minnesota laws

My search for the truth has lead me to this conclusion. Forget about being legal in Minnesota the powers that be will not allow a home made scooter to legally run on Mn. streets or highways,period! You can go to the MnDot web site and look up motor scooters the laws are pretty black and white. Just drive it on the sly and if you get caught just plead ignorance.Good Luck!

Hi Guy`s

And Welcome Here. Am From Wis, Been Dn Here Near 20 Yrs.

I Think There Is A Big Legal Difference Between A "motor Assisted Bicycle" (mab) And A "motorscooter".

Ron .

That might be the case in Florida but in Mn. its one and the same. They lump them into the same pile. Mn. law is as follows, Motorized Bicycle- The first line of the rule goes like this- Motorized bicycles are registered as mopeds.Therfore they fall under the same rules as a MOPED.

T Turbo

There Is A Member Here, I Think He Lives In Minitonka Mn., St Paul Area.

He Built A Complete Awsum Chopper With Gas Engine, And Then Switched It To Electric. As You Explain The Moped Law, That May Be Why He Switched To Electric.

I HAVE A "CARTRIDGE STYLE" ELECTRIC BIKE THAT I AM CONVERTING TO GAS. VERY SIMPLE CONVERSION. GOING TO DO A THREAD ON IT. ORDERED 41 CHAIN MASTER LINKS, 1/2 LINKS CAME TODAY, MY ERROR. REORDERED 6 MASTER LINK`S AT $.75 EA. SHIPPING IS $4.25 FOR A COUPLE POUND ORDER, SO I ORDERED A FEW OTHER ITEMS. EXCUSE THE CAPITAL LETTERS, ADDED THIS PARAGRAPH.

That`s A Bummer For Sure, Your mn. moped law. Sb Is In N Mn. And Has Not Had Any Problems That I Know Of. I Need To Look Up Fergus Falls On Map Quest.

I Deer Hunted One Yr In Orr Mn. Lots Of Snow That Yr, Had To Use Snow Shoe`s. I Fell Over And Had One h$ll Of A Time Getting Up, With Me Feet 3 Ft Above Me. Of Course I Had To Remove The Snow Shoes To Get Up.

I Raced Late Model Stock Car At Still Water Mn Track In The 70s. 3 Brother`s Worked At The Track - Itch, Scratch And Rub. I Don`t Know If It Was Nick Names Or Their Birth Names. They Were Cool Dude`s.

Chippewa Falls Wi. Passed A City Ordinance Last Yr Requiring A Small Registration Fee For Motor Bicyle`s. But They Are Legal By State Law.

Later, Ron

Tim

Just Reread Your Post. I See Grim Asked About The Mn. Law.

Later, Ron

The law is not in our favor right now, so I just ride and when I see one of Fergus Falls finest I kill the motor and go into Faux pedaling mode LOL, when out of sight reach down give the starter rope a tug and away I go!

Tim

Part Of The Reason I Posted The Pic`s Of The Axle Mount. The Motor Could Be Hid In A Basket, Or Dual Baskets. Would Be A Bit Big, But I Could Live With That.

Some May Call It A Basket Case ! I Could Live With That Also! Lol.

With The Freewheel Sprocket On The Rear Wheel, It Would Be Quiet At Idle.
But Again, They Don`t Give Me A Second Look Here. (a Double Take)

Man, I Hope It`s Cooler In Fergus Falls! Ron . PS yes it is cooler in Fergus Falls, your in the North !!

Thanks for that info man, and it is way cooler here 75 degrees and very nice humidity levels!Thats Mn. we live for summer and pay for winter.lol

i need to post

three or more to get to

be able to put up the research that I did on this issue

so anyway here it goes and sorry about that other stuff here is what I wanted to say

I joined to post some of the research that I have done so I will throw all the info I found in one post on the mn topic. I have not seen this stuff referred to but as far as I can tell Motorized bikes are legal and not required to register in mn. There is a light requirement but the referance in statute is to a provision stating that motorcycle lights must stay on. Anyway here we go and I would love to see feedback since I wonder why no one else found this info and insists on refering to thier builds as mopeds when there is a specific motorized bike statute in mn. Bottom line is that the pertinant info is under the motorized bicycle statute last updated in 2009

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/scooter.pdf THis is a legislative research paper from 2004

From the article- Motorized bicycles must be registered and licensed at an annual tax of $6. No title is required. They may be operated on streets and highways if registered, but the operator needs either a driver’s license or a motorized bicycle operator permit. They may not be operated on a sidewalk except to cross it. The vehicle must have a headlight and, if operated at night, a taillight. If the vehicle is an electric-assisted bicycle an operator must wear a helmet when riding on a street or highway; if it is a motorized bicycle a helmet is required only up to age 18. Operators of motorized bicycles must wear eye protection but operators of electric-assisted bicycles need not do so. Headlights and taillights are required for nighttime operation.


