Is my trike bicycle still a trike bicycle

[BurntPain]

I enjoy motorized bike riding. I am disabled and can hardly walk much less pedal. So I have taken the sproket out of my bicycle and had foot pegs installed. I am also in the middle of changing 50cc 2 stroke to an 80cc 4 stroke. Will I need to get plates for this? Will I need to have a motorcycle license to ride it? Changing just these 2 things has me needing to know what I need to do to just cruise around the area without being harrassed by the police. Riding is fun so I just want to keep it that way. Just like swimming is fun. Just not in shark infested waters. Any help with this situation would be greatly appreciatted. I am in Houston Tx.

 

[wrench]

It all depends what state you live in as to if you need a M/C license or a Moped plate
Most states require a M/C license and a Moped plate even if you do have the pedals on it
Some states even require insurance Yes for a 49cc
Check your state DMV M/B Moped rules
I know ya said you live in Texas but I'll leave it up to you to check your state rules


Maybe ya should just put an orange safety whip flag on it and ride
If your local cops are cool they won't bother you
Or if ya do get pulled over I'm sure they will tell you the rules and hopefully just give you a warning

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

In the state of Texas the only self built gas engine vehicle you can legally operate on the public roadways is a motor driven scooter with up to a 40cc engine. A motor driven scooter must be capable of being human propelled either by kick or pedals. It can be a standing scooter or a seated scooter with 2 or 3 wheels.

Otherwise it has to be a certified manufactured vehicle. Texas updates a list of certified manufactured moped and moped like vehicles every 90 days. In some of the smaller cities in Texas they probably wouldn't bother you as long as you obeyed all the other traffic laws. Houston being a big city you'll probably get pulled over.

 

[fasteddy]

Hi BurntPain, Welcome to the forum. I understand what your going through since I'm in the same place health wise. I live in Canada where the laws are even more restrictive and gas motors are outlawed.

We are electric only for motorized bicycles. You may want to consider going that route but it isn't inexpensive but the cost is reasonable with some careful shopping. I purchase battery cells and batteries from China. Takes about a month to get them or anything else. I use AliExpress to make purchases because they hold the money in escrow for 75 days after you receive the goods to make sure you weren't scammed.

If you want more information let me know. There are others on here who can help as well.

Steve.

 

[BurntPain]

Thank you for your response. I did think about electric but it is just to expensive. I have tried to do the Ali Express thing. I just can't get how it works. What is 10 units or how do I talk to somebody at one of their connected shops. I mean I do the wish stuff so I could wait. I just want to be sure I am waiting on the right stuff. So any help with that would be appreciated. Also did you build your bike yourself when you got yours going. Cause I'd like to know how your pricing was on it. Thanks for any more help with that. In about a week. My bike will be done. But being where I am at, from the sounds of it I might need to get going on an electric version.

 

[fasteddy]

Hi BurntPain,

Sorry I'm late getting back to you but at 78 there just aren't as many usable hours as there were. My trikes are not the usual ones. If you look just next to your comments you will see the Indian Tri Car post. That is mine. Gas powered and the build thread is a long one. I had a bone infection show up in late 2013 and I'm still working with the aftermath of that which left me with severe arthritis.

Not much has been done with it in a long time though after a lot of false starts I hope to have it going soon.

This is the bike that I'm working on now. It's in the electric trike thread. Thread is named the The Epic an electric tri car. Why build something simple when you can complicate your life.

The Epic an electric tri car.

While I'm waiting for the parts to finish the Indian tri car I decided to build a vintage style electric tri car of my own design. It's started but due to our usual fall monsoon rains here in British Columbia I can only work a day or two every week with luck and it looks like next Tuesday will...

motorbicycling.com

Costing a build is hard because I'm in Canada and with the dollar difference the prices are different. Much more expensive here. I will over the next couple of days link you to sites I have found over the years.

If they were talking about 10 units or any set number of units you most likely were looking at AliBaba. That is their wholesale site. Look at AliExpress. This is the retail site. You can buy any number of products you want. For batteries and related parts I buy from the LiitoKala Official Store. They have proven trustworthy and make sure you are at the Official Store. Lot of resellers buy from them and don't back up their products.

Check to see how long a business has been there and their approval rating. Number sold of the item your looking at and the number of stars on their site. If they sold 2 or 3 I usually keep looking.

To contact a business look at the top of their page for their information. Email address is usually there if not on the page it's self.

When I first started building bikes I built a bike with a side car that was electric. I bought everything from a local company and it cost me far more than it should. If I were to build your trike the quick and easy way out would be a hub motor front wheel and a 48v/52v battery. If your doing a lot of riding probably a 25Ah/30Ah battery. The more Ah or amp hours the greater the battery capacity.

Look at the Ebike School. He will teach you a lot.

I'll be back to give you more information and I'm sure others will add to it.

Steve.