HELLO from OREGON

[lostlinfoot]

A big hello from the land of bogus and broken LAWS. what brings me to this forum is research. I built my first bike back in September and loved it, but had to build another even better, more beautiful chopper style bike. sold the first one for the money. have been riding my "green machine" for over 9 months and never had any problems until riding season. I have even had good conversations with some of the police here to find out the legalities of these things here in OR. no one seemed to have any problems and most cops seemed to admire my bike, but now all of a sudden, they are saying it is illegal.
I am tired of Oregon's taxation through Citation policies.

at any rate I have court on Tuesday and thanx to the forum and some links I think I have some pretty good Arguments to present to the Judge.

could you imagine have we had the cops today back when Harley and Davidson or even Henry Ford were building their Machines.......?

 

[wheelbender6]

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with the court case.

 

[Southgate Jonny]

Welcome to the forum, fellow newbie! Please keep us posted on the outcome, it seems like some states' motorized bicycle laws were written by the same folks who designed the duck-billed platypus.

 

[Desert Rat]

Greetings and Welcome to the forum!
It's all about the revenue and what did we used to do with revenuers?
lets just say it started with a telve (sic) gauge and pretty much ended with
that! AHH for the good ole days
LOL

 

[lostlinfoot]

LOL
i will post the out come as long as i can retain my freedom. and yeah. i miss the days when it was exeptable to throw a pie or rotten tomato in the face of bad poloticians. try it now and see what happens.

 

[xseler]

Howdy & welcome!!

Good luck to you!

 

[lostlinfoot]

Hi
thanx. /\ /\
but, I'm always lost. with or without gas. | see the name? up there? |
LOL, good on ya bra.

 

[Huffydavidson]

welcome to the forum dude . let me say this in the state of Missouri they're legal .if your under 50 CC's and 3 horsepower "allegedly". in Missouri it's considered a motor assisted bicycle .so no license plate no insurance no registration no safety inspection . however some local municipalities inside Saint Louis Can require you to wear a helmet and have operator's license meaning a driver's license. But don't and won't. its only considers of Motor Vehicle in two senses and that's homeowners and renters insurance I just in case the house burns down now is your transportation to work. what if I ever got drug into court for driving a motor vehicle suspended or revoked I'd beat it , because were right back to its a bicycle .so good luck Tuesday night try not to throw any chairs at the judge even though he deserves it . Meaning "He's Gona Get The Chair." LOL

 

[mabman]

If your motor is over 35cc's here in OR you won't have much of a case I am afraid. Although the Federal Regs allow for 50cc and under each state is allowed to set their own regs and OR has set theirs at the lower limit. At this time a 35cc Honda/RS/clone friction drive is probably your best and cheapest bet to ride under the radar here. Good luck in getting it resolved!

 

[Huffydavidson]

Dude that's a bummer . well they probably put me on death row. I'm running 68.5cc's octane booster 101 octane 7 Speed Shift kit and capable of 50 miles an hour and I know I've gotta be pushin over 6 horsepower.

 

[lostlinfoot]

If your motor is over 35cc's here in OR you won't have much of a case I am afraid. Although the Federal Regs allow for 50cc and under each state is allowed to set their own regs and OR has set theirs at the lower limit. At this time a 35cc Honda/RS/clone friction drive is probably your best and cheapest bet to ride under the radar here. Good luck in getting it resolved!

Moped
According to ORS 801.345, a moped:

1. Is designed to be operated on the ground upon wheels;
2. Has a seat or saddle for use of the rider;
3. Is designed to travel with not more than three wheels in contact with the ground;
4. Is equipped with an independent power source that is capable of propelling the vehicle, unassisted, at a speed of not more than 30 miles per hour on a level road surface; and if the power source is a combustion engine, has a piston or rotor displacement of 35.01 to 50 cubic centimeters regardless of the number of chambers in the power source; and

** 5. Is equipped with a power drive system that functions directly or automatically only and does NOT require clutching or shifting by the operator after the system is engaged.**

I got a DWS for riding a "moped" but under section 5 it clearly states it is only a moped if....
mine has a clutch!
am I wrong about this? I would really appreciate any ones interpretation. with this it might make my bike an actual Motorcycle now, according to the ORS. which wont help me win but get us closer to a clear definition of the laws here.

