September 20, 2006 Motorized bikes get the green light Rob O'Dell, ARIZONA DAILY STAR Council votes to let them on streets but approves some basic road rules. The transportation options that gas-powered and electric bicycles provide Tucson residents are more important than the potential safety issues they create, the Tucson City Council said Tuesday. The council voted unanimously to institute basic regulations on the bikes, including prohibiting them on multiuse paths and on sidewalks, but allowing them on city streets, including in bike lanes and other areas where pedal-powered bikes can go. The regulations the council implemented were those put forth by city staff members, with the council only adding provisions that required a review in a year's time and mandating that the makers of gas bikes disclose the 20 mph speed limit for the bikes when making a sale. Councilwoman Carol West said she was concerned about the safety issues that the motorized bikes - which are powered by two-stroke motors similar to the engines that power chain saws, leaf blowers and some Jet Skis - could present. But she said she sided with the fact that the bikes are important transportation for low-income residents. About 50 people attended the meeting and more than 15 motorized-bike users spoke, mainly to say that the motorized bikes were their primary form of transportation. That included Stacy DeLancey, who said the gas-powered bike is the way she gets home from work at night after bus service has stopped running. "We get them (motorized bikes) because we need them," DeLancey said. Councilwoman Karin Uhlich said users "so persuasively argued for them" but urged users to ride the bikes in accordance with the law that only permits the bikes to travel less than 20 mph. Bikes traveling 20 mph or faster are considered motor vehicles and require licenses and insurance and are prohibited in bike lanes. Traditional bike enthusiasts showed up in smaller numbers and asked that the bikes be banned except on private property. The regulations were being considered because of a new state law that takes effect on Thursday that exempts these bikes from state motor-vehicle laws but opens the door for city rules. The new city restrictions take effect immediately. Those restrictions include requiring helmets for operators younger than 18; prohibiting use by people younger than 16; allowing only one rider per bike, prohibiting use on sidewalks; limiting their operations to places where regular bikes are currently allowed; barring them from multiuse paths such as the one around Reid Park or the trail next to the Rillito River; mandating the use of a headlamp and red rear reflector at night; and requiring merchants who sell the bikes to disclose city operating regulations.

 

Shop turns out mo-peds that get 150 miles per gallon

Sep 29, 2005

In a bike shop near downtown Tucson, a steady stream of Bob Dylan is playing. Together with the scent of oil familiar in any mechanic's den and the presence of a dog named Cash, the mood is set at Spooky Tooth Cycles.

Co-founder Roland Bosma, 29, started the bike company in early 2004 using a converted room in his home as his shop.

"I was in a cafe and the person behind the counter asked me if I had any mo-peds for sale. He only had like $400 to spend," Bosma said. "I didn't have anything, but it started this whole thought process."

He began to wonder how to provide an affordable option for people without cars who disliked having to rely on public transportation but didn't think bikes were feasible as a primary way to get around the city.

"I got to thinking if the revolution was ever going to happen, we had to start with transportation," he said. "Mobilize the people."

He started building custom motorized bikes and, in January, moved Spooky Tooth to its current site.

As his business grows, his mission remains the same.

He still speaks of a revolution rooted in the same socialist principles as guerrilla-leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara. An image of Guevara, taken during his own motorized-bike journey through Latin America, graces Spooky Tooth's Web site.

 

 

Spooky Tooth custom-creates motorized bikes that they say, if used legally, can be an affordable, convenient alternative to the more conventional methods of transportation.

"There's such a dichotomy between cars and their high costs, and bikes and their prices," Bosma said.

Over a five-year period, the total cost of a 2005 Toyota Camry SE, sold at a suggested retail price of $19,203, will average $25,904 including fuel, maintenance and repairs, according to Cars.com.

A Spooky Tooth "Bare Bones" bike costs $450. Engine replacements, should they be necessary, cost about $85, including parts and labor. Each bike can get about 150 miles per gallon, Bosma said.

Spooky Tooth can customize each bike with handlebars, seats, custom paint jobs and modifications to the engine.

Many states, including Arizona, classify motorized bicycles as mo-peds. But a few, Missouri and Maine among them, classify them separately and grant them privileges similar to bicycles.

Sgt. Mark Robinson of the Tucson Police Department said he couldn't say whether Spooky Tooth bikes are legal because he's not familiar with the company. But in general, he said, motorized bikes that meet the state's standards are street legal.

