Design Inspiration

sportscarpat said:

I was pretty lucky with a 2005 Whizzer I picked up to part out for a future Whizzer build. Bought in California by the original owner who went through all the trouble to get proper registration. It came with a title, all associated paperwork, and most importantly it has a real California moped license plate. The plate will go with the engine to my future Whizzer powered build.

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Don't take this the wrong way. We are all friends here and I don't want to see you get in trouble. The plate is easy, you just go to the DMV website and everything is done via computer and mail. You never need to show up at the DMV. The moped plate is "supposed" to be used for mopeds only, which is 50cc or less. The four CA DMV criteria for mopeds are:

50 cc or less
2 hp or less
30 mph or less
able to move just by pedal power

You may never be called on it, but if a CHP officer that knows engines can spot the difference between a 50 cc engine and a 110 cc engine it may cause you expensive problems. I always side with caution because I hate to look over my shoulder all the time. If you register it as a scooter you will be good to go and even ride in the traffic lane as a plus.

cobrafreak said:

The four CA DMV criteria for mopeds are:

50 cc or less
2 hp or less
30 mph or less
able to move just by pedal power

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California DMV criteria says nothing about 50 cc
however most motors over 50 cc will make more than 2 HP

Mike Simpson (motorbikemike) would be able to answer Cali Whizzer legal stuff,,,
he has been/was? a Whizzer dealer for quite some time

HB Scooters in Huntington Beach sells whizzers (when they have them in stock) and they could answer all your legal questions about california. they even know a guy that'll insure them (even though it's not mandatory.)

and just because we're all friends here...

i don't know why the 50cc myth won't die. every cop i talked to knows that it doesn't exist (most cops are pretty sharp on that point, due to the popularity of pocket bikes a few years back. that was the excuse everyone tried to use, and it didn't work then, and doesn't work now.)

cobra freak, if i remember correctly, you were the guy who went to the DMV to get your bike registered, right? and they told you it needed to be under 50cc, right? they were wrong, that's all there is to it. it's just another case of the ignorance of the employees. they can't be expected to know every law on the books.

anything under 150cc's is considered a "motor driven cycle," and that includes us, as well as scooters, smaller motorcycles, mopeds, etc...

the four critieria listed on the registration/plate application are:

1:two wheeled or three wheeled device.
2:fully operative pedals for human power or powered solely by electrical energy.
3: automatic transmission and a motor with less than 2 gross brake horsepower.
4: maximum speed of 30 miles per hour on ground level.

nowhere in any vehicle code does it say 50cc or less. that's just the way it is.

Sorry for my bad info. I was ill informed. A lot of websites won't sell a larger engine to CA. It must be emissions. I know the skyhawk has a cat in the exhaust.

the CARB (california air resource board) is the one that the sellers worry about when it comes to selling to california. the ones i've talked to won't sell you anything, no matter what the cc's.

i'm not even sure what the law is about that. i've tried to find it, but it's buried somewhere under all kinds of other legal BS.

i've asked sellers about it too, and no one's ever given me a straight answer, i think it's just paranoia.

from the info i've found, the only 2 stroke restrictions in CA are on watercraft, due to polluting the water supply. i've never found anything that says california plans on banning 2 strokes.

as far as bad info on the laws, there's a lot of it going around. even cops don't know exactly what they are. the only reason i know so much about it, is 'cause i got a ticket for no helmet, plate, or license, so i spent many hours hunting down everything there is to try to find a way out of it.

and i never did. had to pay my dues.

sorry for the thread hi-jack, pat

California does have restrictions on 2 strokes.If you buy a new 2 stroke dirt bike you cannot get a greentag for it which means you can,t ride it in the desert only on a closed course(motocross track)and you certainly can,t register it for the street.2stroke streetbikes dissapeared along time ago mainly due to CARB.

I tried to get a Grubee 4-stoke engine, brand new, on Ebay and the guy wouldn't sell it to me and cancelled the transaction because I lived in CA. Nuts.

doug, you're right, i forgot about that.

here's the scoop on that:

Regulations for Off-Highway Motorcycles

For all of you California types:

Definition of a Moped:

406. (a) A "motorized bicycle" or "moped" is any two-wheeled or three-wheeled device having fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power, or having no pedals if powered solely by electrical energy, and an automatic transmission and a motor which produces less than 2 gross brake horsepower and is capable of propelling the device at a maximum speed of not more than 30 miles per hour on level ground.

(b) A "motorized bicycle" is also a device that has fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power and has an electric motor that meets all of the following requirements:

As for plates:

Special License Plate
5030. A motorized bicycle, as defined in Section 406, is required to display a special license plate issued by the department.

Added Ch. 1070, Stats. 1980. Effective January 1, 1981.

VAdded Ch. 1070, Stats. 1980. Effective January 1, 1981.

Definition of a Motor Driven Cycle

Motor-Driven Cycle
405. A "motor-driven cycle" is any motorcycle with a motor that displaces less than 150 cubic centimeters. A motor-driven cycle does not include a motorized bicycle, as defined in Section 406.


Amended Ch. 1359, Stats. 1990. Effective January 1, 1991.
Amended Ch. 928, Stats. 1991. Effective October 14, 1991.
Amended Sec. 1, Ch. 342, Stats. 1995. Effective January 1, 1996.


If you look strictly at the rules, to be a bicycle/moped it should have less than 2hp. To be a motor-driven cycle, it has to be less than 150cc. To me, a Whizzer falls somewhere in the middle, as does a Morini powered bicycle (>2HP). I thought there was a 49cc rule, but I did not see it when researching the above details.