I had a discouraging conversation with a titling and registration specialist at NJMVC today. Apparently anything with two wheels and a motor is either a motorcycle or a moped. Motorcycles are now required to be certified as manufactured to a particular Federal safety standard (I thing he said "SPSS", but I could have the acronym wrong). Mopeds must have a Vehicle Identification Number, and should have a Manufacturer's Statement of Origin. Apparently titling and registering salvaged or specially constructed motor vehicles in NJ is a thing of the past, so that route is closed to me. Unless Roland has got the paperwork done to issue a VIN as a manufacturer (which is probably a ridiculously expensive and time-consuming undertaking), there is only one remotely possible process I can think of to make this happen here. That would be to have a friend who lives in a state that still does "special" titles _and_ that registers mopeds (I think Virginia is one example) do the paperwork to get that state to issue a VIN, title and register the bike, and then "sell" it to me across the state line. Anyone have any experience with pulling off that kind of parlor trick, or know anyone who has? Otherwise I'm afraid that I am going to have to reluctantly give up on the idea of owning one of these. It's sad the amount of bullshit that these livestock fornicating bureaucrats invent on our dime. Thanks.

Rolly

Check this out if it's any help.

http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Licenses/MotorizedBicycle.htm

Opps, this is the one

http://moped2.org/laws/New-Jersey.htm

Post edited by: fairracing31, at: 2008/03/06 04:10

Rolly-

Yeah, I've done some creative titling before. I think your plan should work.

Or....you could always ride outlaw.

Think outside of the box people! Come on, creativity here, some originality please.

There are lots of fun ways to skirt around annoying laws without REALLY breaking the law.

Try this...
http://www.bicicletasmercurio.com.mx/carga.htm
These are Mexican tricycles (called triciclos). You see people on the south-side of Tucson, and many border towns hauling these cargo trikes around. Sometimes they sell, ice cream, fruit bars, hats and blankets... stuff! Anyway, if you put a couple of electric motors to this cargo hauler you will be legal in all 50 states.
AND!
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200342355_200342355
If you add a portable generator in combination with DC to DC converters (used to up the voltage from 12V to 36V), you can travel indefinitely. Charge while you go.

The idea would be gas creates electric. Electric moves the bike.

If you want me to pick you up a cargo trike, I will. I can get a new one from Agua Prieta, Sonora which is 25 miles away. I believe I can bring it over for $300, not sure on shipping to NJ.

Also, have you looked into fast electric bikes?
Here is another idea. Take a 36V brushless hub motor. Add a 72V 40amp Crystalyte brushless controller. Run the system with 6 - 12volt batteries. You should have a bike that will cruise from 30-40mph without even blinking!

Check out this sweet ride. We have not put this on the market yet. Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, 72V controller, Wavecrest E-bike frame, and a rear hub motor. I will sell it for $1000. Top speed 34mph.

Cheers, Roland

im with bikeguy joe most people i run into or that pass me when im riding
are pretty impressed by the whole bussiness of a motorized bike. i see the cops constantly and all they do is wave at me. no pigs have hasseled me yet. so go big or go home Ride OUTLAW.......see ya .irish N.Y.

A powered trike would be even more difficult here (three-wheeled mopeds are specifically forbidden, and "if it isn't a moped, it's a motorcycle", etc., etc.), and the outlaw/stealth thing, while tempting, won't get it done on my daily commute to work. I'll gladly flout the law (pretty much any law) on my own time, but my employer wouldn't appreciate me doing it on his. Thanks for the support and the suggestions, though!

OTOH, that electric you showed is intriguing, though. It could easily pass for unpowered without a close examination, unlike the gas powered models (which shout, "Look at me, I have a motor" - unfortunately that's part of their charm). If I could pack enough batteries on that to get 25-30 mph and 17 miles range with "normal pedaling", I think I'd do it. That's probably pushing the envelope, but is it pushing it a little, or a lot? Do you have a time frame for introducing it? Any plans for an electric power kit for existing bikes similar to the ICE kit you sell?

-Rolly

Post edited by: Rolly, at: 2008/03/07 03:22

Post edited by: Rolly, at: 2008/03/07 03:24

People all over the country build all kinds of stuff to put on the road.
A sandrail is a perfect example. If you built a sandrail in your back yard, you will have no paper work for it. You take your sandrail to your local DMV, have it inspected, tell the inspecter that it is "Home Built". If your vehicle meets your state requirement's (Light's, speedometer,horn, turn signals, ect.) The inspecter will issue you a Vehicle Vin # sticker, you stick it on your vehicle and he will issue a title for you.
There is no Bicycle manufacture that I know of that offers title's to bicycles.
I would build my MB, take to DMV and tell them It's a home built moped. Thers no law that I know of that says you cant build your own moped. And as long as it meets your state requirements, there is no reason not to issue a title.