Getting Baja Warrior Road Legal in NC

J

jirobinson13

New Member
#1
#1
Hello everyone,
I just got my Baja warrior pushing 50mph on the stock motor by messing with the governor as well as removing the torque converter and running it straight from the clutch to the wheel. Plus basic exhaust and intake mods.

In NC it seems that any motorcycle deemed "OFF ROAD ONLY" cannot be transferred to road legal, even if you make it meet all of the requirements. :shrug:

What I did notice is you can register a bike as custom and have it inspected and receive a road legal title for it. So I'm wondering if I just scratch the VIN off, paint it, take the fake thank thing off and mess with a few things to make it look more 'custom', how difficult can it be? I doubt the person inspecting it will know enough that they will know its not fully custom. It also says in the fine lettering that it is '...altered or custom built...' which I guess means what I want to do is perfectly fine.

Anyone have any input?
 
J

jirobinson13

New Member
#4
#4
Thanks guys. I still need to make a cover for the chain; I'll post pictures once I get it done.

I did a search and it seems like the answer everyone is saying is just NO. I don't see many people asking about getting it as a custom title though. I hope I can get it to work, this bike would be great on the road.
 
J

jirobinson13

New Member
#6
#6
just an update:
i talked to a guy at a nearby motocross store who told me he knows people who do this all the time. i called an inspector for the dmv and he told me just to call him when its ready to be inspected and he will take a look at it.

does anyone have a clue for what he'll be looking for besides basic stuff like lights? is he going to tell me its a weak frame or some crap?
 
zeeman

zeeman

Active Member
#7
#7
I'd call the inspector guy back and say, "Hey, what do I have to do to make this thing street legal?" What could he do, say I'm not telling you?
 
J

jirobinson13

New Member
#9
#9
I did ask him but he said just basic motorcycle requirements like lights. He said he has to look at it to see if it is "road worthy".

NC DOT & DMV websites say nothing about DOT certified tires. The requirements for inspection on their sites are very minimal.
 
zeeman

zeeman

Active Member
#10
#10
Well, sounds pretty easy then. My wife's parents live in NC, and I brought my CT90 up there to ride in the mountains. I was on the street several times and police did not give me a second look. My bike has all the lights, etc and was street legal when new, but still I was expecting to be stopped because it looks homemade if you know what I mean. Not everybody would realize that it was a production bike. I guess it depends on where you will be riding, but it seems like NC is a lot more laid back than around here. Back in the early 70's we used to ride our minibikes with nothing legal all over without problem, but those days are gone I think. We would go from one gas station to the next and drain the fuel from the hoses til our tanks were full. I guess that was what made the gas pump manufacturers fix that little flaw in their system. I don't think you can do that anymore. Opps, I rambled. Sorry. Good luck with your project.
 
D

Dudlydoodleright

New Member
#11
#11
Here in Ca one way to get it steet legal is to first get it OHV legal (green stickered) then you get a dual sport by way of an inspection. The state has a publication on just what the inspector looks at. Perhaps NC has a publication on what your inspector needs to check off--in CA we can download the material from the internet.
 
J

jirobinson13

New Member
#12
#12
update:
Got a nasty email from the DMV today saying they will not title anything with an offroad title. An inspector also left me a voice mail saying to call him so we can "discuss what the other inspector told me".

:censure::censure::censure::censure::censure:
 
MB165

MB165

Active Member
#15
#15
Wow, good luck, and keep us posted.
let all the hype cool down and go to another motorcycle shop and talk to them about "dual sporting" a dirtbike, get rid of any decal which says off road use only.
BajaDesigns has a good website with a legal resources page.
I bought a Honda XR600r which had been street legalized and recieved a legit state inspection with street title. I do not know how that went down but when I saw the title matched the bikes serial numbers I didnt even haggle with the seller. In Maryland inspections require: chaiguard, DOT tires, front and rear side reflectors, turn signals, dot brake light/ tail light, dot headlight, highbeam dash indicator, mirrors, horn, battery to power headlight for fifteen minutes.
whenever these types of conversions are done there always seems to be loose ends that make it through, ie. no emissions devices on engine, plastic fuel tanks, so be careful.
Pete
 
Beal

Beal

Member
#17
#17
I wonder if getting it road legalized somewhere that is easier, then getting transferred to to where you live?

I know trying to get a trailer built is a crock, my uncle(or someone i know) got one built in Canada and got it transferred back home...
 
Oldschool

Oldschool

New Member
#18
#18
Beal said:
I wonder if getting it road legalized somewhere that is easier, then getting transferred to to where you live?

I know trying to get a trailer built is a crock, my uncle(or someone i know) got one built in Canada and got it transferred back home...
Click to expand...
Not so easy the other way
a chum of mine bought a yard kart from the USA and shipped it to Canada.
Very good quality Karter Kart.
But he needed a title and VIn number to get it across the boarder.
The factory guy said he did not like dealing with Canada customs because of that....

The world is changing
Its not easy at all to plate things these days.
 
J

jirobinson13

New Member
#19
#19
I talked to another inspector this morning. She told me that the "OFF ROAD ONLY" title means it will never be on the street. I asked her why and she said "because it's for off road use only". I asked her if I can get a title transferred from another state and she said "no, it's for off road use only". So that was very helpful :censure:

I have a close friend who lives in Virginia, does anyone know if it's easy to get it done there?
 
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