Bicycles with Gas Assist Motors
Question
GM asked the FHP: Can a bicycle with a gas assist motor be operated legally on Florida roadways?
Answer
NO!
The Florida Highway Patrol has definitively stated that a bicycle with a gas assist motor cannot be legally operated on the roadway.
Below is the email string that resulted in that answer. Read from the bottom up.
George,
That is correct.
Customer Service Center
Correspondence/Email Unit
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
—–Original Message—–
From: [mailto:flbikelaw@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 4:33 PM
To: FHP
Subject: Re: Question about the laws
Dear Sir/Madam,
Thank you for your timely response.
Can I then deduce that a bicycle equipped with a gas-assist motor which cannot be registered as a moped or motorcycle cannot legally be operated on the roadway?
Thank you,
On Mar 7, 2014, at 4:17 PM, FHP wrote:
Dear George,
Thanks for your inquiry. Please see 320.01(28) below for your answer.
Motorized Bicycles
F.S.S. 322.03(1) requires: “Except as otherwise authorized in this
chapter, a person may not drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in
this state unless such person has a valid driver’s license issued
under this chapter.”
F.S.S. 322.01(27) defines a Motor Vehicle as: “any self‐propelled
vehicle, including a motor vehicle combination, not operated upon
rails or guideway, excluding vehicles moved solely by human power,
motorized wheelchairs, and motorized bicycles as defined in s. 316.003.”
F.S.S. 316.003 defines a Motorized Bicycle as: “motorized bicycle
propelled by a combination of human power and an electric helper motor
capable of propelling the vehicle at a speed of not more than 20 miles
per hour on level ground upon which any person may ride, having two
tandem wheels, and including any device generally recognized as a
bicycle though equipped with two front or two rear wheels.”
F.S.S. 320.01(28) defines a Moped as: “any vehicle with pedals to
permit propulsion by human power, having a seat or saddle for the use
of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels,
with a motor rated not in excess of 2 brake horsepower and not capable
of propelling the vehicle at a speed greater than 30 miles per hour on
level ground, and with a power‐drive system that functions directly or
automatically without clutching or shifting gears by the operator
after the drive system is engaged. If an internal combustion engine is
used, the displacement may not exceed 50 cubic centimeters.”
F.S.S. 320.0803 requires Mopeds to be registered and display a moped
license plate.
Customer Service Center
Correspondence/Email Unit
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles www.flhsmv.gov
—–Original Message—–
From: [mailto:flbikelaw@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 2:35 PM
To: FHP
Subject: Question about the laws
Dear Sir/Madam,
Is it legal to operate a bicycle under the power of a gas assist motor in Florida?
The statute that defines a bicycle includes an electric assist motor and therefore does not require a driver’s license, registration or title.
s. 316.003 – Definitions
(2) Bicycle – Every vehicle propelled solely by human power, and every
motorized bicycle propelled by a combination of human power and an
electric helper motor capable of propelling the vehicle at a speed of
not more than 20 miles per hour on level ground upon which any person
may ride,
There is no mention of bicycles with gas assist motors in the statutes, but they are included under the definition of motor vehicle. The DHSMV states they cannot be registered and are not mopeds or motorcycles.
If bicycles with gas assist motors can be legally operated on the roadways, please advise of the statutory authority.
Thank you
George,
Can you give us the email address that you sent that question to?
You only have FHP as a marker…
I have a couple other questions for them and would appreciate the email address that you sent to…
Thanks
The address is FHP@flhsmv.gov
Geo.
So What Your Saying Is: “We Can Not Operate Our 49cc 2&1 Gas Motor On Our: Schwin-‘StringRay’OrangeCountyChooperBike’z
On The Road In The Bike Lane.
If There Is No Statue For It, what Is The Violation?
If We All Are Riding Safely And Obeying “All” DHSMV :”Rules,Laws,Bi-Laws,StateLaws,Fed.Law & We All Wear Helmets.
What Is The Violation
Can A:…”Police Officer,CountySheriff And Or A StateTrooper”
Stop Me?
If Yes: Please Send The Violation Of The Law
As Defined & Being: Bicycle (With Or With) W/Wo.
A Gas Assist Motor.
