Illegal, high-power e-bikes to be crushed in crackdown

Mirroring a move made in WA, NSW Police will be able to crush non-compliant, high-powered e-bikes including so-called 'fat bikes' and other throttle-only devices.

The move responded to a controversial social media video that showed a group of 40 e-bike riders and motorcyclists driving dangerously across Sydney Harbour Bridge on Tuesday.

The convoy could be seen speeding past cars and doing wheelies across the landmark, prompting condemnation and calls for a crackdown on illegal devices.

"We've heard loud and clear the concern in the community about souped-up e-bikes and the anti-social behaviour that seems to go hand in hand with them," Transport Minister John Graham said on Sunday. 

"Riders and owners of illegal e-bikes should now hear us loud and clear: if you are breaking the rules, and your bike does not meet the very clear specifications of a pedal-assisted e-bike, expect it to be removed from your possession and crushed."

In addition to being no more than 500 watts, e-bike batteries can only operate as a pedal-assist and cut out when the vehicle reaches a speed of 25km/h.

Anything that exceeds those power or speed limits must be registered as a moped or motorcycle.

Police already have powers to seize vehicles that are not road legal.

Government officials said the fresh powers simplify seizure laws that were designed with cars and motorbikes in mind.

It will be one tweak in a wider reform package tackling unsafe e-bikes, it said.

E-bikes, many retailing for more than $2000, and other high-powered vehicles have become a lightning rod for controversy in parts of Australia.

A teenage boy is awaiting trial for manslaughter after allegedly killing a 59-year-old while riding an unlicensed electric motorbike through a park in Perth in July.

At least 100 illegal devices were seized and 2100 fines handed to riders during a Queensland police crackdown in December.

Australian Associated Press