motorized bike laws in south australia

Just don't let'em catch ya n know ya roads n ride the meanest mf ya can get ya hands on like ya said it's a $1000 if ya get caught so betta get crackin...
Lol I wouldn't really do that and it's dumb bad advice sorry for my useless input..

There has been attempts on the other motorbicycling form to get Australian members to write letters to get law changed, the threads eventually petered out with nothing coming of them... The law in every state is 200watt assist, simple as that, the 48cc engines (other than the rock solid 200watt things) are ilegal.

I run a system capable of 10 000watt peaks but haven't been looked at twice by a cop as i ride an ebike, makes very little sound, the motor is the size of a coke can with '130 watt' sticker on it so doesn't look poweful at all ;-P long as i am not busted doing 80 clicks and then, even if i am a simple flick of a switch i can have a legal 200watt output by limitimg controller via the cycle analyst, they can dyno it too their hearts content will still be under the 200watt limit

Guaranteed as petrol prices rise, more young people with little regard for road laws climb on these bikes the law will start cracking down on every gasser they see...your time is limited folks enjoy it while it lasts ;-)

KiM

How did you install that limiting controller? That's very interesting...

And i need a 200watt sticker to use too... -_-

Yes would be ideal to have 750watt or so but i dont see it happening, recent talks are to up the power to 250watt BUT the bike also must be fitted with pedelec system....laws here regarding motorised bikes are a joke IMHO... e-bikes can get away with it now due being a lil more "stealth" than the gasser bicyles....for now....but those with more than 200watt e-bikes will eventually get caught as more start riding and the Police become more familiarized with e-bikes...we are all on borrowed time IMO

KiM

750watt isn't enough given the fact that a lot of engines imported at at least 1.2kw to 1.4kw - like my one...

You'd really have to purchase specifically from an Australia shop like Rock Solid to get within that 750 limit, let alone the current 200 limit.

Sucks...

I'm amazed to learn that your bike assist motors are limited to 200 watts. As a broke guy in mid-Illinois, USA, my twisted image of Aussies comes from the outback and Crocodile Dundee (I said it was twisted). From loosely following some of Kim's incredible builds I thought you had unlimited power, real FREEDOM.

None of us have true freedom anymore, but 200 watts is way out of date. The smallest hub motor I've even seen is 250 watts. Here we are allowed up to 1 hp or 750 watts. The catch is that the bike must not exceed 20 mph on level ground with a 170 lb. rider. As if that makes sense.

Of course a 1 hp limit on gas engines should limit them to maybe 25cc to 32cc. Most of the builders use 66cc china girls which are cheap but way over powered (for a 1 hp law). I fear a repeal of our 1 hp law because of the bad rep of the 66cc bikes.

I would go electric if I could afford batteries that could handle 25 miles a day, even in colder weather.

Good luck, don't get a ticket. Even worse - don't get confiscated!

I was talking to a friend who was researching into this because he was interested in one but didn't know electric or gas, and he spoke to someone who was using electric which did really well.

It had your basic speed of 10-14mph (~20km/h), and lasted for good distances, about 50km (guy used it for getting to work and back). It's simply the fact that it is extremely expensive to do electric...

I'm eventually thinking of trying to fix the old 200w engine myself and if that works, stick to it; just to keep under some kind of law because from what I was told by someone from VicRoads (traffic authority), we're not even allowed these in Victoria... -_-

bitsnpieces said:

It's simply the fact that it is extremely expensive to do electric...

Click to expand...

Initially maybe, long term it works out very cheap. You say 'extremely expensive' so we will use 'extremely expensive' battery pack as an example...Lifep04 pack 600 bucks good for 2000 full cycles which works out to about 5 years charging it full cycle daily (which is unlikely the pack is good for in excess of 50km) it cost under 10 cents to charge a 48v 20ah lifepo4 pack the brushless electric motor, one moving part they last for looong time... After initial costs you have nothing to spend for many years outside of small fee too charge and the bikes mechanical components i.e brakes tires etc... So yes, the initial cost might be high, long term, you pay very little too run your electric bike. In 5 years how many happy time motors will you go through ot at least cyclinders and liners? how much in 5 years will you pay for fuel and 2 stroke oil?

People might think i'm anti gasser truth is i would have a 10hp watercooled pocket bike motor in my custom bikes in a heartbeat if i knew i had a slight chance of getting by the Police, i don't so i turned to high powered lecky bikes, they are well over10hp and can be ridden anywhere without attracting unwanted attention....for now anywayz i'm sure this will change in coming years as motorized bikes gain in popularity as the fuel prices continue to rise.

KiM

KiM said:

Initially maybe, long term it works out very cheap. You say 'extremely expensive' so we will use 'extremely expensive' battery pack as an example...Lifep04 pack 600 bucks good for 2000 full cycles which works out to about 5 years charging it full cycle daily (which is unlikely the pack is good for in excess of 50km) it cost under 10 cents to charge a 48v 20ah lifepo4 pack the brushless electric motor, one moving part they last for looong time... After initial costs you have nothing to spend for many years outside of small fee too charge and the bikes mechanical components i.e brakes tires etc... So yes, the initial cost might be high, long term, you pay very little too run your electric bike. In 5 years how many happy time motors will you go through ot at least cyclinders and liners? how much in 5 years will you pay for fuel and 2 stroke oil?

