New legislation for E bikes in Northern Ireland

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

[QUOTE 4911746, member: 45"]When does an e-bike become a moped?[/QUOTE]
When in Northern Ireland

 

[raleighnut]

[QUOTE 4911746, member: 45"]When does an e-bike become a moped?[/QUOTE]
Once the 15.5mph restriction or 250w maximum output is bypassed/exceeded.

 

[Drago]

Sensible folk wouldn't consider driving a car without the correct licence, insurance, MOT, etc, but many don't seem to give it a second thought when building or using an electric moped, despite the document offices being identical.

 

[johnnyb47]

No doubt in the future, the Chinese will be making retro fit hidden electric motors just like the ones hidden away in the seat posts that's been highlighted recently in a bike race. They are virtually impossible to detect with the naked eye and if used discreetly the powers to be would never know any different .
Just the other day whilst pottering around in the garden I could hear a small engine popping away down the road. When I looked up to see what it was , it turned out to be an old 70/80s road bike with a small home made petrol tank fixed on to the cross bar powering what like to be a small strimmer sized engine. The guy riding it was a mature gent and rode off into town on it. There was no number plate ( which I thought would of been mandatory for a petrol powered bike).
Neither the less he seemed quite unfazed by it all. I've seen quite a few of these home made petrol bikes lately and has got me wondering are they actually legal to use. Furthermore are they legal to use if the engine is not actually running ,but is fitted to a bike. If this is the case I could well imagine these cyclist/motorcyclist would just use them once in the middle of nowhere to climb some of the steep climbs around here. Out in the wilds the police are few and far between

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Same thing tested and registered (re small engined cycle)

 

[jarlrmai]

I'm confused does this only apply to bikes without the 15.5mph assist cut off?

 

[Profpointy]

how about an e-bike with a little petrol engine to keep the battery charged ?

This is the same principle on a slightly larger scale


View: https://youtu.be/YFGSe2Jt73U

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

I'm confused does this only apply to bikes without the 15.5mph assist cut off?

No

 

[Randy Butternubs]

I'm not sure that e-bikes should have a special exemption whilst (low powered only) petrol mopeds have essentially been legislated away. A traditional French style velo is much the same as an ebike and should arguably come under the same kind of light-touch regulations or outright exemption

It's worth clarifying that in current UK law 'moped' refers essentially to motorbikes limited to 30mph which is a lot faster than a legal ebike. I know you are talking about proper old-style mopeds but it might confuse some.

An argument against classing petrol mopeds the same way as ebikes is that they are unpleasant to be around and therefore arguably should not be on shared use paths etc.

I generally agree with you though. Although I don't think they should be encouraged too much as a form of city transport as they are (almost?) all 2 strokes and therefore highly polluting. I don't know how they compare to a normal car but I would be surprised if they weren't significantly worse.

What blows my mind is that the government isn't bending over backward to encourage people onto ebikes and low power electric motorbikes. No pollution at source and a tiny physical footprint seems like a no-brainer.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

The govt are too busy arguing about psni attending pride and very warm chickens in Fermanagh to actually get to work..

 

[Tanis8472]

It's worth clarifying that in current UK law 'moped' refers essentially to motorbikes limited to 30mph which is a lot faster than a legal ebike. I know you are talking about proper old-style mopeds but it might confuse some.

An argument against classing petrol mopeds the same way as ebikes is that they are unpleasant to be around and therefore arguably should not be on shared use paths etc.

I generally agree with you though. Although I don't think they should be encouraged too much as a form of city transport as they are (almost?) all 2 strokes and therefore highly polluting. I don't know how they compare to a normal car but I would be surprised if they weren't significantly worse.

What blows my mind is that the government isn't bending over backward to encourage people onto ebikes and low power electric motorbikes. No pollution at source and a tiny physical footprint seems like a no-brainer.

Ah, nuts I can't be arsed.