Please Send Florida Statue “That Prohibit s Us Do Enjoy This PassTyme”
Yes, a police officer can stop you and cite you for breaking the law. You are operating an unregistered vehicle. All motorized vehicles must be registered unless specifically excluded by the statute. A bicycle with an electric assist motor is specifically excluded from the registration requirement by the statute defining a bicycle.
s. 320.02 – Registration Required; Application for Registration; forms
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, every owner or person in charge of a motor vehicle that is operated or driven on the roads of this state shall register the vehicle in this state.
I operate my two stroke gas assist bicycle in archer & Gainesville areas & no officer of the law gives me any lip nor pulls me over to give me a ticket. I ride my gas assist bicycle everywhere day & night, going to work & out shopping at the markets. I ride safely & wear my helmet at all times as well. I even wave at the officers when I pass by them to let them know that I am noticing them as well. When I rode into williston thou, it was a different story there. They gave me a verbal warning to not operate it there, but I still do & no problem from them yet.
I was given a ticket for operating an unregistered motor vehicle last sept In sewels pt fl it was a mandatory court appearance I had to pa 275.00 in court costs and a 50.00 fine for a total of 325.00 I have been riding my motorized bicycle since 2007 with no problems until then this ridiculous whats the difference going 20mph on electric or gas
It may seem to each individual that there is no difference between gas and electric helper motors on bike, but there certainly is. This was in a previous post and shows the difference.
I am informed that it was strenuously opposed by many agencies, including counties and municipalities for the following reasons.
1. Most eBikes are commercially produced and are designed and constructed to strict safety and reliability standards, and can be manufactured with strict controls on the operational limits of 20 mph.
2. Many gas-assist bikes are homemade from add-on kits, and have no uniform design, construction and production standards, and operational limits are difficult to control.
3. Non-uniform gas motor assist bikes present law enforcement with problems, including potential speed and safety. On this site, we have heard of many cases of law enforcement declaring them illegal for use on the roads.
If the electric bike goes 20 miles an hour and the gaspipe goes 20 miles an hour what’s the difference
“we have heard of many cases of law enforcement declaring them illegal for use on the roads.”
Law enforcement do not have the authority to “declare” anything legal or illegal. That is for the state assembly to do. Just because the police in a jurisdiction are saying that it’s illegal does not make it so.
In this case, it is dubious that the government can declare that we haven’t made it legal to do so, therefore it’s illegal.
It works the other way around. Unless they pass a law specifically outlawing a vehicle, they can’t just say it’s illegal. And again it’s not the police’s job to create law by enforcement practices. It is their sole job to enforce current law that is interpreted by competent lawyers.
Bicycles with gas motors as helper motors are not legal. That’s the difference. If you disagree, contact your legislators who wrote the laws.
a bicycle with a gas motor is illegal it’s just a non vehicle because it don’t have the safety features such as frame assembly and vin numbers to make it a vehicle they can only give a citation not criminal charges
It’s legal now if you get the saftey equipment rs -68
Don,
Correct. See this post:
http://flbikelaw.org/2014/07/gas-motors-on-bicycles-at-last-final-answer/
David,
It would not only be a vehicle, it would be a motor vehicle according to traffic statutes.
s. 316.003 – Definitions
(75) Vehicle – Every device, in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, excepting devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
(21) Motor Vehicle – …. a self-propelled vehicle not operated upon rails or guideway, but not including any bicycle, motorized scooter, electric personal assistive mobility device, swamp buggy, or moped.
It would not be a legal motor vehicle if it couldn’t be registered or meet the definition of bicycle. There are also other types of vehicles that are legal vehicles since they are human powered and not required to be registered.
For the purpose of registration the following definition applies:
s. 320.01 – Definitions, General
(1) “Motor vehicle” means:
(a) An automobile, motorcycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor and semitrailer combination, or any other vehicle operated on the roads of this state, used to transport persons or property, and propelled by power other than muscular power, but the term does not include traction engines, road rollers, special mobile equipment as defined in s. 316.003(48), vehicles that run only upon a track, bicycles, swamp buggies, or mopeds.
I think you are right about it being a non-criminal offense, but that isn’t within the scope of ts site.
ok I read it one more time andreally slow this time Motor vehicle any self propelled but not including ANY bicycle swamp buggy and bla,bla,bla…..it’s not legal to drive on bike paths or sidewalks.point bring it’s not a vehicle as set by FL statue
thanks for double teaming me it’s just proves my point
and thank you for your support
What does the term “2 brake horesepower” mean?
Kenny,
From Webster’s:
Brake horsepower – The horsepower made available by an engine or turbine for driving machinery other than itself, as measured by a dynamometer.
