converting a dirt bike and making it street legal possible?

just put together a bicycle that does 25mph and it really made me want to build something that goes a bit faster. But 25 is about my limit for feeling safe on a bicycle so I'm looking at motorcycles on craigslist to convert to electric. The off-road motorcycles look great to convert but I'm wondering if I can get it street legal here in Oregon. has anyone been down this road? should I head down to the DMV and ask them or will I end up in line all day with no answer? heres a bike that looks like a good candidate for conversion
small and light with good shocks and good brakes, what could be better?

Depends on the state, of course. I don't know about Oregon. I know that in the midwest it's going to be much easier because we are able to avoid the whole environmental nazi brigade so far, but it's not looking that good. And on the west coast I expect that they have such little trust in their own citizens that your rarely allowed to do anything not considered 'normal'.

Also it depends on whoever works at the DMV. Most of the time you'll run into conflicting regulations where the person can pick and choose which thing to classify you as... so if you get a nice person on a good day they may just shrug and approve it, or get a person that will throw a bunch of hate at you. Probably if you go and talk to a person on a very slow day then you'll likely get good answers because they'll be bored and want to get away from their normal daily work for a while.

I am guessing that it would normally be very difficult to make a dirt bike street legal. However it would also be a 'experimental' type thing and maybe fall under the 'kitcar' catagory, or you may be able to catch a huge break and get special sorts of treatment under some alternative fuel legislation.

However I expect your best bet is to start off with something that is already street legal. There are lots of Enduro type motorcycles that are street legal. There are some that are designed for more street duty.. like 70% street and 30% dirt.. these will have bigger motors, bigger brakes, and less wheel travel to make them more comfortable on the road. Then you'll have lighter, smaller bikes that are 70% dirt and 30% road and are designed simply for people that don't want to truck their bikes to their favorite off road area.

For example a Suzuki DR200 would be right up your alley. They are cheap, mild motorcycle. Smaller and lighter then your typical dirt bike. If you look around I bet you could find a used one and then sell off the ICE parts you don't need and have the bike pay for itself. More or less. With that you'll have the lights, levers, DMV-approved brakes, and most importantly: a Title. You can find them all over the place on Ebay and such things.

If you don't like that that then each manufacturer has a few 'Enduro' or 'Dual Sport' style motorcycles ranging from trail bike sizes to 650 thumpers like the tractor-like KLR.

If you want to go really really cheap then you can find chinese-style 150-200cc dirt bikes for next to nothing. These things are probably the most popular motorcycles, go to any less developed countries and you'll see them all over the place, in the world and have a tiny price tags. They are not that bad either if you don't mind mending the occasional frame crack... but the critical flaw in these things is the rear suspension. Like typical chinese style they tried copying bits and peices of Japanese bikes, but got the combination wrong for the rear suspension. Typically they bind up with only a few inches of travel because they got the geometries very wrong. If it wasn't for that then they wouldn't be that bad, but the Japanese bikes outclass them in almost any respect (better metal, better build, better customer service, better parts availability, etc etc). The only positive things about the chinese bikes is that certain very specific manufacturers actually make reliable (although very underpowered) motors that if you know what your doing you can get good life out of them, but of course for electric bikes that don't matter... so they are pretty much all junk.

Good Luck!

Hi mud,

i dont much about this tbh but in the UK i know that jozzer converted his prilly to electric and all he needed to do was send in the the log book to have the fuel type converted to electric and that was it.
Sooo, probably your best bet is to get a street legal gasser (not motocross) to begin with and then convert?

Cheers,

D

hehe, just looked at craigslist and the very first post was a ddr200! too bad its $2400
I'm about to run down to the DMV and look for some specific answers ,I'll post soon with results.

well the guy at the DMV was completely nonhelpful. His words "thats not what we do here" and he gave me a 600 page law book to leaf through which told me nothing.
I stopped at the motorcycle parts store afterward and the owner showed me some catalogs with taillights and brake lights and horns for cheap, but couldn't give me a for sure answer on getting a bike registered for street use.

Couldn't you register it as homebuilt bike category? Usually making offroad vehicles road-legal is more difficult.

