Looking to purchase but have a couple questions.

Read your laws carefully, usually bikes just have to stay "as far right as practicable", if you have to fight it in court just say it's impractical because you could get car-doored, which is true. Or you could find the specs for how wide a lane has to be and if the lane isn't up to code it's not safe.

Me, I'd just block traffic if the speed limit was 25, but I'd go 25.

Consider a rearview mirror; you can hear cars coming when you're pedalling but not when your motor is on.

This is a reall busy area especialy on weekends. You don't need a rear view mirror, you are always surrounded by cars. Also 25 would be the highest speed they could go since these are short city blocks. As long as the bike can get to that speed quickly I think you could avoid alot of problems. Once your stake out that road they will (I'm hoping)treat you like every other motorist.
 
if you don't treat yourself like a motorist...i.e. helmet, mirror, lights, hand-signals, rules-of-traffic...then you don't have any bidness out there, anyway, imo. even the most gracious cager in the world can make a mistake or misread yer intentions. if this is just a game or a way to stick it to the system, you're gonna get lazy in traffic...keep in mind everyone else has to be watching out for you, and you should be doing everything you can to do your part....we have to show ourselves responsible, otherwise we'll eventually be grouped in with the pocketbikes and other "toys" and we'll be legislated off the road, too.

having sed that...i can vouch for a tanaka 32 with a 13tooth gear as a great vehicle for safely sharing road-rights at moderate speeds.
 
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Augi's right on point but I never assume that anyone is watching out for me. I keep my head on a swivel and one eye in the mirror.
 
never assume that anyone is watching out for me
yup, i should have been more clear...i meant many things, like...

some cagers resent having to babysit bad riders, they have to do it tho because the bad-rider would sue, get it? guess who they take that out on? me. and other real riders.

i also meant that we are supposed to be making it as easy as possible to avoid killing us on our dinky vehicles. right or wrong, dead is dead.

not an easy juggling act...being a good ambassador and dodging a bad-rider's bullets...

when you screw up, you screw us.
 
if you don't treat yourself like a motorist...i.e. helmet, mirror, lights, hand-signals, rules-of-traffic...then you don't have any bidness out there, anyway, imo. even the most gracious cager in the world can make a mistake or misread yer intentions. if this is just a game or a way to stick it to the system, you're gonna get lazy in traffic...keep in mind everyone else has to be watching out for you, and you should be doing everything you can to do your part....we have to show ourselves responsible, otherwise we'll eventually be grouped in with the pocketbikes and other "toys" and we'll be legislated off the road, too.

having sed that...i can vouch for a tanaka 32 with a 13tooth gear as a great vehicle for safely sharing road-rights at moderate speeds.

Well, I hope I didn't give the impression I'd be a bad ambassader to motorbiking. Rember I'm fifty and survival and good conduct are high on my priority list. A mirror and brake light would be ideal, I was just trying to give folks a picture of how busy streets are here near the beach in the summer. I actually think I could figure some kind of brake light. The DOT helmet is a little harder because I want to go motorless on the beach bike path. A full motorcycle helmet would be too hot for working out. Also, even when motored I plan on cruising about 20 unless I need to go faster for safety reasons. Thanks for all the comments, this has been a great help.
 
Brake light is good but I run a bright red flashing tail light, it screams "please don't hurt me!".
 
no, ken, you didn't give me that impression directly...also being 50 and of practical mind and attitude, and having a history of being outspoken when it comes to the welfare of the movement, i had to take advantage of the topic's tangent to get my "public service" message in there...if there's anything i can help with re: your decisions, have yer people PM my people :cool:
 
The cops also say that you should "Drive like you belong there" on the bike. I posted a document I found last week in the laws/legislation forum that is a sort of law officer handbook in regards to bicyclers.
 
Also, if you're looking to punch it to get up to speed, then the staton may be a better fit - the chain will probably hold up to jackrabbit starts better than the gebe belt.
 
I have kept my bike inside and have no problems with the smell of gas, just make sure you don't spill the gas on your bike when refueling.

Trust me a blinking red light on the back makes a big difference when it comes to drivers. I get way more respect from people with my light flashing on the rear . Make sure you use your hand signals for turning and slowing down, that is also very important unless you have turn signals. I travel on roads with Mac trucks all over the place going 40 to 45 mph and the semi-trucks can give me a scare at times but 90% of the time they are very respectful when I use my hand signals with proper notice.

I have a lot of hills here in ohio where I live and so Im running 35 to 40 mph most of the time going down hill. I also do some city driving and I still would suggest a rear view mirror. If you have to change lanes it is way safer than looking over your shoulder. You should also get a horn, I know mine has saved me many times while going through the mall parking lot or in traffic, and I don't know about where your located but its law here in ohio that you have one.

If you have helmet laws there then where a helmet , if you don't then that is your personal preference. Personally I don't care for helmet laws or seat belt laws , but then again I have lost 2 friends due to the fact they were wearing a seat belt. They died because that law took their right to choose away. They may have been a small percentage but thats how it happened.

The main thing is if you treat others with respect on the road they will return the favor.

As for going with registering your bike as a moped , I personally would hold off on that. If your going 20 to 25 mph your not going to have any trouble, 20mph is legal and if your going down a hill enjoy the speed.

Your question about going with the flow of traffic is a double edge sword, because cars see you as a bicycle and they will sometimes speed up and pull over to pass you and then they notice that your going their speed and they end up doing stupid things like passing you in stupid dangerous spots. I keep a eye on my rear view and if I notice this going on I'll slow down and pull over to let them by.
As for GEBE ,the belt drive is great and as was already stated you can remove it quickly (1 min tops) .

This site/forum is a gold mine of great people full of wisdom and tips, the search feature works great and you can always find a top notch answer to any questions you have.
I wish you the best with your GEBE kit. I love mine and it saves me a ton of money and brings me lots of good times, not to mention a pround sense of freedom and that is getting harder to find.
Best of luck, Moondog175 in Ohio
 
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