Clocked at three times top speed on motorised bike

A Cringila man has had his wings clipped by a court decision that put his motorised bicycle off the road."I'm unemployed so I thought it was a good way to get around to the shops and to see my dad in a nursing home at Coniston ... I didn't expect to end up in court," Velko Bozinovski said yesterday.Bozinovski, 40, said he got the shock of his life in March when police in Flinders St, North Wollongong, issued him with fines totalling $2000 for riding an unregistered and uninsured vehicle.He was clocked at 40km/h, nearly three times the top speed of a legal motorised bike.At his first appearance in Wollongong Local Court in July, he argued the RTA had said a motorised bicycle did not have to be registered if it was not more than 200 watts."I bought the motor off the net and from what I understood it was under 200 watts but I'm having trouble getting that verified in writing," he told the court.After discussions with police, however, he learned 200 watts translated to about 50cc and speeds not higher than 15km/h, consistent with average human pedal power.Bozinovski changed his plea to guilty and last week received fines totalling $200 plus $79 court costs."It was a lot less than the original fine which I think was a bit extreme for a bicycle offence," he said.Bozinovski said his bike was in pieces as he tried to refit it with a smaller motor."I've never held a driver's licence but it might be time now to start thinking about one," he said.