jamesburr36
Member
- Local time
- 1:45 AM
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2008
- Messages
- 42
When you talk about "things" around the mountain dude
it's apt to inspire verses in the multitude......
james I agree about riding responsibly, in spades, but I wonder how much of the total picture that is. How do we define MBs? Are we talking about the 49cc HTs or small utility engine rack mounts? We have bikes being built now with bigger and bigger engines, 79cc 99cc 100+cc 4 strokes, 5 hp, 9 hp, 11hp morini engines. SomeTHING of a mission creep is going on and more of it falls outside the basic-the under 50cc under 2 hp automatic trans- guidelines of states that have moped/mb definitions already on the books. Responsible riding is a great mantra but that alone is not going to get LEOs to overlook the fact that a MB is really a small motorcycle.
1st, it seems my sprocket that controls my spontanious poetic aptitude is broken .
Anyway most states have statues that limit the speeds and engine power of certain mopeds such as ours and for a very good reason - our safety and public safety. 30 MPH is really a good limit for our converted bicycles just because physics alone places limitations on most of them. Most bicycle frames, braking systems, tires, wheels (including bearings) etc. that we put these engine kits on are not designed to to be used beyond what is possible under even some extreme capabilities of human propulsion. The more we push beyond that the higher the chances of catastrophic failure of the major components. Vibration is a major factor in causing metal fatigue in fastenters, welded joints and whatnot. The stresses that the front forks must absorb when rolling over bumps, debris in the road are far greater at higher speeds than lower speeds not to mention the stresses that occur in the front wheel bearings.
I read about all these folks out there putting engines with displacements of 60CC, 80CC, 100CC, and even 160CC on a bicycle and wonder about the structural integrity of the bike they are putting them on under the power these engines can produce not to mention the braking capabilities of the added weight in relation to speed. The primary focus of law enforcement officers regarding vehicles on the street is public safety so it should come to no surprise that those out there with large engines on bicycles will easily attract the attention of police.
What you referred to as 'mission creep' I kinda of see as an exercise in hormonal dominance - ie it's testosterone related.
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