Want to see your hobby Legal in NY?

Hello from Colorado. You all are on a great endeavor. One thing to point out is this... You may buy less gas.. But.. Still .. You buy gas and that means you pay tax. So in this respect, you are paying and should be entitled to the road. More so than other bicycles that pay no tax at all and use the road. In effect, a person riding a motor assisted bicycle is entitled to use the road and a non motor assisted bicycle is not entitled. One pays road usage tax, the other not. Just wanted to point that fact out. Enjoy the ride...

As a long timer taxpayer and bicycle commuter I own just as much road as anybody else here or on any road. Just because I choose to use a bicycle for some of my miles does not mean that that form of transportation is not belonging on the road. Until the bicycle is outlawed, then watch out for all our freedoms, we all can share the road.

Both the law and a reasonable mind says that a bicyclist has a place on the road. He just rides to the right as possible and as any slow moving vehicle would do. He could be your ally too as he experiences similar problems and without bicycle technology there is no motorized bicycle.

Here where I live, you only pay tax for roads and paths when you buy fuel. Thanks..

Most bike riders drive and buy gas, but we all pay taxes. I can't say I own something that is owned by the community. Taxes are taxes, money stole from one person for another person's use.

thatsdax said:

Here where I live, you only pay tax for roads and paths when you buy fuel. Thanks..

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whenever you buy a product, you are paying for the use of all roads, through fuel taxes, and all road taxes generated through the trucking industry. We all share the cost, we all have the right to use them, that's why they are called public right of ways. We need to fight those that would restrict those rights unfairly for any mode of transportation. I wishb you New York MBers luck in your efforts to change this repressive attitude of the state.

Hey, Machiasmort (Marty), in regards to this posting of August 2008, did you get any responses ?? I live in Orange County, New York, near Newburgh, NY ... I have a genuine interest in putting a motor on my bike, but although I have the engine, I am hesitant to attach it and ride it. I spoke with Tech Services in Albany and they told me that there are several commercially made MB that you can purchase and register in New York state, with no problems, i.e, the Whizzer. However, how does my 49CC motor on my old mountain bike become a problem issue ?? Because I am the one who put the motor on it ?? If it needs safety equipment, such as healights, signals, tail lights, etc., no problem. I will gladly put them on. To be the only state that just flat out denies people to use a home made, low power, low speed, motorbike just because it says so in the VTL is nonsense. They won't even let you register it !!! Yet they will let you build your own custom car or motorcycle and even give you the VIN !!! I firmly believe that a hobbyist, a person who does motorbiking because he or she loves it, is going to everything in his/her power to keep it safe. I don't need anybody to tell me what is right and wrong and safe and unsafe. I am not going to ride my bike at night without lights, so I won't ride an MB without proper lights. I am really interested to see where the rest of the MB'ers in New York stand on this .... I am going to draft a letter to my New York Assembly person about this issue. I was just interested to see how many people feel the same way about this as I do. With enough people intersted, we could change the law. The electric assisted bike law passed the New York Assembly 127-1; it has been stuck in the Senate since March, where it was referred to Transportation. Anybody who is in New York, please reply to this posting, if you are interested in getting our 49CC motor bikes legalized as bicycles, so we don't have to be concerned about what we are doing. If anybody has any news about the Electric Bike Law, then please post it here. Thanks.

i live in upstate ny and i have a gas engine on my bike.
i will continue to use it.
im getting 200mpg with it.
its still a bicycle,people has been putting motors on bikes for a 100 years,long before than were motorcycles and cars.i have the same rights as people walking and riding there bicycles and the cars and trucks on the road.and why you can have a homebuilt motorcycle but not a homebuilt moped?what do i have to do,register my bike as a homebuilt trailer?lol...

i think the dmv is getting out of hand with inspections,registrations,insurance, what we can and cannot do,next you'll see people with license plates on there butts.

Cabinfever, I agree .... motors and bicycles have been around for a long, long time. You said it well ... we have the same rights as anyone else. If I can't register it or it isn't eligible for registration AND it really is just a bicycle with an assist motor on it, what's the problem ?? Like I said, hobbyist are usually the most meticulous and careful of people ... and they are usually the ones that lead to developments and discoveries in various fields, like radio, television, etc. That was done by a lot of amateurs and experimenters and hobbyist. So not only are we helping to save money and the amount of gasoline consumed, we may be the ones that discover the next new transportation device. You never know .... thanks for the post.

Having been in a politicaly active family I've learned to find a member of your state government who rides a motorcycle or is involved in the clean air movement and tell them what you are trying to do.
Show them good clean examples of the bike both gas and electric so they can talk from a knowledgeable position and show up so they can have a photo op with the bikes.
If they don't know about us they can't help us.
Remember also the politicos only present what the assistance prepare a lot of times.
Steve.