Spooky Tooth stock bikes have 48-cubic-centimeter engines and can go up to 25 miles per hour, Bosma said. Both of those are within the state's parameters for street use.

Spooky Tooth also sells customized bikes outfitted with an 80-cc engine that enables the bike to travel at speeds up to 50 mph. But those bikes, because of the larger engine, cease to fall under the definition of a mo-ped.

Legally, they're categorized as "motor-driven cycles," or motorcycles, Sgt. Robinson said.

Some customers said their passion for the bikes is about lifestyle, not speed.

"I fell in love," said George Doe. "It was something I was looking for all my life. It's the motor, it's how the bike is put together. God, it's so neat. . . . Even the police stop me and ask me where I got it."

He now owns two of the bikes.

Henry Aguilar, another of Spooky Tooth's customers, found the bikes' design similarly appealing.

He first saw one of Spooky Tooth's motorized bikes at a bicycle swap meet and "swooped in for the kill."

When he's riding it, "even the Harley (Davidson) guys have to smile at me," Aguilar said. "But there's no competition. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Apples can't get mad at oranges."

 

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Gas-powered bikes ride a fine line on campus

Published July 19, 2006 by azwildcat online

 

 

Cosme Rodriguez, 37, rides his motorized bike away from town hall last Tuesday after the city council meeting where he spoke in opposition of motor bike restrictions. Rodriguez uses the bike as transportation to and from his work.

 

 

 

The cost of gasoline and the summer's heat are among the factors leading many Tucsonans and UA students to embrace motorized bicycles, but Tucson City Council members are still trying to evaluate whether the bikes should be banned or not.

The rides in question are the vision of a local company, Spooky Tooth Cycles, 657 W. St. Mary's Road, which manufactures 26-inch, gas-powered bicycles, with speeds that top out around 20 mph.

The Spooky Tooth creations are traditional bicycles fitted with a two-stoke engine, which are found in lawn mowers, jet skis and other devices.

"It's transportation that makes sense," says communication senior Drew Williamson.

Williamson said his Spooky Tooth bike gets him to and from his job at the Arizona Inn faster and dryer than pedaling a traditional bicycle outside in the summer heat.

"With this heat it's often hard to ride to work, and you want to show up presentable," he said.

Affordability and 150 mile-to-the-gallon efficiency were his main reasons for owning one of the bikes after he gave up his car, Williamson said.

"Obviously, they're fun," Williamson said.

But city council members are evaluating whether the inexpensive transportation poses a threat to public safety.

The recently-passed House Bill 2796 in the Arizona Legislature allows the Spooky Tooth-style rides to fall under regulations similar to traditional bicycles, granting them use of bike lanes and freeing owners from licensing requirements.

However, local legislators are free to pass additional laws concerning their usage.

Members of the Tucson City Council examined their options concerning the bikes during a July 11 meeting attended by an often-raucous throng of Spooky Tooth supporters.

City officials, along with representatives from the Tucson Police Department and the Tucson-Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee, examined three avenues - to do nothing and allow the legislation to stand, to require licensing or to make the bicycles illegal altogether.

On the UA campus, the operation of motorized bikes has special significance, where the sound of footsteps and conversation, often the early warning of oncoming pedestrians, might be drowned out by engine noise.

"Safety, security and convenience don't always go hand-in-hand," said UA Police Department Cpl. Christopher Schoepner.

Schoepner cited the unique traffic issues found on college campuses that could hamper the operation of Spooky Tooth bicycles on UA bikeways, such as heavy foot traffic and disabled persons.

During the 1990s, a UA professor was killed in a bicycle-pedestrian collision.� The accident made the walking of bicycles mandatory under the Olive Street underpass, where the incident occurred, said Schoepner.

Officer Frank Romero, crime prevention specialist for UAPD, says that while the department policy toward motorized bicycles allows both engine and pedal powered bikes in the bicycle lanes, Spooky Tooth riders, like all bicyclists, should use care with regards to the speeds the bikes can attain.

"It's important to exercise due regard and caution with respect to the environment you're operating within," said Romero. "Pedestrians aren't always looking both ways before they cross around here."

Kyle Colavit, a master's candidate in mechanical engineering who serves as the president of the UA Cycling Club, is ambivalent about the effects of the powered bikes on campus.

"I think they're a good alternative to driving around in cars," said Colavit. "But it could be dangerous - there's a lot of people who don't follow the rules."�

Spooky Tooth founder Roland Bosma, 29, speaks of the bikes as a mobile revolution, allowing students the ability to balance college finances with effective transportation.

