Hi all

sorry if this has been asked before.

 

I have had my mk 1 Ezee Torq for a few weeks now, and i think it is great.I derestricted the bike pretty much straight away,but being concerned about the legal position i fitted the bike with an off road switch which works well.

I was just wondering if anyone could tell me if this switch makes the bike legal?(in restricted mode). I know that other bikes have factory fitted switches, it just seems a bit of a 'grey area' to me and a possible way of getting around the legal limit, and the manufacturer protecting themselves from the law.

 

To be honest, i have found 15 mph to be quite fast enough for my needs, and in derestricted mode the battery does not last anywhere near as long as it does with the limiter in place. So if there is any doubt about the legality, i think i will remove the switch and reconnect the limiter!

 

Thanks

Russell

Edited June 7, 200817 yr by BLADERUNNER

There's mixed opinions on this Russel, and it's by no means clear. Probably the safest way is to have the switch away from the handlebar control area to emphasize that it was not for use while riding, only at the start of riding according to where it would be used. That should satisfy the law so long as you are found to be riding with it in the legal position.

 

The chances of you being stopped for this are vanishingly small anyway.

.

There's nothing in the law about having the restriction switchable, which means that it would be up to a court to decide (but I really very much doubt if it would ever get to a court).

 

The legal issue to be decided would be "did the vehicle comply with the EAPC regulations at the time of the alleged offence?".

 

I am reasonably certain that any court would take the view that, provided it could be shown that the restriction was in place at the time of the alleged offence then you would be OK (remembering that you don't need to prove that it was, the prosecution need to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that it wasn't).

 

If you wanted to be absolutely sure that a switchable de-restriction system was legal, then I would advise using a key switch, one where the key can be removed when the bike is in legal mode. This would effectively make it impossible to be prosecuted, in my view, provided that the key was out if you were stopped.

 

Jeremy

I agree it is unlikely that any prosecutor would bother with an offence arising from an electric bike being capable of, say, 18 mph, rather than 15 mph.

 

Civil liability however could be a different matter: suppose your insurance company gives you £2m public liability cover for what they assume to be a legal electric bike, and it is discovered that at the time of a collision which results in a claim, the bike was unrestricted, ie illegal, would they use this as a good reason to withdraw cover, or to allege contributory negligence, depending on which side of the claim they were on.

Thanks for the quick responses folks.

The law concerning electric bikes certainly seems to be open to interpretation.

Positioning a key switch away from the handlebars sounds like good advice.Unfortunately i have put mine on the handlebars and it doesn't have a key! so maybe i will have to have a rethink.

 

By the way,does anyone know where the off road switch is on the Wisper?Might give me some ideas.

 

Thanks for the advice.

Russell

Hi Russell,

 

The off road switch on the Wisper 905 is on the handlebar.

 

Without wanting to hijack this thread, I wonder how severely the range of the wisper is affected when the bike is constantly rode in off rode mode?

 

Best wishes, Rus.

It's perhaps worth noting the experience of other forms of restricted power two wheel vehicles. Motorcycles and mopeds have had legal restrictions on power/engine capacity/maximum design speed for well over 20 years now.

 

I doubt that there are many sub-50cc, 45kmh maximum design speed, mopeds around - the kids all derestrict them, or tune them, as soon as they get them, as far as I can see. Certainly all the mopeds around here seem to be highly illegal, even my impaired ears can discern that their exhaust systems are not exactly standard and that they are revving way beyond the limits imposed by the restrictors. Dealers even openly offer to remove the restrictors on these bikes and advertise this as one of their services (usually caveated in their adverts, mind!).

 

I have never read of a prosecution being brought solely for riding an illegally derestricted moped, even though it's blatantly obvious that a very large number of them are being ridden with the restrictors removed. I believe that there have been a few cases where bikes have been involved in accidents and the fact that the restrictors have been physically removed, or even the cc increased, has been discovered, but again it doesn't seem to be a very big deal.

 

If the law isn't being enforced against blatantly illegal mopeds etc, then I can't honestly see how it would ever be enforced against a slightly illegal ebike. I would hazard a guess that the police have much better things to do with their time.

 

Jeremy

 

PS: Another idea for a hidden derestriction switch might be to use a personal watercraft safety lanyard switch. These have a removable pin fixed to a lanyard worn around the wrist. Pulling the pin out either makes or breaks a switch, depending on the type. If you step away from the bike, or just move your arm well away from the bars, then the bike would instantly be made legal. It would be exceptionally hard for the police to prove that the pin had actually been inserted at the time you were riding it............................

Edited June 8, 200817 yr by Jeremy

i agree with jeremy here,most petrol scooters are derestricted and i have never heard of anybody being prosecuted for riding a derestricted one ,with electric bikes it would be almost impossible to prove that it was the motor and not pedalling or a downhill slope that took the bike over 15mph.

Range

 

Hi Russell,

 

The off road switch on the Wisper 905 is on the handlebar.

 

Without wanting to hijack this thread, I wonder how severely the range of the wisper is affected when the bike is constantly rode in off rode mode?

 

Best wishes, Rus.

 

Hi Rus

 

You would be amazed! It actually cuts the range back by about 30%

 

So best not to use it if you are going far!

 

Best regards David

Good "off road switch" management

 

Hi Rus

 

You would be amazed! It actually cuts the range back by about 30%

 

So best not to use it if you are going far!

 

Best regards David

 

Hello Rus:

I only used my "off road switch" (on a Torq - much the same thing) when the going got really tough on a HILL. I called it "Turbo" - it was magic! Just when all seems lost in "legal mode" you get a kick up the rear wheel and you are flying. Restricting the use of "Turbo" to those situations I found that my range was reduced by only about 20% - a price worth paying.

Peter

I use my Wisper 905e for very much the same thing. I have not tested the range but I timed the re-charge over the same 6 mile route in each mode and the battery took an hour and 9 minutes in normal mode and an hour and a half in unrestricted mode. Not very scientific but when used just for my one long slow hill I have and flicked into normal for the flats, it only added a few more minutes to the hour recharge. If I know I am going on a long trip it is in normal mode and the longest I have traveled is 25 miles and I still had the green light on when I got back.

On my Torq i have found that in restricted mode i can get about 25 miles; and in derestricted mode around 17 miles.

 

I only have a short commute of 5 miles round trip, so maximum miles from a single charge is not a big issue for me.My main concern is maximising the life of the battery and i am worried that heavy derestricted use may shorten the battery life. I was shocked when i discovered the price of a new battery.Over half the price i paid for the bike! So for me it is mainly restricted mode use ,which i find fast enough to be honest.

 

Regards

Russell