General newbie ebike question

[Wolfears]

Good day ladies and gentleman!
I decided that I no longer want to pay insurance on my motorcycle, while it is sitting for 4 months out of a year due to winter.

So I want to switch to e-bikes, but have only limited knowledge at this point

Basically it is between the hub drive and the mid drive at this point.

I have no intentions of pedalling and if I had my way, I would take the pedals out and weld in foot pegs....but unfortunately, I need to keep them intact in order to satisfy the local bilwa requirements...

I want the bike to have as much power and top speed as possible, which likely points to the mid drive setup....however, being that the power to the rear wheel is actually coming through the pedal assembly, as opposed to the hub drive, here is my question:

Can I ride a mid drive ebike with throttle only, because from the outside it does not look that there is any kind of a disengage clutch, that would allow for this without having to move my feet.

(When I say throttle only, I mean just that....no pedaling, no ghost pedaling and keeping my feet in still position)

Thank you in advance for any replies!

 

[Annieolnie]

A midrive has more torque and power driving through the drive train, but because of that you need to pedal to put the chain on the proper sprocket, so you don't stress the motor and, or break your chain. Basically, You are like part of the clutch on a manual transmission. I don't think you would be happy with a midrive and it wouldn't be too happy with you. If you kept starting up at lights in 8th gear, you would eventually burn your motor up. For that reason I would think that you would want a moped style ebike, or a beast style ebike with duel motors, either way you would be wanting a hub drive. The hubdrives directly drive the rear wheel (or both wheels) and even if you broke your chain you could still scooter around. They are not part of the chain and sprocket part of the bike, so it doesn't matter what gear you are in, so it is not necessary to pedal. There is a fellow on YouTube, his channel is called,"Tailhappy TV" and he reviews an assortment of bikes, but he gets a lot of the beefed up ones. He eventually tests them on the beach, to see if they will bog down. You could watch some of his reviews to see what you like.

 

[Wolfears]

Thank you sir.
I'm definitely starting to lean more towards the hub drive based on what I'm reading out there.

 

[BiggKidd]

I've got a dual hub motor E-bike and I love it. My concern with your plan is battery life. So keep that in mind and get as much battery as you can or multiples.

If I were you I'd check this bike out.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DWSY4SX...D9GVYM7H&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[major masingil]

I have a Bafang mid drive. It's a kit you install on a regular bike. You can easily ride throttle only with them, and you do not have to ghost pedal. You don't have to ever pedal if you don't want. You can even pedal backwards while under throttle power.

The annoying part about throttle only on a regular bike is you don't have foot pegs. Pedaling is good because it keeps a lot of your weight off the seat. It does help while shifting gears too. Either thypes of motor are a lot of fun. Hub or mid drive, I'd recommend getting the most powerful motor allowed in your state/you're comfortable with. The nice thing about hubs is you can have front and rear wheel drive if you want. I also recommend a bike/motor which allows you to adjust various motor performace settings to your preferences.

Water ingress can be an issue. If you're planning on riding rain or shine you'll need to make considerations for that. Don't go super cheap or with a small battery. My batt is 52V 17.5 aH, I'm 210 lbs. I can go up to 20 miles throttle only, maybe more. Battery distance all depends on terrain, speed, wind direction, and weight.

 

[Annieolnie]

Thank you sir.
I'm definitely starting to lean more towards the hub drive based on what I'm reading out there.

You're welcome, but not a sir.

 

[Smaug]

I'm a motorcyclist, cyclist and eBiker.
An eBike is a poor substitute for a motorcycle or scooter except in very slow areas. Think crowded downtown area or bike paths.
In Canada, you're limited to 20 mph top speed on an eBike. Even a low powered 49cc scooter will go 38 mph.
Just stop your insurance on the motorcycle for the winter; that's what I do.

The conversation went something like this.
Insurance: "So you want to put it on storage insurance?"
Me: "No, stop insurance. I don't want to pay insurance while it's in storage."
I: "It's very cheap, only $10/month."
M: "I live in a safe area and it will be in the garage."
I: "This will cover theft or damage while garaged."
M: "No thanks; I'll chance it."

They have to write a new contract every year for me in April, hehehe.

You might be able to find an illegal eBike that goes faster than 20 mph, but you will eventually run into legal troubles.

You can get a retrofit mid drive kit from Bafang to electrify your muggle bike. Those are available with throttle. Make sure you have a strong frame to start with.

