Mash Roadstar 50

What’s this, a new 50cc motorcycle? It looks good, but is the baby mash worth buying?

- Pete Henshaw

Geared 50s, as well as being the tiniest motorcycles on the market, hold the tiniest market share, outsold by everything from 125cc scooters to giant litre-plus adventure bikes. In the 11 months to last November, just 690 were sold, which made up a miniscule sliver of the whole powered two-wheeler cake – if you like statistics; that amounts to a 0.6% slice. What a comedown from 1979 (if you can remember that far back) when nearly 10,000 of these mini-motorcycles were sold in Britain.

It’s not hard to see why geared 50s sell in mere handfuls these days. The heady days of the sports moped are just hazy memories of middle-aged men now; far fewer 16-year-olds are taking to powered two-wheelers anyway; and of course, 50s (if you’ve only got a CBT) are limited to 28mph, which is no joke on today’s crowded roads.

And yet, this small market is clearly worth serving. Rieju has long stayed faithful to the geared 50 market, with a whole range of little sports, Supermotos and vaguely Traillie 50s. But now it’s got a rival. You can’t have failed to notice Mash over the last year, the French brand of Chinese bikes now on sale in Britain – they started out with a 400cc roadster, followed by the 125cc Black Seven and now the Roadstar 50.

STYLING, EQUIPMENT