has to add extra oil direct into the gastank, so that the oil-gas ratio remains the same (%0:1 or 2 %). Use only high quality premix oil, like RedLine.

On Tomos engines (both A35 and A55), the intake manifold's size cannot be changed: there is simply no room to put on anything bigger. Therefore, putting on a big bore kit and a larger carburetor is pointless, as it will produce only insignificant performance gains, less, than can be achieved by moifying the stock air filter for instance.

The muffler issue is different from one engine to the other. On Tomos engines, the top speed is partially controlled through the exhaust port (where the muffler is joined to the cylinder). Putting on a sports muffler where the opening in the neckpipe matches the exit port (the stock is smaller, thus the 'choking down'), will add approx. 5-7 kmh to the top speed, allowing the rider to keep up with faster traffic, still within allowable limits. Bear in mind though, that these mufflers are a lot louder by design and also make the engine run hotter, so adding extra oil to improve lubrication at high temperatures makes sense here too.

Finally, changing the final drive ratio (front and rear sprockets) should be studied very carefully. Just as on bicycles, a smaller front sprocket will give you more torque (better acceleration) but lower top speed, a larger one will give you speed, but acceleration suffers. The rear sprocket's effect is the opposite: larger will give you better take-off, smaller higher top speed.

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Is this a blast from the past or a rebirth?
The venerable Velosolex is back in production in France. Homologised across the EU and entering the US soon as a roadworthy vehicle, the Solex has retained its quirkiness and engineering ingenuity (fuelpump), but also kept up with the modern times, boasting a CDI (electronic) ignition and - yes - a cathalythic converter.

Coming to Canada?Maybe... will keep you posted.