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news
Bike seized in York (source NYP York City & East on Twitter).PNGYork police seize 'bike' - because owner had no licence or insurance
Police in York have seized a bicycle that had been converted to run on a petrol engine - with the owner reported for having no licence or insurance.
Appropriately for Halloween, it's a bit of a 'Frankenbike' - essentially, it's a mountain bike that's been converted into a moped through the addition of that engine - one that even the UCI wouldn't have too hard a time detecting.
NPT officers have just seized this converted cycle for no insurance. The rider has been reported for no license and no insurance. pic.twitter.com/iVEOzHpapf
— NYP York City & East (@SNAYorkCityEast) October 30, 2016
Under the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (Amendment) Regulations 2015, electric bikes with power assistance to a maximum speed of of 25 km/h (15.5 mph) and a motor of no more than 250 Watts (maximum continuous rated power output) are considered to be pedal cycles and therefore no licence or insurance is needed.
Those regulations do not apply to petrol-powered bikes, however - and even if they did, or if the motor in this case was electric-powered, the owner of the bike seized in York said the speed had been capped at 20mph, which would have taken it beyond the permitted threshold.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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18 comments
So when are the police going to start and sieze Ebikes which are seen doing more than 15.5mph without assistance from the rider?
Moped means a motor cycle which can be propelled by pedals, why should it matter if the motor is petrol or electric ?
To stop missinterpretation of the above..
If an electric bike is capable of more than 15.5mph without human assistance and or produces more than 250W then it is a moped, and requires Reg plate, Reg documents, MOT, Insurance , a driving license and even if it is at zero cost it still requires VED.
So, what if you mounted a small generator on the rear rack to power a 250w electric motor? Apart from the bike now being an actual hybrid of course.
These are fun when you're 14 and let loose on your own in France for the first time:
https://pedelectric.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/solex-bardot.jpg
Funny how they seize this, but E-Bikes which are just as fast, and faster (Rimac goes 45mph!), are allowed...
Yeah but I doubt that many e bikes carry a gallon of super unleaded in an untested tank jubilee clipped to the crossbar between the riders legs above a hot exhaust pipe.
Those are licenced as they're above the whole limit. Pretty sure to be a licenced vehicle you have to meet at least some kind of safety standards.
I was talking to a bloke who had one and was riding it in the nearby park a while back. He was trying to get round the BMX track on it but not with a great deal of success. I pointed out that it wouldn't be road legal and that he also wasn't supposed to use it in the park or on the BMX track either. As the engine was so feeble, it kept stalling on the jumps and I quickly realised the track wasn't in danger of being damaged and nor was he at that much risk, so I left him to it.
I'm not sure why anyone would want one of these though. A cheap moped doesn't cost much but is more functional and safer too. And as one of the other posts says, you can get bolt on electric motor kits that are cheap and road legal.
Spotty faced youths have been plaguing the streets of Malta and Gozo riding these lethal pieces of equipment for several years now. No helmets, no insurance, no tax ,no driver's licence and no common sense.
The the police here in the UK have every right to stop idiots riding these dangerous homemade contraptions before they do any real harm to other road users and the general public at large !
Great, can the police now get on and deal with the 700, 000 uninsured drivers on the roads? (Not to mention unlicenced!) Alternatively, we could just force them to have registration plates and insurance and wear hi-viz and helmets... Oh.
Why bother? Just buy a cheap electric motor and the plod wouldn't even care, even if it was one of those cheapo ones off ebay. Banging along with wasp in can noise on a pushbike is just asking to be stopped.
Looks like minutes of fun that
Bit of an exaggeration.
Not hard to find the conversion kit available online.
Yes, for a mere £115 you can convert your BSO into a non road-legal scooter.
This is how mopeds were born, as converted bicycles.
It's nonsense nowadays to use petrol engines in bicycles, but to be honest, the same can be said for cars
If the power limit/max speed is low enough, and emission levels are contained (so no 2-stroke engines), shouldn't be a problem.
Saw three boys on the Leeds Canal path riding something that look like this, about 2 months ago.
So I assume someone is selling them???
It's a shame the police don't know how to spell licence.
Saw a delivery rider on something similar in Reading a few weeks ago - pretty sure he worked for Deliveroo, as I'm sure we joked about getting hot food.