mud2005 said:
hmmm, I'm staring to really wonder where these lines are drawn.
What about a bicycle with mirrors, horn, light and all the rest? could it be classified and registered as a moped if it goes over 30mph?
just thinking out loud here
Well that's what a moped is. It's just a bicycle with a motor.
It differs from state to state, but in mine (which I think is typical) is that:
1. It MUST have working pedals. A moped is a moped because it has pedals. If it doesn't it's a scooter. This is a legal definition for moped and if you see something advertised as a moped and it doesn't have working pedals then they are lying.
2. It MUST have a displacement less then 50cc.
3. It MUST have a top speed less then 30 mph.
4. It MUST have typical safety features like speedometer, headlight, brakelight, rear light, front and back brakes that activate the rear brake light. You MUST wear a helmet at all times.
5. No manual gear shift. (I think, not sure, I am sure that pedals are enough)
And that's pretty much it. On top of that your restricted to certain roads.. no getting on main highways or the interstate, for example. But that's about it.
In my state for a scooter you need a motorcycle's license, insurance, and registration. A scooter is treated like a motorcycle, same rules apply, although many scooters don't have the horsepower requirements for interstate travel.
For a moped there is no requirements for registration, title, insurance, or motorcycle license. It's more a 'bike' then a 'scooter'. (Of course you can register it and thus the cops are more likely to give a shit if it gets stolen) I called and talked to different sheriffs and DMV folk and some have told me that you need a drivers license, while others say it's just a age requirement. All the state statutes are online and searchable, but it's a bit foggy on that account.
of course this differs between states, but it's all pretty much the same: working pedals, displacement less then 50cc, top speed on level ground less then 30-35mph.
(on a side note:
In fact the only real tangible difference between a scooter and a motorcycle, on a technical level, is that a scooter has a automatic transmission while a motorcycle has a manual transmission. This causes them to have different shapes due to the transmission layouts, of course.)
When mopeds first started getting popular how you'd create them is you take one of those big old steel bikes and slap a Whizzer motor kit on those, and that is what the laws were originally designed to cover. But during the 70's and such the Japanese entered the market with specific-purpose mopeds which pretty much killed the American kit makers.
1949 Whizzer:
http://www.mopedarmy.com/photos/brand/116/10232/
Now a electric bicycle is like a moped, but without the safety equipment. As far as I can tell and thus is restricted to 20mph.
People (as in so-called authority figures) may give you crap about riding a moped on bicycle paths... but I figure they shouldn't if your not using your motor. (of course modern-ish mopeds are almost useless bicycles... and I should know, on my old moped I had in highschool I got about 300 feet on pedal-power alone before I broke the pedal clean off)
I don't think that my state has any official regulation regarding electric bicycles. So, in fact, if a cop decided to be a jerk they could probably give you a ticket for having a moped without brake lights.The Federal folks certainly have their rules, but it's not really up to the Federal folks to make decisions like that, even if they try to as far as I can tell. Your state laws are really the only relevant ones and if there is any conflict at all the state ones are ones that matter.
I am not a lawyer, BTW.
For me I know that all I really have to do to run my bike legally up to 30mph is add headlights and working brake lights, and wear a motorcycle helmet. DMV folks don't enter into it any. People in more 'liberal' states are probably going to run into many more difficulties, of course.
Having moped-like safety equipment is what you want to do anyways. (a 30mph accident on a motorcycle is often quite fatal, there is no reason why it won't be any different on a bicycle which has much worse suspension and braking...)