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Women riding the streets of Tehran on motorbikes is the latest sign of Iran's societal change (apnews.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/news@beehaw.org

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — When Merat Behnam first gathered enough courage to ride her yellow scooter through the gridlocked streets of Iran ‘s capital to the coffee shop she runs, traffic wasn’t her main worry.

She instead girded herself for disapproving looks, verbal abuse and even being stopped by the police for being a women riding a motorbike in Tehran, something long frowned upon by hard-liners and conservative clerics in Iran.

But Behnam, 38, found herself broadly accepted on the road — and part of a wider reconsideration by women about societal expectations in Iran.

It’s not all encompassing, particularly as hard-line politicians call for laws on the hijab or headscarf to be enforced as Iran cracks down on intellectuals in the wake of the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June — but it does represent a change.

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[–] Triumph@fedia.io 17 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Okay, here we go. All of these have two wheels. If I've missed anything, or you'd like my opinion on a specific two wheeled vehicle classification, let me know.

Motorcycle

More than 15HP
16" or larger wheels
Manual transmission or DCT automatic (not a variator with a belt)

Moped

"Functional" pedals; not practical, just functional
Under 80cc
16" or larger wheels
Variator/belt transmission
Few or no plastics
These came up in the late 1970s to comply with various "motor-driven cycle" legal allowances
You rest your feet on the pedals
Can be "throw your leg over" or step through
Generally have a max speed of 30MPH stock

Scooter

Any engine size (I believe the Suzuki Burgmann 650 is the largest, could be wrong)
Step through, you sit on it like a toilet
Flat floor pan for your feet, or flat foot "floorboards" to the sides of a low center hump
Lots of plastics
Variator/belt transmission
Most of these have 14" maximum wheel size and comparatively fat tires

Noped

Basically a moped without the pedals
Foot pegs
These came in the early to mid 1980s
Can have smaller wheels, but the tires are not fat like scooter tires

Scooter cycle

Looks lilke a small motorcycle; clearly intends for you to think it is
Variator/belt transmission

Motorized bicycle (MB)

Began its life as a regular pedal bicycle without power assist
Has an added internal combustion engine for power assist
ICE engine can drive the rear wheel with a second chain and sprocket, or the front or rear wheel with a pinch roller, very rarely with a pusher trailer; kits also exist to replace the bottom bracket with a freewheel sprocket that the engine drives, with power going to the wheel via the pedal chain
In rare cases, these were manufactured this way, generally very old ones

E-Bike

Pedal bicycle with electric power assist
Many of these are factory made now
These can also be made the same way MBs are, by adding an electric motor: -- Pinch roller drive -- Hub motor drive -- Bottom bracket drive

Minibike

Similar to a noped, but extremely small
Small wheels and fat little tires
May not have brakes at all, if it does, they're really bad
Pull start

Dirtbike

A small motorcycle designed for offroad use
May not be street legal
Small ones for kids may be variator driven

[–] nerobro@fedia.io 4 points 3 weeks ago

needs more upvotes

[–] SteevyT@beehaw.org 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

(US only specifics for Ebikes)

Class 1 is pedal assist only, max 20mph, max 750W motor.

Class 2 is pedal assist or throttle, max 20mph, max 750w motor.

Class 3 is pedal assist only, max 28mph, max 750w motor.

Anything else technically is an emoped or even a motorcycle if powerful and fast enough.

Most of Europe only allows up to 15ish mph before shifting classification to some sort of moped/motorcycle if my memory serves correctly.