Almost busted

[Gary Player]

Today i was riding my 80 cc bike having a great time here in winnipeg on a beautiful day when a police officer pulls me over and informs me my bike is illegal,he tells me he can give me a fine of $655.00 and tow my bike away,so with a few yes sir no sirs i got off with a warning.So i dont know what i will do ,i sure the heck dont want a fine off $655.00.

 

[grinningremlin]

On the bright side, must be low crime area if they have time to hassle you.I'd check laws, may be able to lower your CC's and get away with it (though cops hate to be told the law), 49cc is the usual limit in USA.I'm assuming you have a frame-mount, a rack-mount can be disguised, with a well hidden kill switch in the bars and pedal like crazy when you THINK you see an cop-aroonie.

 

[Gary Player]

I will look into the legality of gas bikes here in winnipeg to see what is allowed ,i love my bike i have gone everywhere with this bike and had no problems till now.The cop who pulled me over said he was at a accident where these kinds of bikes had fell apart,must have been a $50.00 bike as mine is of good quality, but there was no use in arguing with him,i was happy to get off with a warning.The cop also mentioned to be legal you would have to have all the safety equipment of a scooter like lights and horn etc.I had a scooter and sold it as i thought it was unsafe because not being able to keep up to traffic cars would pass me all the time.With the scooter you have to take up a lane like a motorcycle ,and with my gas bike i would stay off to the side and cars could pass no problem which in my mind is way safer than cars speeding up and crossing the white line to pass me.The other thing i enjoy with the gas bike was driving off road where scooters are not allowed legally.I have a 49 cc kit also but the cop never asked what size it was so i dont think it mattered to him.

 

[Fabian]

In Australia, (and if the police want to push the law to the limit) you can get a series of fines totaling around $6,000, but in reality they can issue tickets worth around $2,000 without any problems.

Seems seriously disproportionate to the simple crime of having a small engine in a bicycle.

 

[tooljunkie]

pretty much under federal highway traffic act,they are illegal throughout canada.
i ride in the country,mostly gravel.RCMP havent got to me yet,but it will happen.
i do know riding on a provincial trunk highway is a big no-no,so i stick to the municipal and provincial roads.
i'm curious to see what you find out.

 

[Gary Player]

I found out they are illegal in canada, it is considered to be the same as driving a uninsured unregistered vehicle so that sucks. So i removed my motor and i am now using my bionx electric bike which is completely legal here.Electric bikes are legal as long as they are not more than 500 watts and dont exceed 32 kilometers an hour.The nice thing about electric is it so quiet,the bad thing is they are expensive to purchase with the battery.To replace my battery from bionx it is $1,000.00 new, but i can get it rebuilt here for under $200.00.

 

[tooljunkie]

this is such a confusing subject here in manitoba.
Deathproof went to mpi,they told them it was legal to ride if it was under 50cc.over requires moped licence and safety equipment.
im under the impression federal law is rescinding the regs regarding mab's and to let provincial/municiplalities regulate them.
nothing clearly states motorized bicycles are not permitted on roadways.

 

[grinningremlin]

Before I bought my F/D I researched everything to death.In those searches I saw many pics of people disguising their F/D's very well.One was blocked from view with large panniers, a modified rack, and some mesh screen ( rider was worried about theft, thought the disguise made his bike less "shiny" to thieves), one was housed in the old style milk crate (I believe MB's were illegal in his parts), it was a neat build, and just "homemade" enough looking that unless he had a smoky/loud engine I don't see anyone spotting him while moving.
You could do a combo with your E-bike, say with a disguised bumblebee bolt-on and have one crazy efficient ride; before you get into town kill the petrol motor and hit the electric, get out of town and rev up, run out of one use the other,... you get the idea.

 

[Gary Player]

The cop who pulled me over noticed how fast i was going and that is how he first noticed me ,i was going about 26 mph.So disguising the bike would not have worked in this instance.I probably could go through all the trouble to get my bike licensed as a scooter as the cop told me he knows of 1 person who did, but the problem with being licensed like a scooter is you would have to obey the laws of a scooter and not drive on trails or the side of the road,you would have to take up a lane on the street and not drive on the shoulder or bike paths which to me = no fun.I would much rather drive my bike wherever mountains bikes are allowed.So i drive my electric bike and get no hassles,just not as fun or as fast,but there are faster electric bikes out there maybe by next summer i will get another e-bike that is faster.

 

[grinningremlin]

Oh well, just an idea.Such a drag, I'd be all over electric if it had the range/low weight.I also fly RC, live in a high "fire danger" area and can't consider switching to lipo because of their inherent unstable nature, so it's wet fuel for me.