That this bike is expensive has nothing in the slightest to do with it being electric.
Too much maintenance with mixing up oil and gas.
Why doens't an E-bike doesn't need annual inspection while something like
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A9loSoleX
does require annual inspection? Still looking for a real lightweight bike with an ICE. Speed wouldn't matter, 20MPH / 30km/h would sound reasonable.
Emission testing as a moped, which is inapplicable to e-bikes.
(Probably also some bureaucracy, but that's separate.)
> lightweight bike with an ICE
That's an oxymoron. You can, however, get lightweight and entirely stealthy e-bike.
That gives you much more for much less, saves you the terrible noise of a small ICE with improper exhaust dampening, saves you a lot of maintenance, and probably also saves you and those around you some lung cancer while we're at it.
Alternative interpretation: It wasn't a problem that you needed solving, but others may have had a different experience.
Cargo e-bikes are vary niche, but still have real advantages over two stroke engines.
It wasn't a problem that needed solving, but it was a solution that rich people rediscovered. I guess two-stroke engines were beneath them?