BBC Breakfast item today on illegally modded ebikes

[Chris S]

Back in the 70's loads of us had 'field bikes', generally mopeds or small capacity motorbikes that we rode around farm lanes or the local quarry*.
These high powered e-bikes just seem a new version of this, no doubt 'older folks' were just as pished off by us back then.

* even Allan Millyard did it but being him he grafted a Mini 850 engine into a BSA Bantam frame..............by his own account it was lethal.

A Mini 850 engine wouldn't fit into a Bantam frame. And why use an 850? The 1275 uses the same block put provides a lot more power.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Forgive me for being dumb, but why all this fuss/paperwork for a throttle on a legal ebike?

I had a legal e-bike in 2011ish and it had a throttle. I never used it. I always had e-assist on Max setting. If it's legal (250W and limited to 25km/h) then the presence of a throttle does not make any difference. Even on the flat, you can go faster pedalling than you can with WOT. Downhill, irrelevant, you'd cruise at over 15mph so e-assist deactivated. Uphill, combination of e-assist and pedalling so no need for throttle. And it wouldn't be comfy standing up and trying to hold a twist type throttle anyway. Throttle only up a hill = lucky to go 4mph if it'll even get up.

Either my £1500 Wisper was especially weak, or these newer legal bikes put out a lot more torque for their 250W power

I had a throttle on my first ebike - got it in 2011 and it was used then
They were legal on bikes made before 2016 - but the power was also lower - 200W - but mine was actually only 180W

As you say - I hardly ever used it
did find it useful for starting up sometime - especially if I stopped quickly and was in the wrong gear
but main thing I miss about it is going up very steep gravel or soil slopes on paths - it was very useful to have access to the power to help get the bike up

but it is not at all useful

The only argument I would have against it would be for people of less that ideal mobility
If I was able to I would rather have an ebike as a mobility device that a scooter before I need to have a proper one!

 

[vickster]

Border Force with plod back up do fairly regular sweeps of the delivery riders amassed around McDs etc around here...many overstayers, 'pretend students' on visas, asylum seekers, others with no legal right to work. Apparently the delivery companies got a dressing down at the home office recently about not doing frequent (ie at least weekly) checks on their riders right to work. They promised to be more compliant... hmmm yeah [having to go to Croydon was probably worse than the meeting itself]

 

[Electric_Andy]

They are all over Plymouth; 80% delivery riders, 10% masked youths and 10% middle aged men who don't want to fork out for a CBT and get legal. The delivery riders are mostly clueless but not what I'd call reckless. Those deliveroo riders who use 125 scoots are also shocking, I had following me on my scoot in a bus lane as I was slowing down for a light, he undertook me and ran through the red.

 

[raleighnut]

A Mini 850 engine wouldn't fit into a Bantam frame. And why use an 850? The 1275 uses the same block put provides a lot more power.

This is Allan Millyard we're talking about, the mini engine came from a scrap car in his parents garden and the bantam engine blew up and I think he was 14-15 when he did it, certainly before he got a road legal motorbike and don't forget he's old enough not to have been saddled with a restricted 'slowped'.............bit of work and a gearing change and most mopeds at the time would pull 60mph easy.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

This is Allan Millyard we're talking about

Who the fook is he?

 

[raleighnut]

Who the fook is he?

He's the nutcase highly qualified engineer who built a bike out of a 7 litre Dodge Viper V10 engine, he has also constructed many 4-5 and 6 cylinder Kawasaki 2 strokes and a few V12 4 stroke Kawasaki bikes from the 6 cylinder ones. He also built the 'Flying Millyard' a 5 litre V twin with cylinders from an aero engine after a conversation with Steve Parrish when he won a prize for his 100cc Honda V twin saying "well I won a prize for the smallest V-twin now I'm gonna build the biggest".

Tap his name into google and marvel at his creations, all look like 'factory bikes'.Oh he built a downhill MTB or 2 for his son with enclosed gearing and chaincase that acted as a swinging arm

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Having only had an ebike for three months, when I'm looking at Strava segment leaderboards, the number of riders I'm spotting with blatently illegal motor assistance above the UK limit of 25kph (~15.5mph) is shocking.

I'm not talking about the motor vehicle speed times here, as many motorcyclists tag their rides as ebikes (which are somehow not being auto-flagged by the Strava system when exceeding 50mph on flat or uphill stretches of road), but derestricted ebikes doing ~20mph on draggy inclines or ~18mph up 4%+ sustained inclines.

Rules of Strava Leaderboards:

1) Any one higher than you has cheated
2) See rule 1.

 

[Drago]

Who the fook is he?

He's the engine whisperer!

Used to repair nuclear reactors for a living. Now in retirement makes the maddest motorbikes imaginable, such as a Viper V10 powered bike, an aero engined bike, and all sorts of unimaginably barking stuff. He designs it all in his head.

He also holds the world pillion speed record with Henry Cole on the V10 Viper bike.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

He's the engine whisperer!

Used to repair nuclear reactors for a living. Now in retirement makes the maddest motorbikes imaginable, such as a Viper V10 powered bike, an aero engined bike, and all sorts of unimaginably barking stuff. He designs it all in his head.

He also holds the world pillion speed record with Henry Cole on the V10 Viper bike.

Ah motorbikes, never interested me.

 

[presta]

Either my £1500 Wisper was especially weak, or these newer legal bikes put out a lot more torque for their 250W power

Were you aware that the 250W limit is for the average measured over 30 minutes? The short term peak power has no limit.

 

[raleighnut]

He's the nutcase highly qualified engineer who built a bike out of a 7 litre Dodge Viper V10 engine, he has also constructed many 4-5 and 6 cylinder Kawasaki 2 strokes and a few V12 4 stroke Kawasaki bikes from the 6 cylinder ones. He also built the 'Flying Millyard' a 5 litre V twin with cylinders from an aero engine after a conversation with Steve Parrish when he won a prize for his 100cc Honda V twin saying "well I won a prize for the smallest V-twin now I'm gonna build the biggest".

Tap his name into google and marvel at his creations, all look like 'factory bikes'.Oh he built a downhill MTB or 2 for his son with enclosed gearing and chaincase that acted as a swinging arm

I got his name slightly wrong, it's Allen Millyard,

The one to google is 'At Home With Allen Millyard | Genius Motorbike Engineer' he even talks about the Mini Engined Bantam done as a school project and his first bike a Malagutti that kept blowing up so he stuck a FS1E engine in it

Also the downhill MTB he built for his son

 

[Dadam]

To be honest, if they just made an effort to obey traffic regs and basically rode with some consideration, I wouldn't give a fig if they had 1000w and a throttle. And if they at least put a 10 quid set of lights on after dark!

Similarly with the scooters. Yes they're illegal but if they ride with consideration, I'm not too bothered. Unlike the guy who passed me in front of Elland Road Stadium the other day on the way to work. I was on the cycle path doing about 18-20 and this guy was on the pavement at the other side on a scooter and went past like I was standing still. Easily over 30mph.

 

[Dadam]

No idea if it's fashion or there's some practical reason but all the delivery riders I see round Leeds without exception seem to have more or less the same bikes, those fat tyred folding jobbies. And they all have stupidly long steerer tubes so the bars are at shoulder height. Looks really weird.

 

[ianrauk]

And they all have stupidly long steerer tubes so the bars are at shoulder height.

Along with very low saddle and pedaling very slowly whilst travelling at high speed.