People might think i'm anti gasser truth is i would have a 10hp watercooled pocket bike motor in my custom bikes in a heartbeat if i knew i had a slight chance of getting by the Police, i don't so i turned to high powered lecky bikes, they are well over10hp and can be ridden anywhere without attracting unwanted attention....for now anywayz i'm sure this will change in coming years as motorized bikes gain in popularity as the fuel prices continue to rise.

KiM

Click to expand...

Tell me... How much power will a 200watt electric motor provide? Will it go up hills easily? How far will it take me before I need to charge it again?

I don't know if electrics go by cc's also, but 50cc 200watt, what would I get out of it?

It has to be 200watt...

My current 50cc 1400watt fuel/gas can go up small hills but on steeper ones, it has no guts to go up them.

200watt motor won't provide much, its 200watt or 0.26hp (there-a-bouts) If you wish to stay legal and use a 200watt electric motor, i think the elation chain drive setup would be your best option forget any hub motor at this wattage your wasting your money, the elation uses the bikes original gearing, you will actually get some performance on hills but it is 200watt don't expect to be blasting up a hill it is an assist... 200watt Gasser hahaha what an absolute joke, starved within an inch of actually not running at all and you pay what 400 bucks for it!?! ridiculous you pay more for less performance... The 50cc HT motors have very poor torque thus not a great hill climber, a 750watt electric would fly past it on hills, i know i have had one and did fly past my brothers 50cc gasser WITH a jackshaft setup, port polish and tuned pipe, did i mention my electric motor was on a heavy trike? where i live we have very few flat roads. I would also recommend looking at Cyclone Taiwans website get there 500watt kit and ask Paco to slip on some 200watt stickers before it ships and your good to go ;-)

Best of luck

KiM

p.s how far will it go per charge....will depend on many factors, how its ridden where its ridden and what size battery you have, what chemistry is that battery etc etc etc
it is no problem to get 100km range per charge on an electric if you have the battery to do it.

It's all about politics and vested interests. The cops are simply instrumental, technically speaking.
But if we ride smart-"under the radar" and not ride to be seen, then I am sure we collectively can exhaust their efforts, cos it will cost them more to police us than what it's worth. That's the theory. There will always be the newbe who gets excited and wants to do a show n tell to the world at the traffic lights.

People power, is the best option it seems. And yes, trying to get a transport minister to look at the 200 Watt thing, there has to be a angle that gets their attention.
The biggest hurdle is a collective force with an agreed internationally recognized set of standards for the MB concept. It must be bullet proof and be prepared to go under a lot of scrutiny by the greenies, the professional pedal pacers, goody 2 shoes, etc etc.
So it becomes an "image" thing to. Safety is another thing to expect.

And here is another thing I'll throw in....,
What if, what if it comes down to the count and we have to pay some sort of fee to use the roads cos we have a motor on our bikes, but we are then allowed to have speed limits rather than Watt limits?
So in essence, our MB is speed limited rather than power limited, but we get to stay on the road for a small fee, less than a 50cc scooter?

This will keep most "happy" on the "free lunch" side of the argument.
All the Gov wants, ( any Gov. be it Libs, Labs, Dems or Greens etc )
is a money stream to their coffers. They will get it from the cops anyway as a $1000 fine every now and again, or they can get 1000 MB owners willingly prepared to pay $50 per year to be on the road at a speed limited MB rather than a Watt limited idea that is way out dated.

That cost will be no where near as the cost of running a car if one does the math.

The price of fuel, the cost of electricity and the money we pay going to
off- shore private investors will force this debate, if it is done right.
Or, stuff it all, soon the price of everything will be so expensive, it becomes a ful anarchy thing, there will to many of us for them to worry about, cos some other frustrated nutcase will probably be keeping the cops too busy for them to worry about a MB rider who simply needs to get to work, but the cost of a car is too high.
The ball sits fair and square in the politicians side no matter what, $1000 fines or whatever, this concept of a bike with a engine in today's current $$$-turbulence-$$$ will not go away.
It's the logical and natural alternative

Well said Bikeroz..... well said. If only the polititions were as forward thinking as you.

Ive ridden my 66cc Kroon past police on a number of occasions, even had a policeman checking it out while i was in Subway and he didnt say a word. I wear my helmet, follow road rules (unlike when i ride my bicycles). And its a very vintage looking thing, i think that helps a little. People seem to get a kick out of it. But im sure ive just been lucky so far.......

Ive since built a couple of bikes with bigger engines and have intentions of riding them. Im sure sooner or later i will be caught by a cop having a bad day, i see an electric build in my future

I dont know how rocksolid de-tune these motors so much and if they could they must be pigs to ride. Im thinking of making a sticker with some bogus company name and abn similar to rocksolid's . In my opinion the cheapest and only way to reduce thes motors to 200w ( in the eyes of the law . If it works for R/S why wont it for me)

There is a bike on ebay right now which has this link in the ad.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~kevinbates1/power_assisted_bicycle.pdf

Straight from the dept of Transport.

Should be pretty easy to play with the spark plug gap to detune if you had to get your bikes power checked at Regency Park

Could also put smaller intak gasket etc . Im goin the sticker