torrent99

If it's like my early Wisper there's likely an unused connector on the controller that you short (or unshort) to de-restrict it.

Keep us up to date on this please! I've often thought of doing the same to my Mk 0.9 Wisper 905se. Solder the shunt, means opening up the controller and adding some solder to the large bit of wire (the shunt) that the controller uses to work out how much current it is using. If you thicken the shunt with solder, the controller thinks it is using less current than it actually is and so gives you more power.... All at the risk of frying your controller or wiring (& motor but less likely), and provided your battery can actually supply the required current.

Well they do have the power of life or death over cyclists. Just a slight movement on the steering wheel and....

If it's available in an either or option, that PROBABLY means the controller is capable of doing both. So it's probably just a case of adding the missing one in. You could probably get the dealer to do it for you....

Sigh..... (Apologies to Messrs Cleese, Corbett & Barker) Cyclist: (Dressed in lycra, SPDs & cycling helmet) I look down on him (indicates Pedelecer), because I'm a proper cyclist and he cheats. Pedelecer: (Dressed in old school shorts & leather helmet) I look up to him (indicates Cyclist) because he is fit and strong, I look down on him (throttle biker) because he's weak and shouldn't be allowed on the road. Throttle Biker: (Dressed in normal clothes) I know my place. I look up to them both, I wish I could do the things they can. Cyclist: I am fit but haven't got any money. (kneels down) Although I always feel superior to him (Throttle biker), sometimes I'm jealous of him (Pedelecer) when I go up hills. Pedelecer: I still lookup to him (cyclist), because although I have an expensive pedelec, I'm not as fit as I used to be. But I'm not as much a cripple as him (throttle biker) so I still look down on him. Throttle Biker: I know my place. I'm not at all fit. I hope that the fitness Nazis don't discover how useless I am and make me ride a scooter with a helmet, insurance, hot uncomfortable protective clothing and difficulty parking. I haven't a hope of any kind of fitness on the scooter that those Pedelecers want me to buy. Perhaps I'd better stay at home. I know my place.

Front motor I can agree with, but the rest is pretty much standard bike fare. What's wrong with that?

Exactly, HE gave up cycling. HE made the assessment. HE made the choice. It wasn't forced upon him. Or should we have a fitness test before you can purchase a bike? The "good" thing about cycling is that it can make you acutely aware of how fragile you are. (Unlike cars where you are cocooned in a steel box.) Many perfectly fit people choose not to cycle because of the perceived danger. I'm sure those who's condition makes them unsuitable for cycling will likely do the same.

In my case: 1)No. (I can apply force when I need to it just hurts) 2)Easily, I can do most walking. 3)I can do so, it just hurts. Basically for me, large forces e.g. starting off on a hill, hurt. During flare ups repeated bending hurts, and pedalling will irritate my knees so that they hurt 24x7 for several days. However, if I NEED to pedal hard to get out of a sticky situation I can grit my teeth and just do it. No I am not a public danger. ( At least for that reason ;-) ) Basically electric bike with or without pedals, are heavy unwieldy things when you aren't sitting on them, they DO require a certain amount of strength & coordination simply to get out of the garage/shed etc and on the road. Someone without that strength and coordination wouldn't consider getting on one in the first place! There are many conditions that can put someone in the not functioning 100% but not officially disabled category. Throttle bikes can help them bridge the capability gap into a healthy, green and sociable activity. Think of them like a walking stick. You wouldn't turn round to someone and say "No sorry, if you can't walk without that stick you shouldn't be walking at all" would you? "People who can't walk without a stick are a public danger on the footpath". As regards emergency situations, I'm sure there are could be situations where the throttle won't get you out of them, However, there are also many such situations where even the fittest of cyclist can't pedal their way out of them either! You cycle to the limits of your (or your bikes) ability.

Indeed that's where the "argument" lies, those who stand by the definition of cycling above, and those (including myself) who believe it should be "stretched" a little to include the 250W pedelec with throttle control. Probably more useful in the long term though is to create an entirely new class of low powered vehicle, with similar freedoms enjoyed by the bicycle, to include some more of the low powered vehicle types that are being invented with todays compact motor and battery technology. Hopefully, some of these nascent technologies will survive their legal no-mans land (well default to being classed as motor vehicles with possibly hard to reach standards) to become fully realised. We are lucky that at least in the UK the low powered throttle bike is going to enjoy some legal freedoms. (& we hope the new l1e-a type will be sufficiently flexible to include non-bike shaped options too!) In the move to "greener", more social transport it helps to have options.

I suppose we see an opportunity, we have tasted a device that for some can provide a level of mobility that wasn't so easily possible (& affordable) before. (& without the stigma, limitations & cost of some of the official disabled devices) The review of the legislation offered a possibility to get this "new" invention "unshackled" from the bounds of type approval. (& for me throttle becomes "essential" when my knees are irritated simply by turning the pedals. I have arthritis of the knee caps which means simply bending my knees can irritate the cartilage. Being able to use the throttle means I can get around further distances without having to get in the car) Imagine we were living around the time ordinary bicycles were just becoming popular, you too would be a bit peeved if the government suddenly insisted on lots of extra paper work and checks wouldn't you? Wouldn't it seem even a little bit like this amazing invention was being shackled just as it was showing it's potential? For myself I have found that a throttle controlled bike has enabled me to regain some of the freedom I used to enjoy as a cyclist. I'm only 44 and I miss it. I will probably (grudgingly) be one of those who submits their bike for type approval once it is available...

More worryingly would be after an accident when the fine toothed comb might come out. (To prove some sort of liability)

Yes this is an interesting question, even for type-approved throttle bikes. With an ordinary bike I can pretty much exchange parts with impunity (so long as they are quality parts), with a type-approved bike will I have to keep to the same manufacturers spec that underwent type approval?

Hmmmm: Fitment: Suitable for most of Electric bike with 7/8"/22mm handlebar. then; 2. Please allow 0.5-1 inch difference due to manual measurement.(1 inch=2.54cm) :rolleyes:

Ahh so it's not enshrined in law, only in practical application by the uk DfT guidelines? Well that's something (although much easier for a future transport minister or civil servant to change with the stroke of a pen). We shall have to live with that and hope the L1EA requirements are as expected...

RE: Insurance etc. My apologies I stand corrected (I'll edit my post) thanks! RE: Type approval why are throttle bikes called out as requiring type approval and non-throttle bikes not? Or is it that non-throttle bikes also require the same type approval and we are all debating about nothing? (I'm hoping this is the case)