Alright so that previous post was a legislative research in 2004 before the voluntary bicycle registration program was cancelled.

Below is the current motorized bicycle law. TO me this tells me that no registration is possible since they canceled the bicycle registration program and it seems pretty straight forward, eye protection is the only requirement over 18 and only on roads for the most part. However the lighting for night operation has to be motorcycle worthy.

Motorized bicycle - IF you are looking for something to print out this would be it

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.223&year=2009

Lighting ( only at night)-

After persueing the different referances that is not as clear.

In the end though there is a specific section about using the motorized bike and it doesn't have to be registered though you do have to have a license.


In the statute about Motorized Bicycles it says-

Subdivision 1.Safety equipment; parking.Except as otherwise provided in this section, section 169.974 relating to motorcycles is applicable to motorized bicycles

and

(2) a motorized bicycle equipped with a headlight and taillight meeting the requirements of lighting for motorcycles may be operated during nighttime hours;

Subd. 4.Headlight requirement.The provisions of section 169.974, subdivision 5, paragraph (i), apply to motorized bicycles that are equipped with headlights. After June 1, 1987, a new motorized bicycle sold or offered for sale in Minnesota must be equipped with a headlight.


So basically if you want to run at night it must be a headlight and tail corresponding to the provision of section 169.974 subdivision 5 paragraph(i)


that provision states-

No person shall operate a motorcycle on a street or highway unless the headlight or headlights are lighted at all times the motorcycle is so operated. There is nothing in the provision reffered to in the motorized bicycle statute that talks about turn signals, high/low beams. ( those things would be needed if you wanted to register but you don't have to according to the 2009 statute... If you go to the DMV and ask how to register as a moped they would be right to tell you you need those things but what they are leaving out is that you are not required to register according to the statute as I read it.)

So in my mind if you rolled with a lamp and tail light that stay on at all times for night riding you are good...

If I was rolling just in my hometown (st paul) then I would keep the two laws refering to each other and you should be all good. Now someone could make the argument that it has to have highs and lows and all that, but my position would be if that is what they ment then the refered to statute would state that as a requirement. Furthermore it is not required for a motorcycle to have blinkers anyway.

To wrap up, we are lucky.

We have a specific statute that states that no registration is required for a motorized bicycle under 50cc gas or electric. That means we can have gears.
("Motorized bicycle" means a bicycle that is propelled by an electric or a liquid fuel motor of a piston displacement capacity of 50 cubic centimeters or less, and a maximum of two brake horsepower, which is capable of a maximum speed of not more than 30 miles per hour on a flat surface with not more than one percent grade in any direction when the motor is engaged. "Motorized bicycle" includes an electric-assisted bicycle as defined in subdivision 27.
)


If you are over 18 then you have to wear eye protection,operate on public roads up to 30mph, if you want to run at night you have to have a head and tail light that is always on. ( someone may try to say it has to be as good as a motorcycle but I would want to see some proof of that in the legislation.I if they wanted brake lights and turn signals they would have stated that. Instead of refering to the always on provision)

my 2cents along with the links. Too bad I take my bike traveling and so I can't be as sure in other states. NOw if I could register it then I could go to other states and say well it is registered but I can't and at this point the less they get involved the better. THe whole point is keeping costs down. I like electric but without compitition the prices are gonna stay too high and i am on my third controller on my electric bike cause the water screws it up. Gas is more reliable.

I would appreciate any feed back on this and I will be posting this in other relevant threads.

NEAT TIMES said:

T Turbo

There Is A Member Here, I Think He Lives In Minitonka Mn., St Paul Area.

He Built A Complete Awsum Chopper With Gas Engine, And Then Switched It To Electric. As You Explain The Moped Law, That May Be Why He Switched To Electric.

