Are We Outlaws ??

I have toned things down greatly but i still love the feel of freedom you get--no licence -go almost anywhere for a reasonable sum and feel exilerated every day i ride. Most of our freedoms are being eroded and when you experience a freedom in our increasingly controlled world you feel like an outlaw (a GOOD one tho}
 
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I have toned things down greatly but i still love the feel of freedom you get--no licence -go almost anywhere for a reasonable sum and feel exilerated every day i ride. Most of our freedoms are being eroded and when you experience a freedom in our increasingly controlled world you feel like an outlaw (a GOOD one tho}

Oh yeah - I'm with you there bro!

One of the most liberating things is driving a motorized bicycle that requires no license, no insurance, no registration, and no state inspection. In some ways, it is the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

Buy a moped or motorcycle, and everyone wants a piece of your wallet for the "privilege" of you moving your fat @ss from point to point........
 
I live in Missouri where the soil is deep clay. Every year in the winters the roads freeze and thaw and wear out really rapidly. The government here needs to spend a lot of money all the time to maintain the roads and it's because of those high costs that they need money from someplace to pay for it all.

Ebikes are so lightweight that we don't actually cause any damage to the roads... but cars and trucks aren't really the problem either... it's the weather that breaks the roads down the most.

So who should pay?

The reason that ebikes and small motorized bikes are not yet taxed is that they are designed mostly to fit a segment of youth society (teenagers) that are not expected to have money yet. It's a way to allow kids to get around without needing a car. Another reason is to allow older people to get around without needing to pedal, they are usually not considered "cash cows" either.

However, if everyone really switched to ebikes and the sources of revenue for road repairs dried up then we would face the day (one day) when we would somehow be taxed for using the roads. But the tax might be done in an indirect way, like through income or real estate taxes.

Registration is just another tax... it's the price we pay to keep the Roman Empire going.... and what have the Romans done for us?

Sewage
Roads
etc... (a reference to Monty Pythons "Life of Brian")

...but like the Romans, it was better back in the early days of the Republic. But those days seem to be gone now, we are into the Empire at this point and high taxes are the way it's going to be from now on. The Romans tried in vain to restore the Republic, but you can never go back.

The "Outlaw" ebiker or motorized biker can potentially be a risk because it attracts negative attention. But if there was a universal "moped" category where these machines could be taxed and registered like mopeds then everyone can be happy. The "Outlaw" motorized biker gets his higher power levels (illegal as bicycles) and the government gets the extra cash.

The answer might be the creation of a Federal Moped Law which would be like the Federal Ebike Law only allowing moped levels of power and speed.

(Missouri already does this and allows up to three horsepower)
 
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I am always concerned when I see the 5-0, I start ghost pedaling like crazy! I bet one day it will catch me. I do cross the line on speed quite a bit, but normally I am trying to keep up with traffic, not weaving in and out :)
 
Here in Victoria BC there is a lot of bicycle Cops.

They are REALLY SNARLIE. Maybe because they don't have a motor???

Even if you were peddeling a bike with a gas motor on the street, You would face the same fines as if you were useing the motor!!

No Ins,Reg,Illeagal transport...ETC..ETC. $5000.00+ Bike taken away,Gonzo!

They wrote the law VERY CLEAR here. No and,if,but...!



Safe

I am going E/Bike here and staying with in the limits of the law!!

500 watt,No gears and I won't have to over amp anything to stay ahead of the traffic. Bike lanes here and trails that E bikes are allowed on.

During the best of times here traffic is nuts. Aside from that it is gridlock for hours on end, Inching your way to the next stop light.

When you see an old lady on a peddle bike going the same way as you are in a car
down the road, Take a picture because you won't see her again.

She will be so far in front of a guy in a car, that she will be watching TV after supper
when a guy gets home next door to her.

So ,It's not just the old folks or the kids, but It's also about getting around
10 times faster than the traffic (being Legal) and costing next to nothing!

At least I won't have to look in my rear view mirror to wonder when it's my turn.

Sorry all if I had a little rant and I didn't mean to T anyone off but in my world
I can stay within the law and be way ahead of the game...POPS
 
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I think my point was that governments tax "because they can".

When (and if) ebikes become enough of a mass marketed product which people use regularly in large numbers it would be then that the government might take an interest in ebikes as a new revenue stream. Governments aren't dumb (well not completely anyway) and they are good at recognizing where the money is located. This is why the founding fathers had such a paranoia about government because they knew that if it can grow itself by preying on the people it will. (and always does)

Ebikes are at present in a state of "grace" in the eyes of the law in some areas and considered a problem in others. It kind of depends on where you live I think... cities seem to not want them, but suburbs see them as okay.

The "Outlaw" biker with his overpowered machine has the potential to attract attention to ebiking and motorized biking and that "could" force either a crackdown or a change in policy that would require registration.

All governments (federal, state and local) are hungry for money now... so the primary thing to fear is a money grab. If all of a sudden these motorized bikes require a $25 yearly registration fee that's going to alienate a lot of people and they will either quit or decide to go all the way to a motorcycle. Motorcycles are pretty much without rules except for the usual traffic laws, so if you really want unrestrained performance you can always just pay for it.

Money, power, politics.... it's always the same... we're human.

Bribery?

One could imagine some sort of government program where if you pay a small fee and get some sort of "moped license" that if you are then pulled over you could show that and get off no matter what modifications you've done on your machine. (maybe if you have a valid drivers license)

I've never been hassled... so it's not at present a big problem.

------------------------------------

Kerf, you are quoting one of my ancestors on my moms side of the family. (Sam Adams)
 
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Kerf, you are quoting one of my ancestors on my moms side of the family. (Sam Adams)

Could be we're related, I come from Adams blood myself. Small world.
 
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