 

[any name you wish]

I'm a motorcyclist, cyclist and eBiker.
An eBike is a poor substitute for a motorcycle or scooter except in very slow areas. Think crowded downtown area or bike paths.
In Canada, you're limited to 20 mph top speed on an eBike. Even a low powered 49cc scooter will go 38 mph.
Just stop your insurance on the motorcycle for the winter; that's what I do.

The conversation went something like this.
Insurance: "So you want to put it on storage insurance?"
Me: "No, stop insurance. I don't want to pay insurance while it's in storage."
I: "It's very cheap, only $10/month."
M: "I live in a safe area and it will be in the garage."
I: "This will cover theft or damage while garaged."
M: "No thanks; I'll chance it."

They have to write a new contract every year for me in April, hehehe.

You might be able to find an illegal eBike that goes faster than 20 mph, but you will eventually run into legal troubles.

You can get a retrofit mid drive kit from Bafang to electrify your muggle bike. Those are available with throttle. Make sure you have a strong frame to start with.

My motorcycle insurance is pretty inexpensive, $15/month give or take, so I keep it year round. Makes sense because there is a very slight chance that something will happen in storage or that there might be a real nice and warm winter day and I want to take advantage of it. Plus I don't have to have the hassle of getting new insurance at the start of the year.

 

[Wolfears]

I'm a motorcyclist, cyclist and eBiker.
An eBike is a poor substitute for a motorcycle or scooter except in very slow areas. Think crowded downtown area or bike paths.
In Canada, you're limited to 20 mph top speed on an eBike. Even a low powered 49cc scooter will go 38 mph.
Just stop your insurance on the motorcycle for the winter; that's what I do.

The conversation went something like this.
Insurance: "So you want to put it on storage insurance?"
Me: "No, stop insurance. I don't want to pay insurance while it's in storage."
I: "It's very cheap, only $10/month."
M: "I live in a safe area and it will be in the garage."
I: "This will cover theft or damage while garaged."
M: "No thanks; I'll chance it."

They have to write a new contract every year for me in April, hehehe.

You might be able to find an illegal eBike that goes faster than 20 mph, but you will eventually run into legal troubles.

You can get a retrofit mid drive kit from Bafang to electrify your muggle bike. Those are available with throttle. Make sure you have a strong frame to start with.

This was possible in the old days...but not anymore.
The insurance companies got wise to the "cancelling insurance for the winter" and nowadays they just make you pay for the whole year, while dividing it into monthly payments.

Even if somehow I found the way to interrupt the insurance payments, they will charge me more next year, due to the "interruption".
Here in Canada, those crooks have honed their scheme to a science, just due to the fact that EVERYONE would cancell their insurance in the winter, if given the chance.

Going faster than the 20 mph (or 32 kmh/h should not be a big deal, as there are plenty of ebikes around here, that I see going much faster than that (once I clocked one at over 50 mph just by matching my speed to it).

As long as the pedals are attached and as long as the cops do not clock me with a radar gun (which I never heard of before as far as ebikes are concerned), I can always just switch it to a lower class mode and play dumb.

Again, I'm yet to hear about anyone's ebike being confiscated for testing in order to determine the actual speed, so I'm not too concerned about this.
The faster the better.

 

[Bluebomber]

I recommend UL Certified Class 2 Ebike with a mid-drive and a transmission.
My logic is as laws mature landlords will prohibit charging non UL. There is a lot of fear over lithium
Class 2 has a throttle and is limited to 20 mph
Mid drive allows the motor to take advantage of the gears
Transmission allows shifting without pedaling and while stopped

I know that doesn’t match what you are wanting but it should keep you out of legal trouble and at least for the moment avoid insurance

 

[Smaug]

...

I know that doesn’t match what you are wanting but it should keep you out of legal trouble and at least for the moment avoid insurance

He's decided to learn about legal trouble The Hard Way; there's no talking him out of that.

 

[Wolfears]

I'm a motorcyclist, cyclist and eBiker.
An eBike is a poor substitute for a motorcycle or scooter except in very slow areas. Think crowded downtown area or bike paths.
In Canada, you're limited to 20 mph top speed on an eBike. Even a low powered 49cc scooter will go 38 mph.
Just stop your insurance on the motorcycle for the winter; that's what I do.

The conversation went something like this.
Insurance: "So you want to put it on storage insurance?"
Me: "No, stop insurance. I don't want to pay insurance while it's in storage."
I: "It's very cheap, only $10/month."
M: "I live in a safe area and it will be in the garage."
I: "This will cover theft or damage while garaged."
M: "No thanks; I'll chance it."

