T'is True that most California cops won't give a rats behind about your motorised bicycle being on the road with no reg. or license...Until you run into that one, "tin badge god", pain in the butt, rookie cop, that is just iching to show off his knowledge of the California motor vehicles codes to his fellow officers and all others who will actually listen to his "war" stories, while they are smirking behind his back...And then proceeds to impound your bike, write your tickets, and testify in court against you resulting in fines, court fees, and impound fees that you will wind up paying...Just saying...DAMIEN...
Retired Commonwealth of Massachusetts Police Constable Lieutenant...lol.
California Motorized Bicycle Definition
In California, a motorized bicycle or moped is a
2 or
3 wheeled device having:
- fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power,
- an automatic transmission,
- a motor that produces less than 4 gross brake horsepower and is capable of propelling the device at a maximum speed of not more than 30mph on level ground. ¹
The
license and
registration requirements to ride a Motorized Bicycle on the roads in California are as follows:
License
A valid
Class M2 license is
required to operate a motorized bicycle. ²
Registration
A motorized bicycle
needs to be registered and is
required to
display a license plate issued by the department
. ³
References:
¹
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=406
²
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=12804.9.
³
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/f...vision=3.&title=&part=&chapter=1.&article=8.1.
i agree with you on that. ive dealt with those types many times thinking that if they were to bust me, based on my looks, they would automatically be promoted to chief of police...lmao
i remember a number of years ago i was riding my motorcycle. now when i hit my brakes the brake light would flash in a row several times before becoming solid red. it came from the factory like that. i got pulled over because of it and was cited because he didnt believe it came from the factory like that.
then there was the time i was driving my 1964 ford falcon station wagon, which i still have, when it was raining out. ive got drum brakes on the front. if youve never driven with front drum brakes, when it rains the drum sometimes get wet which will make the brakes grab unevenly and make your car pull to the side.
well mine did that one morning and the cop behind me pulled me over for it. so her and i went round and round because she thought it happened because i was drinking. mind you i have even thought about drinking for over 35 years...lol
so im trying to explain to her about drum brakes..she was having none of that. of course she was very young and drum brakes are an old technology from before she was born. so here i am passing all the tests shes given me while explaining to her it was my car not me.
after half an hour of this dance, she has another officer pull up to assist her. he asks me what was going on. i explained to him about the brakes. finallyt...this guy was young but had experience working on older cards with his father so he understood what i was talking about. so he went over to talk with the girl who pulled mr over.
i couldnt here what he was saying to her but i could tell she wasnt happy from her louder than normal responses, her turning looking at me with half closed eyes and her pointing gestures. after they "discussed" whatever for a good 10 minutes the guy comes over to me and says im free to go.
so i say to him she doesnt believe you about drum brakes. he laughed and said no. she thought he was telling her what i told him. so i got in my car and left....lmmfao
i can spend the rest of the year documenting the highlites of my experinces with law enforcement over the years. but it was because i didnt need any more footage for the highlite reels that i stopped and talked with law enforcement about my bike. it wasnt as fun as the time i blocked a cop car in and got out to ask how i should transport the rifles in my front seat but then i wasnt really looking for a heated response.
so after riding my bike for must be 11 years now, thinking im copliant with, what i thought was no laws, i come across this site and see people arguing over california vehicle laws and how they were interpreting them. as i stated in my last post im not one to take what im told as gospel so ive been trying to get a hold of the dmv to ask them. so far ive held for longer than i wanted to and havent been able to reach anyone yet. as i said previously. when i do i will make sure to post what i learn from them.
until then, all i ask is that other members dont send me more messages quoting the california vehicle code. i know what they say and i dont need more people interpreting the codes for me. i appreciate the concern for me to be compliant as i am for myself.
i dont mind the messages but the quoting and interpreting california law i can do without.
i have never posted my interpretation so iask that you dont. if you look at the first person who responded to me, he did it right. he sent me a message and it was great.
all i ask is that my post doesnt turn into a spot for heated debate like ive seen others do.
thanks...