What we have called “motorcycles” should actually be called “enginecycles”. Also, the engine on enginecycles is a four-cycle engine.
Enginecycles? If you specifically refer to internal combustion engine (ICE) then it’d make sense to call them icecycles. It sounds weird, maybe icicles?
But seriously EU has a definition of what an ebike is, it’s not just a bicycle with motor, there’s max allowed power, max assistance level, and importantly it should only assist when pedalling. Anything beyond that, yes, is classified as a motorbike.
So does the US, with tiers though so it’s a bit less straight forward, and some state laws like in NJ are doing some wacky things. In any event, OP just didn’t educate themselves before posting.
Don’t tell that to e-bike fans. They’re very vocal and easily triggered.
And don’t dare suggesting helmets or licenses. They will crucify you.
Ebike fan here. Can confirm. My pitchfork is already out.
Some motorcycles have starter motors, these are hybrids now.
Honda goldwings use the starter motor run backwards and engage to the transmission directly for a reverse gear
Well first off, whether or not an internal combustion engine is called a motor or an engine differs by region for English-speakers and in fact in my language there’s only “mootor”, for both electric and combustion engines.
Secondly, the engine on an enginecycle could also be a two-cycle engine, that’s common in small engined dirtbikes and moped particularly.
Thirdly, this may depend on your local legislation, but where I live, a low-power e-bike would be a moped and a high-power e-bike would be a motorcycle. In terms of the license requirements anyway. If it’s limited to 25 km/h and requires pedaling, then it’s an assisted bicycle and requires no license and no helmet (provided you’re over 16).
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If it can go on the highway it is a motorcycle if not it is a moped.
Really? Because I don’t remember pedaling my Honda 750.
I don’t remember pedaling my eBike, either. With a big enough motor, they’re all but completely vestigal.
eBikes require pedaling. I don’t know what you had, but it wasn’t an eBike.
Depends on the juridictions. Some countries make pedaling mandatory (mine does), other don’t.
not exactly, a bunch of those Chinese DUI scooters have pedals, but they don’t do anything.
The Honda Goldwing is a six cylinder outdoor Campervan Winnebago.
Does it smell like a steak and seat 35?
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!
It seats ten midgets comfortably.
What if I need to transport thirteen and do not care of their comfort?
Side bags. Always a solution!
Isn’t it the electric equivalent of a moped?
No. Because you have to pedal.
Mopeds used to have pedals as well. The term comes from Swedish words motor and pedaler
There’s definitely two stroke/cycle motorcycles out there. They’re less popular nowadays due to emissions but have lasted quite a bit longer than 2 stroke cars or trucks have…
My friend said something similar to me a long time ago. I said, General Motors…?
I’m a bit triggered by this, so let me apologize in advance for the incoming rant.
You might be kind of right etymologically, but bikes, e-bikes, motorcycles, and likely in the near future e-motos, are specific things defined by law. The confusion between these vehicle classes is causing harm.
An e-bike is a pedal powered bicycle with an electric motor that assists the rider while pedalling up to 25km/h. You might be able to switch modes between more assistance and less assistance but there is no throttle.
If you purchase a cheap walmart / k-mart bike, swap the rear wheel with a powered hub from alibaba and strap on a battery from temu, that’s not an e-bike. They have a throttle and no limiter and in most cases can propel a 12 year old idiot at 50km/h but some times more than 70km/h. This is not an e-bike and more accurately described as an unregulated electric motorbike.
The frame isn’t built for this kind of stress, and the riders often have no capacity to understand the danger they’re imposing on themselves and others - zipping past kids playing and so on.
It’s an emerging disaster in Australia and I imagine other places as well. It’s turning the population against e-bikes when they’re not the problem.
We urgently need more appropriate legislation drafted to clearly define the classes of vehicle, and we need police with the right skills and equipment to enforce those laws.
This is the correct take.
