this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2024
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Yep. :( The certification manual here, in a moderately regulated European country, is about 250 pages long. Fortunately, not all chapters apply to moped-cars. If one really really wants, moped-cars are the way to break through the barrier.
Something like "L7e"? There are some European classiciations that are theoretically pretty interesting. But you still have to get certified parts, like motor without electric noise and batteries and controller and (I think) still have to test them together in a certified expensive lab. Also windshields.
I wish we had a constitution that costs arising from bureaucratic regulations always have to be paid by the state and never by the citizen. That would fix regulations real quick :D
Yep. I've done an L2e, and some day I will manage an L7e. :)
Interference testing was not needed. The motor wattage and motor controller wattage labels were examined. I could have dropped in more power in a mood for forgery, but I was in an honest mood. :)
Oh wow very nice, congrats!
I want to build a tadpole recumbent / cargo bike for shopping, then maybe a quadricycle and a velomobile with motor for pedelec. I wish they'd allow pedelec up to 50km/h instead of 25 without needed certification and insurance. That'd be a huge boost for the environment. But even the L1e with 45km/h seems purposefully gimped for city traffic to protect car manufacturers.
But a proper "recumbent motorcycle" that can go 100km/h with 3 or 4 wheels and is ultra lightweight would be awesome too.
Myself, I went for 45 km/h officially (unoffially, on a flat road, I could reach 53 km/h). While turning, for safety reasons, I limited myself to far lower speeds (25 km/h).
Designing a car suspension system for reasonably high speed seems hard, I have never tried, instead choosing the robust and crude solutions to get a reasonable assurance of strength.
Motorcycles seem easier. Especially since most of factory-made motorcycles use a sprocket and chain - a very flexible system for dropping in other power sources. I imagine that with enough know-how to get through type certification, a lot of combustion bikes could become e-bikes with excellent riding characteristics. :)