• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

Street legal 4-wheeler?

Forums New posts
The mini-trucks would be awesome. We call'em mighty mites or "mitzus" but with 5 gears they'll go 70 MPH and haul a pretty decent load. Only thing is they don't meet federal crash standards. I'd drive one even if I had to sign a federal waiver or something along those lines.
 
jeepinbanditrider said:
The mini-trucks would be awesome. We call'em mighty mites or "mitzus" but with 5 gears they'll go 70 MPH and haul a pretty decent load. Only thing is they don't meet federal crash standards. I'd drive one even if I had to sign a federal waiver or something along those lines.
Click to expand...

Saw one setting in the Walmart parking lot the other day, he had gotten a lic plate on it some how.
 
jeepinbanditrider said:
The mini-trucks would be awesome. We call'em mighty mites or "mitzus" but with 5 gears they'll go 70 MPH and haul a pretty decent load. Only thing is they don't meet federal crash standards. I'd drive one even if I had to sign a federal waiver or something along those lines.
Click to expand...

Which is quite ridiculous because I can still ride around on a two wheeled machine protected only by the clothing I choose to wear.
 
I never have understood why all the hoopla about electric cars when we could have been driving golf carts for years. They are OK in some areas under special circumstances but I would open them up to anywhere you can use a moped. A cart with a good charge can run all day at the golf course.
 
importing the mini-trucks from Japan (65 mph and 55 mpg) was blocked by the ATV council of America because it was hurting their sales. The reason was they went too fast (but you could buy a 4wheeler that would run 80). The only way to bring them in was to make it where they only had 1st and reverse and put a throttle limiter on them. Just goes to show you ; He with the most lawyers wins.
 
Ha! We have a street legal mini truck! Back in the the 70's some Subaru mini trucks were imported, no not the Brat these are called Sambar's and they are street legal! Of course that Goldwing motor I'm putting in should move it a little better than the original 350 cc 2 stroke.

SRAD
mr Marie
 
While I was on business in Pasgagoula MS I ran across this guy. I was pulling out on Hwy 90 and saw him coming at me. I thought - dang that looks like a 4-wheeler coming down the road! Well It roared past me and I gave chase to get a better look at it. caught him at next red light so I rolled down the window and ask. Upon closer inspection I saw it was a Honda shadow twin. My first thought was he shoe horned the motor into a 4-wheeler but he said that he took the stock bike frame and added (converted) it with 4-wheeler parts. He said he has been stopped by every cop in the area over the past couple years including some state troopers and got a few tickets, but he managed to beat them in court.

Technically i don't think this would fly as the law is stated in TX but I guess MS is one of those states where if you can manage to get a plate for it then your good to go!

P1000296.jpg


P1000294.jpg


P1000293.jpg
 
That thing is sweet :D.

I would love to get a POlaris Razr tagged. That would be sweet :D
 
People around here who loose their licenses due to DUIs just drive farm tractors. No license required for farm equipment. Some even get DUIs on their tractors. There's actually a bit of a market for smallish (40-80hp) tractors because they will run at a good clip and are not so big to worry about needing more than a full lane.
 
A scratch-built enthusiast vehicle doesn't have to meet all the safety and pollution requirements in certain circumstances. I would think these quad-based rebodies would come under the same legals as the Cobra replicas and such.
 
So the kits don't need any type of certification? Hmmm...

I wonder why there's not more quads on the street then. If it's got a title (which most do), and the requisite inspection items, what's stopping an inspection station from issuing a street title much like converting an off-road bike to a street legal bike? They almost seem the same to me on the surface. Hmmm..... :ponder:

.
 
Spoilsports

February 15, 2010: Just learned that DMV has revoked the registations for these bumper cars.

"It was a mistake by the field office staff, said Jan Mendoza, a DMV spokeswoman."

"Our registration division was sent these same photos some years back, and have since corrected their registration," she said. These cars no longer have California plates, she said."
Click to expand...
 
M38A1 said:
So the kits don't need any type of certification? Hmmm...

