Making street legal

[05DodgeDakota]

Okay I've been trying to figure out a way to make my 400ex street legal. I know that I will need turn signals and mirrors at the very least. I still have my stock headlight and taillight. I would also get some kind of street tire and also a larger front sprocket and smaller rear sprocket to spread out the gearing. Now the big question is how to get a tag for it. I figure the best way would to be to transfer the vin plate from a wrecked dual sport bike. I know people do similar things to make their kit cars or rail buggys legal by transfering the vin plate off a VW bug. Any help or suggestions would be awesome

[jesshamner]

Just buy a motorcycle. It is legal to ride quads on the road in some counties in Indiana and it just isn't as great as it sounds. My wife and I used to cruise around but it just isn't that much fun. The only good use I have had out of it is being able to link up good trails that I couldn't before.

[ish416]

It all depends on your state. Some like AZ or other western states are really relaxed about making a quad street legal.

In my state (Indiana) you simply cannot have a street legal quad. Even if you meet all the requirements; turn/brake lights, running lights, metal gas tank, dot tires, horn, and a non locked rear axle (think limited slip). Then there is the issue of a VIN, which in Indiana you cannot make an Off-road only VIN street legal. If you use the VIN from a different vehicle the police - county/state will have to come out and inspect the vehicle to sign-off on whether it is street legal or not.

Some towns/counties will allow quads on public roads but most will not. Some people can get away with running a farmers plate (triangle plate) if they are on a utility. But that means you can't go faster than 25 MPH.

It's really just a lost cause unless you have some pull in your local government.

I ended up buying a Yamaha WR250R. It's an absolute blast. Gets 65MPG, can go anywhere and insurance was $170 a year.

[DragonGunner]

Had a neighbor here in IN make his 400EX street legal. Legal DOT tires, plates, insurance....Somehow he knew someone in the southern part of the state at the license branch, it was somehow in a Trust...well he got stopped a couple times by LEO's...everything was legal....so we all wanted to get ours done, the handed out business cards.....turns out was that you had to put the quad in his families Trust....in other words they would own your quad, but you could drive it....no one was willing to give their quad away...I suspect some under the table dealings were going on...but the guy ran it back an forth to Ft. Wayne all the time until he moved....
I want to get a street legal enduro bike an make it into a 3 wheeler, make it look like a off road 3 wheeler...but legal. My friend did this to a street bike but put 2 wheels up front...looks like a wierd go-kart...plated an legal...The cops haven't pulled him over after 2 yrs an he's realy bummed about it!!!! Even the ISP passes him an won't even blink an eye. They got figure anythng that wierd looking must be street legal...

[Thumpin440ex]

It is very hard to do in some states.. I have thought about this my self.. From all that I gather the title needs to be re wrote or modified so that it does not say ATV on it anywhere.. Some have said that it needs to say 4 wheeled motor cycle on the title. I am not huge on how tagging and titling go, but I know that for motorcycles if it is titled as home built you can get tags, so that might be a way to do it.. After alot of reading I kinda passed on the idea, but it would surly be cool just to use it to run to the store and all..

John

[Thumpin440ex]

Here is some info that I had saved from when I was looking.. I know for a fact that there is holes and loop holes in the law for lowered cars and altered suspension, as I have been hounded by the man alot, have always beat them in court through a loop hole.. So as this guy said there is stipulations and hole in how the law us wrote, you can sneak through..

There's no clearcut procedure in Maryland on how to do this, but I have ideas about how this can be done as I'm trying to do the same.

- Firstly, you'll need to pass a vehicle safety inspection before you can register. That means you'll need at least an speedometer, mirrors, turn signals, horn, brake and back up light, DOT approved tires, license plate frame and light, and perhaps an emergancy cut off switch. You'll be inspecting as a motorcycle, so those standards apply. You can call the MVA and ask for specific requirements for a motorcycles (or a custom built motorcycle), then make the appropiate alterations to your quad. There are kits you can buy online for this available.

