Illinois

[outlawbiker]

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.

 

[ChopperChad]

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."

 

[outlawbiker]

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.

 

[Westend Bikes]

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?

 

[cls74]

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.

 

[outlawbiker]

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

 

[a_dam]

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.

 

[cls74]

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.

 

[FileStyle]

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

 

[outlawbiker]

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 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!

 

[cls74]

Well, looks like we'll be known as mopeds before we know it. HB1181 is starting to pick up steam. Went from the house to the senate yesterday. Had the first reading today.

Not sure how this will affect HB0236, but if they classify us as a moped I would think it would make it rather difficult to exempt us as electric. Hopefully it will stall or possibly get ammended to reflect HB0236 wording.

 

[ChopperChad]

The way I understood it, HB1181 was only reflecting the changing of "motorized pedicycle" to "moped". And SB0236 was adding the definition for a "low-speed gas bicycle" which is exempt from the "motor vehicle" definition.

I called Senator Steans office and verified that my interpretation is correct (as stated in the previous posts).
Steans office was very positive on all this passing, and if/when it does, even downtown Chicago people will be able to drive the low speed gas bicycles.

So, basically, they are not trying to make us mopeds, that's what we were before. They are recoginizing us as motor assisted bicycles, and they are only putting some limitations on us, e.g. the 20mph speed limit.

 

[cls74]

I guess I'm guilty of being a pessimist at times. I had been following the progress of SB0236 and was caught off guard when I seen HB1181 rushed through the first 3 readings. I took it as trying to close a loophole or something. Seems every legal thread you read people are adamant of not deeming these as mopeds, but rather a bicycle with engine assist. Was under the impression a moped classification was not a good thing.

Thanks for the updates with phone calls and helping to clear up any misconception I may have created.

 

[cls74]

The wheels are rolling, seen they have an ammended/engrossed version of all changes to the moped/motorized pedalcycle. This is also a good read, although long, for anyone wanting to read everything in Illinois law as it stands that included the words motorized pedalcycle. Looks like we very well could be mopeds after all. This has not passed yet and things can and probably still will change, but this is the newest update to be had.

HB1181eng
HB1181eng 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

This will answer Outlaw Biker's question. Now, this could change if SB0236sam001 were to pass as well.

"No person shall operate a motor vehicle unless such person has a valid license with a proper classification to permit the operation of such vehicle, except that any person may operate a moped motorized pedalcycle if such person has a valid current Illinois driver's license, regardless of classification". NOTE: Motorized pedalcycle is slashed for deletion and altered to read moped in this quote, didn't copy and paste as such

 

[outlawbiker]

how is that good news for someone in my situation ???? i thought we are trying to individualize are selfs away from being considered mopeds,hence the drivers license ,the insurance and the registration?

 

[a_dam]

I was thinking that someday in Illinois, every bicycle, if ridden by someone with strong legs, will be considered a motor vehicle. More laws, more lawyers, more money.
That made me think about the possibility of someone who lost his/her legs, having mechanical prosthetics (6 million dollar legs). Would they classify that person/bike combination as a motor vehicle? In Illinois, probably. If this person was riding his bike after drinking a few beers, he would get a DUI and have to get an interlock installed on his legs. He couldn't walk without first blowing into a tube and having his breath analyzed.
I guess I won't saw off my legs after all.

 

[cls74]

how is that good news for someone in my situation ???? i thought we are trying to individualize are selfs away from being considered mopeds,hence the drivers license ,the insurance and the registration?

I'm not sure how it is all going to pan out when it is said and done. ChopperChad said in his conversation with her office that this was all good for us, I don't know much more than what can be read in previous links. The only thing I can say is to read this link again:

Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB0236

The ammendment added to it asks that "low speed gas bicycles" and electric bicycles be considered one and the same "low speed bicycles". It also seeks to drop the provision a drivers license be required to operate.

Also, both the original SB0236 and the ammendment include wording to the effect removing low speed bicycles from the definition of a "motor vehicle". No insurance, plates etc.

 

[outlawbiker]

i think i read it wrong from time to time, looks like to me they are gonna make it legal to use a MB without a drivers license.....i hope anyway. good digging to find the progress on this bill by the way and keeping us notified.

i get very aggravated when i hear more negative news towards motorized bicycles and laws against them and i jump the gun sometimes even mis reading things cause im so used to nothing but negative stuff that happens in this state on a day by day basis ,ive been jerked around by Illinois's very corrupted,one sided government for the better part of 15 years now.building,owning and riding a bicycle with an engine on it was my last place to turn for sanctuary from the evil hands of Illinois,this is something im ready to gamble on the day i get busted on my bike if there isnt a revision on the law and/or how it is implied. because i will fight every bit of the law in court over it,and challenge them if it has to go there,which i hope it doesn't.

 

[Crosshair]

I have also been following SB0236 since I just purchased two 2009 Ezips. My take as to the type of motorized pedacycles that bills SB0236 and HB1181 are for:

SB0236 = reclassifies a motorized pedacycle with a motor of less than 750 watts (one horsepower) and whose top speed is less than 20 mph as a low-speed bicycle. It will exclude low-speed bicycles from the definition of "motor vehicle".

HB1181 = renames a "motorized pedalcycle" as a "moped". It also redefines a moped as as motor-driven cycle whose top speed is at least 20 mph but not greater than 30 mph with a motor that produces 2 brake horsepower or less.


I believe HB1181 ties into the another bill, SB1351, which will try to amend the Illinois Vehicle Code to require every operator and passenger on a motorcycle, motor driven cycle, or motorized pedalcycle to wear a helmet that meets federal safety standards.

Here it is ... Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB1351


.

 

[cls74]

I have also been following SB0236 since I just purchased two 2009 Ezips. My take as to the type of motorized pedacycles that bills SB0236 and HB1181 are for:

SB0236 = reclassifies a motorized pedacycle with a motor of less than 750 watts (one horsepower) and whose top speed is less than 20 mph as a low-speed bicycle. It will exclude low-speed bicycles from the definition of "motor vehicle".

HB1181 = renames a "motorized pedalcycle" as a "moped". It also redefines a moped as as motor-driven cycle whose top speed is at least 20 mph but not greater than 30 mph with a motor that produces 2 brake horsepower or less.


I believe HB1181 ties into the another bill, SB1351, which will try to amend the Illinois Vehicle Code to require every operator and passenger on a motorcycle, motor driven cycle, or motorized pedalcycle to wear a helmet that meets federal safety standards.

Here it is ... Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB1351


.

I seen SB1351 while doing a search for other Bills that were introduced or sponsored by Steans. It seems as though she is a necessary evil right now. She's pushing for these bikes to be legal and accepted as such, but yet wants to require helmets for all motor driven cycles.

The good part is we have a good voice in our support for getting these bikes legal, but we have an even greater mass voice opposing the helmet requirements. Most motorcycle groups aren't really going to give much thought to the motor-bicycles one way or the other. But I guarantee every one of them will speak up on the helmet bill.