Motor vehicle or not

[try 1897]

Well this is sure a strange situation. I was told by the DMV that my bike is not a motor vehicle due to the fact that its primary meens of propultion is the pedals and the engine is an assist . Also it is 49 cc or less and travels at 25 mph.OK so its not a motor vehicle as far as they are concerned and does not need to be regestered or have a tag or insurance. OK so as I ride on the brand new bike path that has a sign at every entrance tnat says ( NO MOTOR VEHICLES) are they going to site me or not? I've got a feelin, a feelin deep inside oh yeah. This could get very interesting. I don't think I'll get 2 miles before the state trooper has a bonerabout the situation. I meen the bike has an engine and there aint no way around that . BUT and thats a BIG BUTT. It aint a motor vehicle...... I'll let you all know how it turns out in court cause I got a feeling a feeling deep inside oh yeah.... as sure as the sun gonna shine ..... This is West by God Virginia ..... And as the man said You aint from round here is you boy.......T in WV

 

[ironwarlock]

you can't ride it on the bike path if the path says no motor vehicle. be happy that the dmv says its not a motor vehicle and you don't need plates and insurance. ride on my friend.

 

[sabrewalt]

I agree with Iron. We have a several good bike/jogging paths I love to use on my Ebike/regular bike. People get on them to get AWAY from noisy motors. Even if you are legally in the right, I am not sure it is good public relations to be running a gasoline engine up and down a bike/jogging path. I do use our paths for transportation but with the gas engine on my bike I am going fast enough to just stay on the street and leave the paths for the nonmotored/silent crowd.

 

[try 1897]

Well I'm disabled and cannot ride the thing without the engines help. The path in question goes along a 4 lane highway that I need to travel to get to store and Doctors office. Its a 10 mile strech of road that makes for a 20 mile round trip so sorry but if they say its not a motor vehicle I'm going to have to go for it and if I get a ticket Well then I'll take it to the court and let them explain to me how it suddenly became a motor vehicle when I turned the cornner onto the path. T

 

[try 1897]

Oh yeah the path has been open for three months and I've never seen anyone on it with the exception of the maintanance crew. I live in a sparcely populated area compared to most. D.C. this aint.... T in WV

 

[ironwarlock]

will they let a electric wheel chair on the bike trail? if so i wonder if it was an electric motored bike would it be ok? it would be a lot quieter then a gas unit. then again i don't think they would let an electric scooter on the trail. i would call the dmv and see what they say.

 

[sabrewalt]

No complaints = no hassles.

I ride my electric on the paths all the time. A primary advantage of an electric is that a non observant person(99.99999 pct of americans) can't tell your on an Ebike. BUT if no one is complaining about you riding your smoker on the trail then I doubt the Poletzi will bother you. I encounter no less than 20 joggers each direction when I bike our paths and I know they woud complain if I road the gasser. Have you thought about getting a note from your doctor explaining your disability??

 

[try 1897]

First let me paint a better picture of the path in question. We are talking about a 4 lane devided highway with a path alongside within 30 feet or so. Its a truck route and has a rather barren landscape . The highway noise is loud and the fumes are high. Not a quiet woodsy bike path that people would enjoy to jog along. I could see anyone in front of me perhaps 100 yards away. I would never ride on or incroach upon the joggers area but this hardly qualifys as one.Anyway electrics are welcome as far as I can tell as are electric wheelchairs. I asked the DMV for a placard or something , as a disabled person , to show a cop in the event the issue came up. She said that even though technicly its legal for me to ride on the path she could not help me simply because there was no such thing for her to give me . I was asking for something that doesnot exist. I 'm still not sure what the cop on the beat is going to think about the whole issue but I think I can ride without being a bother to anyone and will turn off the engine and pedal if and when the cop appears in the hopes of avoiding the whole issue. If I do get a ticket however I'll take it all the way to the high court to avoid paying a fine that I don't thimk is just or fair. ... T in WV

 

[try 1897]

Oh yea , My smoker has a nice muffler that Mike Simpson sold me and is nice and quiet compaired to the stock one. As far as the smoke . I do oil the heck out of the gas to keep the bushings in the thing and it does smoke some but the tracktor trailer and car/bus fumes are far more than my little smudge pot of an engine . Not the greatest place to jog or bike for that matter. I will only ride thru there cause I have to......T in WV

 

[DougC]

Well this is sure a strange situation. I was told by the DMV that my bike is not a motor vehicle due to the fact that its primary meens of propultion is the pedals and the engine is an assist .
....
OK so as I ride on the brand new bike path that has a sign at every entrance that says ( NO MOTOR VEHICLES) are they going to site me or not? ....

You should check the definitions portion of your state's motor vehicle code. In IL, the terms "motor vehicle" and "motorized vehicle" have two quite different meanings.

If the bike path says "no motorized vehicles", then you cannot ride your motorized bike there. If it only says "no MOTOR vehicles", then go ahead and ride, it's legal--because the state already told you that your bicycle was not a "motor vehicle". An individual cop might not know that, but if you calmly explain the situation as you were told, they'll likely let you off the first time and research the matter on their end--police do not like to write tickets incorrectly, that simply get tossed out in court.
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You should try to be considerate of pedestrians however--because if the sign now says "no motor vehicles" and enough people complain about nearly getting run over, the signs may soon be changed to say "no motorized vehicles".

The rules for electric-assist vehicles for handicapped persons are an entirely different matter. The IL motor vehicle code specifies that they can be used anywhere pedestrians are allowed, but then, such types of vehicles can have a top speed of no more than 12 MPH at all.

If it's in or part of a public park, then you have to ask the park rangers or manager. Your state's motor vehicle code only applies to public roads. That doesn't include roadways inside parks, and parks can make their own use rules any way they want.
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