They have to write a new contract every year for me in April, hehehe.

You might be able to find an illegal eBike that goes faster than 20 mph, but you will eventually run into legal troubles.

You can get a retrofit mid drive kit from Bafang to electrify your muggle bike. Those are available with throttle. Make sure you have a strong frame to start with.

This was possible in the old days...but not anymore.
The insurance companies got wise to the "cancelling insurance for the winter" and nowadays they just make you pay for the whole year, while dividing it into monthly payments.

Even if somehow I found the way to interrupt the insurance payments, they will charge me more next year, due to the "interruption".
Here in Canada, those crooks have honed their scheme to a science, just due to the fact that EVERYONE would cancell their insurance in the winter, if given the chance.

Going faster than the 20 mph (or 32 kmh/h should not be a big deal, as there are plenty of ebikes around here, that I see going much faster than that (once I clocked one at over 50 mph just by matching my speed to it).

As long as the pedals are attached and as long as the cops do not clock me with a radar gun (which I never heard of before as far as ebikes are concerned), I can always just switch it to a lower class mode and play dumb.

Again, I'm yet to hear about anyone's ebike being confiscated for testing in order to determine the actual speed, so I'm not too concerned about this.
The faster the better

He's decided to learn about legal trouble The Hard Way; there's no talking him out of that.

I'm not really interested in being patronized about "legal trouble".
Yes I'm aware that if the stars align not in my favour, there could be some consequences, but I'm willing to take that calculated risk.

I just want to figure out, which ebike setup I can use to go as fast as I can, without breaking the bank.

 

[Annieolnie]

Well, there is this one. Full disclosure, I haven't yet watched this video (it's on TailhappyTV) because I'm too small a person to become that much of a projectile, but hey, have fun.

 

[B.FRANK]

Good day ladies and gentleman!
I decided that I no longer want to pay insurance on my motorcycle, while it is sitting for 4 months out of a year due to winter.

So I want to switch to e-bikes, but have only limited knowledge at this point

Basically it is between the hub drive and the mid drive at this point.

I have no intentions of pedalling and if I had my way, I would take the pedals out and weld in foot pegs....but unfortunately, I need to keep them intact in order to satisfy the local bilwa requirements...

I want the bike to have as much power and top speed as possible, which likely points to the mid drive setup....however, being that the power to the rear wheel is actually coming through the pedal assembly, as opposed to the hub drive, here is my question:

Can I ride a mid drive ebike with throttle only, because from the outside it does not look that there is any kind of a disengage clutch, that would allow for this without having to move my feet.

(When I say throttle only, I mean just that....no pedaling, no ghost pedaling and keeping my feet in still position)

Thank you in advance for any replies!

check out Sur Ron and talaria. stock they do about 40mph and are around 6 hp. I upped it to 72 v from 60v and triple the output around 16 hp. lot of fun. I went up on the rear sprocket because I like to wheelie but others who did the same can get up around 80mph but acceleration suffers. they make pedals for these bikes, they are mostly for show but make the bike look legal. no ebike is gonna give you motorcycle like performance but these ultra light emotorcycles are affordable, semi reliable and a lot of fun. I am writing because I am also a motorcyclist, zero sr, alta sm, alta mx and a very modified Sur Ron light bee, street and dirt, and I am seriously disappointed by the lack of torque. my electric motorcycles have gobs of torque but a 750 w motor kicks out a huge 1 yes 1 horsepower. never be enough. check out small emotorcycles...not scooters they're not fun after real motorcycles, there are a bunch and some pass as an ebike. ps. don't sell your bike unless you want a new one.....you cannot live without a motorcycle.

 

[TrekElek]

I also have a Bafang e-bike. I have the largest motor and battery I could get. I can ride single trail on level 4 all day on a charge but I am pedaling.
The highway is different. If you do not pedal, you will get about 3-4 hours ride time. I an guessing because I always pedal. I have a mountain bike frame and if I added smoother tires, it would extend battery life and increase speed. I added a twist throttle and if the motor and I both pedal hard, I can hit 40mph. I have dirt bikes and riding my e-bike on single trails is usually more expensive due to breakage. I treat it like a light duty dirt bike and a green twig in the wrong place will destroy a derailleur. On the other hand, my YZ450FX has about 55 hp and is always ready.