E-Motorcycles Stir Restrictions on Arkansas Trails

A growing class of high-performance electric two-wheelers, often exemplified by the Sur-Ron Light Bee, is prompting officials and trail stewards in Arkansas to draw a hard line on where these machines can (and cannot) be ridden. These Sur-Ron-style electric motorcycles resemble mountain bikes but deliver motorcycle-like speed and power, leading to bans on bicycle paths and mountain bike trails across the state.

What Is a Sur-Ron-Style E-Motorcycle?

Sur-Ron and similar bikes occupy a gray area between e-bikes and dirt bikes. Physically, they resemble an oversized BMX or mountain bike but with a powerful electric motor and throttle control. A flagship model, the Sur-Ron Light Bee X, weighs around 100 pounds and packs a 6,000-watt peak motor capable of reaching 45+ mph, far beyond a typical e-bicycle. Unlike pedal-assist e-bikes, these machines often have no functional pedals at all, instead using foot pegs and a twist throttle for acceleration. The result is an electric off-road motorcycle (“e-dirt bike”) that operates nearly silently yet can outpace many gas-powered mopeds.

Enthusiasts praise the Sur-Ron for its agility and torque, but its high speed and lack of pedaling ability set it apart from legal e-bikes. Authorities note that Sur-Ron-type bikes frequently exceed 40 mph and lack operable pedals, meaning they do not meet the legal definition of an electric bicycle. In essence, they are classified as motorized vehicles rather than bikes, a crucial distinction when it comes to where they’re allowed to ride.

How They Differ from Legal E-Mountain Bikes

Electric mountain bikes (e-MTBs) sold for trail use in Arkansas must conform to the state’s three-tier e-bike classification system established by a 2017 law. By law, an “electric bicycle” in Arkansas must have fully operable pedals and an electric motor under 750 watts. The e-bike classes are defined by speed and control:

• Class 1: Pedal-assist only (no throttle), motor assist up to 20 mph.
• Class 2: Throttle-assisted (motor can propel without pedaling) but limited to 20 mph.
• Class 3: Pedal-assist only, with assistance up to 28 mph.

In contrast, Sur-Ron-style bikes blow past these limits. Their motors can be four to eight times more powerful than the 750W cap, and because many lack pedals, they fail the basic requirement of being a bicycle. Even if equipped with an after-market pedal kit, a Sur Ron still features a hand throttle and can easily double or triple the speed of a Class 1 e-MTB. Legal e-mountain bikes are essentially bicycles with a boost, whereas a Sur-Ron is built as a motorcycle in design and performance. The difference isn’t just semantics; it determines how the law treats them.

Mountain bikers and trail managers are keenly aware of this difference. On cycling forums, riders worry that illegal e-moto use will “ruin it for the mountain bike community,” noting that angry observers often “can’t see the difference” between a quiet e-dirt bike and a legit e-bike. The surging popularity of Sur-Ron-type vehicles has, in some cases, begun to spark backlash against all e-bikes, adding urgency to clearly distinguish and regulate the high-power outliers.

Arkansas Law Keeps E-Motorcycles Off Bike Paths

Under Arkansas law, Sur-Ron-style vehicles are not allowed on bicycle paths or multi-use trails, because they are not classified as bicycles at all. The state’s Electric Bicycle Act (Act 956 of 2017) explicitly limits the definition of an “electric bicycle” to the three classes above. Any two-wheeler that doesn’t fit those criteria is treated as a motor vehicle, with no special access to bike infrastructure.

State statute §27-51-1705 makes clear which e-bikes may share trails with regular bikes. Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are permitted on bicycle paths and multi-use paths unless a local authority restricts them. Class 3 e-bikes (the fastest pedal-assist models) are generally barred from bike paths unless the path is adjacent to a roadway or a local rule explicitly allows them. In short, Arkansas only guarantees access for the low-speed e-bikes that behave most like traditional bicycles.

A Sur-Ron fails on multiple counts: it has a throttle, exceeds 20 mph, and often lacks pedals, meaning it does not qualify as Class 1, 2 or 3. Consequently, it enjoys none of the legal privileges of a bicycle. “They are not permitted on public roads, bike paths, or sidewalks,” Santa Monica police recently noted about Sur-Ron-type bikes, underscoring that these high-powered models are considered off-highway motor vehicles, not street-legal e-bikes. An electric bicycle in Arkansas, by law, “is not a motor vehicle” and is exempt from license and registration requirements, but a Sur-Ron falls back into the motor vehicle category, with no street/trail rights unless it’s registered and operated as a motorcycle.

Practically, this means riding a Sur-Ron on a city bike path or greenway is equivalent to driving a dirt bike on that path. Most such paths are clearly posted for bicycles and pedestrians only. No Arkansas statute explicitly needed to say “no Sur-Rons on trails,” because anything with a motor that isn’t an authorized e-bike is already prohibited. The e-bike law’s tight definition draws the line: if it’s over 750W or lacks pedals, it’s treated like a motorcycle, and motorcycles have never been allowed on bicycle trails.

Mountain Bike Trails: Only Class 1 E-Bikes Allowed

The restrictions are even stricter on natural-surface trails. Arkansas State Parks policy now explicitly allows only Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes on state-managed bike trails. “All Class 1 pedal assist bicycles are allowed on all Arkansas State Park trails designated for use by bicycles,” the Parks Department regulation states. However, Class 2 e-bikes (throttle models) and Class 3 high-speed e-bikes are prohibited on those trails. This rule, adopted in 2021, means that in places like Devil’s Den or Pinnacle Mountain State Park, you may see a few quietly whirring pedal-assist bikes, but anything with a throttle, from a 20 mph hub-drive cruiser to a 50 mph Sur-Ron, is banned on bike trails.

