Ohio Street Legalities MAY HAVE FOUND SOMETHING USEFUL!

[300rman]

How would i go about finding out about street-legalizing a 3 or 4 wheeler for road use in the Ohio-Michigan area?

[3Wheelers4Life]

maybe contact one of these?
http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/bmv.asp
http://www.michigan.gov/sos

[300rman]

only problem with that is i cant find anything that allows or disallows it.

[3Wheelers4Life]

maybe try contacting via email, postal mail, or phone?
http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/misc/bmv_contacts.htm
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-13162-25634--,00.html

[300rman]

good idea. i have heard of people getting told that it cannot be done, simply because the person answering the question does not know themselves.

as far as anyone knows, are there laws that basically kill the possibility?
and can a 2 stroke be street legal? i will pack the silencer full of crap to make it quiet upon inspection. and obviously, i will need to come up with something to keep it quiet while going down the road.

[gregg22]

try the michigan sports buggy home page,I dont have the link..they have a web page all about what it takes to be legal in mi.

[350xrider911]

what r u trying to make legal.

[Aka_am]

in ohio it should be legal..I've seen a few. there legal everywhere except highways and county roads..so yeah.

Here my road is county road 70 and we can ride on it, just not the main road though town..but i've seen a few trikes with plates so yeah

[300rman]

trying to legalize my 250r.
if that winds up being impossible due to the 2 stroke factor, ill get a 350x for the town beater.

if i get this accomplished, i will post exactly how i did it, and what must be done, and where to find info on it.

[300rman]

try the michigan sports buggy home page,I dont have the link..they have a web page all about what it takes to be legal in mi.

a link would help.....googling michigain sports buggy gets a TON of stuff. cant really find what your referring to.

[300rman]

WOULD THE INFO in this link pertain to what i want to do?
i am not a legal expert, but i dont seeanything that would prevent a trike from being registered in Ohio!
CLICK ME!!!!! (http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/driver_license/motor_scooter_info.htm)

[Huffa]

Not to depress you, but if they don't allow them, that's totally understandable, on the road they are just too dangerous because of the small wheelbases and narrow width.

Sure, you see the big Goldwing & Harley trikes out there but they are way more stable then these ATC's.

Some states it may make sense depending on type roads they have but Ohio type of roads, I just can't see them legalizing it for you.

Good luck on it though, I think it would be really nice to have one street legal but just don't see it happening, I myself would vote against it in your area, for your saftey.

I know I said otherwise in PM, but changed my mind, not a good idea.

:eek: Especially a 300R !

Your 350 would be a far better choice I think, if they would give the OK.

[atctim]

Just a heads up - Any "Honda ATC" style three wheeler is for "Off Road Use Only" - says so in the manual and I am pretty sure on the safety stickers on it somewhere. If you want a street legal trike - your only option is to do what another member did - convert a street legal On Road / Off road bike into a trike.

Best of luck to you.

[300rman]

ahaa! but so far, what i am hearing drom the DMV is that to do this, it must be inspected as a User-assembled vehicle, and applying to be a trike-motorcycle. so far, i havent gotten any dimension/other factors that would eliminate it because of its design. only thing that i can think of is the 2 stroke factor, as the EPA is GAY.

see? im not legalizing an off-road vehicle at his point.....im getting it re-titles as a three-wheeled motorcycle. then it wouldnt have certain road exclusions......so if i had the balls, i could co for a cruise down the Eway! and because it is now a "motorcycle" it would not be limited to Ohio, as 3 wheeled motorcycles are legal evrywhare

[The Goat]

you'd have to have quite a large set of balls, and quite a tall set of gears to hop on the freeway.

then again...i did ride a golf cart being pulled behind a truck down I10 for about ten miles.....jesus that was a bad night.

[Mosh]

ON the highway huh?
Ever ridden a trike on concrete?
They absoulutely do not want to turn at all.
I am just about Certain the DMV will fight you at every turn and loophole you try to make.

