I sold my ebike.

[piratepete]

Unfortunately it is true. My DIY ebike had a dinner plate Chinese DD rear hub and a 52V 20Ah battery with LG cells and throttle only; proper Deliveroo spec. The controller was rated at 35A, you can do the maths. It did still have working pedals but wasn't at all legal to use on the road. It was fun and cheap and capable of 35mph but the threat of the police crackdowns and an unclear response from the Chinese seller whether the battery BMS had temperature control forced my hand. I have too much to lose now.

So I sold it for cash and handed that cash to a young lad for his beaten up 50cc moped. It's the best thing I did, it needed a few general maintenance items but after that, it was ready to go. My current insurers were happy to tag on the moped fully comp with commuting for pro rata £37 a year. That's probably less than some pay to insure their bicycle. It's a four stroke so does 100+ mpg and tax is £25 which seems a lot given the size of the engine but isn't the end of the world.

This post is just a note to those with high power ebikes that really do consider a moped. It wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought it would be and now I can sling a helmet on and potter around at 30mph without worrying about every Insignia estate in the mirror, I just have to use the small bit of road next to the cycle paths instead. It's also massively comfortable with its soft wide seat. Yes, a tiny bit more regular maintenance but the ebike wasn't free of that either. Especially as a high power DIY, I had many problems melting connectors (contributed to the fire risk) and wearing brakes and suspension with heavy use. However, I am grateful for the knowledge gained while building the thing as we enter the era of PLEVs, it's just not ready for my use case yet.

That's one more illegal ebike off the street.

 

[Ghost1951]

I have always thought that people who want to ride at higher than normal bicycle speeds should buy a motorcycle. There are stunning bikes around for little money. I bought this now 26 year old Honda 250 without an MOT about four years ago for £650 and the guy delivered it to me in his van.

The MOT was passed easily. I checked it over and all it needed was an adjustment of the brake light switch and the fitting of a nut securing split pin on the rear brake torque arm. It has passed every MOT since then without any advisories.



It is a real beauty. It had about 12000 miles on it and looked after it would easily do 70,000 miles without much attention beyond regular oil changes. It has 20 HP, and will cruise all day at 60 miles an hour and ridden gently it achieves 90 - 100 miles per gallon. I think it is about the last of my bikes I would ever part with. It is a very sweet, reliable ride.

 

[piratepete]

I have always thought that people who want to ride at higher than normal bicycle speeds should buy a motorcycle. There are stunning bikes around for little money. I bought this now 26 year old Honda 250 without an MOT about four years ago for £650 and the guy delivered it to me in his van.

The MOT was passed easily. I checked it over and all it needed was an adjustment of the brake light switch and the fitting of a nut securing split pin on the rear brake torque arm. It has passed every MOT since then without any advisories.

View attachment 59631

It is a real beauty. It had about 12000 miles on it and looked after it would easily do 70,000 miles without much attention beyond regular oil changes. It has 20 HP, and will cruise all day at 60 miles an hour and ridden gently it achieves 90 - 100 miles per gallon. I think it is about the last of my bikes I would ever part with. It is a very sweet, reliable ride.

I also have a full license and considered a 250ish cc. It really came down to the insurance as a 49cc was good enough as free whereas anything bigger added £100s to my premium. This is my commuter so purely came down to cost.

 

[saneagle]

I also have a full license and considered a 250ish cc. It really came down to the insurance as a 49cc was good enough as free whereas anything bigger added £100s to my premium. This is my commuter so purely came down to cost.

I have a 300cc scooter (actually 279cc). Insurance is about £150 and tax is £55. It's not much considering that it can comfortably do long journeys (200 miles), does around 90 mpg and is very nippy and convenient in heavy traffic. It only weighs about 180kg and it can carry a lot of stuff. It's an excellent alternative to a car if you have a long journey through heavy traffic.

 

[piratepete]

I have a 300cc scooter (actually 279cc). Insurance is about £150 and tax is £55. It's not much considering that it can comfortably do long journeys (200 miles), does around 90 mpg and is very nippy and convenient in heavy traffic. It only weighs about 180kg and it can carry a lot of stuff. It's an excellent alternative to a car if you have a long journey through heavy traffic.

I would love a maxi scoot as running costs are not far from a 50 and they are much more capable and comfortable. But it's not worth it for me for an extra couple hundred a year in insurance costs. I used to e-cycle/throttle my route to work on small country lanes and max 30mph town roads so the moped does fine. I do get a bit cold without pedalling now though.

Not that this is top trumps, but the moped weighs only 90kg wet through which makes moving it out the way to get to the proper bikes in the garage a breeze. Those are reserved for spirited outings and track days so don't have to move much.

 

[Ghost1951]

Insurance is such a variable cost, depending on how old you are, where you live and your driving record. I paid £108 for that old Honda. I think the tax wzs about £47, and the mot about £30. I suppose it does add up unless you get reasonable use out of it.