I am wondering if a regular bicycle equipped with a BL36 motor as a "motorized bicycle" or "moped" would rather be subject to:
1. CVC section 406 a): up to 30 mph, up to 2000 watts, needs registration and M2 license and moped plates, probably full complement of lights, brake lights, mirrors and stuff
2. CVC section 406 b): up to 20 mph, up to 1000 watts, no registration or license, only helmet required and reflectors?
3. This is not correct, other rules apply
4. Who cares, just drive it.
AFAIK with a 36 or 48V operated BL36 I would be under 1000 W but still capable of doing more than 20mph under good conditions.
I have seen there are quite many California E-bikers here. What is everybody else doing?
Also did somebody check with their insurance if the E-bike is covered?
Thanks, GB
Definitely "4. Who cares, just RIDE it!"
I'm in San Diego. The few folks I've talked to who have electric bikes which violate the 20mph rule don't give a darn about the rules. There was a bike shop selling bikes with four car batteries that could easily do over 50 mph (or so they claimed). There weren't even any pedals on the thing! He said none of his clients had reported any problems. Another gentlemen said that he would routinely be passed by patrol cars as he was cruising above 20 mph and they had never gave him a second look.
Combined with my pedaling consistently, I'm hoping that my ultimate vehicle will be able to cruise at least 25 mph with bursts above 30 mph.
I'm sure there is at least one hard cop in each city will want to give someone a hard time but my guess is, given our foreign dependence on oil, the vast majority of vehicle patrol officers will be happy to look the other way.
I'll let you know for sure in a year's time...
Exactly.. so long as it looks like a bicycle probably it won't matter to anybody.
As you get into the more power bicycle conversions though, the ones meant to go 50 miles/hr, you run the risks of other kinds (including police). Clearly if the power and speed is high enough (e.g. 50 miles/hr) you're really a motorcycle and should be following motorcycle laws, even if it's built from bicycle parts. And that's how I read the california law in the graduated levels of enforcement requirement. The way I read those requirements is if the max speed is <= 20 miles/hr then it's a bicycle, if the max speed is between 20 & 30 miles/hr then it's a moped, and if it's above 30 miles/hr it's a motorcycle. And I had an ahem roadside conversation ahem with a motorcycle cop one day along these lines. I was riding my moped in the bicycle lane ( so I could go a little slower and conserve battery power ) and he got confused and we chatted awhile. It turned into education for him about the different levels of requirements and he agreed with my reading of the law.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki