racing trikes?

[uraberg]

Let's say that one developed an interest in thinking about maybe building something lke this:



One could start pretty much with a motorcycle sans forks. How far would you be able to modify this frame so that it would in the eyes of the DMV no longer be that motorcycle, and had to be titled as something else altogether?

[RedRaptor22]

It really depends on your DMV, but most would require it meets all the same regulations a car would, plus the frame would likely need to be halved as you cannot have two vin#.

And depending on your state getting it titled may or may not be possible, usually your state police will have to inspect it along with receipts for most materials and major components, as wells as a certified welding inspection of the frame before they will proceed to stamp out a vin plate for it, at least here in louisiana thats how it usually works.

But your best bet would be to check with your nearest dmv headquarters, usually regular dmv offices do not know jack about such things.



I actually know one guy here who has a shifter kart and F-1 car plated here lol, the shifter kart was the hardest because machines with a solid live axle are an automatic no when it comes to titling here.

[bk brkr baker]

3 wheels = motorcycle in the majority of states.
That means no seat belts, air bags, windsheild wipers , etc are required.
It doesn't mean it will be easy , either.

[SloMo228]

Here, you would pretty much just register it as a motorcycle, and it would just stay that way unless you add a fourth wheel. No inspections here, really.

[Salsa]

In Kalifornia, You would have to keep the frame numbers in a reasonable place or get a "Frame Change".

Don

[TUCKERS]

If you had the original motorcycles vin # and plates you could just keep buying tags for it and put them on the build. You would just need a bit of frame with vin#.
The biggest hurdle would be an inspection on the street, for sure you will get stopped. I guess if you had registration and tags and all the safety equipment worked you should be fine.

[uraberg]

Originally Posted by TUCKERS

If you had the original motorcycles vin # and plates you could just keep buying tags for it and put them on the build. You would just need a bit of frame with vin#.
The biggest hurdle would be an inspection on the street, for sure you will get stopped. I guess if you had registration and tags and all the safety equipment worked you should be fine.

See, that's what I want to hear. :)

[grisezd]

I've considered doing this forever. Sketched it up a few times, drew it out on the garage floor. One day...

In my part of Ohio you can get away with anything, but apparently there is an issue with using ATV parts in the front end. Unfortnately that was part of my plan! If I just fly under the radar it's easy, and if I want to get all fancy (apply for a VIN, etc) I'll have to prove I bought everything, show lights and safety equipment, and hope I get the right inspector!!! So under the radar (still legal, but will still have to explain it if I get pulled over) it is.

One thing I will do to keep the VIN in a reasonable spot is to reuse the headtube as the steering column, right behind a steering wheel. Handy, and funny.

[Pugsley/Hobbfather]

I usually use the explanation for doing certain things that "...and it was funnier for me that way..."

[RedRaptor22]

Originally Posted by grisezd

I've considered doing this forever. Sketched it up a few times, drew it out on the garage floor. One day...

In my part of Ohio you can get away with anything, but apparently there is an issue with using ATV parts in the front end. Unfortnately that was part of my plan! If I just fly under the radar it's easy, and if I want to get all fancy (apply for a VIN, etc) I'll have to prove I bought everything, show lights and safety equipment, and hope I get the right inspector!!! So under the radar (still legal, but will still have to explain it if I get pulled over) it is.

One thing I will do to keep the VIN in a reasonable spot is to reuse the headtube as the steering column, right behind a steering wheel. Handy, and funny.

I was thinking the same thing about the head tube/steering column as I was getting caught up on the thread lol! just make it so that the vin is plainly visible through the windscreen lol.

In a way doing it that would almost make it just as much of a recumbent as it is a trike, there are kits out there that require no frame mods at all though, just bolt the tub and front end to the frame of the bike and have the steering head right at your back, but I think that way produces kind of a silly wheelbase for something intended to be fast and maneuverable.

[RedRaptor22]

I think anything in the GS or GSF family would make a great donor being that almost all of them have easily modified steel frames and more bottom end grunt than their racy counterparts.

[redprimo]

The spirit of your build kind of reminds me of this guy. http://www.ronpatrickstuff.com/ in the way that it pushes the limits of what is a legal modification.

[uraberg]

This is not mine. It is an "indycycle"

[Tanshanomi]

It's not always that simple. In some states (including my home of Missouri), a VIN is only legal as long as the vehicle remains "substantially and recognizably" the same as manufactured. In other words, if it's a Suzuki 600 motorcycle, a cop better look at it and say, "Yea, that looks like a Suzuki 600 to me." Once you modify it to the point where it is no longer recognizable as the vehicle you started with (and changing the number of wheels is pretty much a sure dinger on that one), you may be required by law to get a Special Construction title, even if the original VIN is still present on the frame.

Be forewarned you might be required to provide a copy of the bike's original title (front and back!) for not just the frame and motor, but EVERY non-new part on the bike! For new parts, you must have an itemized receipt proving you bought it new. At least that's how it is in Missouri.

And the worse case scenario is, no matter what state you live in, if it looks like you incorporated the head stock into the frame specifically to maintain the VIN stamp; then you can get hauled in for VIN tampering, which is a FEDERAL felony.

[HapHazard]

My cousin lives in NC, and he's seen V8 sand rails with plates, so it's most likely possible.

From the NC DOT: http://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/vehicle/title/vehicles/

Additional Requirements

Inspection

Antique and custom-built vehicles presented for first-time titling and registration in North Carolina must be examined and photographed by a local NC Division of Motor Vehicles inspector.
The report confirms the vehicle is equipped for road use and meets all DOT safety standards.

• Locations: License & Theft Offices
• Email: Contact Us

What is an Antique Vehicle?

• A motor vehicle at least 35 years old (measured from the date of manufacture)

What is a Custom-Built Vehicle?

• A motor vehicle that is completely reconstructed or assembled from new or used parts
• Will be branded as "specially contructed vehicle"
• Year of vehicle will be year of assembly.

What is a Replica Vehicle?

• A motor vehicle which is a replica manufactured from a kit and sold unassembled
• Titled as the make and year model intended to be replicated
• Model listed on title is "replica"
• Will be branded as "specially contructed vehicle"
• Motorcycles are not titled as replicas.

It's got to be easier than CT, but you need to talk to someone who's done it before in YOUR state.
Figure out who to deal with and where. Around here, it seems like everybody in DMV makes up their own rules as they see fit that particular day.

It looks like a neat project, I'd seen it a few years back. It's one of many projects I've considered building, but figured it would take me too long and I'd lose momentum before I would finish it.