Texas Law-Motorcycles Have Saddles, Not Seats

See newly revised (May 2012) http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/msb/documents/VDRchart.pdf which clearly states the difference between a Moped and a Motorcycle as defined by the State of Texas.

Also, http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/docs/TN/htm/TN.551.htm for supporting info.

So, if you live in Texas and have a 50cc or higher gasoline engine installed and it is functioning (turned on) on your bicycle, law enforcement likely will call your vehicle a motorcycle. It cannot be a moped or a "motor assisted scooter" since the engine would be greater than 50cc. It will require insurance, state inspection, registration, title, etc. just like a moped or motorcycle would, unless you can argue successfully that it is something entirely different than anything described in current Texas law (i.e., it falls thru the cracks in the law).

I argue that the law defines motorcycles and motor-driven cycles as having a "saddle". Bicycles have no "saddle". They have "seats". They have a "seat post" to support the "seat". So, my motorized bicycle is not a motorcycle nor is it a motor-driven cycle. It is a customized bicycle. It just happens to have a home-built small auxillary motor for special circumstances of limited time and distance duration (e.g. steep hill).

Bicycles have seats: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bicycle

bi·cy·cle (bskl, -s-kl, -skl)
n.
1. A vehicle consisting of a light frame mounted on two wire-spoked wheels one behind the other and having a seat, handlebars for steering, brakes, and two pedals or a small motor by which it is driven.
2. An exercise bicycle.

Go to Walmart and look for the thing you sit on when on a bicycle. Walmart calls it a "seat". There are seats that are large and comfy and salesmen call them "saddle style", but that cosmetic aspect does not make the seat into a saddle. A bicycle seat is always a seat, regardless of its style.

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Per The Texas Department of Public Safety (aka Highway Patrol)
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Definitions:

"Bicycle" means a device that a person may ride and that is propelled by human power and has two tandem wheels at least one of which is more than 14 inches in diameter. [If your motor is off and you are pedalling, you are pedalling a bicycle to propel it by human power at that specific point in time; also, it does not define a bicycle as having a "saddle". If it did, we would lose our case, but thankfully the law is silent on this point, which means a lawyer has an arguable point. Just be sure your engine is off. Be stealthy and don't be seen with the engine turned on.].

Motorcycle: Every motor vehicle having a saddle for the use of the rider and designed to propel itself with not more than three wheels in contact with the ground but excluding a tractor.

Motor-Driven Cycle: Every motorcycle with a motor which has an engine piston displacement of not more than 125cc. [So, it is a small motorcycle that has a saddle like a big motorcycle does].


In summary, remember that your bicycle has a seat, and not a saddle. If you get a ticket, go to traffic court and argue the above, quoting from current Texas law. And take your bicycle seat with you to show the judge.

I sent an email to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles asking what TXDMV form I should use to register and title my homemade motorized bicycle. I stated that I needed to do that in order to get it inspected and to buy liability insurance. This was their official response (which conflicts with what Texas Department of Transportation says, apparently because the TXDMV does not want to get involved with bicycles of any type for any reason whatsoever). So, the State of Texas DMV will not allow me to register my MB, get a title for it, and hence get an inspection sticker for it. The most I can do is call my insurance agent to get liability insurance (i.e. show "financial responsibility"). I will keep a copy of the email with me at all times while riding my MB to show any law enforcement why I don't have an inspection sticker and registration.

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Dear Dalton,

Thank you for your email. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles does not title or register bicycles, whether motorized or not.

Please feel free to contact me for additional information.

Best Regards,

Nicole Caston
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
Consumer Relations Division
[email protected]

We are always trying to improve and appreciate your feedback. If you have a moment, please visit our website at www.TxDMV.gov/survey.htm and take our customer satisfaction survey to let us know how we are doing. If you simply have a suggestion, a complaint or even a compliment, email us at [email protected].

Be nice to the officer. Explain what TXDMV says. If he or she still gives you a ticket, go to traffic court and present your case to the judge. Be nice to the judge too. An average citizen cannot follow what one department of the State of Texas says to do (e.g. TXDPS) when the other department that is supposed to do it (e.g. TXDMV) flatly refuses because they never have and never will do what the first department is telling them to do. This is a classic governmental Catch-22. As a matter of equity, the judge should throw out the ticket since the citizen cannot possibly comply due to the Catch-22.