My feeling is that if it’s controlled by a throttle, then it’s a motorbike and it should be registered and require a driver’s licence to operate, and it shouldn’t be on bike paths or footpaths.
My country has this legislation and my electric scooter is technically illegal sure to it. As you control the throttle with your thumb.
Now they make really uncomfortable scooters that only power of you move your leg past a sensor as then it would be ‘kick assist’. Also those scooters cost the times the amount of regular scooters that are legal in most of Europe.
It’s s terribly bad legislation. Speed should be the main differentiator.
Your statement is only partially true. In Florida, where I live, yes Florida, I know . . .there are three classes of ebikes. Class 3 ebikes must have pedals but can have a throttle and can operate without pedaling. By law, it IS still an ebike. So I believe it comes down to jurisdiction.
The rest of what you said is pretty much true and it’s a problem here too. I absolutely love riding my ebike. Mine has gears and is every bit a bike. For me the assist helps with hills (yes we have a few small ones here) and mostly wind. But it also serves another purpose. Making the ride either easier since I’m getting older or faster means I’m more likely to use the bike than a normal bike. I believe for these reasons I actually get MORE exercise with my ebike than my normal bike, at least until someone hits me with a car. So yeah, these guys with their over-powered “ebikes” are going to ruin it for the rest of us by getting us banned from trails and such.
Upvote for the main thought, but
- A gasoline engine is a type of motor. You are making a distinction without a difference. A motor is just something that produces mechanical motion. Motor. Motion. Motivate. All come from the same root as “move”
- An “engine” can be the whole apparatus that does the work, not merely the thing that provides the power, and could be powered by a water, beast, or even manually such as the cotton [en]gin[e]. A lot of that usage comes from pre WW2, but it survives in things like “train engine” (the vehicle that pushes or pulls a train) and “game engine” (the program architecture that manages the processing power provided by the computer to convert user interactions, game assets, etc. into something that we recognize as a game).
- It’s not a four-cycle engine. It is a four-stroke engine: each piston makes four strokes each complete engine cycle.
Multiple decades on this earth, decent schooling, undergraduate degree in history, and yet today is the day I discover why the cotton gin is called that. Wild. Thank you for sharing.
The difference is in power and control. Ebikes are speed capped. There are two types, pedal assist and throttle control. Pedel assist are ones that only turn on the motor when you are pedaling. Throttle control ebikes are speed capped even more than pedal assist. I think they should be banned because of jailbreaking and it puts you in the mental state of operating a machine rather than pedaling a bike.
Also, the engine on enginecycles is a four-cycle engine.
Electric motorbikes are a thing too.
You can buy e-bikes on amazon that weigh more and travel faster than a Honda Cub, a registerable motorcycle. They’re in Grom territory. This idea, at least in the US market, that they’re fitting into the two classes of safe e-bike is disproven with 30 seconds of observation in any city or adjacent suburb. The only riders pedaling are the leisure riders in parks.
Fortnine has two videos on the topic, one of the 60mph e-bike and one of converting a Cub to EV, making it faster than stock.
Yes you can buy illegal things and break the law. Like really?
Or you’re talking about electric motorbikes, which are not ebikes they are electric motorbikes.
No, I’m talking about non-registerable electric bicycles with pedals as intended by the post. I’m not talking about highway-legal electric motorcycles like Zero. Yes, you can buy illegal vehicles. People do. The laws are not enforced in the US. So if a law bans highway-speed bicycles but no one is around to enforce it and users continually break this unenforced law, then the distinction about the safe versions of e-bikes being woefully slower than regulated motorcycles is moot. The actual e-bike user base has demonstrable overlap with highway-legal motorcycles.
So back to my first point:
Yes you can buy illegal things and break the law. Like really?
JFC.
I just wanna get this straight. OP posited that e-bikes are motorcycles. Your argument is they are not motorcycles because your local ordinances prohibit them.
JFC
…
ice cycles. I really am not fond of ice on so many levels.
