FEDERAL LAW SAYS YES !!! And now State Law too ? Yes !!!!

Possibly missing the point.

Many people don't understand that states can make laws more restrictive than the feds but not less restrictive. ie If the feds put a 2hp limit on the bike motor, the state can not say it' ok to to use a 3hp motor on your bike. On the other hand the state can put 1.5 hp limit even though the feds say 2 hp is ok. It's not fair but that's just the way it works. I have seen this happen many times over the years with environmental laws. My Whizzer is being registered as a motorcycle just so I don't have any problems. That being said, my brother lives in Lancaster county Pennsylvania. He runs his motorized 1941 Columbia all over Quarryville without any trouble from the police. If you see what the Amish take up and down the roads it makes sense that the police leave him alone. In fact they followed him over to him place to see all the motorized bikes and goodies he has. My 1943 3-wheel military Cushman lives at his place too. I quess a certain amount of luck plays a big part as to weather or not you will be targeted by the police. Ride safely and have fun.

Jim
 
Similarly, the Arizona law states that it is OK for the various cities & towns to add further restrictions defining/limiting the usage of motorized bikes, so long as the usage doesn't add the requirement for licensing/insurance.

Tucson, for instance, adds restrictions including not allowing the use of MBs in bike paths in city parks, specified lighting requirements if the MB is used at night, and (I believe) requiring helmets for riders under 18.

Here's a link to the AZ Law - A.R.S. 28-2516
 
Last edited:
The way I see it,if you live near Denver and know Speer Boulevard if you take your bike anywhere near that street your gonna get hurt. There's a nice bike trail that's right between this street and it goes under the side streets and guess what I'm gonna take every time I take this street to get to my agency.
Cops seem to agree with me too. A cop on a Harley was going down that bike trail looking for who knows what and waves at me as he passed me by.
Don't be a rebel usually they leave you alone..although I do feel for what Torque had to go thru.
Then you think about this another way. Do you think cagers want to be behind you going 15 to 18 mph?
I'm gonna be safe no matter what it takes.

Man I wish I lived by where Torque is at. I would get a bunch of motoredbikers together and ride that magic 15 to 18 mph right smack in the middle of a buzy street as a silent protest.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What I mainly want to know is a "motorized or motor-assisted bicycle" legally different than a "moped". In Texas, the electric bicycle law is very clear and easy to understand, but as far as gas motorized bikes go, it's a lot of mumbo-jumbo. A moped requires registration and a driver license and insurance and all that costly stuff. In Texas, a go-ped can be legally driven on roads, so one would assume a bike could, but who knows.
 
I've searched and searched online for Federal regulations but ended up going to my local police who told me what they said the Fed says... to paraphrase:
No more than 1 horsepower electric (750 Watts)
No more than 2 horsepower gas
No more than 50cc gas
No more than 20 miles per hour under power.

...
That's not true. I was excited when I saw this thread, but Spooky Tooth's website shows the actual US Law, which is titled: Low-speed electric bicycles. It mentions nothing of gas engines, cubic displacement etc... Real Bummer, Man!

You can see it midway down this page: http://www.spookytoothcycles.com/content/view/10/25/

This is really disappointing because if it really stated gas engines under 50cc, I'd copy it, keep it in my wallet, and pray that a cop would try and mess with me. Reason is because my state, Mississippi, doesn't have a law against motored bikes, but my city has a law that states everything that's on a city road and has a motor needs to be registered. So, I thought that law was gonna help me out there for a second, but it looks like I'm still gonna have to pedal when I see the cops. DANGIT, AMERICAN LAWS!!
 
That's not true. I was excited when I saw this thread, but Spooky Tooth's website shows the actual US Law, which is titled: Low-speed electric bicycles. It mentions nothing of gas engines, cubic displacement etc... Real Bummer, Man!

You can see it midway down this page: http://www.spookytoothcycles.com/content/view/10/25/

This is really disappointing because if it really stated gas engines under 50cc, I'd copy it, keep it in my wallet, and pray that a cop would try and mess with me. Reason is because my state, Mississippi, doesn't have a law against motored bikes, but my city has a law that states everything that's on a city road and has a motor needs to be registered. So, I thought that law was gonna help me out there for a second, but it looks like I'm still gonna have to pedal when I see the cops. DANGIT, AMERICAN LAWS!!

Everything I see just raises more questions. Even the cop telling you the so-called Fed laws saying 2hp gas, under 50cc etc., it still leaves me with the question of whether or not this is for a motorized bicycle or a true moped with lights, signals, brake light etc. I really don't think even the Feds know what the laws really are or if there really ARE any laws relating to a motorized bicycle. It's just one big clusterflop of mumbo-jumbo.
 
I believe there are recommendations in the works federally:

no more than 48cc, 2HP, 20 MPH for gas engines.

That's what Arizona's motorized bicycle ordinance was based on. Unfortunately, a court in Scottsdale has interpreted the law such that if you exceed 20 MPH, your motorized bicycle magically becomes a moped, subject to a different set of laws, including the requirement for insurance, license, registration, etc...
 
I believe there are recommendations in the works federally:

no more than 48cc, 2HP, 20 MPH for gas engines.
Well, wake me up when there is actually a federal law about gas-powered bicycles with engines less than 48cc!!
 
BTW, I think it's pretty deceptive that both thatsdax and spookytooth would post this law about electric bicycles and let everyone on this board think that it refers to gas-powered bikes.

If there is a different law about gas-powered bicycles... by all means, post the chapter, section, etc. of the law.

Thanks!
 
Back
Top