I wonder why there's not more quads on the street then. If it's got a title (which most do), and the requisite inspection items, what's stopping an inspection station from issuing a street title much like converting an off-road bike to a street legal bike? They almost seem the same to me on the surface. Hmmm..... :ponder:

.
Click to expand...

I guess your brain skipped over the "in certain circumstances" part. You need a ton of certification to title a kit or homebuilt vehicle. You still have to meet the state requirements for safety items for the year model vehicle. A brand new vehicle has to meet the current model year specs. That is why some people begin their build with a pre-emissions VIN tag and replace virtually every other part of the vehicle. You can actually buy all the parts for some cars, like a brand new '57 Chevy convertible resto-rod, except the VIN tag.

Technically, you could actually build a wheeler-like vehicle beginning with the VIN plate form a '48 Ford and actually title such a vehicle.

Texas defines a motorcycle as having 2 or 3 wheels. Therefore, a 4-wheel ATV would have to be classified as a car or truck and be required to meet the current year safety and pollution requirements for a car or truck if it was to be licensed.

There are exemptions for people who build vehicles pretty much from scratch, but the documentation that leads to titling is a nightmare.


Short wheelbase doesn't actually make a vehicle unstable at speed. I've driven a 250cc shifter kart up to the 150-160mph range with complete confidence. Such karts will do 0-100-0 in 6 seconds flat and pull 3G corners. If you want to roadrace, nothing else provides the same performance for anywhere near the price. Kind of embarrassing when a $6000 kart blows someone's $180,000 supercar into the weeds. :doh:
 
Naw.... didn't miss that part. Rather just couldn't figure out what they would be. I suppose some more research could be in order to find out how the above 4-wheelers are getting tagged. The paper plate looks like a m/c one in the pic as small as it is, yet as you say - it's not a m/c so it has to be a car/truck.
 
KenH said:
Short wheelbase doesn't actually make a vehicle unstable at speed. I've driven a 250cc shifter kart up to the 150-160mph range with complete confidence. Such karts will do 0-100-0 in 6 seconds flat and pull 3G corners. If you want to roadrace, nothing else provides the same performance for anywhere near the price. Kind of embarrassing when a $6000 kart blows someone's $180,000 supercar into the weeds. :doh:
Click to expand...

yeah, but those are 2" off the ground, you're forgetting the part of the equation that includes center of gravity
 
M38A1 said:
Naw.... didn't miss that part. Rather just couldn't figure out what they would be. I suppose some more research could be in order to find out how the above 4-wheelers are getting tagged. The paper plate looks like a m/c one in the pic as small as it is, yet as you say - it's not a m/c so it has to be a car/truck.
Click to expand...

I checked into building a car a few years ago. Decided to do RC airplanes instead. Maybe the laws have changed, but 4 wheels made it not a motorcycle.

poser said:
yeah, but those are 2" off the ground, you're forgetting the part of the equation that includes center of gravity
Click to expand...

I'm not forgetting anything. Someone posted about the wheelbase of their wheeler making it unstable at speed. I showed it's not the wheelbase. You're wrong about shifterkart ground clearance, too. It's more like 3/4 inch at rest and 1/2 inch at speed with downforce. Deduct another 1/4 as the tires wear. It's not really the center of gravity, either, unless hauling around corners.

It's the balloon tires that make them unstable at speed. That is why the racers switch to stiffer lawn mower tires with flatter treads--less straightline traction but much better handling makes for more precise control and faster lap times. There are actually some companies making specialized race knobbies and even dirttrack tires for ATVs that are flatter and have stiffer sidewalls than normal ATV tires, kind of like 6-ply lawnmower tire carcasses with ATV tread patterns--all the crisp handling of the mower tires and the traction of ATV tires. Win-win. My son uses some from Maxxis on his wheeler. That thing is a lot more stable now than with the original tires. It's actually almost as much fun to ride as a motorcycle! :rider: These ain't your daddy's ATC90s.
 
You can get DOT tires for you quad..

Hoosier is the ones most guys like, but there are a few companies out there that make them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top