The term moped originally referred to a type of small motorcycle with both a motorcycle engine and bicycle pedals, or easy-rider, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term is now often used to mean a similar vehicle except with no pedals. Mopeds typically travel only a bit faster than bicycles on public roads. Mopeds are distinguished from scooters in that the latter tend to be more powerful and subject to more regulation.
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a combination, an outfit, a rig or a hack.
There are many systems for classifying types of motorcycles, describing how the motorcycles are put to use, or the designer's intent, or some combination of the two. Six main categories are widely recognized: cruiser, sport, touring, standard, dual-purpose, and dirt bike. Sometimes sport touring motorcycles are recognized as a seventh category. Strong lines are sometimes drawn between motorcycles and their smaller cousins, mopeds, scooters, and underbones, but other classification schemes include these as types of motorcycles.
A motorized bicycle is a bicycle with an attached motor or engine and transmission used either to power the vehicle unassisted, or to assist with pedalling. Since it always retains both pedals and a discrete connected drive for rider-powered propulsion, the motorized bicycle is in technical terms a true bicycle, albeit a power-assisted one. However, for purposes of governmental licensing and registration requirements, the type may be legally defined as a motor vehicle, motorbike, moped, or a separate class of hybrid vehicle.
An electric bicycle, also known as an e-bike or ebike, is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assist the rider's pedal-power and bikes that add a throttle, integrating moped-style functionality. Both retain the ability to be pedaled by the rider and are therefore not electric motorcycles.
A kick scooter is a human-powered street vehicle with a handlebar, deck, and wheels propelled by a rider pushing off the ground. Today, the most common scooters are made of aluminum, titanium, and steel. Some kick scooters made for younger children have 3 to 4 wheels and are made of plastic or don't fold. High-performance Kickbikes made for adults resemble the old "penny-farthing".
Many countries have enacted electric vehicle laws to regulate the use of electric bicycles. Countries such as the United States and Canada have federal regulations governing the safety requirements and standards of manufacture. Other countries like the signatories of the European Union have agreed to wider-ranging legislation covering use and safety.
This timeline of motorized bicycle history is a summary of the major events in the development and use of motorized bicycles and tricycles, which are defined as pedal cycles with motor assistance but which can be powered by pedals alone.
A centreless wheel is a wheel where the axle is hollow and follows the wheel at very close tolerances.
A motorized scooter is a powered stand-up scooter using a small utility internal combustion engine or, more commonly, an electric motor. Classified as a form of micro-mobility, these scooters are generally designed with a large deck in the center on which the rider stands. The first production scooter, the "Sport", was released by Go-Ped in 1985.
The Shawmobile was a small two-seat buckboard-type vehicle from the horseless carriage era powered by a front-mounted gasoline engine with belt drive to the rear wheels. Wheels are of the wire bicycle type.
A scooter or motor scooter is a low-speed motorcycle with a step-through frame and a platform for the rider's feet. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and scooters have been made since at least 1914. Scooter development continued in Europe and the United States between the World Wars.
Johnson Motor Wheel was a kit to convert a bicycle into a motorized bicycle. It was manufactured by an American firm, Johnson Brothers Motor Company in Terre Haute, Indiana.
A motorized tricycle, motor trike, or three-wheeled motorcycle is a three-wheeled vehicle based on the same technology as a bicycle or motorcycle, and powered by an electric motor, motorcycle, scooter or car engine.
Motorized tricycles are three-wheeled vehicles based on the same technology as bicycles or motorcycles, and powered by motorcycle or scooter engines or electric motors.
A personal transporter is a class of compact, mostly recent, motorised micromobility vehicle for transporting an individual at speeds that do not normally exceed 25 km/h (16 mph). They include electric skateboards, kick scooters, self-balancing unicycles and Segways, as well as gasoline-fueled motorised scooters or skateboards, typically using two-stroke engines of less than 49 cc (3.0 cu in) displacement. Many newer versions use recent advances in vehicle battery and motor-control technologies. They are growing in popularity, and legislators are in the process of determining how these devices should be classified, regulated and accommodated during a period of rapid innovation.
Qooder SA is a Swiss manufacturer of street-legal vehicles. Its flagship product is the Qooder, a four-wheeled tilting street vehicle. Its other products include a three-wheeled tilting vehicle similar to the Qooder, as well as electric scooters. It operates in the United States under the subsidiary name Qooder USA.