 

[mabman]

Sorry I must have missed the fact that the DWS was for a moped.

Also from the law book:

Note: A bicycle equipped with a power source may be classed as a moped if it meets all the moped requirements and also does not meet either the definition of an electric assisted bicycle as defined in ORS 801.258, or a motor assisted scooter as defined in ORS 801.348.

Mopeds must be titled and registered, but Oregon law specifically exempts motor-assisted scooters, electric assisted bicycles, and personal mobility devices from title and registration requirements.

The title and registration requirement, regardless of the clutch thing which is kind of a grey area in regards to china girls because they have a clutch but do not make use of it for shifting, as a VIN # is necessary and hard to provide for a kit bike.

So the way I have always read it is in order to skirt the Moped law the motor assisted scooter or e bike is the only way to be exempt here in OR. Electric works really well but is expensive to setup due to battery cost if you want any sort of range and power but the 35cc friction drive will move a bicycle along pretty well actually for a fair price.

Good luck with your day in court!

 

[lostlinfoot]

Sorry I must have missed the fact that the DWS was for a moped.

No, that's what it says on the ticket. they classified it as a moped. its a diamond back mountain bike with chopper forks and a 48cc china girl.
but I did fail to mention in my original post what I got the ticket for so, my bad.

also, when I read the ORS I took the clutch thingy to mean the difference between a centrifugal clutch and a manual clutch. most mopeds have centrifugal clutches. I don't know and court is tomorrow. I think that is the only leg I have to stand on. probably gonna get thrown in the hooscow, but oh well.

thanx for you input and interpretation, I want to say it was helpful but leaves me with more questions.
any way thank you.

 

[Dan]

Our clutch, with them being a one speed could easily and correctly be referred to as an engager.

In reading the statute, I think this would be the concern;

Can be propelled by motor or human propulsion; and
(4) Is equipped with a power source that is incapable of propelling the vehicle at a speed of greater than 24 miles per hour on level ground and:
(a) If the power source is a combustion engine, has a piston or rotor displacement of 35 cubic centimeters or less regardless of the number of chambers in the power source; or
(b) If the power source is electric, has a power output of not more than 1,000 watts. [2001 c.749 §2]

http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/801.348

Dunno and hope it helps

 

[lostlinfoot]

thanks Dan
but I have copied the entire ORS in text format to my phone along with the OR. bicycle manual and motorcycle/moped manual and more, shoot I even grabbed some Washington laws and put them on there.

OK.
don't know if anyone is actually following this but here is what happened in court today.
the judge turns out to be my next door neighbor, gotta love small towns uh?
I wasn't going to say anything about it until my name got called and the judge brought it up. so he says "MR. Hanson, you are my neighbor? is that correct?"
my response "yes sir that is correct"
the Judge. "depending on the out come of this case, your not going to........"
me. chuckling. "No sir, I'm not going to do anything to ya"
I didn't want to say in court that He is the one how give me my new helmet a few weeks ago.

so it goes on.
he reads my charges and tells me my options which I ponder briefly. then say to him "I believe my only option at this point is to plea 'not guilty' only because this law is very unclear and I think I need to see a lawyer or legal aid to help define them more clearly."

simple as that. plead not guilty and waiting for notification for counsel and trial.

on a brighter note, my neighbor "the judge" is a bicyclist. one of those earth muffin types that peddles for the environment and his health, and has actually stopped a few times to check out my bike. he has seen a lot of the changes my bike has gone through.
I'm pretty sure he thinks it kind of ridiculous and defeats the purpose of the bicycle having a motor on it, but I know he appreciates the alternative form of transportation theory behind it.

I guess for lack of a better place to post on this case I will continue to post the outcome here.
If anybody is following this.

 

[Southgate Jonny]

I am definitely following this thread, and appreciate the updates.

 

[curtisfox]

Yep been fallowing it also and wish you luck in court. I think its unfair the they restirct you to 35cc when most states if not all other is 50cc..........Curt

 

[Powertool]

I sure will be following this thread, hope it has a good outcome for you. Good luck--Keep up posted

 

[mabman]

Yup, you gotta love small towns. What options did they give you?

 

[scotto-]

Welcome to the forum and maintain your composure in court and you will prevail victorious

Ride safe and enjoy your greenery in Oregon cuz some things will never change.......