Purely Hypothetical...

GoldenMotor.com

jolfstn

Member
Oct 30, 2011
112
2
18
Seattle, WA
Greetings From Oregon... a state not at all friendly to our favorite mode of transport. I'm in the process of motorizing a bicycle, and my plant is a 66cc. I've seen clutch covers indicating 48cc as a potential disguise (hypothetical because that would be misleading) but Oregon says 35cc is the limit. 35cc displacement and 24MPH max. Assuming I simply avoid being seen exceeding 24 MPH would it be believable that this motor is 35 cc if it was somehow labeled so?
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Perhaps not to members here as we know what the average 49/66 engine looks like, but your average traffic cop? Of course if I'm seen going too fast, perhaps even accelerating too fast my jig is up, but I'd like to give it a try. If one made a phony engine ID plate and kept it slow, could one pass for legal? Again, purely hypothetical as I do not endorse illegal misleading behaviour. Merely wondering if it might work.
.shft.
 

decoherence

New Member
Aug 23, 2010
476
2
0
sebring,fl
it seems very possible.
an officer in these forums mentioned that he was worried more about driving behaver & speed over cc's.
also a member had another officer tell him about the same thing.
i have even seen a vender mention doing the cc name swap on their site.

the truth of the matter is that almost any none chinese 50cc can run circles around the 66cc engines.
 

happyvalley

New Member
Jul 24, 2008
784
1
0
upper Pioneer Valley
Hypothetically, in the short run you might be okay because they're probably not paying a lot of attention. Eventually, who knows? The good thing about Oregon, unlike some states, is they have a well defined moped law but it's only good as long as you're okay with 35cc. If they ever really wanted to amp up the on road inspection process it would be an easy matter for them to program common engine profiles in their database and available to officers on-board laptops. In that scenario, falsifying engine info probably wouldn't be the best idea, lol.
 

Kahlas

New Member
Nov 27, 2011
72
0
0
Illinois
Will probably only work until the cops learn to recognize the mirror image copy magneto covers that seem to all be made by the same people. Or the fresh bolts on a old corroded motor. People forget that cops are people just like us and some of them are pretty smart.
 

The_Aleman

Active Member
Jul 31, 2008
2,653
4
38
el People's Republik de Kalifornistan
I've been on bicycles since the early 80's, and always had the least trouble when I rode like I cared about laws.

Well, I actually do, but I don't worry. Riding responsibly is the best way to fly under the radar. More time to enjoy the ride!
 

jolfstn

Member
Oct 30, 2011
112
2
18
Seattle, WA
good advice, alman. I read about a guy who was stopped here in my city in 2009 on an HT bike, due to lack of reflectors/lights. was found to be inebriated and in possession of controlled substance, leading one to believe had his bike been properly equipped he would have been left alone.
 

The_Aleman

Active Member
Jul 31, 2008
2,653
4
38
el People's Republik de Kalifornistan
Definitely! I can't count how many times I've gotten in more trouble than I should because of some minor thing I overlooked.

License plate light got me twice in Orange County, CA. Don't give em a reason to pull you over, don't look sneaky, and they leave ya alone.

Keeping it under 30 and pedaling is my game, and I'm Milton Bradley.
 

Kahlas

New Member
Nov 27, 2011
72
0
0
Illinois
good advice, alman. I read about a guy who was stopped here in my city in 2009 on an HT bike, due to lack of reflectors/lights. was found to be inebriated and in possession of controlled substance, leading one to believe had his bike been properly equipped he would have been left alone.
I'll bet if he had been sober and not had any other problems he would have been left with a warning. The excuse to pull someone over(lack of reflector) is only used to fish for people up to worse things.