Mud,
You might want to call a local custom motorcycle builder, they have probably jumped through this hoop and know the ins and outs of your state. I live in California where you have to get it inspected by the CHP (california highway patrol). Here they check for all the required safety equipment, and the general safety of the vehicle. But for your state it probably is different. It also helps to know the terminology when dealing with the beaurocratic bullshite.

funny how I get different answers from different people I just went to the big motorcycle store here in town and the guy told me it was a "grey area" and depended who you talked to at the DMV.
Oh well, but while I was there I discovered the Honda Ruckus, looks like a really good candidate for conversion. probably better than a dirt bike as it was really light and already street legal.

i definately think already steet legal is your best option, then submit your documents for change of fuel type 8)

Cheers,

D

Here's an interesting find http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/4/7/8/9/5/1/webimg/74774313_o.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.pccmotor.com/rolling-chassis-frame-bike-fork-crf-xr-xr50.html&usg=__HsLRbNpw1I5hokIxxFgZJ5tZADM=&h=640&w=480&sz=92&hl=en&start=32&sig2=DsMhe-i5gDpe5Dk0R6rm7g&um=1&tbnid=LqlcRJEYSvCoBM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=103&ei=AcOUSdy3FpK2sQOPm4C_Bw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmoped%2Bwheel%2Bfit%2Bbike%2Bframe%26start%3D21%26ndsp%3D21%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN
That little bike looks like fun and only $350 wow obviously not street legal but I found it interesting

Hi mud,

if you like that bike you may like "orion" pit bikes, i nearly bought one of these chinese dirt bikes from a company called power off road here in the uk but i was put off by the forum members complaining about delivery times, turned out that although some customers got their bikes and a LOT didn't,neither their money back (£500).
Anyway my point is that the bikes were of reasonable quality,members changed oils and chains and they ran fine, being as your converting anyway they would work out well plus there was a road legal version im trying to recall the nam of, what the hell was it? anyway check out some road legal pit bikes, might be what you want.


**EDIT**

http://www.orionpitbikesales.com/pit_bikes.htm
i cant find the road legal one here but trust me there is one
like this.. http://www.f1products.co.uk/125cc-orion-road-legal-motor-bike-black-p-213.html


Cheers,

D

hmmm, I'm staring to really wonder where these lines are drawn.
What about a bicycle with mirrors, horn, light and all the rest? could it be classified and registered as a moped if it goes over 30mph?
just thinking out loud here

It will be much easier, and probably cheaper buying something that already is street legal. Think about it, you would have to buy lights turn signals, mirrors switches horn, wiring harness, etc. Do you have a motorcycle junkyard in your city or a nearby city? I picked mine up at one for $200. Had a title. all I did was go down to the DMV and register it. Super easy.

Be patient, check Craigslist everyday. Try Crazedlist, as you can search a lot of different regional areas in one shot. Use search word of rolling, or chassis or frame.

mud2005 said:

hmmm, I'm staring to really wonder where these lines are drawn.
What about a bicycle with mirrors, horn, light and all the rest? could it be classified and registered as a moped if it goes over 30mph?
just thinking out loud here

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Well that's what a moped is. It's just a bicycle with a motor.

It differs from state to state, but in mine (which I think is typical) is that:

1. It MUST have working pedals. A moped is a moped because it has pedals. If it doesn't it's a scooter. This is a legal definition for moped and if you see something advertised as a moped and it doesn't have working pedals then they are lying.

2. It MUST have a displacement less then 50cc.

3. It MUST have a top speed less then 30 mph.

4. It MUST have typical safety features like speedometer, headlight, brakelight, rear light, front and back brakes that activate the rear brake light. You MUST wear a helmet at all times.

5. No manual gear shift. (I think, not sure, I am sure that pedals are enough)

And that's pretty much it. On top of that your restricted to certain roads.. no getting on main highways or the interstate, for example. But that's about it.

In my state for a scooter you need a motorcycle's license, insurance, and registration. A scooter is treated like a motorcycle, same rules apply, although many scooters don't have the horsepower requirements for interstate travel.

