Increase in seizures of illegal ebikes

[raleighnut]

Cough. Cagiva Mito. Cough. Aprilia RS. Cough. Nineties Suzuki RG. Cough. Mito Evolutione . Cough.

All ton+ 125s, at 101, 104, 105 and 107 respectively.















All in full power form, natch.

I remember an article in a motorcycle magazine back in the 80's (either Bike or Superbike) titled 125 from a 125 when they 'blueprinted' and tuned a Yamaha RD125LC, using just over the counter parts (new reed valve, exhaust, sprockets and a bit of porting) they nearly got there too and reckoned with a smaller/skinnier rider it would have done it.

 

[Drago]

Been wracking my brain all night but there was one 125 in full power trim was supposed to be able to breach 110, as you say, with a suitably svelte rider. I thought it might be the RR version of rhe Aprilia but dant find anything,

It'll probably come to me later when im on the bog.

Certainly race 125s can reach insane speeds. Early in his career Rossi managed 155 on an Aprilia 125 race machine. Rotary disc valve, lateral carb setup, reverse cylinder arrangement, probably on such a knife edge it barely lasted one race.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

The other point about convert bikes is the tyres

However good the disc brakes are they can only stop the wheel - if the tyre is designed for a normal bike then stopping it at 60 mph is just going to cause more problems
momentum and rubber being what they are

 

[Dadam]

The police don't need to check that the bike is capable of faster than the legal speed limit for an e-bike to be legal.
If it goes more than walk assist speed, with no input from the rider, it's illegal.

Agreed, no arguments there.

What speed would two motors get you up to? One on each wheel. It seemed to be standard on the mountain bikes used in the town centre. Before they were seized and removed from the pavements.

Irrelevant. The bike shown has no front wheel motor.

If your issue is with the reported speed and the way they were tested, check some of the videos from Leeds police. They show a display fitted to the handlebars which gives the speed. I believe in the city centre a dynamometer has been used to get the speed.

As I've said, twice now, I've no issue with the test. My issue is the sensationalised way the test has been reported in that article.

Cough. Cagiva Mito. Cough. Aprilia RS. Cough. Nineties Suzuki RG. Cough. Mito Evolutione . Cough.

All ton+ 125s, at 101, 104, 105 and 107 respectively.

OK, I was wondering whether a bike expert was going to chip in there. Fair enough but my point still stands. I don't believe most 125s on the road can do it, aren't they restricted by law on that class on licence? The point is 100mph is the territory of proper motorcycles, it needs another league of power, 25-30 kW, not 500W, or 1000W or 5000W.

I guess I'm being naive in expecting factual reporting from anybody these days.

 

[raleighnut]

Been wracking my brain all night but there was one 125 in full power trim was supposed to be able to breach 110, as you say, with a suitably svelte rider. I thought it might be the RR version of rhe Aprilia but dant find anything,

It'll probably come to me later when im on the bog.

Certainly race 125s can reach insane speeds. Early in his career Rossi managed 155 on an Aprilia 125 race machine. Rotary disc valve, lateral carb setup, reverse cylinder arrangement, probably on such a knife edge it barely lasted one race.

Yep, I used to spend a fair bit of time in the paddock at race meetings as a friends husband raced sidecar outfits, Derek* was pretty good and even raced in the Sidecar grand prix at Silverstone, Donnington and Assen as a 'wild card' borrowing a 500cc TZ motor to replace the TZ 750 he used in his Windle outfit in the British Championship and Clubman racing.
Anyhoo I used to wander round the paddock watching what was going on and back in the mid 80's there was a Clubman class the was GP 125's Proddy based 250's (LCs and a Gamma or two ) and 4 stroke 500's (Manx Nortons, a couple of G50 Matchless' and one nutcase on an XT500 Yamaha taken to 'Supermoto' spec. Lunchtime was a hive of activity with bikes being rebuilt after the morning free and timed practice/qualifying and often fresh engines being fitted especially to the 125's with old Morbidelli twins (later called MBA) and Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha singles. Often the 125's were the fastest but very fragile leading for a lap or two before expiring in a cloud of smoke as they holed a piston.

*Derek had his own roofing company 'Blackbourne Bitumastic' employing 10-12 people and Sidecar Racing was his hobby with an old Bedford coach converted to a race transporter.

 

[Drago]

I guess I'm being naive in expecting factual reporting from anybody these days.

You said "125", not "learner legal" 125.

If anything my pedantry was eye wateringly factual.

 

[Dadam]

You said "125", not "learner legal" 125.

If anything my pedantry was eye wateringly factual.

Apologies that comment was not aimed at you, it was the wider context about the article.
I said road legal 125 but yes learner legal 125 would have been more correct. I did say I'm not a motorcycle expert,

 

[Drago]

I did say I'm not a motorcycle expert,

Nor me, I just happened to have been around at the time.

 

[Dadam]

Well I was around too, but had no interest in motorcycles.

 

[Drago]

I did at the time. I went straight from a 125 to an 1100 and somehow survived unscathed.

 

[raleighnut]

Owners of the Yamaha RD 125 twins and later 125 LC's were coining it in as they were still legal and at least doubled in value when the restricted 125 law came in, pretty much as happened when the restricted 'slopeds' were introduced and the older FS1E and AP50 (along with the Garelli/Gilera and the odd Fantic) were suddenly desirable. A lad in our village had a tuned ;Fizzie'* that'd do 70-75 mph but that used to vanish down holes in it's powerband with the 4 speed gearbox.

* Micron 'peashooter' exhaust, bigger Carb, ported and with 'Ace' bars and a Bikini fairing.................blew up every month though