Street Legal Trike Concerns?

**HuffieVA** · 06-10-2011, 07:44 PM

Xpress, I think everyone is aware that laws differ from state to state, & town to town, But you are talking about a totally different concept... They are talking about registering a three wheeler as a motorcycle (i.e. Can-Am Roadster, VW trike, Harley converted to a trike etc) so that it has the same rights to highway use as a street bike, not as an ATV where they are often limited to secondary roads or seasonal roads... If you license one as a motorcycle and you want you could take it down the interstate. Different states do have different laws regarding specialty vehicles etc. in Virginia for example you can buy a new 2-Stroke KTM take the title to the DMV and get plates for it because they are not titled for off road use only (they just say motorcycle on the title) you will never get it inspected however because it wont pass highway emissions. The reason some people do that is because if you get caught riding the roads between trails you get a simple "no inspection" ticket that costs around $40 or so, rather than having your bike impounded for being an unregistered vehicle. If you have something thats over a certain age (I dont remember off the top of my head) its exempt from emissions, if its over 25 years old you can put antique plates on it and its exempt from emissions and inspection and your plates are permanent. There are loopholes in every state its just that some are easier than others to work you way around the maze we all call the DMV. The good news is once something it titled with a "street" title its often possible to transfer it to another owner sometimes even a different state and still have it be street legal.... the point is if you go to the DMV and tell them you want to register your 1985 Kawasaki Tecate three wheeled ATV they are going to send you packing, if you go there and want to put your 1985 Kawasaki three wheeled motorcycle on the road its a totally different story... Also some states require you to have a motorcycle license before you can register a bike so in that case you would actually have to be able to pass a road test on an actual motorcycle first. Its not a simple as calling the DMV and asking how to make your dirt bike street legal for the street, you have to do some research and look & sound like you know what you are talking about or you aren't going to get what your after....

Anyway, I'm out of ideas of how to explain to you what the original reference to three wheeled motorcycle meant so good luck...

**fabiodriven** · 06-10-2011, 08:24 PM

Originally Posted by huffieva

xpress, i think everyone is aware that laws differ from state to state, & town to town, but you are talking about a totally different concept... They are talking about registering a three wheeler as a motorcycle (i.e. Can-am roadster, vw trike, harley converted to a trike etc) so that it has the same rights to highway use as a street bike, not as an atv where they are often limited to secondary roads or seasonal roads... If you license one as a motorcycle and you want you could take it down the interstate. Different states do have different laws regarding specialty vehicles etc. In virginia for example you can buy a new 2-stroke ktm take the title to the dmv and get plates for it because they are not titled for off road use only (they just say motorcycle on the title) you will never get it inspected however because it wont pass highway emissions. The reason some people do that is because if you get caught riding the roads between trails you get a simple "no inspection" ticket that costs around $40 or so, rather than having your bike impounded for being an unregistered vehicle. If you have something thats over a certain age (i dont remember off the top of my head) its exempt from emissions, if its over 25 years old you can put antique plates on it and its exempt from emissions and inspection and your plates are permanent. There are loopholes in every state its just that some are easier than others to work you way around the maze we all call the dmv. The good news is once something it titled with a "street" title its often possible to transfer it to another owner sometimes even a different state and still have it be street legal.... The point is if you go to the dmv and tell them you want to register your 1985 kawasaki tecate three wheeled atv they are going to send you packing, if you go there and want to put your 1985 kawasaki three wheeled motorcycle on the road its a totally different story... Also some states require you to have a motorcycle license before you can register a bike so in that case you would actually have to be able to pass a road test on an actual motorcycle first. Its not a simple as calling the dmv and asking how to make your dirt bike street legal for the street, you have to do some research and look & sound like you know what you are talking about or you aren't going to get what your after....

Anyway, i'm out of ideas of how to explain to you what the original reference to three wheeled motorcycle meant so good luck...

a-friggen-men brother!!!

**Xpress** · 06-10-2011, 09:59 PM

Originally Posted by HuffieVA

Anyway, I'm out of ideas of how to explain to you what the original reference to three wheeled motorcycle meant so good luck...

Just so we are all aware, I am aware of the difference between the descriptive terms, "Three wheeled motorcycle" and "Three wheeled ATV". One is a general term, the other is a specific term.

I still however revert to my original thoughts that the motorcycle in question has a small chance of being road legal in California, something to deal with the way it is built, I.E. a 3 wheeled Harley was designed for road use, and so is a Can-Am Spyder, or a T-Rex, ect.

