426 street legal process

[lomitamike]

Has anyone gone through the process of having thier 426 retitled/registerd through the state of Vermont, (I'm in Calif.). I've done the verification of vin, filled out the application and sent it off. The information I'm aware of from this point is that if everything goes OK with Vermont and I get my plates then I need to install some kind of a conversion kit, (e.g.baja design). Then have a inspection done before you transfer it back to Calif. I have also heard you need to wait 3 months before you transfer it back to California. The other questions I have are can the auto club do these inspections and transfers if your a member? Seems like you would have beter luck there instead of DMV.Does anyone know the minimum space allowed between turn signals? I really like the look of the E-line kit over the Baja Designs kit but don"t know if it will pass inspection.All help appreciated Gonzo

[Blue_Boner]

Gonzo, In my experience you are right in doing the Vermont license deal. After you get that done you are able to get a transfer done through Auto Club. Auto Club will only do motorcycle transfers, not new registrations. About a year ago I bought a KTM with an Arizona plate, took it to the Auto Club and left with a plate after about twenty minutes. I had the bike in the back of a truck and all they did was have me read the VIN number off the engine and head tube. They did ask how many miles it had and I told them it had 9,000 which turned out to be lucky because if under 7,500 miles I would have had to do some other verification. The lady also asked if it was for the street or the dirt and naturally I said the street.

About the dual sport kit I would check out www.trickdualsport.com if you really feel the need to get one of these kits. The Trick Dual Sport kits are nicer than some of the competitors. Personally, I don't go with the dual sport kit because if you have a plate the most you can get is a fix-it ticket for not having the horn, turn signals, and mirror. A stock WR tail light has a third wire so if you add a brake light switch you can have a functional brake light. Good Luck, Eric

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98 WR400 "Strokerized"

97 EXC400

93 RMX250

[Brian_in_Long_Beach]

The 90 day thing is for sales tax. If you bring a new vehicle into CA with 90 days &/or <7500 miles you will get charged CA sales tax.

I don't think AAA will do street legal inspection, they will do VIN verification on cars/trucks - not sure about MCs. They don't do Green Sticker stuff.

Brian

[finglan]

lomitamike,

How did you register it through Vermont? Where did you get the forms and how much was it. I did find the Vermont DMV web site and it mentions having to pay 6% sales tax to register it. Did you have to do this?

[This message has been edited by finglan (edited 08-20-2001).]

[big_G]

Dude...gonna let you and everyone in the free world in on the low-down. While I did all my stuff here in Cali, that is a lengthy story to relate here so your version would be something like this...

The reason for going to Vermont is to get the plates. Once you have the plates, you go to DMV. Did you notice any steps missing in the last sentence??? NOPE!!!

You see...once you are dealing with a registered vehicle, the DMV process needed is for transfer of title. If you were, lets say, to buy a new bike...that would be something that has never been registered. If you are trying to do this in Cali...the strategy is much different....but anyway...

The only big difference between us is you will already have VT plates in hand, I started out with only green sticker. In order to get my plates, I needed the "inspection". I had no worries since the Baja kit covers this exact issue. The reason given for this test was that my vehicle was off-road legal, not street licensed, and therefore required a statement of complience/inspection/brakelights/horn whatever to get real plates.

You on the other hand would already be in possession of (what should look like) a STREET VEHICLE and (hint!) would not even have to suggest to DMV that anything other than and everyday, run-of-the-mill, nothing out of the ordinary, 100% legit, stock standard transfer of title is going on. Yup, you bought this vehicle and...gosh darn it...it has VT plates...and all you want to do is comply with the law, and since it took 91 days to deliver it...

Lots of listening, very little talking, and always answer..., "Ummm, I'm not sure."

Any further help, questions, comments, or anything related to this subject, please let me know, I would be delighted to pass on 4 months of DMV research on to you or anyone else interested.

late...Gary

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'99 WR400 with CA plates...ooooh yeah!!!

[Spot_D]

Guys,

Don't know if it helps, but Arizona registration was a snap. I put a brake light switch from Baja Designs; an Acerbis mirror and a Fisher Price horn from K-Mart on it and was in and out of DMV in less than an hour! No turn signals required, no DOT tires (though I've heard that some inspectors look for DOT tires). We have emissions, but my stock jetted '99 just barely registered on their machine. Piece o'cake!, and slightly closer than VT. Drop a line if I can help.

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'99 WR

way too stock

[cetris]

Sounds good. I will be trying this soon in NC. One of the things I have been wondering about is the tax issue that someone already mentioned. Did you have to pay 6% Vermont sales tax to complete this transaction? I like the Vermont thing, but paying 6% sales tax on a $5000 - $6000 bike would make it slightly less attractive.

Thanks.

[Gobbler801]

Its easy to get a bike street legal here in AZ. Add the brake light switch, a fold down mirror, and a bicycle squeaky horn. Next thing you know, they are giving you a plate!

