Illinois

i too also live in elgin,il and i havnt challenged the law on this yet cause my bike isn't done.but i am looking forward to it.ive lost my driving privileges in illinois and that is my cause for doing this build.ive delt with the legal system a long time here and i know its really bad. but i would fight it in court by bringing in 3 pictures ,one of a real moped, one of a bicycle and one of a bicycle with a 50 cc engine on it and ask the judge,what is this,this is nothing more than a bicycle,it is what it is.just cause i modified it with an engine doesn't turn it into a moped! its still a bicycle and as far as the law is wrote here,no one needs a drivers license to use a bicycle. i wouldn't really be pressing the issue of trying to register a motorized bicycle in this state either,cause thats what illinois wants,more control over its residents. just call it what it is ,a 'bicycle' and dont try to get it registered.

Hello outlawbiker,
Well, it looks like your in luck then, because according to the most recent update of SB0236 it is not a "motor vehicle", and therfore it does not need to be registered, and you do not need a valid drivers license to operate one.

Here's part of the text:
"Adds a definition for a "low-speed gas bicycle" and treats a low-speed gas bicycle the same as a low-speed electric bicycle in a provision regulating the use of low-speed bicycles and a provision excluding low-speed bicycles from the definition of a motor vehicle. Removes the requirement that a person have a valid current Illinois driver's license to operate an electric bicycle."

thats good news,thank you for that.

Does anyone know when this bill might pass?
I see it's waiting for the 3rd reading.
What are the steps it has to go through to pass?

It'll still have to go through the opposition and they'll have their three readings and ammending. If they do ammend it then the two sides will have to get together and compromise if they can until they both agree. Then the governor will have to approve it and sign it. No clue how long it will take or if it will even make it that far. I guess you can say it is at the end of stage one of three.

I'm not as optimistic about it now, the way Quinn is trying to create and raise new fees for everything I don't see it gathering a lot of steam in the near future. I hope I'm wrong but only time will tell. I have a feeling it will look drastically different if and when it does make it through the next 3rd reading.

......BUT untill then,are we able to drive a bicycle with an engine on it without a drivers license? (mine is revoked)

I think all of us living in IL really know better than to expect anything but oppressive laws and getting squeezed for all the revenue we can bleed.

I hate to sound so negative, but the use of emissions tests, BAID devices, red-light cameras, etc., seems to be increasing. The possibility of someone with a revoked license "getting away" with riding a motorized bicycle will not escape the controlling minds of our legislature and "concerned citizens".

I don't use my motor in town and I watch like a hawk, including the rear-view mirror, for the man. I'll kill it in a heartbeat. I am seriously considering a way to instantly, covertly, disable my motor. That way, the chance of getting convicted for driving an inoperable motored vehicle might be lessened.

Anyways, I hope everyone with MBs stays low-key. That's what I'm doing. Good luck.

From everything I have read you do need to have a valid drivers license as it is written now. Truthfully, I don't see that changing if and when these bikes are officially recognized in new laws.

If and when it does get close to passing and the requirement of being 16 and not needing a drivers license gets out, you're going to have orginizations like MADD jumping on board throwing their own wrenches into the mix.

I just ride it like I stole it! wear safety gear and act like you have a brain. Ive never had a problem. I go past the fuzz ghost pedaling

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FileStyleCycles

i would spend the time challenging this,seriously its a bicycle nothing else.like brad pit said in fight club,'sticking feathers up you butt doesn't make you in to a chicken' and the same goes for a bicycle with an engine on it! just because i put an engine on it doesn't turn it into a moped! the more people fret and and worry about this to the secretary of state the more damn rules and control illinois will have over people like us when they realize its a trend somewhere,next thing you know,we will be suckers for paying taxes on it and insurance to line the fat cats pockets here!

keep it quite while ensuring the issue,make sure we don't get screwed!!! why would you want to register a motorized bicycle to the secretary of state anyhow? to make it tougher on people to do their own? to pay for it? thats crazy!