HybriDude
Member
Guys
Send me an email through my website HybriPed.com and also sign onto the social group; Australian legal/regulation/ADR interest group
I'd prefer to get the website working as a point of reference
Australia 66cc Legal if peddling ?
- Thread starter Dameize
- Start date
Send me an email through my website HybriPed.com and also sign onto the social group; Australian legal/regulation/ADR interest group
I'd prefer to get the website working as a point of reference
Casey
New Member
Ways to avoid attracting attention -
Always wear a helmet
Stick to the recommended speed limit of 15-20kph for "power assisted bicycles"
Fit a speedo to your bike
Spray paint the entire engine, carby, spark plug, muffler, chain idler, & rear wheel sprocket with heat resistant black enamel
or paint the engine the same colour as the bike frame
Remove the fuel tank from the cross bar and mount it in a black "basket" on the rear carrier and use large low hanging saddle bags/panniers also on the rear carrier.
Always wear a helmet
Stick to the recommended speed limit of 15-20kph for "power assisted bicycles"
Fit a speedo to your bike
Spray paint the entire engine, carby, spark plug, muffler, chain idler, & rear wheel sprocket with heat resistant black enamel
or paint the engine the same colour as the bike frame
Remove the fuel tank from the cross bar and mount it in a black "basket" on the rear carrier and use large low hanging saddle bags/panniers also on the rear carrier.
AussieSteve
Active Member
Hello Casey. I agree with the black paint idea - I've kept mine predominantly black, including the frame, for that reason.
The drawback, though, is that it reduces our visibility to other drivers and increases the danger.
I don't agree with 15-20kph, though. That's a little too slow.
You said:-
Who recommends this? In NSW, at least, there's no such recommendation on the RTA site that I can find and, from a legal point-of-view, we're allowed to do the posted speed limits.
I usually ride around at 30-40kph, have passed many, many cops and have never had a problem. (That includes once through a random breath test station and twice through a random drug testing setup.) They barely give me a second glance.
Just did a quick calculation - with a typical HT engine kit mounted in a 26" bike, 15kph is 2200rpm. That's idle speed, or even a little lower. To ride around at 15kph you'd need lower than standard gearing. At 2200rpm these engines have virtually no power.
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What's this about 20kph? I'm building a faired recumbent trike (or "pedalprix car", as raced at competitions in Adelaide, Murray Bridge, Wonthaggi, Maryborough, Lang-Lang and other comps) and a power-assist motor to go with it. According to the Australian Road Rules, bicycles are expected to comply with posted speed limits, and I fully intend to comply with them.
Thing is, for this motor to be of any use, it wont even cut in until I hit 50kph, and full power won't be available until about 70kph (which is about the top speed I can ride one of these unassisted for more than an hour or so - in competition, similar vehicles have hit over 80mph - 128kph - in unassisted sprints, albeit with fitter riders than I). So where does this leave me? Is this figure actually published anywhere, or is someone talking out of their... bad memory
?
Thing is, for this motor to be of any use, it wont even cut in until I hit 50kph, and full power won't be available until about 70kph (which is about the top speed I can ride one of these unassisted for more than an hour or so - in competition, similar vehicles have hit over 80mph - 128kph - in unassisted sprints, albeit with fitter riders than I). So where does this leave me? Is this figure actually published anywhere, or is someone talking out of their... bad memory
?
AussieSteve
Active Member
What's this about 20kph? .............So where does this leave me? Is this figure actually published anywhere, or is someone talking out of their... bad memory
In NSW, at least, as far as I know, there is no specific speed limit for bicycles (and, of course, motorised bicycles), beyond the posted speed limits.
These are the current NSW RTA rules, as of July 2008, (attached). No mention of a speed restriction, except with mopeds. (Good, huh.)
I've probably attached this earlier in the thread, but it's too long to search page-by-page for the link.
If anyone can find anything official stating a 20kph or other limit, please post a link.
Update: I just emailed the technical enquiries section of the RTA to find out if there's a later revision or if VSI 27 Rev1 still stands. (Wonder if they'll reply)
madact, you will have a problem if your motor exceeds 200W, regardless of speed:-
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Yep, that seems to be in line with what I've been reading lately in the Motor Vehicles Act / Australian Road Rules. S.A. also seems to be in the 'sane' category. The 50kph moped limit makes me chuckle a bit, but OTOH I'm not keen for someone to make it illegal to pedal hard, or cruise down a hill while keeping under the posted limit (honestly, I've gone down some declines on a 10-speed (unassisted) racer with no speedo - but anyone who rides a pusher has done that once or twice...).
My real worry is using my velo (when I've built it) to visit rellies in Queensland or Victoria - Victoria in particular, with their 'anti-hoon' laws. Will I get pulled over for pedalling too fast and then booked for having a motor attached on the presumption I was using it at the time, and 'hooning' on my 'bike' despite staying within the speed limit and the definition of a bicycle? The Australian Road Rules are one thing, but from what I hear on some of these forums, what goes on in Vic and Qld might be quite another...
