American KTA Clarification

[KIMMER]

Hello, just found this site and have been reading about the whole street legal thing. Great site by the way!

Anyways, here is my question. If I can get my 08 Polaris RZR street legal in michigan by adding a windshield, horn, turn signals, windshield wiper and fluid sprayer, hi/low headlights, bumpers, and dot tires, why wouldn't you be able to do it with these? After adding these items, the state sends me a "ASSEMBLED VEHICLE" title and down to the dmv you go....simple as that for the the polaris rangers, rzr's, kawasaki mules, arctic cat prowlers, ect. I would think you could do the same with these. There are no emissions on my rzr and it is allowed to be street legal. There are thousand or more side by side atv's on the roads now in alot of states. Here's a pic of mine in non-streel legal form...lol.

This is just a question I had and i'm sure some of you have been down this road so I wondered what the difference is?

[Mighty Milt]

you must not have read too much on the subject

the problem is that your vehicle was manufactured for off road use and has been accepted, after much testing by the manufacturer, to comply with rules and regulations set by the EPA and DOT.

these little trucks were manufactured for on road use. regardless of what they are imported to the US as, they are road going vehicles. they do not meet the DOT standards for on road use. they fall into a grey markey category. i can appreciate that you think it's so simple, because i did too... but that was before i went to the MVD 12 different times and got 12 different answers. i purchased mine for off road use and intended to have it licensed just like the guys license their rhinos so i could go on roads around the neighborhood, or on roads between trails. the MVD said it was too much of a road vehicle to be licensed for off road, that it wasn't acceptable by DOT standards for road use, and that it's against the law in arizona to title a "grey market" vehicle... so basically it boiled down to only being allowed on private property... hmmm have you seen how small my driveway is??

[KIMMER]

you must not have read too much on the subject

the problem is that your vehicle was manufactured for off road use and has been accepted, after much testing by the manufacturer, to comply with rules and regulations set by the EPA and DOT.

these little trucks were manufactured for on road use. regardless of what they are imported to the US as, they are road going vehicles. they do not meet the DOT standards for on road use. they fall into a grey markey category. i can appreciate that you think it's so simple, because i did too... but that was before i went to the MVD 12 different times and got 12 different answers. i purchased mine for off road use and intended to have it licensed just like the guys license their rhinos so i could go on roads around the neighborhood, or on roads between trails. the MVD said it was too much of a road vehicle to be licensed for off road, that it wasn't acceptable by DOT standards for road use, and that it's against the law in arizona to title a "grey market" vehicle... so basically it boiled down to only being allowed on private property... hmmm have you seen how small my driveway is??

I read through as much as I could without spending a full day reading...lol. Thanks for the reply, that cleared it up perfectly! My brother is thinking about getting one.

[Shrimp Daddy]

Not to smite you, but you need to spend a full day reading, hell 2 days. There is so much info here about these lil trucks. Then tell 5 friends about the site. It really is well worth burning an afternoon searching this site for whatever tickles your fancy about these vehicles.

[gregw98]

I had thought about removioing my engine and installing an older modified VW engine in the rear bed area. Not sure where the EPA would stand on this, since engines seem to be the problem.

[xroadsimport]

Wow I am not blaming anyone. I am on your side. It seems that gregw98 is made at me for some reason. Bottom line is that I am on your side. I want to import mini trucks from Japan and sell them to you at a profit. Getting mad at me because I tried to give you some insight at to why the EPA is making the changes that they are is not going to help. There are a few reasons and things going on the get the EPA involved.

Wether you like it or not the states legalizing them is one of them. There are other reasons as well. I am on your side I think they should be legal to drive on the road as well, but the fact is that the EPA doesn't like it. If I could change their mind then I would.

[KIMMER]

It's pretty crazy that the EPA is so against it, when I can put my rzr on the road that is nothing more than a thin tube frame with a plastic body. One hit by another car and i'd be dead most likely, but these that are on the road in other countries and are made of steel, can't be and i'd put money on the fact that my rzr makes just as much polution if not more.

[Mighty Milt]

the rzr (rhino, mule, ranger) are classified as off road only. the emission testing for them (at least in arizona) is idle only. because they are for off road only the DOT has a very different policy on their safety standards, but they are scrutinized by the DOT.

i agree that the mini trucks are a much cleaner burning engine, but my opinion doesn't matter. truth be told, the facts don't matter. they are classified as "equipment" not as vehicles and must adhere to the "equipment" guidlines. they will easily pass, but the cost for having them tested is what has all the dealers in an up-roar.

as far as safety goes, i would much rather take my chances in a steel tube chassis draped in plastic than in the beer-can trucklette i drive. but as an avid motorcyclist for many years, i'm always on the defense and hope to avoid and "contact" with other motorists.

that's not to say it won't happen, i've already been hit in mine once. it was a minor rear end collision but it could have been much worse.

[KIMMER]

Hey Milt, not to get off the subject too much, but what are the guidelines for riding them on state trails with an orv sticker? Here in michigan we can ride our utv's on the orv trails that are for 50" and wider, but not the atv/motorcycle trails that require less than 50" of width. My brother is really thinking about getting one and the more I look at them, the more I want a 99 and up suzuki 4wd..lol. Might even sell my rzr if I can take it on the orv trails or trade my rzr for a zuki with some cash.

[rmay635703]

I dont' understand why some people are so pissed off about the mini's not being street legal. THAT WAS NEVER THEIR PURPOSE HERE, just because you want that to be their purpose doesn't change anything. If you don't like it, don't buy one, it really is that simple. All of this stupid , simple minded, conspiracy theories are absurd, they EPA has told many of us straight up the minis were included because some states are legalizing them.

I am buying a STREET LEGAL 1970 Subaru 360 later this month, this just goes to show how STUPID our laws are. My 1981 Comutacar, My 1995 Miles ZX40 electric KEI MINI VAN and the 1970 Subaru Kei carr are all fully legal in this country but yet safer, newer vehicles are not because the EPA wasn't paid its 5million+ booty for crash test BS.

You can't tell me that a kei truck is any less safe than driving a motorcycle or for that matter a moped?

This is rediculous and should not be accepted, do a chinese trick and import so many "illegal" items that they cannot police it. Thats how many cheap laser crystals and other items got into our market and also how the interests in the market were bankrupted.

I hate big interests and this is just another show of how government hates people saving money.

My oppinion is that people should have CHOICE in what level of assumed safety they have in their vehicles. If the blasted thing passes foreign crash tests they should be allowed in on restricted licenses here.

What ever happened to the police walk around you could get to OK a vehicle?
Why should I not be allowed to buy a 70-80mpg foreign car or even a euro version of a domestic car that gets better mileage.

I would recommend you sign petitions similar to the NEV 35mph petition and send them off. Don't let this die, frustrate the special interests until they give up.

[chickendumpling]

KTA, I try to keep up on this when posted. It seems fairly silent right now. Is the KTA making any progress in terms of change?

It seems classification can be changed or new classifications made - gotta be some room here? Fees are the name of the game from Local/State/Federal - heck, should be able to please everyone on some level

As we see these days, its all about the money!

[Donald Shimoda]

Kimmer,

You have already discovered the secret. It's called getting an "Assembled Title."

If you can build a dune buggy in your garage and get a title, the fact of the matter is that you can get a title for just about anything except those battery powered John Deere Mini-Gators that they sell at Toyz R Us. And who knows, maybe with some work, you could even get one of those made street legal.