Illinois...trying again.....

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Hey, Warner
Thanks for the info.
I don't see any mention of insurance. Assuming for now that it's a moped, does it have to have insurance? Is that covered elsewhere in IL law?
I'm still not convinced that your bike is a moped. I just don't think it fits.
I'm guessing the law was written when mopeds were mopeds (like a Vespa) and actually had a title and lights and license plates and the whole 9 yards.
This is just a stinking BICYCLE!!!! What in the world?!?!?
They're making it almost impossible to comply with that moped standard. How do you get a title for a bicycle? I've never heard of that?
Some bureaucrat's opinion is not the end of the matter. It's always easy for them to say NO and they don't ever gain by saying YES to people.
Whoever answered your question is probably just some desk clerk and has no clue about the real issues here.
I would not give up yet.

Steve G.
Grants Pass, Oregon
 
Hi, all
I posted before I saw Doug's answer.
I think he's got it figured out.
I'm just not buying that your bicycle is a MOPED. It's not. It's a bicycle and it happens to have a motor on it but it is not and was never a MOPED as that term is normally used and as that term was probably used when the IL law was written.
You can't expect a bicycle and bicyclist to comply with the laws for motor vehicles.
I'm getting more and more convinced that this is just an unregulated hole in the law and I bet it will be soon filled by your legislature.
I'd just ride the dang thing and take my chances. If it comes up, use Doug's argument. You can't comply with the law as written so you can't be liable for violating a law you couldn't comply with. At least it's an argument.
Again, this is freakin' ridiculous, man.
I'm getting real sick of THE MAN!!!
Or, as someone once jokingly told me, to be politically correct and gender neutral, I should say "THE PERSON"!

Steve G
Grants Pass, Oregon
 
I am in Illinois, too.

First off, YOU DON'T HAVE A MOPED!!!
What you have is "a bicycle that you put an engine on".
Legally that is NOT the same thing!!!
You must tell the DMV the facts, if you ever expect to get the correct answer.

You cannot register a bicycle as a moped at all in Illinois, because Illinois will only register vehicles now that have a (standard-format 17-digit) VIN.

Bicycles don't have VINs, and you can't make one up--the prefix has to be one assigned to a vehicle manufacturer registered with the federal Dept. of Transportation.

Also, the bearing of a VIN indicates that the motor vehicle qualifies as some current federal classification of motor vehicle (this is the only way it can legally be applied to any vehicle) and a bicycle won't qualify in any federal classifications of motor vehicles. This is why bicycle manufacturing standards are regulated by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, and not the Department of Transportation.

To register a vehicle you either need an existing title, a title record (in the case of applying for a lost title) or a MCO (Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin, in the case of a new vehicle). To get a title your bicycle would need a VIN (which you can't get for it) and to get an MCO it would have had to qualify into some federal motor vehicle specification (and bicycles won't qualify in any federal motor vehicle class).

There is a provision in the motorcycle codes that says that "any vehicle which does not have a VIN shall be issued one by the state", but if you ask about this (as I did) the DMV will tell you that they will only do this for vintage and antique vehicles that qualified as motor vehicles at the time of their manufacture.

--------

Years ago registering bicycles may have occurred, so if you found a vintage frame that you knew had been previously registered, you might be able to apply for a lost title, and argue that it qualifies for a state-issued VIN. Other than this one possibility, registering a bicycle as a motor vehicle in Illinois can't be done.

A motorized bicycle with an engine that falls under the moped restrictions (2 hp or <50cc or 30 mph level top speed) is still considered a bicycle, and as far as the state is concerned doesn't require that you hold any license, or maintain registration or insurance. That said, there may be local restrictions on motorized bicycles wherever you live.

Furthermore,
Motor vehicle insurance in IL won't cover a motorized bicycle at all, because in IL, auto insurance policies are not required to cover vehicles that are not titled or registered, and you cannot title or register a bicycle.
~


Doug, THANKS for responding with your answer! This is what I needed to know before I start in with a huge headache with the DMV. Do you ride an MAB in Illinois? If so, where? Have you been hassled?


