Motorized Bicycle
Question
Tony asked: I currently just bought a XB504 e bike it looks like a moped but its set up like an ebike even has pedals it does not go more than 20mph. Do I need to register it? Is it even legal to ride in the road like a bicycle?
Answer
If your vehicle meets the statutory definition of a bicycle, including one with an electric assist motor, it need not be registered and a driver’s license is not required to be legally operated on the roadway. See this and other posts on this site.
A quick search of that particular model shows some misleading ad copy. The ad on Walmart’s page reads that it comes with pedals but they don’t have to be installed. That is incorrect in the state of Florida. If the pedals are stowed away, it is no longer an e-bike and will be in violation.
They do have this on their website. The person who buys one of these is the one responsible for what happens, not Walmart.
“Since local and state laws may vary, we recommend that you check with your local DMV for restrictions and guidelines to operating this unit in your area in case they have special provisions which may overrule the Federal Bicycle Law.”
As you said in Florida they would get a ticket.
I had one very similar, extreme 700. I was constantly hassled by the cops, pulled over, and eventually ticketed for no license and no plates. I had to hire an attorney, go to court, etc. It cost me thousands to defend myself (not guilty of course) and I ended up donating the bike to charity because if I continued to ride, it would happen again. The cops are real jerks when it comes to this kind of machine – they don’t understand what they are, or how they are to be regulated. I loved my scooter, but in the end had to part with it because of the myopic understanding of the legal authorities here. So, good luck.
Federal law.
http://www.iloveebikes.com/Distributorfiles/FEDregulation.pdf
The law says that an electric bike “The term does not include such a vehicle with a seat height of no more than 25 inches from the ground when the seat is adjusted to its highest position” which means that it must be HIGHER than 25 inches. If it said “does not include such a vehicle with a seat height of more than 25 inches”, that would mean that higher than 25 inches is bad (and not an electric bike). But they added a negative, and made it ‘no more than 25 inches”, so if a bike is 20 inches, for instance, it is no more than 25 inches, and “the term does not include such a vehicle”. Seems backwards to me, that they EXCLUDE all bikes who’s seat is no more than 25 inches.
John,
Please see this post.
http://flbikelaw.org/2018/02/motorized-recumbent/