Jump to content

Name My 'Shee!


BlackBeast

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 30
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Here in WV there is so much commerce generated by the Hatfield-McCoy Trail riders who travel from afar they have actually legalized atvs to operate on the streets. The down side is its only allowed in towns where there are trailheads or connectors. They say you must follow the speed limit and things to that effect but a few buddies and myself wheelied by a town cop and he just smiled and waved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys, glad you like it. The plastics are a candy-apple red or crimson color, but the industrial lighting in that garage really dorks up the pics.

 

I wish I could take credit for building it, but this is how I got it. Since my Banshee going to be ridden on the street, I wanted to set it up like a TT racer. The guy I bought this one from says he had about $25k into it, and I got it from him for a lot less than I could buy half the components myself. The plan is to take all of the components, and swap them onto my frame since mine is already street legal.

 

About the only thing I might add is a steering stabilizer, and I've got a +10 swingarm for the rear to hopefully keep it more stable on the highway.

 

I've also got a 670cc Rotax motor that I'm putting together, but that's going to be down the road a bit.

 

I'll probably have more pics to show off next weekend.

 

-Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For TX, you're pretty much out of luck. They specifically have a law that forbids "any four-wheeled vehicle in which the driver straddles the seat". The law is a bit buried, so not many people know about it. You may be able to get one with a clean title from another state and register it that way. This would avoid having to go to the state highway safety office to have it inspected. Once you have a clean title from one state, you can pretty much transfer it to any other state without any trouble.

 

For IL, I'm not too sure. What I did was find a copy of the DOT regulations online, print them off, then dig through them one by one. It helps to highlight all of the areas that pertain to you, or areas that you think might give you trouble. Some specific laws to pay attention to are the seat-belt laws. Some states will say thing like "mandatory on all vehicles manufactured after 1975", while other states will say ""mandatory on all vehicles manufactured after 1975 if originally equipped". That makes a huge difference.

 

I actually ride with the DOT printout and all of the highlighted pages in my backpack. I've only been pulled over once, and the cop didn't give me any trouble about it. Once he saw that I was polite, respectful, not doing anything stupid, and had all of my paperwork in order, he thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

 

-Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not an expert on the laws. But I always thought that any vehicle with an axle and no differential was prohibited by federal law. I have been told this by a few cops. Don't know how true it is, but in order for states to get federal funding for highways they must abide by a few basic laws, this being one of them.

 

Whenever you see street legal kits, or conversions they always use a single wheel in the back with a sport bike style swingarm. This would be the biggest obstacle I would think, aside from many many many others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That could be, but again... It may be one of those laws that are so obscure, no one at the DMV really knows about it. The biggest reason you see a single rear wheel conversion is that by only having three wheels, it's very easy to register your ATV as a motorcycle. Federal laws define motorcycles as having three wheels or less. As soon as you add the fourth wheel, it's a passenger car and you have to play by a whole different set of safety regulations.

 

You can apply for an exemption from federal safety standards if you can prove that your design is at least as safe as the current standard in a vehicle of the same class. In this case, I would do a side-by-side comparison of my quad to a motorcycle in terms of cornering, acceleration, stability, and braking. No doubt the quad will win in all categories. This would allow me to play by motorcycle safety rules rather than passenger cars, which are much easier to work with. If I can get them to buy off on it at the federal level, I would have a two year exemption to build as many as I can and they would all be 100% legit.

 

Trust me, I've done my homework. :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That could be, but again... It may be one of those laws that are so obscure, no one at the DMV really knows about it. The biggest reason you see a single rear wheel conversion is that by only having three wheels, it's very easy to register your ATV as a motorcycle. Federal laws define motorcycles as having three wheels or less. As soon as you add the fourth wheel, it's a passenger car and you have to play by a whole different set of safety regulations.

 

You can apply for an exemption from federal safety standards if you can prove that your design is at least as safe as the current standard in a vehicle of the same class. In this case, I would do a side-by-side comparison of my quad to a motorcycle in terms of cornering, acceleration, stability, and braking. No doubt the quad will win in all categories. This would allow me to play by motorcycle safety rules rather than passenger cars, which are much easier to work with. If I can get them to buy off on it at the federal level, I would have a two year exemption to build as many as I can and they would all be 100% legit.

 

Trust me, I've done my homework. :thumbsup:

Thats kind of along the lines I was thinking. Build it up and register it as an experimental vehicle. I've seen some stupid cobbled POS 'trikes' around here that shouldn't even be parked on the road let alone driving down it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Taken from the WV DMV's site: "In West Virginia, registering your custom-built car can be the same as registering any other vehicle, or it can be a much more tedious process?it all depends on where the car was built.

 

Built out of State

 

If your car was custom-built out of state?good news. You'll only need to follow the same registration process as you would for any other vehicle (submitting completed forms and all applicable fees to your local DMV office).

 

Built in State

 

However, if you custom-built the car in West Virginia, you'll need to take a few more steps. Before you can register and title the car at the DMV, you're required to visit your local West Virginia State Police detachment with a verification of vehicle identification number (VIN) form. The officer who assists you will verify that there is no VIN already assigned to the vehicle.

 

This extra step also ensures that neither the car nor its parts have been stolen. The DMV suggests keeping receipts or other records of purchase to show the officer who assists you, just in case.

 

Note that regardless of where the car was built, you'll need to follow the same steps as outlined in our Car Registration section."

 

How hard would it be to find a Banshee already legalized and me just pick it up.

Edited by Dtomblin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

How hard would it be to find a Banshee already legalized and me just pick it up.

 

I only know of one other street legal quad in the entire US, so your chances are slim to none. Transferring to another state is easy, Getting the initial paperwork to certify it as legal in the first place is the hard part.

 

Its not cheap, either. Just for DOT approved tires and the other parts, you're over $1000.

 

-Tim

Edited by BlackBeast
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...