Ca Moped License Denied

[JohnKol]

VIN numbers have a well characterized and established format of letters and numbers that are universally accepted by all auto manufacturers. I don't think the "serial numbers" on a Sur-ron meet this established format so they probably will not be accepted as a street legal motor vehicle by the DMV.

Did you read this entire thread? You can get a moped license plate from the DMV with just one application and a small fee, the VIN composition or length is irrelevant.

[AZguy]

This is really very state dependent.. In AZ you can get a plate for pretty much anything as long as it has at least one mirror, a brake light and horn...

[AZguy]

Generally "moto" = "motorcycle", at least in most parts of the world

[pismocycler]

The traditional VIN numbers are comprised of both letters and numbers, so if the new Sur Ron VINs have letters in them too, that makes them resemble regular VINs much more than before. Besides, the Sur Ron VINs were only 15-characters long, so if the DMV never objected to that, I doubt they would object to the composition of the VIN.

My impression is that DMV takes the VIN provided for the Sur Rons at face value and does not attempt to map them to their existing framework.

The only way to know for sure is for bzzzrrr to send in his moped application and see whether it's successful.

VIN numbers have a well characterized and established format of letters and numbers that are universally accepted by all auto manufacturers. I don't think the "serial numbers" on a Sur-ron meet this established format so they probably will not be accepted as a street legal motor vehicle by the DMV. The default is probably classification as a recreational vehicle or bicycle.

[pismocycler]

I'm curious are there Moto TIres available for the stock 19" rim size? I've searched around but I am coming up with only the smaller wheel results

Not sure what you mean by "Moto" but check these out for Sur-ron 19" street tires:


Mitas 2.50-19 H02 I believe these will fit the stock 1.4" wide x 19" diam rims.

https://motoissimo.com/mitas-2-50-19-h-02-classic-motorcycle-classic-bias-41l-tire/

Also check out Charged Cycle works for discussion on street 19" tires like the Mitas H01, H01, Dunlop DP 401 and others

https://chargedcycleworks.com/collections/surron-tires

[pismocycler]

I have talked to dirt legal. I understand their process.

I was actually planning to write back the DMV expressing that the bike is factory locked at 750 Watt 20 MPH and having them give me a letter that it can't be registered as a moped because it's Class 2 E-Bike. At least I could carry around the letter in my tank bag.

Obviously California knows the potential of the bike by looking it up online. Probably would have been better to advertise/spec it at Moped levels from Manufacture / Dealer and then let word of mouth spread of it's unlocking potential. At least the clerk googling it would find Moped level specs

My honest opinion is that California is fking this up and missing a chance on a revenue stream and cleaning it's @#$%^ air!

The 30MPH top speed thing is bullshit. That's the cop's job to bust people doing more than 30MPH. We sell cars that do 200+ and that doesn't make them illegal to drive on the street. Also, a bike with a 60lb rider is going to have a different top speed than a 240 lb rider. Change tires, gears, low charge battery and the whole 30 MPH is bullshit. I have a 64 tooth and I'm hitting about 32-33 GPS

The 4HP max needs to be looked at differently than it's ICE counterpart. Cost-effective electric bikes should be getting substantial incentive to be on the roads in California right now. California should give some leeway here (think electric cars in carpool lanes). Also, I can feel a power difference from 100 percent charge to 50 percent. People commuting on these bikes are aware that if they run full throttle constantly, the battery is going to deplete faster. They tend to use less HP on average to conserve battery life. You can make the argument that a gas bike rider would do the same but I can tell you that in 30+ years of riding gas, conserving gas was never something I thought about. Riding a bike was conserving gas! I see a stock Sur Ron dynos at 6.9HP on Youtube. Yur gonna kill the F@#$% planet over 2.9 HP that the bike has on it's best day at it's max charge?

Why ask "under penalty of perjury" questions on the MOPED application about the bike's performance if you're not going to accept the answers? Let the law in the field do their job!

I have DOT tires, All required lights, a Class M DL, DOT helmet, Insurance and willing to pay a reg fee. I also charge from the solar off my roof.

But the loud as fuck hopped up moped from 82' blowing black soot is good to go!

Why not register it as an electric motorcycle, not a moped (if you are dying to pay insurance, reg fees and have the proper head light, turn signals and brake lights). Otherwise put a pedal kit on it and ride it as an ebike. My new Sur-ron (bought from a dealer in Sacramento) is limited to 15 mph at the factory now (no more 28 mph). Technically, the bike exceeds the max power of 1000 Watts but who is going to know? You will probably not run into LEO problems if you are riding at 20 mph and not being stupid, and you have pedals. The Kaniwaba electronic power assist kit has a cadence sensor that controls speed via pedal cadence really meets the spirit of the law. When you stop pedaling, the motor turns off.

[surRonCommuter]

I'm curious are there Moto TIres available for the stock 19" rim size? I've searched around but I am coming up with only the smaller wheel results

[JohnKol]

How long does it usually take to receive your plate if approved? Do you get notified if you got rejected and reason?

Check your bank to see if your cheque has been cashed, for me that took two weeks, and two weeks after that I got my plate.

[bzzzrrr]

How long does it usually take to receive your plate if approved? Do you get notified if you got rejected and reason?

[JohnKol]

Even if they made the serial number similar to a vin it won’t matter. There is a searchable database of vins that are registered that as far as I know the manufacturers submit. I may be wrong.

No you're not wrong, that's precisely what I am saying too: if Sur Ron registers their VINs, then the DMV will know precisely what this vehicle is; up until now the VINs they had been using could not be decoded so the DMV had no way of knowing what this vehicle was.

[mpatch]

Even if they made the serial number similar to a vin it won’t matter. There is a searchable database of vins that are registered that as far as I know the manufacturers submit.
I may be wrong.

[JohnKol]

This one looks like a regular 17-character VIN, I wouldn't be surprised if Sur Ron decided to follow the international VIN standards. It's not decodable yet (I tried), so not sure if Sur Ron has registered them; if they did, the days of getting moped plates may be coming to an end.

[X-Nitro]

US VIN codes have been 17 digit alpha-numeric codes since 1981 duh.
They obviously don' check the validity of the information submitted so applicants can just put any old BS on the form and get a plate, just don't tell the truth on the form, that will get the application REJECTED.

[paxtana]

Glad to hear that! It certainly does look more unique than previous version.

[JohnKol]

The traditional VIN numbers are comprised of both letters and numbers, so if the new Sur Ron VINs have letters in them too, that makes them resemble regular VINs much more than before. Besides, the Sur Ron VINs were only 15-characters long, so if the DMV never objected to that, I doubt they would object to the composition of the VIN.

My impression is that DMV takes the VIN provided for the Sur Rons at face value and does not attempt to map them to their existing framework.

The only way to know for sure is for bzzzrrr to send in his moped application and see whether it's successful.