For a moped there is no requirements for registration, title, insurance, or motorcycle license. It's more a 'bike' then a 'scooter'. (Of course you can register it and thus the cops are more likely to give a shit if it gets stolen) I called and talked to different sheriffs and DMV folk and some have told me that you need a drivers license, while others say it's just a age requirement. All the state statutes are online and searchable, but it's a bit foggy on that account.

of course this differs between states, but it's all pretty much the same: working pedals, displacement less then 50cc, top speed on level ground less then 30-35mph.

(on a side note:
In fact the only real tangible difference between a scooter and a motorcycle, on a technical level, is that a scooter has a automatic transmission while a motorcycle has a manual transmission. This causes them to have different shapes due to the transmission layouts, of course.)

When mopeds first started getting popular how you'd create them is you take one of those big old steel bikes and slap a Whizzer motor kit on those, and that is what the laws were originally designed to cover. But during the 70's and such the Japanese entered the market with specific-purpose mopeds which pretty much killed the American kit makers.

1949 Whizzer:
http://www.mopedarmy.com/photos/brand/116/10232/

Now a electric bicycle is like a moped, but without the safety equipment. As far as I can tell and thus is restricted to 20mph.

People (as in so-called authority figures) may give you crap about riding a moped on bicycle paths... but I figure they shouldn't if your not using your motor. (of course modern-ish mopeds are almost useless bicycles... and I should know, on my old moped I had in highschool I got about 300 feet on pedal-power alone before I broke the pedal clean off)

I don't think that my state has any official regulation regarding electric bicycles. So, in fact, if a cop decided to be a jerk they could probably give you a ticket for having a moped without brake lights.The Federal folks certainly have their rules, but it's not really up to the Federal folks to make decisions like that, even if they try to as far as I can tell. Your state laws are really the only relevant ones and if there is any conflict at all the state ones are ones that matter.

I am not a lawyer, BTW.

For me I know that all I really have to do to run my bike legally up to 30mph is add headlights and working brake lights, and wear a motorcycle helmet. DMV folks don't enter into it any. People in more 'liberal' states are probably going to run into many more difficulties, of course.

Having moped-like safety equipment is what you want to do anyways. (a 30mph accident on a motorcycle is often quite fatal, there is no reason why it won't be any different on a bicycle which has much worse suspension and braking...)

I have also been thinking about the ruckus check out this crazy build http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2297467 The teardown pictures are very helpful

mud2005 said:

hmmm, I'm staring to really wonder where these lines are drawn.
What about a bicycle with mirrors, horn, light and all the rest? could it be classified and registered as a moped if it goes over 30mph?
just thinking out loud here

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thanks for the great replies all, here's another interesting pic I uncovered.
I guess you can put moped wheels on a bike 8)
ok now I'm thinking full suspension mtb with moped wheels, fairing, turn signals, brake light, horn, and boomin stereo system. Now that's transportation

Hi,

Its totally dependent on the state. Do a google search. If nothing comes up for bikes search on ATV. Its a lot easier in California to convert an ICE to a street legal EV than to convert a non street legal vehicle to a street legal vehicle of any sortSomeone who converted one ATV to street legal in CA but I don't think they were able to do it again. They planned to offer kits but the site is gone.

http://www.americantrails.org/resources/motors/ohvpaveregs.html

CALIFORNIA — unauthorized street-legal status

In CA there are no dirt bike or ATV or RUV conversions to street legal allowed because the Air Resources Board will not allow a motor certified for off-road use to be allowed street-legal status. They view that as a lowering of air quality controls.

-- Tom Bernardo - tbern@parks.ca.gov

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Some Oregon info here:
http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-516756.html

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-133537.html

Oregon can be real easy or not very easy depending on who you get at the DMV. I went in to do some business there and took my new registration to ask why it said NB#### under plate number. I was told that NB meant no plate for that bike, so I asked what if I were to put a dual-sport kit on it. The lady went to get her supervisor and ask. Long story short, I was very polite and ended up walking out with a plate for a bike not nearly road legal yet. I'll wait until it is legal to put the plate on but at least I have it.

If you need help pm me and we should be able to figure out something.

Daren

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