Horsepower – Foot-pound-second unit of power, equivalent to 550 foot-power per second, 745.7 watts.
From the statute related to registration of motor vehicles:
s. 320.01 – Definitions, General.
(17) “Brake horsepower” means the actual unit of torque developed per unit of time at the output shaft of an engine, as measured by a dynamometer.
Dave,
You are correct that it is the job of the legislators and not the police to declare what is a legal vehicle and what is not.
The legislators have done just that. All motor vehicles, as defined in the statutes and with the exceptions noted in the statutes, must be registered and the operator must have a drivers license.
When law enforcement officials say they have determined that a certain vehicle is not a legal vehicle for use on the roads, they are simply saying they have read the statutes which say that.
See the many posts on the subject on this site.
you keep leaving out the most important part “and any device generally recognized as a bicycle” . It’s illegal to drive a gas powered bicycle. The statute states that if it’s recognized as a bicycle then a valid drivers license is not required under motor vehicle definitions states that bicycles and mopeds are exempt
anything generally recognized as a bicycle means anything recognize as a bicycle not a bicycle with a motor vehicle
David,
When you operate a bicycle with a gas motor, it is no longer generally recognized as a bicycle. The DMV and the courts recognize it as a gas-motor powered vehicle and the DMV has published a means to make it road legal, a moped, which requires registration and a license plate but not a title, and a driver’s license.
I suggest someone try your argument on the judge in traffic court and advise us of the results.
It states on the RS 68 that a violation of not registering is a non criminal non moving violation
isn’t a “motor vehicle” that is operated need to sustain a certain speed? A motorized bike that has not been upgraded does not sustain a speed that is warranted to be an actual motor vehicle operated on the roadway.
Every person in America has the right to be judged by a jury of their peers. Ninety nine percent of people do not go to trial. They want to get over it ASAP, so the deal is what they take. . If you have an argument that may win in court they dismiss it before getting a ruling so there’s no court case file starting your won your case they simply dismiss it and GO to the next hundred people that don’t know any better than to take the best deal …go and read the rs68 fs318 not registering bike as a moped states it’s a non criminal non moving violation . If more people would exercise their constitutional rights and went all the way to jury trail there would be allot less cops harassing people on bikes that are just trying to survive this world the best way they can. If they had a choice you think they want to ride as bike ..NO they rather be driving but whatever circumstances they lost their listence they still have to survive . Cops need to pick on criminals rather than people trying to get to work and support themselves
Geo thanks for encouraging me to work harder all citizens must be free to travel throughout the United States uninhibited by statutes rules and regulations Shapiro vs. Thompson 394 us 618. The right to travel is not a mere privilege but it’s a common right Thompson vs Smith 155 VA 367. The use ofl the highway for purpose of travel and transportation is not a mere privilege but a common fundamental right of which the public and individuals cannot rightfully be deprived… Chicago motor coach vs Chicago 169 NE 221 you post this page so the public can see it. Just in case you don’t I’ll be putting it closer to the present date thank you
Am I allowed to drive a 80cc (50mph) bicycle in the state of Florida legally without a valid drivers license?
Didn’t you read any of this? Who the hell wants you on the road if you can’t understand this page.
Anthony,
No! See the numerous posts under motorized bicycles.
Paul,
These are the definitions of “motor vehicle”. Note that none of the definitions have any speed requirements except motorized bicycles, which cannot exceed 20 mph under electric motor power.
For the purpose of traffic law:
s.316.003 – Definitions
(21) Motor Vehicle – …. a self-propelled vehicle not operated upon rails or guideway, but not including any bicycle, motorized scooter, electric personal assistive mobility device, swamp buggy, or moped.
For the purpose of vehicle registration:
s. 320.01 – Definitions, general.—As used in the Florida Statutes, except as otherwise provided, the term:
(1) “Motor vehicle” means:
(a) An automobile, motorcycle, truck, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor and semitrailer combination, or any other vehicle operated on the roads of this state, used to transport persons or property, and propelled by power other than muscular power, but the term does not include traction engines, road rollers, special mobile equipment as defined in s. 316.003(48), vehicles that run only upon a track, bicycles, swamp buggies, or mopeds.
For the purpose of driver’s licenses
s. 322 .01 – Definitions
(27)“Motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle, including a motor vehicle combination, not operated upon rails or guideway, excluding vehicles moved solely by human power, motorized wheelchairs, and motorized bicycles as defined in s. 316.003.