A 20-YEAR-OLD who fitted an electric motor and throttle to a bicycle given to him by his grandfather and turned it into an “unregistrable vehicle” capable of reaching 25mph has been fined £3,600.
Steve Abreu Maltez was also ordered to complete 90 hours of community service and banned from driving for three months when he was sentenced in the Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The court heard that the modified bike still had standard bicycle tyres, had “crude” footrests and was fitted with neither a horn nor a bell.
It became unstable at around 20mph and could not be registered or made compliant with road-traffic laws.
Because the bike operated as a motor vehicle, it needed to be registered and insured, and Maltez needed a valid licence to ride it.
He admitted nine offences, including driving without insurance or a valid licence, failing to stop and using an unregistered and defective vehicle.
Maltez also admitted riding on a footpath and cycle track, ignoring a one-way sign and possessing 0.2 grams of cannabis.
Advocate Adam Harrison, defending, said Maltez built the bike because previous driving bans had made getting insurance for a motorbike too expensive.
He said Maltez wanted a “cost-effective” way to get around and “did not understand and appreciate” that the modifications meant the bike had to be registered and insured.
Mr Harrison accepted that his actions had been “highly reckless” but said his “immaturity” had “come into play”.
Assistant Magistrate Adam Clarke, presiding, said that despite being “still a young man”, Maltez already had a “sizeable record” of motoring offences.
He said the third conviction for driving without insurance was serious enough to justify youth detention but imposed 90 hours of community service instead.
Advocate Harrison asked for the bike to be returned because it had “sentimental value”, but it was ordered to be forfeited and destroyed along with the cannabis.
Maltez was also ordered to pay prosecution costs.
