How to Register a Motorized Bicycle / Bike in Iowa ( moped / custom moped )
the new law in iowa seems pretty airtight. I bought a bike motor and was installing it and then decided to see where I could ride it. obviously the wrong order. but can anyone else see any loopholes?
http://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/ovs/motorcycle.pdf
This post shows up in the search engines for Iowans trying to learn how to register their custom-built motored bikes. Rivercity Motor Bikes is in Ankeny (Northern Suburb of Des Moines) and says they've been through this several times. No registration is necessary. You just ride it like a regular bicycle and that's it.
Iowa is the easiest state of them all. I will explain.
In Iowa, the culture is so different from most other states that you almost need a passport to come here. "Out-of-staters" are often puzzled by the application of Iowa laws. To better understand it... you might want to watch a few episodes of the Andy Griffith show, where neighbors bake cakes for police officers who know them all by name in the town of Mayberry. Nobody locks their doors, and people look out for each other.
A guy built a board track racer replica here a few years ago and tried to register it, because he wanted to be in compliance with the laws. He was told that the bike isn't powerful enough, and its just a motorized bicycle... he was sent home. No flag. No headlight. No license necessary. Nothing. Although Iowa is not a top tourist destination, the state is full of honest people who are very reasonable and don't like too much red tape.
The flip side of that is that if you're not a well-liked person, and you've done something to offend the officers of the peace... they will make life hard for you. Also, if you're driving your bike "out of town" and the police don't recognize you, you might get a warning or an order to have someone come pick you up and get that thing off the road. And as you might guess, if you're caught driving it through downtown Mayberry at 40 miles per hour, you're going to be in trouble.
A few years back I bought a military Humvee, stripped it all down, and built it up like a shiny red Hummer H-1. Guys on Harleys gave me the "low and slow." Old men saluted me. It was huge, and attracted a lot of attention wherever I went, including from police, who would pull me over just to look at it and then happily send me on my way... Iowans just don't care if some obscure law says you're not supposed to drive military vehicles on the road.
After all... In the minds of Iowa law enforcers... aren't there laws that state that (I think this is actually true) ministers must obtain a permit to carry their liquor across state lines, a man with a mustache may never kiss a woman in public, one-armed piano players must perform for free, and kisses may last for no more than five minutes?
So if you live in Iowa, relax. Nobody cares here. Its just a bicycle. Police might pull you over, smiling, and say, "That's a pretty neat bike! What is it? I just wanted to look at it... Is your Aunt Ruthy out of the hospital yet? Have a nice day and tell your father 'hi' for me."
Just use your head, be a nice person, obey all traffic rules, remember people's names, smile and wave at people, and stay out of people's way.
-- Hal