Trail systems beyond state parks have mirrored this approach. In Northwest Arkansas, home to dozens of popular mountain bike trails, land managers have largely embraced Class 1 e-MTBs while barring more powerful rigs. The Oz Trails network around Bentonville, for example, welcomes e-bikes but specifies that only Class 1 bikes are allowed on the dirt trails, while Class 3 e-bikes “are only allowed on roads”. By definition, a Sur-Ron isn’t a Class 1, and in fact doesn’t meet any bike class, so it’s unwelcome on those trails. “E-Moto’s are throttle assisted bikes with no set speed limit… and are illegal on roads. OHVs need a DMV green sticker for off-road,” cautioned one Arkansas trail advisory post, emphasizing that Sur-Ron-type vehicles have no place on standard bike trails.

Municipalities are also tightening rules. Fayetteville, home to an extensive trail system, approved new regulations in late 2023 specifically to address high-power e-bikes on city trails. The city aligned its definitions with state law (750W/Class 1-3 limits) and then went a step further on unpaved trails: only Class 1 pedal-assist bikes are allowed on natural surface routes. “More and more [trail users] noticed high-powered electric dirt bikes tearing up the surfaces of the trails and creating dangerous ruts,” city staff reported, explaining the need for the crackdown. As a result, any e-bike with a throttle is now forbidden on Fayetteville’s soft-surface trails, regardless of power. (On the paved city greenways, Fayetteville continues to allow Class 1 and 2 e-bikes, but not the faster Class 3 models.)

To enforce the new rules, Fayetteville plans an education campaign and has posted signage on trails. Violators could face fines up to $500 for riding an unauthorized motorized bike on the paths. Enforcement is expected to be complaint-driven, but the city’s trail patrol officers can also ticket offenders. The message is clear: if it has a throttle or too much power, keep it off the bike trail.

Crackdowns and Safety Concerns

Across the country, authorities are responding to the rise of Sur-Ron-style bikes in typically non-motorized spaces. In July, Santa Monica, Calif. police impounded a dozen Sur-Ron-type e-bikes that riders had brought onto a beach bike path and nearby streets. Officers noted the machines, capable of 45 mph, “do not meet [the] legal definition of a street-legal electric bicycle” and thus cannot be operated on public bike paths or roads. The impounded bikes, lacking pedals and exceeding 3kW of output, were deemed unregistered off-highway motorcycles, the department said, and to get them back the owners faced towing fees and potential fines.

Arkansas hasn’t (yet) seen a headline-grabbing mass impound, but the underlying issues are the same. Trail managers worry about safety and trail damage if electric motorbikes mix with pedal bikes and hikers on narrow trails. The City of Fayetteville cited not only property damage but also “safety hazards” and erosion problems when faster, heavier e-motos cut new lines or churn up wet soil. Other users may not hear a near-silent Sur-Ron approaching at 30+ mph, raising collision risks on greenways or singletrack. And ethically, self-powered cyclists bristle at motorized riders poaching bike trails, fearing it could jeopardize trail access for everyone. “They have no place at all on MTB terrain… They are a major cause of e-bike hate,” one mountain biker wrote about Sur-Rons on a popular Arkansas cycling forum.

Officials and advocacy groups are quick to stress that responsible Class 1 e-bike use is still welcome, it’s the high-powered, unclassified machines that are drawing the crackdowns. “Category 1 E-bikes are currently allowed on any trail that allows bicycles within Arkansas State Parks,” Arkansas State Parks reaffirmed in a recent notice. By contrast, if you show up with a Sur Ron or similar “e-motorcycle,” you can expect zero tolerance on those same trails. The line drawn in Arkansas law and policy is firm: pedal-assist bicycles belong on bicycle trails; electric motorcycles do not.

The Bottom Line

For riders in Arkansas, the rules leave little ambiguity. Sur-Ron-style e-motorcycles are treated as off-road motor vehicles, not as bicycles, and therefore are prohibited on bicycle paths, greenways, and mountain bike trails statewide. State law allows only Class 1 and 2 e-bikes (under 750W, with pedals) on most bike paths, and even more limited access on dirt trails where only Class 1 pedal-assist is acceptable. The powerful throttle-twisting bikes that fall outside these categories have no legal access to those spaces.

Riders who have purchased Sur-Ron-type bikes face a choice: ride them on private property or off-road vehicle parks, or pursue making them street-legal (with proper registration and equipment) for use on public roads, but do not take them on bicycle trails. Arkansas authorities, from state park rangers to city police, are unified on this point and have begun upping enforcement and fines to drive it home. The push is about protecting trail conditions and public safety, officials say, as well as maintaining the hard-won trust that allows electric-assist bicycles to share the trails with traditional bikes.

In summary, Sur-Ron-style e-motorcycles differ fundamentally from legal e-bikes in power, speed, and design, and Arkansas law accordingly bars them from the places bicycles go. As electric mobility evolves, Arkansas is drawing a bright line: on the state’s scenic bike paths and wooded singletracks, electric bicycles are welcome, but electric dirt bikes need not apply.

Sources: Arkansas Code §27-51-1702 (Electric Bicycle definitions); §27-51-1705 (Use on bicycle paths); Arkansas State Parks Rule 233.01.20-001; Fayetteville Flyer (Dec. 12, 2023); Santa Monica Police statement via Carscoops; Arkansas Outside/PeopleForBikes guidance; Sur-Ron Light Bee X specifications; Reddit (/r/MTB) user comments.

This article was originally published on ArkansasOutside.com, your trusted source for outdoor news and updates in The Natural State. Unless otherwise credited, all photos included in this piece are the property of Arkansas Outside, LLC. We take pride in sharing the beauty and adventures of Arkansas through our lens—thank you for supporting our work!