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"Can you ride tandem," asked the chimp in the famous 1971 PG Tips advert. Using chimps in TV advertising is no longer allowed but such adherence to rules may not trouble the importer of the Dayun tandem bicycle. To you and me the machine pictured may look like a moped but the clear-as-mud UK rules for electrically assisted cycles – codified in 1983 – allow an awful lot of monkey business to take place.
The £999 Dayun Electric Moped is classified on the Dayun website as a tandem bike, not a moped. Naturally, it’s not a tandem and claiming it is means the product is likely to be flouting the regs.
The importer claims it can reach 15mph via its "Seald lead acid" [sic] battery. The importers add it will need no "manetenance."
While it looks like a moped, this ‘tandem’ can be ridden by anybody over the age of 14. As it’s classified as a bicycle, there’s no requirement for licence plates, and no need to pay insurance or vehicle excise duty. There’s also no requirement to wear a helmet while riding one. Perhaps amazingly, it can be ridden on cycle paths.
Caveat emptor.
