Comments on: Are petrol powered bikes beyond the law?

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:09:37 +0000

I am a proud owner of my Coca Cola 68cc custom block Motorized push bike, in Queensland.

I do admit I sneak it out sometimes for pleasure rides,
I Not only had silenced the muffler, I have also changed
all my nuts to lock tight ones, and wheels have double
spokes in them, its reliable, and very safe.

It’s up to the rider to use common sense, with pedestrians
on pathways. The are the ones that do the right thing and other that don’t. When I see a cop car I put my clutch in and start peddling, or completeley kill the engine with my kill switch…and they just go passed.

I had plans for these awesome machines, to keep researching how to make my 68cc Custom Block engine even more quiet and the bike as safe as possible. I even
considered to apply for a government grant, to fund my research and development.

My plan was to propose these Gems as local standard transportation. I went passed a Univeristy and looked at 100′s of Cars parked on grass paddocks, virtually anywhere. Because there simply isnt enouph paring for Cars.

It would of lowered local traffic.
Help fight obesity (up to 60%+ in Australia)
Reduce cost of travel.
Environmentally Friendly.
And fun for everyone.

My ideas have been crushed The Government says they are dangerous. Humans make mistakes operating machinery everyday, No difference, its just another machine.

The truth is Money, How cheap are they on Fuel. They cant suck enough money out of you on those things.

Save the Environment is always secondary, money comes first and that that:(

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:01:49 +0000

I believe this is something called natural selection.

By: Craig

Craig — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:21:03 +0000

Another point that seems to be missed is the increasing amount of injuries occuring on roads in NSW solely contributed to these dangerous motorised bicycles, unfortunaltly some have been fatal. It has been my experience that due to the poor laws in NSW many of the riders of these bikes simply have a motor strapped onto a poorly designed mountain bike not built for the purpose. Further it seems that a sure way to get around once you lose your drivers licence for what ever offence without any ramifications from police who are just as confused about the inept laws. Come on Minister Duncan Gay do something before another poor silly loses their life or gets injured.

By: James

James — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:15:39 +0000

What’s missing from this discussion is the noise factor. Many people with these engines either don’t have a muffler or remove it, and travel on quiet shared paths where others are trying to escape such noise and stench. If it is a muffled engine on the streets, well, cars are the rudest drivers. But if it’s unmuffled, it deserves a baseball bat. If it’s unmuffled on a quiet walking path, it deserves a special place in hell.

By: rusty

rusty — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 05:14:27 +0000

the author is probably against petrol assist bikes, but makes a very nice unbiased summery at the end. What is neglected; is that since changes to the ADR laws in most states, you will not be able to get compliance on anything with pedals. Though in WA they kept the moped law but changed it to refer to scooters and motorbikes of 50cc and below (but no longer able to have pedal assist)

By: David Halfpenny

David Halfpenny — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 06:17:22 +0000

If Usain Bolt hits you, he’s doing about 38 kph!

By: Lars

Lars — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:59:00 +0000

I pass alot on the path’s / roads up here on my commute to work, I don’t see them as being a problem, and as Andy has said I usually enjoy trying to catch them on my pushie and passing them!

How are you going to limit the power of someones legs ? its’ just as dangerous, no matter how the person get’s to 40 plus km/h with or with out a motor, when that bike hits someone or something it’s still doing 40 plus km/h

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 04:45:33 +0000

The pedal assist laws in Australia are ridiculous. Currently in Vic, you can have a max 250W electric assist acting as a pedelec (power only when pedaling). Throttle only is restricted up to a max of 6km/h. This does not make sense when any lycra-clad maniac on a carbon racer can hit the streets and travel well in excess of these speeds. I think changes to these laws would encourage alternate transportation for city commuters thus relieving the increasing traffic congestion issues faced by many motorists in Australia capital cities.

By: Roinik

Roinik — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:04:58 +0000

I think that clarity needs to extend to the rest of Australia (incl the national road rules).
There is a thread on this topic in one of the discussion forums that indicates that the latest update of the Australian road rules allows 200W over all speeds and 250W up to 25 km/h. I understand that this is related to peak rated output of the motor, regardless of any electronic limiting device. If that is the case, anything over the size of a small model aircraft engine develops too much output.
There is one importer in Qld that can ‘modify’ a stink engine to give a guaranteed 200W output (certified) to get around this law.

By: John Hawkins

John Hawkins — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:58:22 +0000

NSW needs to clarify its legislation the same way as has Queensland.