Thanks again,

Warner
 
Hi, all
I posted before I saw Doug's answer.
I think he's got it figured out.
I'm just not buying that your bicycle is a MOPED. It's not. It's a bicycle and it happens to have a motor on it but it is not and was never a MOPED as that term is normally used and as that term was probably used when the IL law was written.
You can't expect a bicycle and bicyclist to comply with the laws for motor vehicles.
I'm getting more and more convinced that this is just an unregulated hole in the law and I bet it will be soon filled by your legislature.
I'd just ride the dang thing and take my chances. If it comes up, use Doug's argument. You can't comply with the law as written so you can't be liable for violating a law you couldn't comply with. At least it's an argument.
Again, this is freakin' ridiculous, man.
I'm getting real sick of THE MAN!!!
Or, as someone once jokingly told me, to be politically correct and gender neutral, I should say "THE PERSON"!

Steve G
Grants Pass, Oregon


Yeah, I think Doug nailed it. At least that's what I'm flying with!

Warner
 
Someone needs to do a side by side video of a moped vs. a motored bike pedaling at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 mph!!! Courts would love that!
 
Doug, THANKS for responding with your answer! This is what I needed to know before I start in with a huge headache with the DMV. Do you ride an MAB in Illinois? If so, where? Have you been hassled
Well you wouldn't have gotten far, because when the DMV found out you wanted to title a bicycle, it would have ended right there.

I am around St Louis.
Have been riding for about a year now, haven't ever been stopped, and I have rode right by police on several occasions.

If you want to email the DMV about this (which I encourage, for your own info) then you need to tell them that you have "a bicycle that you put an engine on". DO NOT say "moped", because that's not what you have: a moped is manufactured as a motor vehicle and comes with a 17-digit federal-format VIN.
~
 
Well you wouldn't have gotten far, because when the DMV found out you wanted to title a bicycle, it would have ended right there.

I am around St Louis.
Have been riding for about a year now, haven't ever been stopped, and I have rode right by police on several occasions.

If you want to email the DMV about this (which I encourage, for your own info) then you need to tell them that you have "a bicycle that you put an engine on". DO NOT say "moped", because that's not what you have: a moped is manufactured as a motor vehicle and comes with a 17-digit federal-format VIN.
~


Thanks again Doug....you are the man!

Warner
 
Well you wouldn't have gotten far, because when the DMV found out you wanted to title a bicycle, it would have ended right there.

I am around St Louis.
Have been riding for about a year now, haven't ever been stopped, and I have rode right by police on several occasions.

If you want to email the DMV about this (which I encourage, for your own info) then you need to tell them that you have "a bicycle that you put an engine on". DO NOT say "moped", because that's not what you have: a moped is manufactured as a motor vehicle and comes with a 17-digit federal-format VIN.
~

Doug, you wouldn't happen to have any of the documentation from when YOU contacted the DMV, would you? I'd like to print and carry something with me when I ride.....just in case.

Thanks!

Warner
 
lets ride man i got your back ...there saying its a Motorized Pedalcycles not moped carry that law in your cell to show a cop i have and never once showed it ..get out there man ride !!!!!!!!!!!! anyways come down to the lake its a blast at night iam by ohare i ride down there every night to work...i got to see how fast that setup is u have.... now the 3- 4 laws saying moped are not met anyways ..and i feel you might be rocking the boat that you dont need to be rocking ..the only cops that stop me is the cops that ask me if i can make them one state cops and the city cops ,,and i no that state boys are worst,,, then the cops you have by you .........if you search for worst you will get the worst
 
Hi, Warner
I've been riding in Oregon for 1 month now. I ride almost every day.
I've passed at least 6 cops at this point.
No one has stopped me.
Last night, I was driving in a car and saw a frame mount, 2 stroke MB going the other way. I heard nothing. If I wasn't so deep into this, I would never have noticed the guy.
My son, who also rides MBs, was driving. I asked what he thought of the MB that just went by. He said, "What MB?"
He never even noticed it.
There's no guarantees in life and you can get "paralysis through analysis" easily.
I'm well aware that I may get stopped and hassled. It's worth it.
It's so darn fun, if you haven't done it, you won't believe it.
Just be cool, be smart be safe and have fun.
The Man isn't always right. This is too trivial to spend any more time on...

Best of luck!
Steve G.
Grants Pass, Oregon
 
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