**HuffieVA** · 06-10-2011, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by Xpress

I still however revert to my original thoughts that the motorcycle in question probably cannot be .......

I however, would like to point out that your thoughts apparently have nothing to do with what you type...

Oh, and just for the record, neither of those terms are very specific...

Unless the current owner of the bike is lying, it sounds as if its already registered in California...

**fabiodriven** · 06-10-2011, 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by Xpress

Just so we are all aware, I am aware of the difference between the descriptive terms, "Three wheeled motorcycle" and "Three wheeled ATV". One is a general term, the other is a specific term.

I still however revert to my original thoughts that the motorcycle in question has a small chance of being road legal in California, something to deal with the way it is built, I.E. a 3 wheeled Harley was designed for road use, and so is a Can-Am Spyder, or a T-Rex, ect.

Xpress, you still don't understand it. My god man.

There is a guy in my area who has what appears to be a 350X and it is road legal. In all actuality, it is a CB750 with three wheels. The engine and most of the frame are CB750, front end appears to be from a 350X. Whether it is or isn't doesn't matter all that much. It has 350X plastics and three wheels. There is nothing against riding a three wheeled vehicle on the road. Some places may require a differential axle, some may not. There is nothing saying you can't use plastics from an ATV on your motorcycle.

Let's say you want to combine your CB750 and your 350X. When you break the two down to parts and put them back together as one, who's to say at what point the vehicle ceases to be an ATC and becomes a CB750? There are ways to do it, and it has been done. Tanks350X has pictures of the CB750 trike and also an XR650 (I think) trike he came across in New Hampshire.

**just ben** · 06-10-2011, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by Xpress

Just so we are all aware, I am aware of the difference between the descriptive terms, "Three wheeled motorcycle" and "Three wheeled ATV". One is a general term, the other is a specific term.

I still however revert to my original thoughts that the motorcycle in question has a small chance of being road legal in California, something to deal with the way it is built, I.E. a 3 wheeled Harley was designed for road use, and so is a Can-Am Spyder, or a T-Rex, ect.

the spyder is a road specific "three wheeled motorclcle" but how many three wheeled harleys does harley make? I'm not sure that I know of any. they are all kits built basically in someones garage. I dont see why you could'nt take a street or duel sport bike and put a "kit" on it to make it three wheeled. if your state has regulations against live axles I think the easiest fix would be to modify the axle to accept a trailer like hub on one side. much easier than trying to fit a diff

**HuffieVA** · 06-10-2011, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by ben6626

the spyder is a road specific "three wheeled motorclcle" but how many three wheeled harleys does harley make? I'm not sure that I know of any...f

Well, you do now...

http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US...ide-trike.html

And they built servi-car's up into the 1970's

**fabiodriven** · 06-10-2011, 11:08 PM

Originally Posted by ben6626

if your state has regulations against live axles I think the easiest fix would be to modify the axle to accept a trailer like hub on one side. much easier than trying to fit a diff

One rear wheel drive? That would handle great I'm sure. I know a guy personally that has a Harley with a diff. That's doable as well.

The CB750 conversion I saw had a live axle in it at the time I saw it on the road.

On a side note, a close personal friend of mine has a street legal CR500. I'm pretty sure a fellow board member here from western Mass has one as well.

**tanks350x** · 06-10-2011, 11:59 PM

Here is a link that I posted showing pictures of that exact CB750- 350X conversion enjoy
http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthr...ide&highlight=

**tanks350x** · 06-11-2011, 12:05 AM

Here is yet another conversion, Xl, or XR 650 I talked to the guy for a while on this one.. 350X front end, Tri Z swinger..
http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthr...ike&highlight=

**dksix** · 06-11-2011, 08:53 AM

Both the CB750 trike and the XR650L look like they are really well done conversions. Back to the OP, does the owner of the trike have it tagged and insured in your state? Looks to me if you started with a registered bike the tag's wouldn't be that hard but some insurance companies require looking at the vehicle or ask that modifications be listed when you fill out the paper work. There is a guy near me that builds the Harley conversion trikes, I'll try to get in touch with him sometime and ask him about what he does and how they are insured after the fact. I've seen some Gold Wing trikes too, would anyone know if they are Honda factory or after market conversion? Seem like I saw one once at a Honda shop.

**fabiodriven** · 06-11-2011, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by dksix

I've seen some Gold Wing trikes too, would anyone know if they are Honda factory or after market conversion? Seem like I saw one once at a Honda shop.

There is a company that does it after Honda builds the bike. I can't remember their name, but they have brochures at our local dealer.

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