[finglan]

I just sent in all my paper work to Vermont. You don't have to pay Vermont the sales tax if you already paid it when buying the bike or when you registered it in your home state.

You do have to send a copy of your bill of sale showing you paid the tax. If it was less than 6% you do have to pay the difference. I paid 8% in NY when I purchased my bike so I only had to pay the $23.50 for the reg. and $10.00 for the new ( hopefuly street legal ) title.

A glitch I might have is that I previously registered my bike in NY as an atv. NY keeps the title and gives you an ownership "transferable" registration card. This acts as the title. I called Vermont DMV and they were very confused but read a section of regs. It stated there is an exclusion for the title requirement from NY if previously registrated as a "limited use off road vehicle". I wrote this on the copy of my reg. I sent them. I hope they get it right and send me a plate.

The other problem I might have is that the reg. card does not list the engine size. Vermont will not issue a motorcycle title for bikes under 300ccs. You have to have the vin# verified by a state offical. I had a State Trooper do this and had him put the engine size in his letter.

I will let you know how it all worked out in three weeks. Thats the amount of time they say it takes to get your plate and title.

[Guzzidave]

[cetris..

How did your attempts to get a NC plate go??

[YAMAKAZE]

Wouldn't it have been easier to just buy a street bike to begin with? To take the top of the line motocross bike in the world and religate it flat street sounds like a neutering to me. .... Easy Blue...it's ok...that'll never happen to you...don't get to close now..... ?

Bonzai

[bonez34]

i'll tell you why yamakaze, here in va bch i have to ride 1 hour to north carolina to the closest track where it is legal to ride or almost 2 hours to the closest track in va. i love my wr and just want to ride it. i'm tired of making that bike payment just to let spiders knaw on it in my shed until the weekend. if i can get more riding time and be able to hit those little play spots on the way to the track why wouldn't i get a st. legal kit?

[Rich_in_Orlando]

What neuters a rider in Florida is lack of a tag. Otherwise, you are almost always "out of bounds" with an off-road only bike. A BD dual-sport kit only adds 4 pounds to the bike and allows you to go EVERYWHERE. There's only one ORV riding area around here and it is crowded and extremely wooped-out. You need a tag to ride just about anywhere else.

[This message has been edited by Rich in Orlando (edited August 28, 2001).]

[FroggerXCF]

Any news from Vermont yet Tim?

[finglan]

No news yet from Vermont. I just got my BD dual Sport kit on Friday and installed it. W/the kit came directions on how to register it w/Vermont. In there they say to send in proof of insurance. No where did I see this in the Vermont DMV instructions so I never thought to do it. I hope this won't hold things up.

The main switch I got from the kit was bad. I spent a couple hours trouble shooting the whole system. The whole time I was extremely nervous I would have to redo the stator modification. It is not really a job you can do twice. The wire you cut off of the coil would be too short and you apoxy it to the coil when you are done.

If I twisted the wires just right in the switch and mount it just right to the bars I got it working. Baja Designs is sending me a new one. They are charging me for it and will credit me when they get the old one back.

[gtms34]

Just an FYI guys. I'm on my 4th master switch from BJD. They have warrantied all of them but it's still a pain when all the lights die in mid-ride.

[finglan]

I wasn't happy w/BD. The bad switch had me up all night praying I didn't screw up the stator. I had to tear the bike apart again to test every wire to find out it was the switch. I called BD and they told me to send the switch in so they could fix it. Two problems there, first off I don't want a refurbished unreliable switch back. Second, the switch did work as a kill switch. I did not want to reinstall the old wiring to make my bike operable for the two week turn around on the switch. I told them to send me a new one, when I got it I would send the old one back. They agreed but would have to charge me $97.00 and credit me when they got the old one back. I strongly voiced I wasn't happy being charged. Never had good luck w/any speedy credits. At that point just to get rid of me the girl transferred me to a tech. He gave me the same speil.

[finglan]

Hey Lomitamike,

Congrats on getting your plate! How many weeks did it take and did you send them proof of insurance?

[Thumper33]

FYI, I got my WR on Friday, went in yesterday to see if I could get it plated. They wanted proof of ownership and made me get a VIN verification, and pay sales tax, then handed me the plate. easy as that. I didn't even have the title from the sale, but I just had to get a written bill of sale. Easy as pie.

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2000 WR400F - Thumper Racing Exhaust Insert, Throttle stop shortened, Grey Wire Cut, Filter Cover Removed...

[weekendtoy98DR]

Thumper33 we wish it were that easy for all of us.Your state allows conversions and is one of the few.I had to go through my own little circus act to get my DRZ kicker plated here in NY.Hey Wayneo426 you hearing this.Sounds like good news for you bud hope soon you join us on the road.It will open a whole nother world up for ya.Workin on something solid for you for this Sunday.Just as solid as last time I promise.