I HAVE A "CARTRIDGE STYLE" ELECTRIC BIKE THAT I AM CONVERTING TO GAS. VERY SIMPLE CONVERSION. GOING TO DO A THREAD ON IT. ORDERED 41 CHAIN MASTER LINKS, 1/2 LINKS CAME TODAY, MY ERROR. REORDERED 6 MASTER LINK`S AT $.75 EA. SHIPPING IS $4.25 FOR A COUPLE POUND ORDER, SO I ORDERED A FEW OTHER ITEMS. EXCUSE THE CAPITAL LETTERS, ADDED THIS PARAGRAPH.

That`s A Bummer For Sure, Your mn. moped law. Sb Is In N Mn. And Has Not Had Any Problems That I Know Of. I Need To Look Up Fergus Falls On Map Quest.

I Deer Hunted One Yr In Orr Mn. Lots Of Snow That Yr, Had To Use Snow Shoe`s. I Fell Over And Had One h$ll Of A Time Getting Up, With Me Feet 3 Ft Above Me. Of Course I Had To Remove The Snow Shoes To Get Up.

I Raced Late Model Stock Car At Still Water Mn Track In The 70s. 3 Brother`s Worked At The Track - Itch, Scratch And Rub. I Don`t Know If It Was Nick Names Or Their Birth Names. They Were Cool Dude`s.

Chippewa Falls Wi. Passed A City Ordinance Last Yr Requiring A Small Registration Fee For Motor Bicyle`s. But They Are Legal By State Law.

Later, Ron

Click to expand...

What a easy conversion that awesome. What is the gear box Staton?
AS far as MN law all you need is 50 cc or less,tail,stop,and head light. Stay under 20mph. You can go to any DMV office and get a book

@thereyago I doubt you'll ever see this, but your post impressed me radically, I have read it several times. I've been on the fence as to if I should put a motor on a mountain bicycle or not. Nothing disgusts me more than thinking about the police trying to hassle me, so when I started making realizations about a motor bicycle, I was inclined to just go for it.
Anyway, thanks a ton for this information, I really appreciate how thorough you were.

Hey pinjas, do you have that MB up and running yet? The weather being the deciding factor! LOL One more question, do you see many MB,s in the Twin Cities area? See afew around here but no luck makeing contact with them.

I don't think I've ever seen a motor bicycle before. I've seen many 'mopeds'. Maybe a better term is a scooter, those small motorcycles, I've seen many of those. I haven't made a motorbicycle yet, but the cold weather does seem like a bit of a turn off, going 30 mph with -6 degree air dashing past my junk doesn't sound very appealing. The big thing though is I am weighing the idea of making something versus buying something made by asian slaves. I am also weighing the law aspect, but based on this, it seems like it could be fairly ok. I've always imagined just not stopping for a cop and going into places a cop car simply could not follow, maybe I've been playing too much GTA 4, haha.

If I was riding, I'd definitely have wheels with studs setup and I'd be cruising around with the appropriate layers. Not too long ago I learned that in Minnesota that it is ILLEGAL to drive a car with studded tires, that kinda blows my mind.

Minnesota Other Types of Motorcycles - MN Scooter & Moped Info - DMV Guide It's been suggested to me that I should call the DMV, before doing so I did a bit of online searching and found that link. What it states seems pretty bogus and one portion seems to contradict itself. Stay as close to the curb as possible but don't go in the bicycle lane.
That seems like small beans to me though in contrast to the other portion about needing liability insurance, registration and a title. It sounds like BS taxation to me, a snag either way as I am not too keen on setting up all that.

I wonder if it is a viable loop hole to use a gas motor as a generator that runs to a battery, that then runs to a electric motor. Haha. Some of the laws in this state are nucking futs.

The other day I decided to call a DMV to get some information, she seemed entirely clueless on the issue or idea of a motorized bicycle and kept asking me a lot of questions that made no sense like, 'what are you using it for' and 'will it have brakes'? Anyway, she eventually suggested calling some city to determine if I need to do anything special.
I called, another woman suggested speaking with the police department. I called the police department. She said that I need to follow the rules of the road, I can't go on a highway, and I don't need to register it or anything like that. Awesome.

I have a booklet that come from the DMV on the laws but can't find it right now. I think it covers motor cycle and the rest. GET ONE. You need to register,need a head light,tail light ,and stop light ( for that I am going to use a safty switch from a garden tractor againest the brake cable ) As far as I know no insurance. I will look for the book to double check and get back if any diferent.............Curt
Hate to see you get in trouble just because they don't look it up or know whats right.