• Electric Motorcycles
• Electricity vs Gas is Pretty Cheap
• X-Treme Scooters XB-502 Electric Scooter
• How Far can an Electric Scooter Go?
• How Fast can an Electric Motorcycle Go?
• What do Electric Mopeds Look Like?
• Are Electric Mopeds Street Legal?
• Electric Mopeds are Quiet!
• Do you Need a Drivers License?
• Laws Regarding Electric Bikes
• States Requiring Licenses
• States Requiring Helmet When Riding an Electric Bike
• Minimum Age for Riding Electric Bikes
• Maximum Speed of Electric Bikes
• Perfect for the Zombie Invasion
• Homemade Electric Motorcycle
• Electric Mopeds in Summary

Electric Motorcycles

This blog — in general — is about helping people to reduce their carbon footprint in this world and to do it in a way that makes financial sense.

There are many tasks we do every day that are a little too far for us to consider walking, so we drive. Driving uses lots of gasoline. Gasoline is expensive, not to mention the additional problems associated with using gasoline.

Yeah yeah — we could ride a regular bicycle (the least carbon footprint of all) and probably get some exercise in the meantime. When reality sets in, we don’t always ride our bike. Sometimes its too hot, maybe we don’t want to break a sweat, it is not as convenient and when you want what you want when you want it — if its not convenient you are just going to use the car anyways.

Electricity vs Gas is Pretty Cheap

If you want to take a vehicle from point A to point B — electricity is far cheaper and less polluting than gasoline. That is taking into account that somewhere out there, there may be a dirty fossil fuel being burned at a power plant that created the electricity used in your electric vehicle. A hybrid car that uses electricity, like a Prius, can be expensive. In 2010, the Prius starts at $21,000 — a fully loaded one will run you $32500. You can pick up a quality electric scooter though for about $750. The image shown at the top of this article is the X-Treme Scooters XB-502 Electric Bicycle and is around $750 dollars (you can buy it from amazon.com and have it delivered.

X-Treme Scooters XB-502 Electric Scooter

The X-Treme Scooters XB-502 Electric Bicycle has good reviews at amazon.com (at the time of this writing — it has an overall positive review average from people who have used it for over two years).

How Far can an Electric Scooter Go?

You have to look at the amps on the electric bike, some are only 12 amps and others are over 100 amps. A small scooter can go about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles). The X-Treme Scooters XB-502 Electric Moped mentioned above is 48 amps and can go about 25 miles to 35 miles on one charge. If you feel the need to exercise (or if you get stuck somewhere with no charge) you can peddle this moped to where you need to go.

How Fast can an Electric Motorcycle Go?

Electric scooters are not designed for high speeds, the model listed above is rated between 20 and 25 miles per hour.

What do Electric Mopeds Look Like?

The $750 X-Treme Scooter from Amazon above is featured in this video. You can see what it looks like by watching the video, along with other information about the electric bike.

Are Electric Mopeds Street Legal?

Professionally manufactured electric bikes are street legal — the Amazon one featured in this article is street legal in all 50 states. I say “Professionally Manufactured” because this website is about building your own solar panels, and as such I have a large do-it-yourself crowd reading these articles. You could build your own electric motorcycle or moped, but it wouldn’t be street legal. Whereas you can make your own solar panel and hook it up for free power at your home and it is perfectly legal — building and driving a homemade electric motorcycle on public roads is not.

Electric Mopeds are Quiet!

There’s nothing like peacefully gliding along on a silent moped. If you live in an area that has beautiful weather along with beautiful scenery, electric bikes are perfect for enjoying trips to the market and enjoying a quiet an scenic view with a fresh breeze on the way.

Do you Need a Drivers License?

Most electric mopeds come with pedals. If you can use it like a bike with pedals, then it isn’t necessary to have a driver’s license. In most cases (see below) it is not necessary to register the vehicle with the DMV! As a side note, if you have a restricted driver’s license, or had it taken away for some reason — an electric motorized bike may get you where you need to go if you are lacking transportation.

Laws Regarding Electric Bikes

These lists are not all-inclusive and may change, so don’t hold me to them — but here are some of the things you should consider regarding the legality of using electric bikes.

States Requiring Licenses

Alabama
Arkansas
Maryland

States Requiring Helmet When Riding an Electric Bike

California

Minimum Age for Riding Electric Bikes

Alabama: 14
Arkansas: 10
California: 16
Connecticut: 18
DC: 18
Illinois: 16
Tennessee: 14 with restrictions

Maximum Speed of Electric Bikes

Arizona: 19.9 mph
California: 20 mph
Colorado: 20 mph
Connecticut: 30 mph
DC: 35 mph
Georgia: 20 mph
Illinois: 20 mph
Maryland: 30 mph
Tennessee: 30 mph

Incidentally, all of the “20 mph” you see above, those restrictions, are why most of the electric bikes you see for sale on Amazon or anywhere else are made for 20 to 25 miles per hour. There’s no sense in making bikes that go faster but aren’t legal to sell in many states for the manufacturers, so they don’t. So do not consider a 20 or 25 mile per hour moped to be inferior if you see another one that can go 30 to 35 — its more limited by law than the manufacturer.

Perfect for the Zombie Invasion

In 2012 when the world ends and zombies are roaming around — there won’t be gas available to get yourself from place to place.

Now you can build your own solar panel and have it charge your very own electric bike for use during the coming apocalypse. Free power and electric bikes go well together!

Homemade Electric Motorcycle

Will they be street legal? No. That doesn’t mean that homemade electric bikes aren’t cool, or maybe you live in a rural area or have a large property you want to ride yourself around on. Back to an actor/solar panel installer I like once more (Michael Raines) — he is the guy that played on The Colony. Regarding the joke above about the zombies — the Discovery Channel series “The Colony” was about a viral outbreak that resulted into an apocalypse that required a small group of creative thinkers discovering methods of survival.

This guy made a tricked out electric motorcycle. He made one on “The Colony” series that actually had solar panels attached to the back of it and would power itself on-the-go. The one in this picture is his own personal creation however. This electric motorcycle has a top speed of 40 to 50 miles per hour. It can go from 0 to 40 miles per hour in 3 seconds flat! Check it out, tons more pictures here homemade solar bike.

I’m not sure how useful my “homemade electric motorcycle” section is to you all — I don’t have any plans or blueprints for one. I guess the best info you can get out of it is that you actually can make an electric motorcycle that has some “umph” to it, zero to 40 miles per hour in 3 seconds on an electric bike is impressive. A top speed of 50 miles per hour isn’t bad either (I’m guessing that might be on a flat surface whereas 40 would be on slight inclines).

Electric Mopeds in Summary

This article kind of went all over the place, but my main point is that you can save money on gasoline by buying an electric motorcycle (or moped, bike). If you are really interested in finding one — amazon.com does a great job of having them shipped out. They are also great because you get to read the reviews before you buy and weed out the bad products, sticking with the best. If you want to buy an electric bike — I did something for you that may save you some time. I went through amazon and found what I thought to be the best deals (when comparing everything — top speed, distance, price and reviews) and I list the best ones I found below. Check them out!