rsa's for new hampshire regarding motorized bikes

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redneck82

Member
May 25, 2014
126
0
16
concord, nh
i've spent the past couple days combing through nh.gov looking for what ever i could find for laws and definitions pertaining to motorized bikes. i noticed in another thread about maine laws that a lot seems to be open to interpretation and there's a lot of grey areas. so i'm just trying to get as much info as possible into one place.

259:57 Moped. – "Moped'' shall mean a motor-driven cycle whose speed attainable in one mile is 30 miles per hour or less; if an internal combustion engine is used, the piston displacement shall not exceed 50 cubic centimeters and the power-drive system shall not require the operator to shift gears.

259:63 Motorcycle. – "Motorcycle'' shall mean every motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than 3 wheels in contact with the ground, but excluding tractors and mopeds. The term shall also include 3-wheel scooters with enclosed cabs.

259:65 Motor-Driven Cycle. – "Motor-driven cycle'' shall mean any motorcycle or motor scooter with a motor which produces not to exceed 5 horse-power, and any bicycle with motor attached except any electrically powered bicycle that has a less than 750 watt motor, has functional pedals, and is capable of a maximum speed on level ground of less than 20 miles per hour.



I-d. "Antique trail bike'' means any trail bike manufactured prior to the year 1969 or 25 or more years old owned by a resident of the state. For the purposes of this chapter, all vehicles within this definition shall be classified as off highway recreational vehicles.

XIV. "Trail bike'' means any motor-driven wheeled vehicle on which there is a saddle or seat for the operator or passenger or both and which is designed or adapted for travel over surfaces other than maintained roads, whether covered by ice or snow or not. For the purposes of this chapter, all vehicles within this definition shall be classified as off highway recreational vehicles.

XX. "Youth model trail bike'' means a trail bike that is equipped with an internal combustion engine with a maximum piston displacement of 95 cubic centimeters.

I-b. "All terrain vehicle (ATV)'' means any motor-driven vehicle which is designed or adapted for travel over surfaces other than maintained roads with one or more tires designed to hold not more than 10 pounds per square inch of air pressure, having capacity for passengers or other payloads, not to exceed 1,000 pounds net vehicle weight, and not to exceed 50 inches in width. For the purposes of this chapter, all vehicles within this definition shall be classified as off highway recreational vehicles.

VI. "Off highway recreational vehicle'' means any mechanically propelled vehicle used for pleasure or recreational purposes running on rubber tires, tracks, or cushion of air and dependent on the ground or surface for travel, or other unimproved terrain whether covered by ice or snow or not, where the operator sits in or on the vehicle. All legally registered motorized vehicles when used for off highway recreational purposes shall fall within the meaning of this definition; provided that, when said motor vehicle is being used for transportation purposes only, it shall be deemed that said motor vehicle is not being used for recreational purposes. For purposes of this chapter "off highway recreational vehicle'' shall be abbreviated as OHRV. OHRVs shall include utility terrain vehicles and shall not include snowmobiles as defined in RSA 215-C.

XV. "Registered for Highway Use'' means any OHRV as defined in RSA 215-A:1, VI or trail bike as defined in RSA 215-A:1, XIV which is registered for use on the highways of the state under the provisions of RSA 261. Said registered vehicles shall comply with the provisions of RSA 215-A:35-39.

this section pertains to trail bikes (what most of our bikes would be classified using the 66 or 80+cc motors)
215-A:35 OHRV Safety Equipment Required. – Any OHRV or trail bike, as defined by RSA 215-A:1, V and XIV, respectively, which is also registered for use on the highways of the state shall comply with all OHRV requirements concerning safety equipment, sound emission levels, spark arrestors as well as all other requirements pertaining to the registration of motor vehicles.
215-A:36 Directional Flashers. – For OHRVs or trail bikes registered for use on the highway, directional flashers shall not be required unless said vehicle had this equipment installed as original equipment by the manufacturer.
215-A:37 Knobby Pattern Tires. – OHRVs or trail bikes with knobby pattern tires, which have been registered for highway use, shall be permitted on all highways within the state except interstate highways.
215-A:38 Headlights. – For any trail bike registered for use on the highways, a high and low beam headlight shall not be required unless said vehicle had this equipment installed as original equipment by the manufacturer. This section shall not affect the requirements of RSA 215-A:14, I(a).
215-A:39 Speedometer and Odometer. – For any trail bike registered for use on highways, a speedometer and odometer shall not be required unless said vehicle had this equipment installed as original equipment by the manufacturer.

this is NOT a complete list! it's just what i have personally found... also, my personal experience is that as long as you're not being retarded on your bike and just follow the general rules of the road, you won't have any issues...
it is also my experience here in nh, that if you're bike is stolen... don't expect the cops to give a $hit...

if you find other info pertaining to the laws and regulations here in nh, feel free to add them!
thanks guys!
 

fasteddy

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
7,440
4,877
113
British Columbia Canada
My son is traveling around Mexico on his way to South America on his motorcycle at the moment but he got a license on his trike with a China girl on it before he left. He called the the state about an inspection and they directed him to where they were doing roadside checks on trucks that day and told him to have them look at the trike and if it passed they would give him the paper work and he could register it.

He did and it passed and he registered it in Concord I believe. He lives in Derring. I'll email him and when he gets to where there is wifi I'll let you know his answer. He's headed for Durango at the moment so I should be able to get an answer in the next 24 hours.

Steve.
 

fasteddy

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
7,440
4,877
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British Columbia Canada
Hi redneck82,

Received a quick email from my son and he said the best thing is to pick the category of bike that you want to build and contact the D.M.V. in Concord and ask what is required for the bike to be road worthy. He said they are really easy to work with and his build was approved with out any problems.

Steve
 

zero

New Member
May 14, 2015
4
0
0
Rochester, NH
I emailed the DMV and had this conversation:

Me- I am installing a small gasoline motor on my mountain bike. I was looking through the RSA's and could find nothing except the definition of "motor driven cycle"
Please advise on whether or not my bicycle will now need to be registered.

Diane Wilson- Can you please verify what the cc's of the engine you are putting on the mountain bike is.

Me- The engine size is 66cc.

Diane Wilson- You would need to bring the bicycle and motor to a salvage inspection location to verify if it would need to be registered or not.


I'm curious what will happen when I bring it. Not sure when that will be because I'll have to miss work to do it. I will certainly update.
 

zero

New Member
May 14, 2015
4
0
0
Rochester, NH
So, I brought my bike to the DMV in concord during the "salvage inspection" time. Guy looked at it and I showed documentation that it was a 48cc engine kit. He was clueless and spent 15 minutes or so digging through RSA's on his laptop. He eventually put a state issued vin on it. I brought that inside and registered it as a moped. Very painless and now there's no doubt that I'm legal. The VIN was $30 and registration was $6.75. They charge for the plate, so renewing the reg will be like $3 or something.
 

fasteddy

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2009
7,440
4,877
113
British Columbia Canada
My son lives in New Hampshire and works in Concord. He took a trike in to have it inspected
and there was no one there to inspect it so they told him where they were doing truck inspections on the side of the road and they looked at it and gave him the paper work to get the Vin and register it.

Just got to love New Hampshire. Live Free or Die.

Steve.