Wisconsin Motor Bicycle Law Part 1&2

[NEAT TIMES]

Daskapitan, Thanks, Great Info. I Wonder If The News Paper Did Their Job Printing It?? Do You Remember "herter`s Of Wauseka, Mn."? George Or One Of Them Said; I Have Been On All The Oceans Of The World, Only Got Sea Sick On The Great Lakes! What Say You? Ron

 

[danabike]

Hi! I'm danabike and I'm a newbie here, but not to the moped/scooter community. The reason I'm here, however, is that I'd love to put one of these engine kits on my 1952 Schwinn Hornet, but I'm very worried about being harassed by the cops on it. I have a buddy with one on his mountain bike, and he's always paranoid and shuts his engine off at the first sign of the police. I would rather be legal, which is why I'm posting this thread.

I have pored thru the statutes and believe I have a found a problem. Here's the statute:
CHAPTER 349
VEHICLES — POWERS OF STATE AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES
349.18 Additional traffic–control authority of counties and municipalities.
349.18(1)
(1) Any city, village or town, by ordinance, may:
349.18(1)(a)
(a) Designate the number of persons that may ride on a motor bicycle at any one time and the highways upon which a motor bicycle or moped may or may not be operated.
349.18(2)

My question is, what is to stop a municipality from prohibiting operation on all highways? Can they do that? I'm not a lawyer (thank God), so I don't know if my interpretation is correct. I'm hoping to hear from you Das Kapitan. Great post! Thanks in advance.

 

[DasKapitan]

Hello Danabike - I don't see that as a problem. It simply empowers local communities to regulate traffic within their jurisdiction. To be illegal they would need to pass local community legislation against the activity. Don't give your community a reason to dislike or disapprove of motorized bicycles.

 

[danabike]

On the contrary, I want to be anally legal in order to a.) not be hassled, and b.) educate and enlighten law enforcement if necessary. I can't do that to my and their satisfaction without being absolutely letter of the law. There is also another part I can't go back and cut & paste in right now, but it requires an amber deceleration indicator (brake light) that pulsates when the brake is applied. Has anyone seen anything like that? I've found turn signal/ tail & brake lights, but they are all like standard configuration-amber turn signals and red brake/taillight. Have any Wisconsinites had any experiences with using a standard set-up, good or bad? I'd love to hear from someone that has.

 

[Jobarwo]

Don't go there. You are stirring up a hornets' nest for no reason.

Don't ask, don't tell.... until you HAVE to.

 

[danabike]

Oh, believe me, I sure as heck am not going to ask them ANYTHING! Maybe I'm not being clear. My intent is to NOT attract attention, NOT be pulled over for equipment violations, and NOT have ANY police contact whatsoever. Since this bike is still in the pre-engine stage, I can do whatever I need to do to the bike to give the cops not necessarily what is legal, but what they want to see. As I said, I'd like to hear from fellow Wisconsinites about their experiences with OUR law enforcement. I may or may not spend the time and money on it depending on the feedback, since I have other projects that I could actually license. I would like to do what I have done on other boards by documenting the project and posting the step-by-step and pix.

 

[DasKapitan]

Danabike - The deceleration lamp you were referring to is under the equipment category 347.145. The key word on this particular odd item is MAY. These are not required. Read the legislation thoroughly before going off.

 

[danabike]

I wasn't going off, just didn't have italics available. Sorry if you thought I was yelling. What kind of set-up are you running as far as lights?

 

[DasKapitan]

Danabike - I didn't mean going off in a forum protocol sort of way. I just meant going off worrying about things that don't matter. Here are links to the products I bought to use on my bike Lights - Acclaim brake light turn signal directional light taillight bike horn bicycle ho | BikeWorldUSA | Bicycle Parts and Bike Accessories Rear Light and Lights - Bullet Headlight with Visor | BikeWorldUSA | Bicycle Parts and Bike Accessories for my Headlamp. I'll be messing with my lighting system later. To see how they look on my bike check out http://motorbicycling.com/f15/chrome-worksman-build-up-3868-5.html

 

[Dave31]

Chippewa Falls, WI

Council to take a spin regulating motorized bikes

By ROD STETZER
[email protected]
Monday, January 18, 2010 12:06 PM

It may be too cold to ride a motorized bicycle but the temperature is apparently right for Chippewa Falls to regulate them.

An ordinance to regulate motorized bikes will have its first reading at Tuesday’s city council meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. The council will meet in its chambers at City Hall, 30 W. Central St.

City Attorney Robert Ferg drafted the proposed ordinance after the police department complained the motorized bicycles were becoming a traffic hazard.

Motorized bicycles differ from mopeds, which more resemble motorcycles and usually don’t have pedals. A motorized bike uses a motor to either assist the rider in pedaling or to power the bicycle.

Under the proposed ordinance:

- Owners of motorized bicycles would need to register them with the city.

- The registration fee is $20 a year, beginning March 1. Duplicate registration tags would cost $5. If the motorized bike is soled, the new owner has to pay the registration fee.

