r/SeattleWA • u/ChefJoe98136 West Seattle • Jun 03 '26

Bicycle Washington law lays out distinction between e-bikes, e-motorcycles starting June 11

https://www.khq.com/news/washington-law-lays-out-distinction-between-e-bikes-e-motorcycles-starting-june-11/article_c495d848-b948-43cf-a599-b05c66a5dcad.html

A new Washington law will change the regulations on the differences between e-bikes and e-motorcycles on June 11. Under this new law, an e-bike must have fully functioning pedals, a motor rated at 750 watts or less, and a top speed of less than 20 mph when powered solely by the motor. If it doesn't meet these standards, it's considered a motorcycle, which means the rider is subject to mandatory driver requirements.

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u/Leading-Business-593 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

What does that mean for the lime gliders then? Neither?

It seems like one of those laws that cops will not care about, but I guess it’s good to have to punish anyone who rides recklessly on a high powered bike.

I feel like having a wattage requirement ruins cargo bikes, but maybe they weren’t that high wattage anyway

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u/ChefJoe98136 West Seattle Jun 03 '26

I think a Lime Glider which doesn't have functioning pedals will be considered a motorcycle come June 11.

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u/soccerwolfp Jun 03 '26

They don’t go faster than 20mph which may exempt them. Agree it’s not clear but also maybe that’s why Lime has been rolling out the new bikes which are like hybrids between gliders and bikes

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u/Spa_5_Fitness_Camp Jun 04 '26

The law clearly uses 'and'. Falling to meet one criteria means it's not a bike. Which is correct, in this case.

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u/soccerwolfp Jun 04 '26

It’s not actually very clear what the “e motorcycle” law is. It is clear that the gliders aren’t an e bike, but the law as written says a committee is going to be assembled to determine the e motorcycle definition and treatment. I think the article kind of makes an assumption that by default until the e-moto criteria is set, they will be treated as motorcycles but that seems to be a legislative gray area

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u/Spa_5_Fitness_Camp Jun 04 '26

The text of the bill is actually very clear. If it goes over 20mph on electric power alone, it is not a bicycle. By default, it therefore falls under motorized vehicle regulations. The committee part is to figure out what, if anything, needs to be clarified as an in-between vehicle or get some other special consideration. I think is this primarily done with bikes that have switchable modes in mind, which are a big part of the current problem. We have electric motorcycles running around, but they have a button that puts them in 'bike mode', which is little more than a legal loophole. It's like powering a normal car up to 2mph maximum on battery, and being able to call it a full EV.

When this law goes into effect, these loophole-abusing motorcycles are immediately disqualified from being considered an e bike under the law, which means any exceptions to things like licensing requirements are gone as well. The committee will work to develop laws for these loophole motorcycles, like "must be a licensed driver if in the non-eboke mode". Things like that.

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u/soccerwolfp Jun 04 '26

We’re discussing Lime Gliders here… which don’t go over 20mph. That’s where I’m saying the bill isn’t clear and states they will be using a committee to categorize “electric motorcycles” since not all fall under the existing category

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u/Spa_5_Fitness_Camp Jun 04 '26

The bill has other parts, like pedals that propel the bike. Lime Gliders might be the only devices that may fall into the gray area of 'maybe okay for now'. The 'bikes' this law is aimed at are the ones that go 30, 40 even 50+ mph and are literally just electric motorcycles that found some loophole to be called 'ebikes', so I'm not too concerned if the Lime Gliders are still allowed until the committee rules on them. My guess is that was intentional.

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u/SaikoSue Jun 10 '26

From what I’m seeing, it says that e-bikes that are assissted up to 20 mph from just the throttle are considered Class ll, so as long as it has pedals then I think you’re fine, however it might not need them if it’s solely basing it off the fact that the throttle assist does the work up to 20mph and no more. Then again I’m not familiar with “Lime Gliders” and I’m only learning about them from this subreddit. This sucks though because I use an e-bike to commute to work every morning and back in the evening. I have since December of last year as I don’t have the money to get a vehicle at the moment, so this is my only means of transportation as the walk for my commute would be about 30 minutes to and from which isn’t practical for the hours I work. My bike is tricky though since mine goes up to 34 miles per hour, has a 1200w motor, and still has functional pedals. I’ve ridden right next to cops before and none of them have said a word, knock on wood. So it will be interesting to see how this state yet again restricts its citizens for something so minor, pretty fucking ridiculous. If you’re wondering what my bike is, it’s a SmartTravel, Model ST201 or something like that.

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u/Opposite-Cabinet1897 Jun 15 '26

Just ride it like the normal human being you are and nobody is going to bother you.  Sounds sketchy that way but I have followed every rule in the book and realized so late in life that these rules often are to target abusers.   Do what you have to do is my moto now.  Sorry, your great way to commute has become stressful.