"The system right now is very unforgiving," said Bosma. "You need to hold a job to make payments on a car and insurance. We just thought we'd be doing people a service if we came up with another bright idea to solve transportation issues."

"That's the power of idealism for you," Bosma added, of the technology spawned from his homegrown business. "When we started out as a dirt-bag shop two years ago, we had no idea that we were going to be making such an impact."

Contrary to claims that the bikes he produces are environmentally unsound, Bosma says that his products, which are shipped nationally, come from a traditionally Oriental technology "whose time has come," and now meets modern emissions standards.

"You'll find incredibly moving, powerful stories about how this type of transportation has been revolutionary," said Bosma.� "It's given them access and mobility to where they would have before had to take a bus or bum a ride."

Councilwoman Carol West said she wants a study session with the city council on the bikes before the council decides the fate of gas-powered bicycles in Tucson.

Gas-Powered Bikes Boom in Tucson

Published July 13, 2006 by The Arizona Daily Star


Gas-powered bicycles are an emerging boom vehicle for Tucsonans as a cheap and efficient way to get around the Old Pueblo.

But their growing presence on Tucson streets has city officials concerned whether some kind of regulation is needed, since a new law exempts them from state motor-vehicle laws.

Exactly what these traditional bikes fitted with a two-stroke gasoline engine are — bikes, mopeds, motorcycles or none of the above — and how they should be regulated is what the city is trying to figure out.

A state law that classifies the gas-driven cycles as traditional bikes, but leaves the door open for the city to regulate them, has officials and bike enthusiasts grappling with what do about them. While they represent a low-cost way to get around because they can reach speeds of more than 25 mph, they have only a rudimentary braking system that was designed for mountain bikes or even beach cruisers.

The bikes typically include a two-stroke engine — the type that powers chain saws, leaf blowers, Jet Skis and dirt bikes — with a half-gallon fuel tank filled with a combination of gasoline and oil. The bike is started with a clutch and is powered by a throttle on the right grip, with the braking power coming from rear coaster breaks and a front caliper brake on the left handle.

The potential regulation of the gas-powered bikes has users and enthusiasts up in arms that the city could prohibit the use of a vehicle many see is their primary form of transportation.

John Karle, 42, said his gas-powered bike is his lifeline because he makes $9 a hour and just bought a house with his girlfriend, meaning they don't have the money to have two cars and pay the insurance on both.

With the nearest bus stop six miles away and his work nine miles from his home, Karle said his gas-powered bike is his only transportation option.

"In the summer heat, riding a bike is not possible," Karle said, adding that prohibiting the gas-powered bikes "would completely take away my job."

Ditto for George Doe, who said he doesn't understand why the vehicles could be banned. "It helps me get where I am going," he said.

But for traditional bike enthusiasts, such as Diana Tolton, the gas-powered bikes present problems and can even be dangerous to traditional riders because of their speeds.

"If they're under power, there is no way they should be in the bike routes or bike lanes," said Tolton, chairwoman of the Tucson Pima County Bicycle Advisory Committee. "We believe there's going to be more accidents."

Tolton also cited potential environmental pollution and the fact that drivers who have had their licenses taken away can simply ride the gas-powered bikes. How the gas-powered bikes are classified will affect the way riders can use them. Issues include: what safety gear — including a helmet — will be required; whether they can use recreational bike trails and bike lanes; whether lights, turn signals or speedometers will be required; and if there will be an age requirement.

Tucson police Lt. Mike Pryor said motorized bicycles create a number of issues, including how to determine the vehicle's speed to cite riders or instruct them to slow down, the lack of a speedometer on most bikes, high speeds that could be hazardous for bike riders or cars, and the lack of proper brakes or safety equipment.

Pryor said a professional bike rider will go about 15 to 20 mph, while a less-experienced rider will go about 10 mph. He said in most cases the police encounter gas-powered bikes traveling 30 mph to 35 mph, a figure enthusiasts dispute, saying speeds are more like 20 mph.

The police have already had several run-ins with motorized-bike riders, Pryor said, including two fatalities by operators, although it's unclear if the engines were on during the accidents; and one extreme-driving-under-the-influence felony.

State Rep. Tom Prezelski, D-Tucson, who sponsored the new state law that takes effect in late September, said many riders of gas-driven bikes are members of the "counterculture," and the "true believers" of pedal biking have a problem with these riders using the powered bikes.

