Man dies when motorized bicycle slams into bus

Dozer

Dozer

Heavy machinery.
Staff member
I hate the bloody things. Not only are they dangerous when used on the road next to you and me, they also make you look like a complete and utter wanker. Give it time, they'll be outlawed.
 
rone

rone

Eats Squid
In the meantime though, they're out there helping to give cyclists a bad name.

*edit* as an aside, has anyone noticed that these motor kits are always attached to the shittest bike available - Dunlops, Northern Stars etc. with their steel side-pulls and one-piece cranks. Totally not up to the increased speed and weight...
 
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tasty.dirt74

tasty.dirt74

Likes Bikes and Dirt
rone said:
In the meantime though, they're out there helping to give cyclists a bad name.

*edit* as an aside, has anyone noticed that these motor kits are always attached to the shittest bike available - Dunlops, Northern Stars etc. with their steel side-pulls and one-piece cranks. Totally not up to the increased speed and weight...
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And shitty 'v' brakes.:rolleyes:
And buckled wheels.:rolleyes:
 
N

n2o spark

Likes Dirt
Dozer said:
I hate the bloody things. Not only are they dangerous when used on the road next to you and me, they also make you look like a complete and utter wanker. Give it time, they'll be outlawed.
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you'll find that nearly all petrol powered kits are illegal, and a few electric ones are illegal too.
unfortunatly it's not heavily policed, however with news like this, that may change.
pretty much their riding an un-registered vehicle,
they can be fined for all the usual vehicle faults ( indicators, no plates, lights, non adr complaint etc )
 
niftydog

niftydog

Likes Dirt
n2o spark said:
...unfortunatly it's not heavily policed...
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Nor is it properly legislated for - I heard something about a 200W limit on electric bikes in the ACT, but it's not clear whether that's 200W input power (from the battery) or 200W output power (at the wheels.) There's also confusion over whether they are allowed on bike paths or the road.

Saw a father and son on two K-mart bikes retrofitted with petrol motors the other day. The smoke was ridiculous - we smelled them about three minutes before we heard them. The noise was obnoxious too. We flew past them and we weren't even pedalling hard. Left me wondering why they bothered.
 
party76

party76

Likes Dirt
why dont these fools just buy a real moto! they are just to lazy to pedal and deserve everything they get. most of us can pedal faster anyway! even going uphill i reckon!:cool:
 
fatdude

fatdude

Likes Bikes
I got overtaken by a douche on one the other day , it looked like a giant MTB it was fitted to , i went flying past him up a small hill after he came out of a walking track and straight in front of me as i was doing about 35km/h getting a run up for the hill i had to swerve out into the next lane to miss him :rolleyes: then he cranked up the revs and overtook me again on the next bigger hill , and i thought to myself whats the point? get a motorbike or stop being such a lazy mofo and pedal the bike like your supposed to! wanker :mad:
 
scblack

scblack

Leucocholic
One day I had a guy who was around 55years old (over 50 anyway), riding an ordinary Apollo commuter bike with 2inch tyres or so.

I'm 39years, fit enough, and riding a Cinelli roadie. Much quicker bike.

Over a ride of about 15km on my commute, he was continually catching me up the hills, or on the flat. I wondered what the hell is this guy doing - am I really that unfit???

Then I saw the battery the length of the downtube. Made me feel much better.:)
 
Tomas

Tomas

my mum says im cool
Your surprised someone died while riding a bike? Half of you are arguing they're dangerous and the other half are arguing they're only quicker up the hills.
 
WolfCreekPsycho

WolfCreekPsycho

Likes Dirt
Tomas said:
Your surprised someone died while riding a bike? Half of you are arguing they're dangerous and the other half are arguing they're only quicker up the hills.
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Not many cyclists are killed by slamming into the back of a bus... Most incidents occur due to other factors like, drivers running into and over them.

This adds a whole new level of danger, as mentioned elsewhere the bikes typically outfitted are sub standard bikes that are not really suitable for the speeds being achieved... I see plenty of punters on these out my way as its a cheap way for guys to commute to work that is close by (who obviously have no interest in cycling itself) Some of them even wear helmets... but again its the $15 K-mart special.
 
E

evltoy

Likes Dirt
"Police have ruled out alcohol as a possible factor in the incident"

Police didnt rule out stupidity or cheap faulty DIY kit yet.

I have seen these kits on ebay too many times. It needs to be policed on ebay first.
 
skwiz05

skwiz05

Likes Bikes and Dirt
You guys think that motorised bikes and scooters are a prob hey/ Well, today I just had a ride on lawnmower go past me doing about 65km/hr......

I can imagine that any law banning motorised bikes (I believe there already is a cc limit anyway to determine whether its a toy or vehicle) may have a follow on effect on ligitimate ride on devices like lawnmowers.....and there will be a fight.....worth watching this space.
 
W

walffles

Likes Bikes
I was in Beijing a few months ago where petrol powered motorbikes and scooters are banned.
All I can say is that battery powered bikes ruled the roads.
They are quieter, cleaner and just seem to cruise along swiftly.
As for drink riding. The results speak for themselves.
 
disfocus

disfocus

Likes Dirt
my_bike said:
Link or it's a Lie. :p
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Here's a 650watt electric (that uses all your gears!!):
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/650w-Off-Roa...n_15?hash=item483778de25&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

And here's a 49cc petrol powered jobbie:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/motorised-bi...n_15?hash=item35a3be1f15&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Note that the petrol-driven one includes the bike, for the princely sum of $575. At that price for a brand new bike, plus motor, plus all the bits you need to mate said motor to said bike, you know you've gotta be looking at quality. Especially once you see that it comes with a 'dual brake system' (ie front AND back. Whoosh.).

I kinda like the idea of a bit of power-assist up the hills if it encourages people to cycle rather than drive who might otherwise find it too hard (the elderly, the infirm, the perpetually inebriated ;-)), but it needs to be a properly designed set-up that's not over-powered, and preferably harnesses kinetic energy from going down the hills and along the flat rather than burning more blooody petrol.
 
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rone

rone

Eats Squid
It would have to be pretty special setup to get the elderly/grossly fat out of their mobility scooters. Now those things are a fucking menace. Less chance of breaking a hip with three wheels.

As an aside, there was a local attempt at the record for the longest convoy of mobility scooters last weekend. I really did pick well by buying a house in Hervey Bay. It's Australia's death-bed!:D
 
Turner_rider

Turner_rider

Likes Bikes and Dirt
WolfCreekPsycho said:
Not many cyclists are killed by slamming into the back of a bus... Most incidents occur due to other factors like, drivers running into and over them.
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Actually cyclists run into parked cars and other object more often than you'd think...

I hate motorised bikes as much as anyone, but from what I've read on this accident I not aware that there is any link to the fact that it was motorised being the cause.

The way its reported the fact that the bike was motorised could be as unimportant as it paint colour.

All that aside, I'd actually like police etc to start fining people for riding the non compliant motorised bikes and those fines will add up - ie riding and unregistered/uninsured motorbike which does not to the relevant ADR, riding without an approved motorcycle helmet etc etc
 
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