Ontario Bike Engine Owners

Mopedamauter79 · #1 04-02-2008, 01:53 AM

Just wondering if anyone in Ontario with there bikes have had any run in with the local police. I did and I got a fine for no back brakes and no helmet. It was funny to as the cop was British and was like "where is your crash hat"

I tried to explain to the guy I was only out for test run and everything was not fully hooked up yet. Still gave me two $110 fines which I fought. What I did is that same day I went to Canadian tire and got the cheapest back brakes I could find and then a helmet that was comfortable to wear. The bike had the old U brake style brakes and I had not figured out how to get them to work right yet. The cheapo brakes where for show only.

After that I headed over to Wal Mart and got a light for the front that does not need batteries. You just crank it for 1 minute for 20minutes of light. I also got back light. I went to the ticket place in Ottawa and explain I was taking it out for a test run and that I had got the stuff I needed. I showed him the receipt and I got the fines reduced to a total of $40 all together and 90 days to pay.

deacon · #2 04-02-2008, 06:13 AM

Gee down here all I had to do was not run over anybody. I do wear a helmet with the gas bike. I don't even do that with the electric.

Bikeguy Joe · #3 04-02-2008, 06:19 AM

Wow, what a way to get started....

toytime · #4 04-02-2008, 09:08 PM

very odd that that was all he ticketed you for, seeing that it is a "motorized vehicle" but it sounds like you just got the green light. Just ride like a well mannered adult and obey the rules and you should be fine.

I still don't understand why but they seem to leave me alone. I do pretend to be peddling at all times and do the old kill the engine and peddle thing when I see them though. There are times that I come around a corner though and sort of get caught but I still kill the engine and peddle. After 8 months or so I now ride past the OPP and local police station and have yet to be bothered.
As for the helmet laws, they are for younger riders, I think 18 and under.
I think the cops are not sure of the laws any longer because of the changes with electric bikes. I know for sure that if it was a pocket bike, I'd be stopped within minutes.

Mopedamauter79 · #5 04-02-2008, 09:44 PM

I still don;t take my chances if I see the cops ahead of time I kill the engine and just pedal till there out of range. Every cop is diff. Your going to have a cop that's having a bad day or wants to be a jerk.

**paul** · #6 04-02-2008, 09:45 PM

at least they reduced you fine a little. i always ride with a helmet. i use a regular bicycle helmet and don't even relize i have it on. kinda like a seatbelt you get used to it and its no big deal

Mopedamauter79 · #7 04-03-2008, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRUISER

at least they reduced you fine a little. i always ride with a helmet. i use a regular bicycle helmet and don't even relize i have it on. kinda like a seatbelt you get used to it and its no big deal

That's all I use as well. I have a helmet that's comfortable and I sometimes forget I have it on.

Mopedamauter79 · #8 05-06-2009, 08:54 PM

I'm bumping this up because my mom called me and told me someone in Kitchener where she is got fined $500 from a cop who decided he was gonna be a jerk. Told the guy he needed to insure it and that. I've been down that road. You cannot insure a mountain bike with a simple motor on it. The insurance companies need a make , model and year. You use the clutch handle and it becomes a bike.. It has a motor but at the end of the day it's still a fully functioning mountain bike. I would gladly insure it if possible.

I looked over the Mto site and these bikes neither fall into the E bike's or the moped's. It's in between and in a grey area of the road law. Has anyone heard anything new on the laws regarding these motor's ?

Rockenstein · #9 05-07-2009, 02:35 AM

I have heard no new news regarding bicycles with motors...doubt we will either because I'm sure the powers that be are hoping we are a short lived fad like the pocket bike thing was. I don't think there is enough of us either to have an impact on things with regards to new laws for us or against us. The e bike community managed to gather enough support and got the e bike pilot project thing happening here in Ontario but one odd thing is that for guys like us that would likely build an e bike from a bunch of parts we can purchase online we'd be in the same situation as we are in right now with the gas motors. Ontario's e bike pilot project does not include a power assisted bicycle that can't prove it meets federal standards, only e bikes that meet federal standards and have a sticker to prove it are included in the pilot project so says the MTO.

toytime · #10 05-07-2009, 07:38 AM

As soon as you put a gas engine on anything in Ontario, it's a 'motorized vehicle'. There are no grey areas.
On the other hand, if one were to have a certified moped already in your name, there are no laws stopping you from 'customizing' your bike. A cop once told me that this was how bikers in the sixties got away with chopper forks that were five feet long. It's sort of like a VW Bug with a Fiberglass body kit. It may look like an Italian sports car but the ownership will say VW.
By the time you got lights, signals , horn and all that needs to be done, it may not be worth the bother.