- “It shall be unlawful to do any trick riding on any highway or bicycle-only lane, or to operate a motor bicycle with no hand on the handle bars.”

- Only one person may ride the motorized bicycle at any one time.

- Motorized bicycles must have brake lights, mirrors and mufflers.

Failure to do any of these things could result in a forfeiture ranging from $75 to $500.

Usually ordinances get readings over two separate meetings before the council votes on them. If that happens, the council would vote on passing the ordinance Feb. 2. Although it is less likely, the council could have both readings Tuesday night and vote on the proposed ordinance then.


Chippewa.com

 

[danabike]

Is Chippewa Falls in a democratic district, 'cuz this has Jim Doyle like hallmarks. I don't see as much "regulation" as I do using it as an excuse to suck a little more cash out of the population. All those requirements listed are already law, so where's the regulation? Ya gotta love Wisconsin.

 

[rbrtlndhl]

Chippewa Falls, WI

Council to take a spin regulating motorized bikes

By ROD STETZER
[email protected]
Monday, January 18, 2010 12:06 PM

It may be too cold to ride a motorized bicycle but the temperature is apparently right for Chippewa Falls to regulate them.

An ordinance to regulate motorized bikes will have its first reading at Tuesday’s city council meeting, which starts at 6:30 p.m. The council will meet in its chambers at City Hall, 30 W. Central St.

City Attorney Robert Ferg drafted the proposed ordinance after the police department complained the motorized bicycles were becoming a traffic hazard.

Motorized bicycles differ from mopeds, which more resemble motorcycles and usually don’t have pedals. A motorized bike uses a motor to either assist the rider in pedaling or to power the bicycle.

Under the proposed ordinance:

- Owners of motorized bicycles would need to register them with the city.

- The registration fee is $20 a year, beginning March 1. Duplicate registration tags would cost $5. If the motorized bike is soled, the new owner has to pay the registration fee.

- “It shall be unlawful to do any trick riding on any highway or bicycle-only lane, or to operate a motor bicycle with no hand on the handle bars.”

- Only one person may ride the motorized bicycle at any one time.

- Motorized bicycles must have brake lights, mirrors and mufflers.

Failure to do any of these things could result in a forfeiture ranging from $75 to $500.

Usually ordinances get readings over two separate meetings before the council votes on them. If that happens, the council would vote on passing the ordinance Feb. 2. Although it is less likely, the council could have both readings Tuesday night and vote on the proposed ordinance then.


Chippewa.com

We have all the same laws and regulations here in La Crosse, except that our reg fee is 2 dollars for the life and your ownership of the bicycle, and 1 dollar replacement tags. engine or no. and u cant run on a large highway 45mph speed limit for example. and no brake lights needed, only a red reflector of appropos size, no mirror laws. yay! plz nobody bring this up to La Crosse city authority figures and ruin it for all. Thank you.

 

["the prussian" Shop Dogs]

so das captain what ever came of the rally du chein idea??? i'll show.

 

[kev1n]

hey DasKapitan, i've got a herd of friction drive bikes. i try my hardest to avoid the police when cruising across town. do you think a friction drive motor without a clutch from a ww, chainsaw, or snow blower would be a issue? thanks for your hard work on this subject.
your bike is very impressive.
thanks kev1n

 

[NEAT TIMES]

Daskapitan Has Not Answered Any Post Since Last July 2009. I Hope He Is Ok. He Did Not Even Answer My Pm`s. I Think He Had Some Serious Health Issue`s. I Hope He Is Ok, It Would Be Good To Here From Him. He Was Building A Great Mab. My Family Used To Camp At The Lake Park Where He Lives In Northern Wisconsin. I Am From Chippewa Falls Where They Passed The Ordinance On Mab`s, But Have Been In Fl For 20 Yrs. Ron

 

[kev1n]

thanks, i sure hope he's alright. i guess i'll just have to fly under the radar for now.

 

[wheelie]

Thanks for the information. I read the DOT laws over and over again getting more and more confused. This really clears things up. It is good to see that I am not the only one concerned about stirring up trouble with the law. I mean, in Wisconsin, how can something that looks like so much fun be legal?
I just ordered my kit. Wish me luck.

 

[Dougan]

Here's my concern:

347.11(1)
(1) The headlamp shall be an electric headlamp and the current shall be supplied by a wet battery and electric generator, by a current–generating coil incorporated into the magneto or by a generator driven directly by the motor by means of gears, friction wheel, chain or belt.

Has anybody had any problems with this? I would imagine that this wording comes along with the intent to prevent someone's batteries from going out at night or something. I would imagine that this law probably wouldn't be enforced too strictly (I have yet to meet a police officer that knows motor bicycle laws enough to know/care about this one) but I still would wonder.

 

[Bryc3]

What are the requirements for licensing? If I have my temps, is that good enough? I'm having troubles understanding the terminology.

 

[DasKapitan]

Thanks to you all for the support, I'm doing much better.
Bryc3 There is no licensing requirement in Wisconsin for "Motor Bicycle's" See Chapter 341 Registration of Vehicles on page 1 of this thread. See 343 if your question is about an Operator License. Then the answer is Yes.