The Real Deal on California Law.

[motobike]

Mysterysandwich, I know alot of black jokes. If I tell them just to my friends, does that make it ok? Please wear a helmet!

madmaxmad, Are you referring to N.east Tulsa, or N.west?

gerra229, When I was just a little boy, an older kid stole my bike. When I caught up to him , he hit me so hard, I ended up "giving" him my bike. He happened to be "black". Wear a helmet too!

 

[BarelyAWake]

This thread is for the discussion of California Law in regards to motorized bicycling. Any continuation or perpetuation of racial discussion, discrimination or conflict is highly inappropriate and will be removed, infractions added as deemed necessary.

 

[gera229]

Anyway, Bairdco, what bike are you riding? What kit are you using? A Grubee chinagirl? You claim to be riding like 45mph with your engine, how's your acceleration? Is your engine modified and does it have an expansion chamber?

 

[fatdaddy]

I've only recently started experimenting with opening up the intake, exhaust and pipes on the HT's. Increasing fuel, air and exhaust flow. The first time I took out that POS baffle convinced me. Of course, They run a little louder and the cops might notice, but I'll take that chance for the increased performance.
I just lately put an expansion chamber on my 49cc goped motored tadpole trike, I'll NEVER put the stock exhaust back on unless it saves me a ticket. I carry the stock exhaust in my tool bag just in case a cop wants to give me greif over the noise. That little trike went from "fun to ride" to "AWESOME". Moves like a REAL go cart now. (see post #359 for pics.) That little square box they call an exhaust is useless.
fatdaddy.

 

[MysterySandwich]

Okay, will stop I promise.

 

[bairdco]

if you check my album on my profile, most of my bikes are there, and theres a bunch of build threads for them.

they've all been grubee chinas, and honestly, i'm sick of them.

there oughtta be a law about importing foreign junk into america... (note how i used racial overtones as well as a law reference? then i threw in the smileyface so you go, "oh, he's just kidding...")

Anyway, Bairdco, what bike are you riding? What kit are you using? A Grubee chinagirl? You claim to be riding like 45mph with your engine, how's your acceleration? Is your engine modified and does it have an expansion chamber?

 

[fatdaddy]

I've been riding my little homemade 49cc tadpole trike for about 2 1/2 years now, never pulled over untill last night. Went to 7-11 to get a cold drink and a cop blocked me in and walked over to me. I kinda knew what was up, so the first thing I said to him was, It's a bicycle officer, and handed him the print out I carry of DMV 406. His response was, "looks like a go cart to me". I said, no sir, It's a motorized bicycle, see the peddles? He read my card, then got a little quick reference book from his car and started grilling me. Headlights,(Yes sir.) tail lights,(Yes sir.) brake lights,(Yes sir.) turn signals,(Yes sir.) (He forgot horn and mirror,) and asked me how fast it goes. I said, About 28mph if I scream it. ( I think it does a little better, but I wasn't telling him that.)
I went through all this with a smile on my face and A LOT of "Yes sir's". All he could do, Without another word to me, is walk away. SO, as he was walking I said, You have a nice day officer. I saw his shoulders hunch a little and I swear I saw his neck turn purple. I KNOW he REALLY wanted to give me a ticket, FOR ANYTHING. I'm just glad he didn't get to the M-2 and registration part of his little book.
So all in all it wasn't a totally bad experence. I got my cold drink, Another cop got schooled in MB's, And no ticket. Doesn't get any better than that.
fatdaddy.

 

[gera229]

I would want to carry a print out of DMV 406 too. Seems like a nice idea. Did you just copy and paste 406 to word and print out from this website: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d01/vc406.htm
Or does the print out look a little more than just that so it looks legit.
There are no laws in that printout, it's just a definition of a motorized bicycle.

 

[GearNut]

I like a happy ending, fatdaddy. Way to go!
One thing though...
Turn signals?! We don't need no stinking turn signals on MB's in Kaliforgnia!
I suppose that they are a good idea, but they are not a requirement.
At one time I thought that they were required too, but then I got schooled on that.
If the cop read that from his little book, I would like to know when the law was changed.

