Street Legal Trikes - Arizona "The FACTS"

[Mr. Clean]

The topic of a making a trike street legal comes up every now and again. Recently on Craigslist a 350x that had been made street legal popped up and I waited to see when it got to a number I felt was reasonable and picked it up on Friday.

As soon as I got the title and registration I went straight to the MVD and was able to transfer it over as street legal until March 2013, on Monday I will be getting it insured for $6 a month thru GEICO.

The title denotes under body style "MC", on OHV titles it is denoted as "ATV" Other than this difference the title is identical.

The registration is very different. The OHV registration only lists the license plate number and the expiration decal is affixed to the upper left corner of the plate. The plate also starts wtih R over V then the four digit plate number.

The street legal registration looks just like a car, truck, motorcycle would. It has the VIN number, year, make, Body Style (MC), First registered (04/1985) list price ($2248). The cost to get it registered was $18.92 plus the title transfer which brought the grand total to $40. The street legal plate has M over C in the middle of the four digit plate number with the decal affixed to the upper right had corner of the plate. I suspect this is largely to do with quick spotting by law enforcement.

The PO put a brake light switch and brake light on it and the license plate mount. The gearing is 12-34 and it tracks very straight on hard surfaces.

Outside of being street legal, this 350x is pretty clean.

Here are the ONLY requirements in Arizona to become street legal, no DOT tires etc. I will admit the only thing I am lacking is a horn.


At least one brake that can be operated by hand or foot,
Brake light
At least one, but not more than two, headlights that shine at least 500 feet ahead
At least one taillight visible for at least 500 feet to the rear
At least one red rear reflector, if not part of the taillight
License plate securely fastened to the rear of the OHV
License plate light
Horn audible from a distance of at least 200 feet
Muffler in good working order and in constant operation. Muffler cutout, bypass or similar device prohibited.
Rearview mirror.
Seat and footrests for the operator.
Fuel tank cap.
If you live in the Phoenix or Tucson metro areas you may also need to have your OHV emissions tested.


THIS is only Arizona, particpation may vary or not AT ALL in your state.

[Billy Golightly]

Any ideas on how it got the MC registration to begin with? Over the years I've seen/heard of a few different bikes with this and I always wonder how they got titled as a motorcycle to begin with.

[Mr. Clean]

Any ideas on how it got the MC registration to begin with? Over the years I've seen/heard of a few different bikes with this and I always wonder how they got titled as a motorcycle to begin with.

This is the list of how to get a MC title. Being in Phoenix I need to do emissions, the rest is pretty straightforward. The requirements for emissions is very attainable, I have seen Banshees and Blasters street legal.

In your home state of Florida all you need is a bill of sale for a title, that is easier than Arizona. Once you have a title it is easier to make them street legal than get a title if you did not have one to begin with, go figure.



Page 4 talks about requirements to make an OHV street legal.

http://www.azgfd.gov/pdfs/outdoor_re...v_brochure.pdf

More of the same info.

http://azstateparks.com/ohv/rules.html#ohv14

At least one brake that can be operated by hand or foot,
Brake light
At least one, but not more than two, headlights that shine at least 500 feet ahead
At least one taillight visible for at least 500 feet to the rear
At least one red rear reflector, if not part of the taillight
License plate securely fastened to the rear of the OHV
License plate light
Horn audible from a distance of at least 200 feet
Muffler in good working order and in constant operation. Muffler cutout, bypass or similar device prohibited.
Rearview mirror.
Seat and footrests for the operator.
Fuel tank cap.
If you live in the Phoenix or Tucson metro areas you may also need to have your OHV emissions tested.

[RIDE-RED 250r]

This is the list of how to get a MC title. Being in Phoenix I need to do emissions, the rest is pretty straightforward. The requirements for emissions is very attainable, I have seen Banshees and Blasters street legal.

At least one brake that can be operated by hand or foot,
Brake light
At least one, but not more than two, headlights that shine at least 500 feet ahead
At least one taillight visible for at least 500 feet to the rear
At least one red rear reflector, if not part of the taillight
License plate securely fastened to the rear of the OHV
License plate light
Horn audible from a distance of at least 200 feet
Muffler in good working order and in constant operation. Muffler cutout, bypass or similar device prohibited.
Rearview mirror.
Seat and footrests for the operator.
Fuel tank cap. If you live in the Phoenix or Tucson metro areas you may also need to have your OHV emissions tested.

Really??!! LOL!

The rest seems pretty straight forward and common sense though...

But I was unware that fuel tank cap-less operation was some kind of chronic issue.. Maybe some adrenaline junkies out there like having gasoline splash on their crotches and then stop for a smoke break... LOL!

[tanks350x]

interesting to say the least

[Billy Golightly]

I'm confused, sorry


So if a machine doesn't have a current OHV title/registration, as long as you can meet those requirements, you an get an MC title for it, and therefore street legal. Is that what I'm understanding?

This is the list of how to get a MC title. Being in Phoenix I need to do emissions, the rest is pretty straightforward. The requirements for emissions is very attainable, I have seen Banshees and Blasters street legal.

In your home state of Florida all you need is a bill of sale for a title, that is easier than Arizona. It is easier to make them street legal than get a title, go figure.



Page 4 talks about requirements to make an OHV street legal.

http://www.azgfd.gov/pdfs/outdoor_re...v_brochure.pdf

More of the same info.

http://azstateparks.com/ohv/rules.html#ohv14

At least one brake that can be operated by hand or foot,
Brake light
At least one, but not more than two, headlights that shine at least 500 feet ahead
At least one taillight visible for at least 500 feet to the rear
At least one red rear reflector, if not part of the taillight
License plate securely fastened to the rear of the OHV
License plate light
Horn audible from a distance of at least 200 feet
Muffler in good working order and in constant operation. Muffler cutout, bypass or similar device prohibited.
Rearview mirror.
Seat and footrests for the operator.
Fuel tank cap.
If you live in the Phoenix or Tucson metro areas you may also need to have your OHV emissions tested.

[Mr. Clean]

I'm confused, sorry


So if a machine doesn't have a current OHV title/registration, as long as you can meet those requirements, you an get an MC title for it, and therefore street legal. Is that what I'm understanding?

No problem Billy, this is why I started this thread.

Sorry for the confusion, you must have a Title to begin with to make it either OHV legal or street legal.

Here is a scenario. I buy a trike in AZ with no title that is NOT stolen. I sell it to you with a bill of sale, you get a title. You send me the title and I meet those requirements and get a M/C title. I sell it back to you as a street legal trike, you follow fla2stroke down thru the streets of Daytona on a trike.

[atc350xer]

Any ideas on how it got the MC registration to begin with? Over the years I've seen/heard of a few different bikes with this and I always wonder how they got titled as a motorcycle to begin with.

Just did this with an XR600r dirt bike last June. We did this on Ohio, as that's where the seller lives. Ohio laws are way less of a PITA than PA. Had no title... we took it to a car dealership(yep), had the guy that works there look at the VIN, and after seeing the Baja Designs dual sport kit on it, wrote out a slip declaring it an "mc" instead of a "dirt bike". We took this slip of paper to the courthouse, along with his driver's license (still his bike) and had a title created, the woman printed it out right in front of us. I then took this title (which he signed over to me) back home to PA, had it put into my name, paid taxes, fees, etc. and now my dirt bike is street legal (after PA inspection, of course). I wonder if it can be done with a trike... maybe in Ohio!