- Secondly, you're going to need a manufacturers cerfiticate of origin with your quad, which should of come from your dealer.

Now, here's the problem. A "motocycle" by definition in maryland has this clause: "On not more than 3 wheels in contact with the ground;" Even if you manage to pass inspection, titling a quad as a motorcycle would be difficult. So, here's some ideas:

Try titling it under a "homemade motorcycle", which is actually more appropiate. You might run into the "no more than three wheels touching the ground" argument, but obviously it's a homemade bike, it could theoretically have more than 3 wheels. A trike with two front wheels? Ask about that. You do have some leverage.
Try titling it under a "reconstructed vehicle". Problem here is it'd have to pass a vehicle safety inspection, which have different standards from motorcycles.
Maryland law has a similar clause for scooters: "Has two wheels, of which one is 10 inches or more in diameter." Ask about titling a three wheeled scooter, like the MP3 by Piaggio. It technically does not meet this requirement but can still be registered under a scooter. If there's leeway there, there should be some for motorcycles.
There are many cases where a motorcycle would have 4 wheels ("training wheels", Voyager converter kits), but these generally aren't permanent alterations, yet still, ask about registering a 4 wheel motorcycle under those conditions.
In all of the scenarios above, if you're going to inquire, I'd do it over the phone and in seperate phone calls for each, and write *everything* down, and the name of the person you talked to.

The other argument you may get is, "it's an offroad vehicle" or "it's an atv". Well that's not a legal argument. Ask what specifically makes an offroad vehicle or atv, as such. I'm talking about specific documentation or law. Is there a specific model list of vehicles that are labeled as off road? They may pull up the VIN number of your quad and have it return "off road use", but I'm not sure who controls that information, ask about that too. It may indeed come down to your certificate of origin. It may have "off road use" clearly on it. However, your dealer *can* issue another one. If you've made all the neccesary alterations, your dealer and manufacter can reissue a new generic certificate. They don't have to, of course, but if you ask beforehand you may be surprised. If you get your certificate changed, then that argument also goes away, at least it should. The process for converting a motocross bike to a street legal dual sport is a bit more well known, or at least dealt with. Ask the procedure for this. The standard regarding the cerficate of origin (which would also have for "offroad use" on it) in that case should be same as yours. If it isn't, ask why not.

If all else fails, title your quad in a state where quads can be titled as a motorcyle with modifications (Pennsylvania is closest I think, but Arizona is easiest it would appear) and retitle it here. You'd still have to pass inspection to register and get tags, but you'd have a title as documentation when inspectors start laughing at you.

If you get your title and pass inspection, only left to do is get insurance and present it at the time of registration, get your tags, and be off on your way. Of course, if it's titled eventually as a motorcycle, you'll need a motorcycle license to drive it anywhere. Even then, you will get pulled over, constantly. Even if you have everything in order. It's just a fact, and even if your neighborhood police get used to you, people will still call 911 when they drive by you. It's not common in Maryland, so expect the worse of the battle to come after you get your tags.

Tips:

Under no circumstances should you call your quad an "ATV" during any of the process. Call it a four wheeled motorcycle or sport quad specially modified for street use. ATV won't get you very far. Tackle the titling first. If you can get it titled as a motorcyle, you'll have documentation to give to the inspector to treat it as one. I'd attempt to get a title before you make any alterations to your quad. Those can made right before inspection and you can also request a temporay registration good for 30 days, so you may be able to ride around for 30 days! Also, titling requires a "simple" stop at the MVA. You may simply get lucky and get someone who is willing to work with you and title your quad as a custom motorcycle without hassle. I'd try that first before you go further than you have too. Also remember, be assertive and ask for specific documentation or law for any rational they give for rejecting you.