I have the state stickers on a quad,and it is, at the cops discretion as to wheter or not you have the right to be on a secondary road.They can stop you at anytime,and question you.
State stickers are for the sole purpose of state owned land.Not a sticker to ride on the road.
I really dont think they will ever title a exisiting atv chassis(especially a trike) for legal plates,unless you do like ATCTIM said and built a ground up machine and had it inspected.
And then you are at the sole mercy of the state inspector as to wheter or not he will pass it.
But You go boy you go!

[The Goat]

but i think the loophole he is working with is the lie that he did fab the chassis himself.

[RoscoW]

I know here they wouldn't allow anything with a live axle (solid) to run on the streets, including a spool in a car, must have a differential on the drive wheels. You might luck out and get an inspector who doesn't know the difference???

Ross..

[300rman]

lol, like i said...IF i had the balls to hop on the eway......
from what i understand, it does not have to be a complete independent build. The lady at the DMV knew exactly what had to be done to get this idea rolling, but did not know the exact guidelines that had to be met. but she gave me the number to the inspection bureau in Findlay to find out.

i figure after it has all the stuff, it will be considered changed enuff to do something with......i mean, this is the same process that is undertaken to road-legalize those shitty pocketrockets, which is why i believe it does not have to be 100% custom.
those 3 wheel harley thingsarent 100% custom....just a modded harley.

i will know more Facts after i get ahold of the inspector detector.

[team-red-rider]

find a KLT 250 they are titled as a motorcycle and have a diff..

[300rman]

find a KLT 250 they are titled as a motorcycle and have a diff..

LOL we have a KLR 250 (pre-klt i think.)

this isnt so much for transportation as just a once in awhile crusier to say HAHA i beat the system. if it comes down to it, i would like to use a 4 stroke quad as a driver.

[Derrick Adams]

So this thread is interesting being as:

A) I'm from Ohio.
B) I'd like nothing better than to ride my trike to work once in awhile.

In my opinion I would say this could be done (And I have considered it) a couple different ways. The legal on/off road conversion would be easiest. I'm seriously considering a KLR650 trike for my next build.

BUT, if I were going to start with a trike to begin with, I would probably use a 4 stroke. I would also put every road legal item on it I could. Mirrors, turn signals, etc. Also they will look at tires, brake light, high/low beam headlights, etc.

The live axle thing is easily overcome. Jason once told me of an axle hub he made with free rolling bearings. Once you install that hub on your axle your bike becomes 1 wheel drive. The other wheel just spins free. That should get you thru inspection. Whether you keep it on there is up to you. lol

I would be more concerned with the rims not being DOT approved.

[Vealmonkey]

What would happen if you took a titled engine from a streetbike and install it in an old aftermarket atc frame? I have just such a set-up. It is a titled rd350 engine and I have an old Hi Performance that it would fit into. And of course the rd350 had all the turn signals and front and rear brake lights and horn and such that are\were DOT legal and on the road at one time. I would also be curious to hear more about this free-wheeling bearinged rear axle.

[blue27]

I would not worry two much about the 2 stroke thing, there were 2 stroke street bikes back in the day like Vealmonkeys Yamaha RD350 Suzuki GT 550s etc. I personally would perfer a 4 stroke but if you find a quiter muffler and throw on one of those Answer Spark arresters you might make it under noise levels. I have been tossing the idea around but building from an XL650 so I would have a titled frame to start. Just need to finish other projects first.lol

[300rman]

for the noise level issue, ill just use a piece of metal that can bent in front of the exhaust output. it muffles it quite a bit, and easily removed for OFF ROAD.
i wont be able to call for a few days, as i am sure ll be on the phone for awhile.

but from what i understand so far, you have to present it as a self-assembled vehicle (i dont think it matters if you just modified it), and then get it inspected for titlement as a 3 wheeled motorcycle.

for that 1 wheel axle bearing, that would go FAST....like before i left the inspection office :lol:

and derrick, i dont think you would have a problem modding that 07 tri-z as a custom cycle and getting that thing road legal. ill bet that thing would handle the road quite nicely too. every time i look at that thing i drool :drool: