The Real Deal on California Law.

Scotchmo said:
The vehicle code is so messed up.
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Hallelujah! I too have gone round and round reading confusing and contradicting DMV rules.
It's very hard for me to believe the head/brake/turn lights requirement. That alone would be enough to put me off of a conversion.

The last detail my decision is hanging on is insurance. I've visited two police stations and called twice - still no insurance answer. Called the Calif Dept of Insurance a few minutes ago. Essentially, they didn't know zip, and I stopped talking to the guy after a semi-frustrating circular argument regarding insurance requirements (I won't try to recreate - gives me a headache!). Wish I had asked the traffic judge on Tues.

I've also talked to insurance companies, Progressive, for instance. They don't write "motorized bike" insurance.

So, where are you calif people getting your insurance (if you are)?

bluesjr
 
bluesjr said:
Hallelujah! I too have gone round and round reading confusing and contradicting DMV rules.
It's very hard for me to believe the head/brake/turn lights requirement. That alone would be enough to put me off of a conversion.

The last detail my decision is hanging on is insurance. I've visited two police stations and called twice - still no insurance answer. Called the Calif Dept of Insurance a few minutes ago. Essentially, they didn't know zip, and I stopped talking to the guy after a semi-frustrating circular argument regarding insurance requirements (I won't try to recreate - gives me a headache!). Wish I had asked the traffic judge on Tues.

I've also talked to insurance companies, Progressive, for instance. They don't write "motorized bike" insurance.

So, where are you calif people getting your insurance (if you are)? bluesjr
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Doood!!.... Read Bairds first post on this thread!! He tells EVERYTHING the cops in Cali want us to do to be legal!!!!!!!
How many times do we have to go around & around & around & around & around & around & around on this subject????????? :-{

Just read it & go with it!
 
i agree with venice, but i'll answer this one.

you DON'T need turn signals.

I haven't insured mine yet. i don't think anyone else has, except maybe scotchmo, who says he insured it as a moped.

AFTER you register it, get your plate, and your M2, call some insurance companies and tell them your bike's legal according to the state of california rules, that it's registered, and you have a plate and an M2 license.

it seems then they're more likely to deal with it.

if there's any other questions dealing with something that hasn't been answered already, i'll do my best to help.

if someone just wants to argue, or interpret the law themself, then save it for the judge.
 
I just talked at length to my local dept by phone. The Sgt said that he (and most of his fellow officers) would not ask for M2 license, registration or insurance. Or lights of any kind.

He said they will ask for ID, if they need to issue a citation, otherwise they'll leave you alone. No guarantees though, as it's a judgment call of the particular officer. We spent most of the time talking about the lack of clarity in the laws.

However, the CHP are another story (btw, they are not limited in their jurisdiction, as I thought). If you're unlucky enough to be stopped by a CHP, he said they ask for everything.

I'm getting a M2 license, registration and plate, and will skip the insurance and lights.

bluesjr
 
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cool. make sure you get the sgt.'s name, it might help you out.

as far as lights, horn, etc, those are fix-it tickets anyway, so if you got one, you'd just have to tape all that crap to your bike and get it signed off, and pay the ticket.
 
bluesjr said:
Hallelujah! I too have gone round and round reading confusing and contradicting DMV rules.
It's very hard for me to believe the head/brake/turn lights requirement. That alone would be enough to put me off of a conversion.

The last detail my decision is hanging on is insurance. I've visited two police stations and called twice - still no insurance answer. Called the Calif Dept of Insurance a few minutes ago. Essentially, they didn't know zip, and I stopped talking to the guy after a semi-frustrating circular argument regarding insurance requirements (I won't try to recreate - gives me a headache!). Wish I had asked the traffic judge on Tues.

I've also talked to insurance companies, Progressive, for instance. They don't write "motorized bike" insurance.

So, where are you calif people getting your insurance (if you are)?

bluesjr
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You don't need it (yet) just because a cop tells someone it would be a good idea does not mean you need it. as of now its not a requirement
 
rockvoice said:
You don't need it (yet) just because a cop tells someone it would be a good idea does not mean you need it. as of now its not a requirement
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That's a great idea, Let's get all MB owners to march to their local Police departments and demand to know the law! Lets get watch commanders, sargents, traffic cops, and even Sheriffs involved- Oh ya and get their names and definately their cards so they can think us MBers are *******s! You friggen IDIOTS! Just ride the Dam bike, wear a helmut, get your plate/registration, and obey traffic laws, and most importantly.................... don't ride in my town and think your gonna visit my local PD!
 
i talked to a costa mesa cop about an hour ago, at a Weinerschnitzel on Harbor Blvd. he said the same thing everyone else claims, that as long as i was riding safe and wearing a helmet, he doesn't care.

he also said that the subject of motorized bikes has been coming up during briefings, and that "they are looking into it."

so the days of the "cool cop" might be numbered.

he also told me that he sees me ripping up and down the street all the time, that he knows i'm going faster than 30mph, and he wanted to know how fast i could go. we joked around and i finally told him it'd go around 45mph.

i left before him and he pulled up to me at the next light, and said "let's see what it'll do."

so he paced me to the next light, i got into a full tuck and poured it on, and when we stopped, he said he had me at 48mph. then he told me i was crazy, to be careful, and he took off.

for the next mile or so, every car on the street that saw us racing together was honking and giving me the thumbs up.

it was pretty darn cool.
 
bairdco said:
i talked to a costa mesa cop about an hour ago, at a Weinerschnitzel on Harbor Blvd. he said the same thing everyone else claims, that as long as i was riding safe and wearing a helmet, he doesn't care.

he also said that the subject of motorized bikes has been coming up during briefings, and that "they are looking into it."

so the days of the "cool cop" might be numbered.

he also told me that he sees me ripping up and down the street all the time, that he knows i'm going faster than 30mph, and he wanted to know how fast i could go. we joked around and i finally told him it'd go around 45mph.

i left before him and he pulled up to me at the next light, and said "let's see what it'll do."

so he paced me to the next light, i got into a full tuck and poured it on, and when we stopped, he said he had me at 48mph. then he told me i was crazy, to be careful, and he took off.

for the next mile or so, every car on the street that saw us racing together was honking and giving me the thumbs up.

it was pretty darn cool.
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Thats great (sarcasm if you dont get it) the cop says to be safe and then says lets see what it can do. the guy's "ripping" up and down the street are what is gonna do us all in.
So now the cop can tell everyone that its bull$#@t if MBers tell them they dont go over 30.
 
i wouldn't worry about it. most of them barely go over 30 anyway:)

i think he was more impressed with my machine than anything else. we were talking about a lot of slapped together bikes, and how it was actually safer to ride alongside traffic, rather than in the gutter next to it.

and there's always gonna be cool cops and jerk cops. in a year or so, we'll probably need airbags and seatbelts anyway.

i understand what you're thinking, though, about staying under the radar as much as possible, and i'd like to agree. but from my experience, the law is already catching up with us, whether we talk to them or not. i don't think my racing alongside a cop is gonna matter at all.

everyone who builds and rides these bikes knows it's just a matter of time before we have a heap of regulations piled on top of us, and since california is infamous for setting trends nationwide, we're gonna get it first.

and i still think it was cool.

(edit) and i also did it "safely."
 
What type of motor are you running? If it's a two stroke and you have to register your bike, does that make the two stroke legal in california?
 
i use the bicycle serial number for the VIN, and the same number with an "E" in front of it for the engine, so it has matching numbers.

i also engrave that number into the case of the engine, on that little flat spot where the transfer ports are.

when the cop stopped me, he actually had me flip the bike up so he could write down the serial number off the bottom bracket on the ticket.
 
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