Roland Bosma, owner of Spooky Tooth Cycles, which builds many of Tucson's new gas-powered bikes, said he doesn't care what the bicycle purists say — the gas-powered riders are starting a transportation revolution.

"We're trying to give support for this new form of transportation," Bosma said. "It's extremely important for many people in Tucson."

● Contact reporter Rob O'Dell at 573-4240 or rodell@azstarnet.com.

GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL LEGALIZING ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION

Commuters save money on high gas prices

(Tucson, AZ) What do you call a mutant vehicle with hybrid pedal/gas power that gets close to 20 MPH at a dirt-cheap 150 miles a gallon? According to Arizona House Bill 2796, signed by the Governor on May 19 2006, it's not a moped or a motorcycle, but a motorized bicycle. And if it's a Spooky Tooth motorized bike, you could call it the most unique looking transportation revolution to hit America since the pogo stick.

From humble beginnings as an in-home shop on Bean St. surviving on word of mouth alone, Spooky Tooth just turned "2" with a new shop on St. Mary's. With over 300 bikes on the street, Spooky Tooth's cycles have been turning heads all over Tucson—including the heads of a few traffic cops. When police began ticketing Spooky Tooth riders here in Tucson, shop owner Roland Bosma fought for his customers' rights to cheap transportation by successfully lobbying Rep. Tom Prezelski to pass HB 2796. The bill removed a major roadblock to Bosma's vision of a desert town with no cars – just sleek, efficient motorized bikes cruising beneath the vast, rainless sky. It also paved the way for Spooky Tooth to become a household name.

Bosma's Bill defines Spooky Tooth and other motorized bikes as categorically different from motor vehicles like mopeds. Since Spooky Tooth bikes are not designed to exceed 20 MPH, they are now exempt from the legal baggage of insurance, license, and registration. Thanks to the bill, motorized bicycles, gas and electric, are defined in Arizona statute the same as they are in federal regulation and MVD policy, completely street legal.

Bosma sees the bill as a first step in an alternative transportation revolution. On top of freedom from insurance bills, Spooky Tooth riders enjoy a healthy, fun, and practical solution to their daily commute. Older riders praise the low-impact workout and increased range of distances Spooky Tooth bikes provide. With the price of gas in a vicious upward spiral, Spooky Tooth cycles save riders money by using it ten times less than leading automobiles. It seems that HB2796 could not have come at a more appropriate time.

Spooky Tooth transplants over sixty years of Asian motovelocipede technology to Tucson, offering high quality, hand-built motorized bikes at third world prices! Choose from five models with customizable features, including the rugged "Bare Bones" and the stylish "Lowrider," a proud Tucson classic. All models combine undeniable style with extreme efficiency for half the price of leading eBikes. Models range from $525 - $700, with most bikes going for less than $600, tax included. Custom bikes are built to order within a week. Other Spooky Tooth options include converting an existing bike or taking home a do-it-yourself engine kit.

Best of all, thanks to Bosma's Bill, Spooky Tooth bikes require no license, registration, or insurance, making them street legal straight from the shop – and about a hundred times faster than the pogo sticks of yore!

REFERENCE TITLE: motorized electric; gas powered bicycles

State of Arizona House of Representatives Forty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session 2006 HB 2796

Introduced by Representatives Prezelski: Biggs, Chase, Lopes, Paton, Weiers JP

AN ACT

amending title 28, chapter 7, article 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 28-2516; relating to distinctive vehicles.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 28, chapter 7, article 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 28-2516, to read:

START_STATUTE28-2516. Motorized electric or gas powered bicycles or tricycles; definition

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title:

1. A certificate of title is not required for a motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle.

2. Registration is not required for a motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle.

3. Vehicle license tax is not imposed on a motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle.

4. A motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle is exempt from the provisions of section 28-964 relating to required equipment on motorcycles and motor-driven cycles and from the provisions of title 49, chapter 3, article 5 relating to vehicle emissions inspections.

5. A driver license is not required to operate a motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle.

6. A motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle may use rights-of-way designated for the exclusive use of bicycles.

7. A motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle is not subject to chapter 9 of this title.

B. For the purposes of this section, "motorized electric or gas powered bicycle or tricycle" means a bicycle or tricycle that is equipped with a helper motor that has a maximum piston displacement of forty-eight cubic centimeters or less, that may also be self-propelled and that is operated at speeds of less than twenty miles per hour.END_STATUTE