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Out of a road legal and registered motorbike allbeit one that had it's IC engine removed and replaced with an electric motor and batteries?
Ie I bought a 50 or 125cc motorbike/scooter and replaced all its oily bits with nice clean electrons - could I jump back on it and ride into the blue yonder without filling in too many pieces of paper?
You could make an electric motorcycle yes - but not an electric bicycle I don't think
https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules
Basically no, need pedals, needs to be a bike, but basically how will you make that lump of metal move with the pedal assist motor?
Not wanting to make an Ebike as such but wondering if I could make an electric powered motorbike/scooter from a currently type approved motorbike/scooter allbeit from replacing the IC engine and then jumping back on and riding it with an electric powertrain
Well given that is the stuff you can do without registering or insuring it I'd say if you google a little further you will get a straight no
http://www.mcia.co.uk/page/electric-bicycle-moped-or-motorcycle
Yes. In reality all you are doing is replacing an engine.
There may be issues with fuel duty and possibly the DVLA will want to know about the engine but I doubt it would go as far as type approval being needed. I may be wrong there.
I am pretty sure that this year someone rode an electric Royal Enfield LEJOG.
Practicalities may be different Weight comes to mind. Even on a trail bike type moped things are somewhat heavier than any ebike. Maybe something out of a non legal i.e. too powerful ebike would work. After all several motorcycle manufacturers have made such a thing.
OP, You need to google "Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval"
From gov.uk:
"It must be inspected under the Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) scheme if it does not have a Certificate of Conformity.
You must also use the MSVA scheme if your vehicle has been radically altered or built using a mixture of parts from previously registered vehicles."
I think what you're proposing would be classed as "radically altered".
Assuming you want to make an electric motorbike (because that's what it will be, not an 'e-bike', 250w will get you nowhere on a 100kg+ motorbike even if you fitted pedals). Then you would need to:
1) get the v5 changed with the new motor serial number, power etc.
2)I think it would need an IVA test, although I've never quite understood at what point it stops being a modification and becomes a new vehicle.
Then you'd need to find an insurer.
People have converted car engines to electric motors without being classed as a new car, so I'd say motorbikes shouldn't be much different. Have a look at what they've been doing.
It would be legal only if you use it exclusively on private land and never use it on a public highway.
Otherwise it would need to have an IVA test certificate (as the vehicle has been fundamentally altered from its original state) , insurance (liable to be specialist insurance as it's a one-off) and new registration documents.
This also is true of car conversions.
If you go down the route of turning it into an E-Bike (250w max power, 15mph max speed) and use it on the road, expect to have some interesting conversations with the Police if stopped, as well as everyone else as to why you are riding a motorbike so slooooowly...
For an 'electrically assisted pedal cycle', it is limited to a maximum kerbside weight of 40kg.
So in summary you can do it so long as you dont get caught 😉