Can anyone from those states comment? Has anyone been hassled - or booked - while riding a legal bicycle at legal speeds, but faster than the cops expect a cyclist to go?
My real worry is using my velo (when I've built it
) to visit rellies in Queensland or Victoria - Victoria in particular, with their 'anti-hoon' laws. Will I get pulled over for pedalling too fast and then booked for having a motor attached on the presumption I was using it at the time, and 'hooning' on my 'bike' despite staying within the speed limit and the definition of a bicycle? The Australian Road Rules are one thing, but from what I hear on some of these forums, what goes on in Vic and Qld might be quite another...Can anyone from those states comment? Has anyone been hassled - or booked - while riding a legal bicycle at legal speeds, but faster than the cops expect a cyclist to go?
AussieSteve
Active Member
Poor moped riders, they pay license and rego fees, but can't exceed 50kph ever, yet we can do 100kph+ in the right zone. A bit silly.
Mate, that sounds like one pretty neat build.
Every state has it's own rules, so hopefully some people from the other states will chip in with info.
If we were pinched, it would be more a case of unregistered, uninsured motor vehicle than 'hooning'. Mind you, Aussie Jester's electric at ES goes close to burnouts and I have a vid on my DVD recorder of a 1000W version of my electric doing a burnout with no real weight on it.
Mate, that sounds like one pretty neat build.
Every state has it's own rules, so hopefully some people from the other states will chip in with info.
If we were pinched, it would be more a case of unregistered, uninsured motor vehicle than 'hooning'. Mind you, Aussie Jester's electric at ES goes close to burnouts and I have a vid on my DVD recorder of a 1000W version of my electric doing a burnout with no real weight on it.
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Casey
New Member
Sounds like a bunch of underage kids tryin' to die young. If ya wanna be a Casey Stoner then go pro with REAL bikes. 15-20kph is quite OK for pedal cycles..............
AussieSteve
Active Member
Casey, we definitely are a bunch of overage kids, but I for one don't want to die.
I know what you mean, but 20kph is slower than a normal bicycle. I was on my electric a few days ago doing about 30kph when a guy on a non-assisted bike literally flew by me. Had to be doing close to 40kph, and this was on a long stretch of road. He left me for dead.
In my case, about 50kph is the most I ever do on my 2-stroke, and usually 30-40 as mentioned previously.
As far as REAL bikes go, been there, done that. That phase of my life is over because I don't want to die, but let's face it, 50kph isn't Casey Stoner stuff.
20kph is only 12mph, slower than a sprinter.
I know what you mean, but 20kph is slower than a normal bicycle. I was on my electric a few days ago doing about 30kph when a guy on a non-assisted bike literally flew by me. Had to be doing close to 40kph, and this was on a long stretch of road. He left me for dead.
In my case, about 50kph is the most I ever do on my 2-stroke, and usually 30-40 as mentioned previously.
As far as REAL bikes go, been there, done that. That phase of my life is over because I don't want to die, but let's face it, 50kph isn't Casey Stoner stuff.
20kph is only 12mph, slower than a sprinter.
Believe me, if you want to ride interstate here in Oz, you do not want to be doing 20kph. Not when it's 800km to the halfway point and you have a weekend to do it in - and not be completely out of it when you get there.
A faired velomobile does not look like what people think of as a 'bicycle', does not handle like what people think of as a 'bicycle', and when it comes right down to it, is not what people think of as a 'bicycle'. A fully enclosed 3-wheeler with it's own rollcage, side and top impact protection, a 4-point harness, and with the rider facing feet-first to boot, is better crash protection than a motorcyclist ever had - if you're thinking 'guy on a pushbike doin 100 klicks', you're barking up the wrong forest, mate, never mind the wrong tree
. 60kph is good steady long-distance pedalling without the motor - 40kph means you've stopped pedalling or hit a hill - and if I can't crank it to 100 on the flat under my own power for at least 10 seconds, frankly, I'll be ashamed of the build (not to mention my fitness level - I'm not that fit, but I'm not that unfit, either - I hope). Just stop thinking 'bike' and start thinking 'little fish-shaped one-man car with pedals in it', you'll get it soon enough...Alternately, if you want to know what I'm talking about, check out the Aussie HPV races - there are a few. There are even a few videos on youtube, just ignore the majority of the cars on the track which are built and ridden my primary school and junior high school students who think it's nice to have the wind in their face, external wheels or flat surfaces on their body shell
.Meh, that used to be me at high school, we still hit well over 70 before we ran out of gears (won't be making the 'woefully undergeared' mistake again - we were only running 52-11 gearing on a 26" wheel - so shoot me) - my, but it did bounce around a bit when you were pedalling that fast, lucky I didn't kill my knees spinning the cranks that fast - ah well, mistakes of youth I guess, I don't think I'd get away with it these days, I'm investing in real gears this time round...
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