Reg dirt bike

[superbiker]

Hope everyone is well. Would you be able to advise me.

I have a off road Japanese (one of the big brands) dirt bike frame (never been registered) which has been converted to electric and now I would like to explore making it road legal. I am currently looking at LA moped class.

The bike is a conversion so scratch build would not apply in my case.


The bike is fitted with front (high beam, low beam) & rear lights, horn, dash with speedometer, indicators, dot road tyres etc - everything NZTA lists as being required.

The bikes speed is limited to 50kph.

What would be the process in getting it tested and would there be any difficulty. From what I can see petrol engine moped must not exceed 50cc but as it stands today doesn't seem to be a power limit for electric so what exactly would the inspection look at?

Thank you

[FJRider]

Hope everyone is well. Would you be able to advise me.

I have a off road Japanese (one of the big brands) dirt bike frame (never been registered) which has been converted to electric and now I would like to explore making it road legal. I am currently looking at LA moped class.

The bike is a conversion so scratch build would not apply in my case.


The bike is fitted with front (high beam, low beam) & rear lights, horn, dash with speedometer, indicators, dot road tyres etc - everything NZTA lists as being required.

The bikes speed is limited to 50kph.

What would be the process in getting it tested and would there be any difficulty. From what I can see petrol engine moped must not exceed 50cc but as it stands today doesn't seem to be a power limit for electric so what exactly would the inspection look at?

Thank you

The main issue/question is with this sort of vehicle is ... did the original manufacturer ever intend it to be used on the roads of ANY Country. Or even ... were they EVER used (legally) on the road here in NZ

If the answer is no ... then the vehicle most probably needs to go through the Certification process ... to allow it to be used on the road (Legally). Be warned though ... this is not a cheap process. And by no means is Certification the same/similar to getting Re-Vinned. It is a whole new (Expensive) can of worms to work through.

[superbiker]

Thanks for the response. Yes, from my research it will for sure need LVV inspection. It seems a lot of the LVV standards do not apply if its going in as a moped so while there would be some expense I'm keeping my fingers crossed it wouldn't be too dramatic / expensive as there are no other modifications to the bike this include the frame (absolutely stock standard)

The bike has a VIN on the headtube and it comes up with all the relevant details via any online vin checker but it is listed as an off road body class. I don't believe the manufacturer has ever made a road legal version as its a small dirt bike.

Do you think a lvv would be happy to proceed based on the frame?