Importing A Mofa/moped - Cost? Any At All?

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Yet another "can i import...." question, and yes, it's a vehicle. However i am NOT asking about a car or a motorbike (well big motorbike) but instead the object of curiousity is a 50cc "Mofa" (motorized bicycle), 50cc, 1.5 hp, 25 km/h, made in 1975-1980.

Due to the lack of such vehicles here i guess they are not road-legal, hence don't require license plates (and driving licenses) and the one i have in mind can be imported, CKD, in a large suitcase.

It's a Zundapp ZR 10, IDEAL for my boyfriend's mum who can't ride a real motorbike (she's got a Wave but is scared of it - "too fast") and will at some stage get too old for a bicycle. The Mofa would be ideal - no gears (automatic), slow enough, and got pedals like a bicycle, can even be used as such if the tank is empty. Still she can run around the village and do her morning-market-run on it, and unlike the modern "electric scooters" this thing is made from iron and will NOT break apart after a year (plus she can go further than a few kilometers).

Is it possible to import one of these, will it be subject to similar horrible taxes like "proper vehicles" and or etc?

I would appreciate some info.... thanks in advance

Kind regards.....

Thanh

[Richard-BKK]

Hi Than,

I belief you would find it hard to find a financial acceptable Zundapp, personal, not so long ago, when I was in India. I saw a Enfield Fury, which for the people without knowledge is a bike from the 80s, and developed together with Zundapp. It was at the time the bike to have, it did not matter if it was a Zudapp KS175 or a Enfield Fury... it was just the most powerful bike in its class.

Back to India, I even extended my stay in India, and my g/f had some serious words with me, which made me see that it was impossible to get the bike into Thailand and ride it around... Still I still regret not buying it....

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

They weren't developed together - the Fury is in fact a "licensed copy" of the original KS 175 MK1, the only difference being the Indian one is air-cooled and has only 15 hp (compared to Zundapp's 17).I used to own a KS 175 and know them inside-out I also worked at a Zundapp-Shop where i fixed them and we also sold imported Enfields - the Enfield "Sprinter" is identical to the Zundapp CS 25 (also a "Mofa" 25 km/h type) and the Enfield "Explorer" is her bigger sister Zundapp CS 50. Enfield also made the KS 50 (unrestricted 50cc, 6.8 hp, >100 km/h) and the Silver Star (Zundapp X25, but the Indian was not a "Mofa" instead also 6.8 hp and two-seater).

Anyway the ZR 10 (which was also my very first motorized vehicle) can be bought around 120 Euros in ok condition. Compared to what's available here (those "electric scooter" things, which are too heavy for a bicycle and just pure crap) in the same price range, i'd take the Zundapp any time, specially for an old lady. The ZR type is unpopular (automatic! nobody wants it in Germany, even Zundapp collectors shun this poor thing) and parts are still available aplenty and reasonably cheap - plus they hardly ever break down. I did quite some distances on mine and it always ran fine

Best regards.....

Thanh

[ajahnlau]

Why not get the MIL an electric motorized bicycle. Would save all the hassles and not that expensive.

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

That was the first option...... but it's a no-go for a number of reasons.

1) Those are HEAVY (batteries weigh a lot) and if the battery is flat she won't be able to pedal it home because it's too heavy for her.

2) They are completely unable to cover a larger distance.

3) Those batteries have a very limited life time and tend to be rather expensive to replace.

4) Charging the batteries takes several hours.

5) The vehicle itself still costs a lot more than the "mofa"

Kind regards.....

Thanh