Click here for CVC 24015.

 

[gera229]

Also you rode it for 2 1/2 years? That thing seems to be a reliable chinese engine compared to a CAG. I don't know how the power compares though.
I would really like to see what kind of mounts it has? (Have pictures? I can send you my email via PM well cause this is kind of off topic)

 

[fatdaddy]

Yer right about the turn signals Gearnut, I just threw that at the cop to keep him thinking about something else besides M-2 and reg.
gera, I just copied and printed it out with the DMV heading on top to make it look official.
As for my trike engine. I started out with the standard 33cc goped engine and rode that for about 1 1/2 years, No problems. I put the 49cc on it just under a year ago. So far no problems at all. I put an expansion chamber on it a couple weeks ago and doubled the performance.
The mounts are the regular goped mounts. You can see a pic of it in my album. I call her Tri-Baby.
fatdaddy.

 

[gera229]

In that code it says adequate brakes, I hope the normal bicycle brake pads qualify for that.
If I have a rear light, does that eliminate the need for a reflector?
Can I use a tape on reflector or does it have to be a reflector that you bolt on the bike like those square shaped reflectors on bicycles?

 

[jburr36]

In that code it says adequate brakes, I hope the normal bicycle brake pads qualify for that.
If I have a rear light, does that eliminate the need for a reflector?
Can I use a tape on reflector or does it have to be a reflector that you bolt on the bike like those square shaped reflectors on bicycles?

The code seems vague but if you really want to be certain dig online until you find some chart, graph, or language which defines a ratio of speed and stopping distance in your state.

You have to consider that a motorized bicycle will generally will be going much faster on average than a non-motrized bicycle unless you're in the Tour de France. Normal rim type bicycle brakes are rather inadequate for controlling average speeds greater than 15 mph. They'll get hot and wear out pretty fast or damage the rim by warping it. I had my front tire blow out at 30 mph because of excessive heat caused by rim brakes. I ended up building new wheels with heavy duty drum brakes. If you have disc brakes you'd be better off.

As for the reflector most states require a front and rear reflector as well as reflectors in the spokes of both wheels. These are based on federal guidelines and a bicycle cannot legally be sold commercially without them. If you are replacing a rear reflector with a light find a light that is also a reflector. Such combos are really good. If you have just a regular light you should also have a reflector and reflector tape may work. Again if you dig online you can probably find some info on what your state requires for reflectors pertaining to visability at a certain maximum distance.

 

[fatdaddy]

In that code it says adequate brakes, I hope the normal bicycle brake pads qualify for that.
If I have a rear light, does that eliminate the need for a reflector?
Can I use a tape on reflector or does it have to be a reflector that you bolt on the bike like those square shaped reflectors on bicycles?

Most regular bike brakes are capable of locking the wheel quite nicely. So yeah, normal brakes are cool.
If you have a rear light it would take some kind of A-hole cop to hassle you about a reflecter. But if you're worried, any cheap little red reflecter will work. Just put it above or below your light. I've got a lot of them just laying around off of old bikes, I'm sure you do too, So stick one on, no biggie. You're supposed to have side reflectors on it too.( the white ones.) Most bikes come with those stuck in the spokes. Again, It would take a real tool of a cop to give you grief over it, but their easy to put on the bike also, so again, no biggie. Tape on reflector might work "but", we're talking about that one cop looking to give you a ticket, So use a REAL one. If you look at most red reflectors they will have a certification or lot number on it to track it back to the maker. This shows that it passed whatever test for reflectors they give it. And yes, they have to "reflect" a certain amount of light to pass.
All I have on both my bikes are tail lights, no reflectors. Of course I also have headlights, brake lights turn signals and horn. All of that is required except the turn signals. I just couldn't do all that work and not put on the turn signals. Besides, It's safer than sticking out your arm to signal a turn at 35mph on a BICYCLE.
So it just depends on how tuff the cops are in your area. If most of the cop there have a stick up their *****, Then ya gotta do whatever it takes to keep them off your ***.
fatdaddy.

