Treehugger's Top 7 Electric Mopeds

Being an electric moped enthusiast, I was happy to see Treehugger write an article on what they consider the 7 best electric mopeds (including prototypes).  They had some good ones on there, including the Vectrix and Zapino, but I was a bit disappointed that the R Martin EVD wasn't on there, since I think it's better than most on their list!

They did have some nice stats though, like 30% of Americans have said they would consider riding a scooter--even some people we wouldn't expect to--and sales of scooters up by 200%.

Hey Dana,

Do you need to have a motorcycle license to drive your R Martin? I recently learned that with 50cc (gas burning) mopeds and scooters you don't need one but for 150cc you do. I'm not sure how that gets determined with electrics (maybe top speed?).

Yeah I do, but the laws vary by state.

In California, for electric mopeds you need a motorcycle license to ride any that go over 20 mph, unless they have pedals.  For some reason if the moped is capable of 20 mph but has pedals, you don't need a motorcycle license, but no pedals and you do.  It's dumb.  But certainly for a 50 mph moped you do.

In fact, technically the EVD is a motorcycle in California, because mopeds are by law limited to 30 mph.  For a moped you need an M2 class license, for a motorcycle you need M1.

Hello all. this is Randall with R Martin Limited. I want to reply to the issue of licensing. It does vary by state.

We have recently had two states that we sent information to because they have never classified electrics under their motor vehicle laws. You may run into this with any electric that needs to be licensed. We provide a letter that describes the EVD to the state by request.

Some states use the number of CCs and/or cylinders and the HP rating while others use the MPH. The HP rating is normally on the MCO (Manufacture Certificate of Origin) provided with the product. If you purchase from a dealer, they use this document to apply for a Title (You know - the tax,title,license charge). If you purchase directly from an importer or distributor, you will have to apply for the Title yourself with the MCO. You will pay the tax and licensing fee directly to your tax office.

Now the numbers for our EVD. Like all electrics, there are zero cylinders and zero CCs. Less than 50 CCs is classified as a moped in some states. There are zero cylinders. The HP is rated at 1hp for 750 watts. So our EVD at 3000 watts is 4hp. The federal classification for this is a "motor driven cycle". Some states will use this and call under 5 hp scooters mopeds.

The final parameter that states use is the speed. Our EVD reaches 50 mph and soon we will have a model that does 60 mph. This makes the EVD a motorcycle in many states.

The best thing to do is to check with your DMV or tax office. Tell them the product you want to license is under 50 CCs and the HP. Also tell them the speed. They should be able to let you know the classification for your state.

Randall from R Martin Limited

www.rmartinbikes.com

www.electricbikedistributor.com

Thanks for the info Randall.  By the way, I'm really enjoying the EVD.  It's pretty sweet!  As a matter of fact, one of my co-workers is condering getting one too.