John

[05DodgeDakota]

Thanks for all the good info. Now some of you think it's silly but I'm not talking about riding it as is on the street. I'm talking about building a quad, most likely a Honda 450r, specifically for the street, muich like you would build one for TT. Think more like Motard than dualsport. I plan on making it a full 49-50" inches wide, extend the swingarm 2-4", lower the bike, swaybar, much stiffer springs, and much higer gearing. I also considered using a Polaris outlaw or Honda 700XX to do this, as I think the independant rear might be more street freindly.

[chronicsmoke]

I've thought about it too, it would be awsome!

But for safety, I'd slam it and make it as wide as possible.. 700XX would probably get my vote..

I'd probably go with a Raptor if you used a straight axle. There's quite a few done over in Europe.

[camaromitch]

Originally posted by chronicsmoke
I've thought about it too, it would be awsome!

But for safety, I'd slam it and make it as wide as possible.. 700XX would probably get my vote..

I'd probably go with a Raptor if you used a straight axle. There's quite a few done over in Europe.

Does the 700xx have a limited slip differential as well? I saw that mentioned as a restriction so it might work for those that mandate that.

[jesshamner]

Spending the money and time to make a quad street legal is not worth it IMHO. I thought it would be awesome too but it is just boring. The quad doesn't lean in the corners. Bikes are much more fun on the road than a quad.

And then to make things worse, you are talking about a vehicle that is designed to be driven offroad, and you're going to completely incapacitate it by putting road gear on it. At that point, you couldn't even hit a trail if you found one off the road.

But hey, to each their own I guess.

[chronicsmoke]

Originally posted by jesshamner
Spending the money and time to make a quad street legal is not worth it IMHO. I thought it would be awesome too but it is just boring. The quad doesn't lean in the corners. Bikes are much more fun on the road than a quad.

And then to make things worse, you are talking about a vehicle that is designed to be driven offroad, and you're going to completely incapacitate it by putting road gear on it. At that point, you couldn't even hit a trail if you found one off the road.

But hey, to each their own I guess.

I'd do it just to be different.. I have a bike, but I'd still rather drive a quad if I could. Bikes are fun, don't get me wrong, I love my BMW, but a quad would be rediculous!

I'd probably have my license taken away in the first week. Imagine drifting the asfault for every corner :D

[ish416]

Does the 700xx have a limited slip differential as well? I saw that mentioned as a restriction so it might work for those that mandate that.

No, all sport quads have a locked rear axle. Whether that's a solid rear axle or an IRS setup both tires turn at the same speed. The only ATV's that I know of that have an LSD are some Polaris models with their "turf mode".

If you don't live in an ATV friendly state like those in the west, you probably will not be able to get it street legal regardless of what you do to it.

As said before, if you want to have the on-road/off-road capability, your going to have to go with a bike.

[Thumpin440ex]

There has to be a loop hole some where.. I do not think anyone has pressed the issue on this.. If you could have the title rewrote as a home built or motorcycle, did all the correct things to it such as speedo, turn sigs, dot tires, ect.. A inspection station could inspect it.. Once you have the inspection complete, insurance would be next.. If it does not state on the title that it is a atv, just a xxx cc motorcycle I do not see why they would not insure this.. So if you could infact get them 2 knocked out of the way, I do not see how you would not be able to get tags, as you have taking something and configured it to be street legal..

John

[jesshamner]

From all the research that I did (which may have changed since then), a 4 wheel vehicle is considered a car. And if it is a car, it is required to have seatbelts as a safety standard. And vehicle with 2 or 3 wheels is considered a motorcycle. I doubt you can get a 4 wheel vehicle registered and insured as a motorcycle.

[crlt250r]

I remember a few years back seeing a Predator that been modded out with a quick change swingarm attachment that allowed the guy to run a 250mm tire on the rear. Said he could change it back in under an hour for trail and woods riding.... On three wheels it looked a lot like the Can Am Spider, only smaller with Predator plastics....... Fully street legal.....

[05DodgeDakota]

Well I'm lucky that my state does not have vehicle inspections.