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Street legal 4-wheeler?

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I keep coming back to the plating of off-road bikes.....

Do motorcycles have to withstand any crash test criteria to be certified as road worthy like vehicles?

Who actually would license it, ie: a road title and plates? Would it be TXDOT or DPS?

And is the 'green sheet' m/c specific? I've never seen one to know it's contents.
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KenH said:
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.



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.
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true that. spongy stock tires and add to that they run less then 10psi, and a quad feels a little squirrely at high speeds :lol2:
 
KenH said:
These ain't your daddy's ATC90s.
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My first time riding an ATC90 almost killed me - :eek2:
I tried to lean into a turn (which didn't work went straight anyway) and even put my foot down (which naturally got ran over) - :lol2:

Needless to say I thought dem dang new-fangled things would never catch on - boy was I wrong, they even floated - :trust:
 
stinky93071 said:
I wonder if you could use a CRF frame and put the TRX stuff on it.. hummmmm..
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You could, but as I understand it, when that 4th wheel hits the pavement, it's a car or truck, and all the regulations apply.

When I was checking into it I was thinking about a small single seater similar to a 1949 Cooper Mk IV in appearance with the addition of a canopy, a tube space frame with fiberglass body, fitted with an early Civic FWD driveline incorporating air conditioning. It was to be a high fuel efficiency commuter, with about 5/8 the weight and 1/3 the wind resistance of the Civic the intended driveline came from, and taller tires, I expected 70mph cruise to return 65-70mpg. It would have been titled as a replica of a 1954, but about the only similarity would have been the appearance, and that barely.
 
KenH said:
You could, but as I understand it, when that 4th wheel hits the pavement, it's a car or truck, and all the regulations apply.
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That is how I understood it as well, but I'm wondering how the GGquad folks get around it? I was over at Moto Liberty a few years back and saw one and it 100% had a TX tag, but I'm not sure about inspection whether or not it was an MC or auto one. But somehow they must be skirting the law I just don't know how?
http://www.gg-quad-northamerica.com/
 
Got a letter in the mail last week from some group called the "TexasSure Vehicle Insurance Verification", wanting to know why I hadn't registered my new John Deere Gator 825i with the state. Do you think that the state needs to upgrade their computers, this is an off road vehicle that is not street legal and can't be registered for street use in Texas. Yes, I can surrender my MSO and get a Texas Title for $35.00 at the local vehicle tax office, but still no way to make it street legal in Texas. I purchased it on a Farm Use Only and paid no taxes, I will be using it on my land for Farm and Ranch work only, but I might ride it on the side of the road in the county going from one neighbor to the other. From past experiences the Sheriff officers do not bother with these vehicles as long as you are on the side of the road and have one of those big orange triangles on the back. Biggest problem here is keeping it in the 25mph range, don't be running at top speed of 45-50mph which this Gator will do and let them see you on the highway. And last I do have insurance on this vehicle along with my motorcycles from the same company, the motorcycles are in their computers, why does the Gator not show up there. :giveup:

John
 
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