i was very tempted to get one of these together fixed with drop bars and a good gear for getting some speed up on the flat (cheshire plains near where i live), there was talk about these being legal with no insurance, tax, registration etc. but it seems things may now have changed.
""" UK Customers: will now have to register their completed vehicle as a moped (under 50cc) or a motorcycle (over 50cc) if to be used on british roads, this involves reg, tax and insurance and a vehicle saftey check by VOSA. It has been done and it can be done but it depends on the quality of the work of the installer and upon satisfying all the criteria set out by VOSA before one can register the finalized vehicle. Please bear this in mind before making a purchase. ""
i bet these changes were to curb the plague of knob head under age chavs you see on mini motos and mini quads and 'go-peds' we've seen in the past few years
from my experience with kit cars the general feeling was if you've not got quite a bit of money and time on your hands, buy something already registered - even if only a chassis - and then modify it yourself to what you want. - (that's to avoid the sva - although what you end with still might not be road legal even if you squeeze it through the MOT)
amongst kit-car builders , the SVA test is notoriously hard since they really put the bar up quite a lot in (i think ) c. 1996 making building them a much less attractive prospect than it used to be in the 60s/70s hey day (it was a very British affair because tax was charged on full cars - but none on car parts - so build your own and save a fortune - but that loop hole was closed a long time ago ) - i bet it's the same increase in testing standards for the bikes as the cars now
(anyone see the connection between my name and the car? )
and completely changed engine, gearbox etc. what i ended up with never ever would have passed the SVA test...
i also got my tr8 considered as a kit car by the MOT station (on the strength it was cobbled together out of loads of other cars) which saved a fortune in insurance, plus managed me to get a very dirty engine overlooked for emissions.
i've also once went through the rigmarole of getting a cat d (or c ) damaged car re-registered through a test at the local dvla center.....
plus I put a 90cc engine in a 50cc honda scooter and a metro turbo engine in a sub 450kg fibre glass mini kit car
in conclusion: i've had quite a bit of experience in this kind of thing both technically and legally and reckon i'd stand a higher than average chance of making this work - but considering the above disclaimer from that ebay engine selling guy - i wouldn't touch the project with a barge pole
i've given it up as a too long, expensive and complicated affair - not to actually build the bike , but to enable me to ride it on the road (but where else am i going to use it? )
if you can get one that's already got it's sva (i.e. has a registration document )- great - but you'll also still need a CBT (depending on when you got your car license) plus insurance, probably lights - and tax, and have to wear a full motor bike crash helmet (and most likely expect to be stopped by the police a few times to explain what you're on IS road legal ..)
i now look back on my kit car and motorbike modification days (like my computer game and ganja days) with a real sense of regret at the time and money lost.
if i'm wrong though in view of this : "As far as I know, to be road legal a motorised bicycle must either have an engine less than .25kw in power and not exceeding 25km/h, or it must pass a M-SVA test (motorcycle single vehicle approvance) which is what kit cars/motorbikes have to pass (so it's quite feasible)" and sub .25kw and sub 15.5mph would be exempt from any paperwork let me know and i might think about doing it. it would have to be light as possible and that 25km/h (15.5mph ) would be without me pedaling too i guess, so actually the speeds i could get it out of it would be 20 to 30 ish i reckon ..... it would be easy to restrict the power and speed for any legal test - only to open it back up later . not nly will there be power and speed restriction but probably a capacity restriction too ?
out of interest - any ideas on chasis - i'm guessing 26" wheels with a stable geometry -or maybe an mtb frame with a 700c hybrid fork (with 700c tandem or 26" front wheel - i'm not sure ) would tip the bike back enough to give a shallow head angle and the stability to handle higher speeds. i don't like them, but disk brake on front might be needed too.
i was very tempted to get one of these together fixed with drop bars and a good gear for getting some speed up on the flat (cheshire plains near where i live), there was talk about these being legal with no insurance, tax, registration etc. but it seems things may now have changed.
from this link:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/80cc-ENGINE-KIT-YOUR-ELECTRIC-BIKE-MOPED-BICYCLE-/160555571176?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item2561db97e8#ht_11364wt_1139
""" UK Customers: will now have to register their completed vehicle as a moped (under 50cc) or a motorcycle (over 50cc) if to be used on british roads, this involves reg, tax and insurance and a vehicle saftey check by VOSA. It has been done and it can be done but it depends on the quality of the work of the installer and upon satisfying all the criteria set out by VOSA before one can register the finalized vehicle. Please bear this in mind before making a purchase. ""
i bet these changes were to curb the plague of knob head under age chavs you see on mini motos and mini quads and 'go-peds' we've seen in the past few years
from my experience with kit cars the general feeling was if you've not got quite a bit of money and time on your hands, buy something already registered - even if only a chassis - and then modify it yourself to what you want. - (that's to avoid the sva - although what you end with still might not be road legal even if you squeeze it through the MOT)
amongst kit-car builders , the SVA test is notoriously hard since they really put the bar up quite a lot in (i think ) c. 1996 making building them a much less attractive prospect than it used to be in the 60s/70s hey day (it was a very British affair because tax was charged on full cars - but none on car parts - so build your own and save a fortune - but that loop hole was closed a long time ago ) - i bet it's the same increase in testing standards for the bikes as the cars now
i bought something like this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dutton_Phaeton_1981.jpg
(anyone see the connection between my name and the car? )
and completely changed engine, gearbox etc. what i ended up with never ever would have passed the SVA test...
i also got my tr8 considered as a kit car by the MOT station (on the strength it was cobbled together out of loads of other cars) which saved a fortune in insurance, plus managed me to get a very dirty engine overlooked for emissions.
i've also once went through the rigmarole of getting a cat d (or c ) damaged car re-registered through a test at the local dvla center.....
plus I put a 90cc engine in a 50cc honda scooter and a metro turbo engine in a sub 450kg fibre glass mini kit car
in conclusion: i've had quite a bit of experience in this kind of thing both technically and legally and reckon i'd stand a higher than average chance of making this work - but considering the above disclaimer from that ebay engine selling guy - i wouldn't touch the project with a barge pole
i've given it up as a too long, expensive and complicated affair - not to actually build the bike , but to enable me to ride it on the road (but where else am i going to use it? )
if you can get one that's already got it's sva (i.e. has a registration document )- great - but you'll also still need a CBT (depending on when you got your car license) plus insurance, probably lights - and tax, and have to wear a full motor bike crash helmet (and most likely expect to be stopped by the police a few times to explain what you're on IS road legal ..)
i now look back on my kit car and motorbike modification days (like my computer game and ganja days) with a real sense of regret at the time and money lost.
if i'm wrong though in view of this : "As far as I know, to be road legal a motorised bicycle must either have an engine less than .25kw in power and not exceeding 25km/h, or it must pass a M-SVA test (motorcycle single vehicle approvance) which is what kit cars/motorbikes have to pass (so it's quite feasible)" and sub .25kw and sub 15.5mph would be exempt from any paperwork let me know and i might think about doing it. it would have to be light as possible and that 25km/h (15.5mph ) would be without me pedaling too i guess, so actually the speeds i could get it out of it would be 20 to 30 ish i reckon ..... it would be easy to restrict the power and speed for any legal test - only to open it back up later . not nly will there be power and speed restriction but probably a capacity restriction too ?
out of interest - any ideas on chasis - i'm guessing 26" wheels with a stable geometry -or maybe an mtb frame with a 700c hybrid fork (with 700c tandem or 26" front wheel - i'm not sure ) would tip the bike back enough to give a shallow head angle and the stability to handle higher speeds. i don't like them, but disk brake on front might be needed too.