Programmable LCD-3 1000 48v and UK law

[easyrider15]

Hi all
I have a 1000w 48v hub motor.
If I use the new style LCD-3 display which allows you to set the speed and the wattage of the motor to 15mph and 250 watts would this make it road legal as it would be restricted?
Cheers

 

[d8veh]

No The requirement is that the motor has to be rated at 250w. Yours is rated at 1000w. There is no rule about how much power you can put through a 250w motor as long as it doesn't burn out, but you can't use a 1000w motor at reduced power.

 

[mikebikerad]

You would think this would be perfectly legal but we get asked this all the time and the way some ebike laws are written, they do clearly state it is the motors wattage rating, not the actual power to the motor or power to the ground which would be the best. It will come down to which judge or police officer is interpreting these poorly written laws. Some states in the U.S. and some laws overseas are more clear and useful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws

 

[d8veh]

Just to make it clear. I assumed OP was in UK because he mentioned 15 mph and 250w. Obviously different rules apply elsewhere.

 

[easyrider15]

Thanks for answering everyone,
That's interesting about the power d8veh, can you recommend a good 250w kit with a battery to do a round trip of 25 miles NO pedalling (got bad knees) some small hills and I'm about 85K and have a Specialised full sus dh bike that's currently got the 1000w rear hub and 48v lifepo4 battery on it, I would very much like to use it on the road to get maximum usage and pleasure. I haven't seen a 250w kit that's powered by 48v battery.
Also, I was told the law governing factory built (always intented to be) e-bikes and home made creations using a seperate bolt on hub or crank kit and battery purchased seperately from the bike was different. Can you clarify this please.
Cheers

 

[d8veh]

You won't get into trouble if your bike is limited to 25km/h and has a motor marked 250w. It would probably be even more convincing if you had a professional looking label on your motor that says EN15194, EC mark, max speed 25 km/h, EAPC.

There's a lot of rules that your bike has to comply with to be totally legal, like lights have to marked that they comply with the relevant BS standard or equivalent. Nobody has lights like that, and nobody seems to care. Brake cut-offs are another thing. The motor has to cut within a certain distance of stopping pedalling. If it doesn't, you need a brake cut-off switch. Nobody would care about that unless you ran into somebody. Then, you could be in trouble.

It will always be better if you pedal all the time. If you go fast up hills without pedalling or if you're over 25km/h without pedalling, you could have some difficult questions to answer.

The rules are no different whether OEM or self-build.

Again, I'm assuming UK.

 

[easyrider15]

Thanks again d8veh, yes UK
I got a new LCD-3 display but couldn't get it to work properly with my older style kit with the on/off button and 3 speed setting, think I had 1 wire missing on the connector and couldn't get the display to go into section 2 where the speed setting is, also I couldn't get the throttle to work, so I have nothing to set the speed and at the touch of the 3 speed button the bike goes to 25 and then 30 mph which would be a bit iffy if stopped. Although I never have it in fast mode and I do turn the pedals especially on hills I'm still a bit concerned about taking it on the road. I have noticed even at half throttle (about 10-15 mph) I still get the attention of motorists and pedestrians.
I was thinking of buying a 250w motor but having to replace my 48v lifepo4 with something smaller would be beyond my budget.

Is it possible to run a 250w motor on a 48v battery????
Cheers

 

[d8veh]

The LCD-3 only works with controllers that have the 5-wire connector for it. It has its own microprocessor that communicates with the one in the controller via two of the wires (tx and rx).

There's nothing to syop you running a 250w motor at 48v. If you're asking if it's legal, that's a more difficult question to answer. Some certification bodies won't allow it because their interpretation is that EN15194 says 48v max. A48v battery goes over 48v. My interpretation is that the standard limits you to a nominal 48v system, not an absolute 48v limit. The words are not clear enough in the standard, so open to interpretation. I don't know of any OEMs using 48v except The KTM bikes with the Panasonic motor. It could be that it uses 12S rather than 13S, though it would still go over 48v.