What's it take to make it street legal?

[SquireSCA]

Want to put my TL-1000R back on the street as a second street bike. It has race plastics, but there is a hole in the front for a headlight which I can pick up at Pep Boys and install. My tail light has he bulb unplugged and it takes over with black duct tape, but that will take all of 5 minutes to reverse.

So I have the title and can quickly get just liability insurance and tag it, but what else do I need to make it street legal?

Bare minimum, I know that I need a headlight and tail/brake light. Do I have to have turn signals or are hand signals legal on bikes? What about a mirror? Are they required? if so, I guess that a single bar end mirror would do the trick.

If it have to have signals, I can get some cheap ones from Cycle Gear and attached them with velcro pads so that they can be removed quickly.

That is the goal here, to have the bike able to be ridden on the street to not rack up so many miles on the Duc, or to be able to use it when the Duc is in the shop or something. But I can quick-disconnect the headlight, signals, brake light and mirror in about 10 minutes to make it track ready.

I use Qualifier Q2's on the bike, so they are good for the street and track.

Anything I am missing? I just want the absolute bare minimums in order to be legal, nothing more.

Thanks!

[gbauto]

how about this-
http://home.ama-cycle.org/amaccess/laws/result.asp?state=GA

[RichHenderson]

Don't forget tag mount & tag light. (Cycle gear also has tag bolts that have the lights built into them)

[SquireSCA]

Ok, so it looks like I will need to install some cheap signals and a bar-end mirror on one side, in addition to the headlight and the brake light. I have a tag bracket and LED that I can install when I get a tag and stuff.

So I think that all told, I can get it street legal for less than $100.

Thanks!

[jkhonea]

That should be about right. Does it have a clean title or would it have to be inspected? (I'm guessing it h as a clean title).

[SpeedGeek]

And don't forget insurance....

i have one of those bracket tags with integrated turn signals like Meg used to have when she had her F4i... I never bothered to wire it up.. I also have a rear brake light as well (bar LED style). Yours if you want em...

[SquireSCA]

Well, I have a headlight, although I might want to get a more powerful one. It is DOT legal for the street, but it is not what you would call optimal for night riding. But I could be by with it.

I got the tail light back to street spec but I need to get some bulbs for it. It looks like it takes 12V automotive bulbs, I will look up the type and pic some up tomorrow.

Insurance, I will just carry liability, I have nothing now and if I tossed it on the track it would be on my dime, so I am fine with not having comprehensive on the street. I will call State Farm tomorrow for that. I have a clean title, so getting a tag will not be an issue.

I found an extra bar end mirror that I can use on the left clipon.

Only issue will be turn signals, I am not sure where the wires are for that. The former owner rerouted and tucked away all the wires when he installed the race plastics. So I may have to spend some time locating that stuff.

But assuming that I can find them, I need to spend maybe $40 on blinkers(4), a couple brake light bulbs... So maybe $50 in parts altogether if I can use this mirror and the headlight.

[SquireSCA]

Headlight works well, I can get by even at night I think. Got the bar-end mirror mounted, it is minimal but it works and is legal. I found one of the old bulbs from the tail light, but one filament is burned out so I will pick up a pair tomorrow.

I have a tag I can transfer to the bike as soon as the insurance hits the system tomorrow, and I can mount the tag with a set of small "L" brackets that I happen to have on hand.

Which just leaves me with the blinkers. I saw that the link says that I have to have them, but is that really accurate? In that I mean that I have seen people, usually cruisers that may not have them, and they just use hand signals. Do you think that cops would really hassle me?

Installing a set of stick-on blinkers with velcro so that I can remove them easily when going to the track is easy, but I have to locate the blinker power wires and that may not be as easy as it sounds. LOL

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Dave, don't forget a light on the two L brackets you use for a tag mount. It's the law, and we know they'll give you shit for whatever they can, sometimes.

[cparty27]

How long since it has last been titled? In certain situations I believe the state wants all the unpaid Ad Valorum taxes for the years between when it was last titled and now. I'm not positive, but I remember reading on here how somebody bought or sold an older bike and the state hit them up for $300 or $400 worth of previously unpaid Ad Valorum. Someone else might be able to shed a little more light into this.

[SquireSCA]

Dave, don't forget a light on the two L brackets you use for a tag mount. It's the law, and we know they'll give you shit for whatever they can, sometimes.

I will see if it needs it. I don't have that light on the Dud or most of the bikes I have had.


How long since it has last been titled? In certain situations I believe the state wants all the unpaid Ad Valorum taxes for the years between when it was last titled and now. I'm not positive, but I remember reading on here how somebody bought or sold an older bike and the state hit them up for $300 or $400 worth of previously unpaid Ad Valorum. Someone else might be able to shed a little more light into this.

It was titled and tagged last year when I got it. It is also a 10 year old bike with 30k miles, so the Ad Valorum should not be too bad.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Dave, I don't know how to look up the laws like everyone else does, but I can tell you 100% that the law states you need a WHITE (no other colors) light illuminating your tag at all times. Most stock undertails either have a separate light, or a clear portion at the bottom of the brake light to accomplish this. Not saying that not having one will definitely cause trouble, but if a cop's on a fishing trip, it COULD. Just sayin'.

[jkhonea]

I will see if it needs it. I don't have that light on the Dud or most of the bikes I have had.


I just wanted to point out this funny little slip. :crackup:

[Todd]

:rofl: that IS funny, John. Freudian slip, maybe? :D

[chkaotic]

How long since it has last been titled? In certain situations I believe the state wants all the unpaid Ad Valorum taxes for the years between when it was last titled and now. I'm not positive, but I remember reading on here how somebody bought or sold an older bike and the state hit them up for $300 or $400 worth of previously unpaid Ad Valorum. Someone else might be able to shed a little more light into this.

We ran into that in KS too.. I think it applied only if it was previously titled IN georgia.. not sure where the title was from so who knows..

[SquireSCA]

Ok, it is insured, tagged, headlight, blinkers and mirror installed, and went out for a spin. Love the way the TL-R feels on the street. Smooth, powerful, just feels right. Not as fast as the Duc and certainly not as nimble, but it is deceptively fast and I enjoy it.

Just went out in the dark to see how the headlight works and it is minimal at best for night riding. I may need to source something with more power if I plan to ride at night. Riding to bike night and coming back on normal roads like interstate or in-town roads where there are street lamps it is ok, but I would not want to be rolling along a dark country road at 60mph+ very often. The beam just doesn't throw off enough light far enough ahead to give me ample room to react to something in the road. At slower speeds it is ok.

So thanks for the tips, I have a second street bike with minimal investment that will let me take some of the miles off of the DUCATI. :-)

What is a cheap, and good headlight that I can toss on that will not draw too much current, but work well for this application? Should I just go with a 35W HID kit on the cheap?

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

I used hella optilux 1500 driving lamps on my gs500, they worked great. I had them wired as 1 on low and 2 on high, ran fine on my 500's stator output, and only cost like $35 at pep boys/advance/ebay/whatever.

[SquireSCA]

How far ahead would they project a beam?