I know all the requirements for a motorized bicycle to be registered as a moped in Florida so it can be taken ON the road, but if I just wanted to ride in the bicycle lane or even on the grass on the side of the road, do I have to adhere to these requirements. Any Floridians that can give me some input, or let me know if the police have ever even bothered you?
Florida Motorized Bike
- Thread starter UnidentifiedWhiteGuy
- Start date
I don't live in Florida but I have heard horror stories about hard nosed cops in Florida. I doubt you can ride it anywhere except on private property without it being registered.
Gas powered bicycle..
1.) Registered as a moped
2.) Liscene required
3.) It's roadWAY, which the "bicycle lane" is part of.
4.) "Grass on the side of the roadway would surely be someone else's property.
5.) Sidewalks, ONLY under "human power" e.g. Peddling.
No way around it. Get it registered. Have a license. Ride on the roadway with no issues.
Why do you want to not register it? It's easy, makes you legal and keeps the cops off your back. I don't understand the issue?
The only reason I have an issue with registering (besides the fact I still need a license) is the 50cc fully automatic maximum placed on the engines. I found a few engines 50+ that I like but if I can't register them it would suck. Have you registered one before, what is the actual process?
In my opinion, if I gotta register it I might as well buy/build a small motorcycle.
The ability to build and ride something unregistered is a large part of the appeal of a motorized bike.
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Well that's your choice...
Yes, I have registered one in Florida... In Palm Beach County.... After the initial paperwork, it takes about 2 weeks for them to set you up with an appointment to have it inspected.. (They inspect it and then give you a VIN number/sticker.)
Once inspected, all you have to do is go to the DMV and pay the $50ish bucks for the registration.
You CAN build a small motorcycle, but at that point, it is probably WAY easier to just buy a scooter.
You DO have a license, right? Or is that your "main area of contention"? Because that's a lot of people's reason for having an issue with building one.
The registration for a moped is soooo much easier than one for a motorcycle and is a lot cheaper.
No, my issue isn't the license requirement, it's the engine requirement, I mean how hard did they really "inspect" your bike. If I can fake a 50cc by removing the shifter from my 70cc semi auto and putting a sticker that says 50cc on it that'd be awesome.
Yes, I do have a license. I also have multiple small motorcycles I have built (on old frames, like my '72 Trail 70 for example) that are way cooler, more capable, faster and get better gas mileage than any stupid scooter with its power-robbing belt drive and engine mounted on the swingarm. Did I mention that I hate scooters? Also, the typical small motorcycle I build costs less than a Chinese scooter, and only costs about $20 to register in my state. Liability insurance costs me about six dollars a year.
I'm not building motorized bicycles because I have no other form of transportation. I build them because I'm a gearhead, and because most states don't require all the registration nonsense on something so slow and light. Georgia for example, doesn't require registration on even a 50cc motorcycle, with gears and everything.
Florida obviously hates motorized bikes. That's why they were flatly illegal until fairly recently, when they smugly condescended to make them legal, but only if you spend a large percentage of what the bike costs to build, and jump through hoops to register it. Why? Is it such a menace to public safety? No. Because Florida is such a police state that they can't stand not having their hands in everything possible.
Motorized bicycles aren't the only thing Florida tries to prohibit that freer states don't hassle with, either.
I occasionally visit and camp there, but I'm glad I don't live there. If I did I would probably take myself and my tax dollars, and move to a freer state.
I forgot to mention: you describe a process of inspection, fees and registration, and then claim that it is "soooo much easier than one for a motorcycle." Wow. I can register a 300cc motorcycle with a 35+ year old frame for $20, a bill of sale, and no inspection. Anyone (including a Florida resident, btw) can register a sub-300cc motorcycle in Vermont, via mail, with only a bill of sale (no title required on sub-300cc even if brand new) for $44. And as I mentioned, Georgia doesn't even require registration of a full-blown 50cc motorcycle.
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