 

[reb1]

In California the reflective strip that comes on many european tires is allowed instead of the wheel reflectors. If you are adding a reflector especially to the rear a standard automotive refletor is superior to the cpsc crap that they make for bicycles. Cheap caliper brakes that you find on some low end bikes are not good enough. The cantilever or v brakes are good and even better if you upgrade to kool stop pads. Rim brakes do not warp the rims of a bicycle. A poorly maintained bicycle wheel can taco under pressure. I use tires at least 1.5 inch in width. Very narrow tires can blow off the rim when the tube melts from brake heat.

 

[gera229]

I have a reflector, but adding it on just looks ugly.
I was thinking about buying tape and taping up the turn signals lol since they are not needed.

How good are you turn signals? I bought a full set from ebay from a Chinese seller for under $10 and it includes headlights, tail lights, break lights, turn signals, and horn. The LED's are rather difficult to see in the sun, but so what? I don't think it matters lol as long as I have them.. Is this how it is for you?

My tires are not narrow, so I guess I'm good until a break pad wears out?
But I'm thinking of installing a disk break to the front IF it fits. Just worried about breaking soo hard that I would fly forward with them lol. Idk.

 

[fatdaddy]

The code seems vague but if you really want to be certain dig online until you find some chart, graph, or language which defines a ratio of speed and stopping distance in your state.

You have to consider that a motorized bicycle will generally will be going much faster on average than a non-motrized bicycle unless you're in the Tour de France. Normal rim type bicycle brakes are rather inadequate for controlling average speeds greater than 15 mph. They'll get hot and wear out pretty fast or damage the rim by warping it. I had my front tire blow out at 30 mph because of excessive heat caused by rim brakes. I ended up building new wheels with heavy duty drum brakes. If you have disc brakes you'd be better off.

As for the reflector most states require a front and rear reflector as well as reflectors in the spokes of both wheels. These are based on federal guidelines and a bicycle cannot legally be sold commercially without them. If you are replacing a rear reflector with a light find a light that is also a reflector. Such combos are really good. If you have just a regular light you should also have a reflector and reflector tape may work. Again if you dig online you can probably find some info on what your state requires for reflectors pertaining to visability at a certain maximum distance.

Here's what I found so far about bike brakes and the law in general on brakes. I'm pretty sure it applies to every bike, motorized or not.
http://www.bikelink.com/law_safety.htm
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc26454.htm
fatdaddy.

 

[jburr36]

Most regular bike brakes are capable of locking the wheel quite nicely.

While most regular brakes can lock up a tire nicely that's not quite a valid way of determining the effective performance of brakes as most people do not lock their wheels up to stop. The heat dissipation from brakes stopping a rider going 30 mph on a bicycle versus a rider going 12 mph is much greater even if the stopping distances are greater. Most rim brakes are not designed for the excess speeds. Disc and drum brakes can handle it fine though.

Please don't take this as an insult or anything. It's just physics and a nearly distasterous personal experience I mentioned in my preivious post.

As for the reflectors, I was speaking about the state's code and federal guidelines. I wasn't making any inferrence regarding law enforcement targeting underequipped riders. My point of view is specific to our own safety at night on the road. We must ensure we are visible at the most distance a reasonable person can react to our presence. A rider was killed not far from me last year because she didn't have reflectors that would have made her visable at night. She was hit from behind by a car going 45 MPH. I wouldn't rely on a battery operated light as a sole source of visibility because they can fail.

Last thing I would want any of us to become is yet another statistic when it could be avoided.

 

[fatdaddy]

No offense taken jburr, I was just saying that if you can lock a brake, you should be able to use it in a more controlled fashion when needed. BUT, the bike law does state that you must be able to lock, and make skid, at least one wheel (VC 21201.) We ALL want the best quality brakes and rims we can possibly get to put on our babies. And of course, safety ALWAYS comes first.
fatdaddy.

 

[The_Aleman]

If you don't want to bolt on reflectors you can get DOT-approved reflector stickers at an auto parts store.
I use amber ones on my brake lever housings (also double as an informal turn signal by waving a hand across!) and red ones on my rear fender.