Road-legal MX

[humphrt]

What does it take to get an MX bike road legal(for motarding obviously)? Im on my learners, am bout to sit my restricted so still need a 250, and anyway my wife wants to get her learners aswell so it'll get a lot of use. Was considering a 2stroke 250 MX bike as a base. We both know enough about 2strokes as we are both country hicks? So what i gotta do?

[Coyote]

A lot I'm afraid. The LTSA/LTNZ/whatever they call themselves nowadays have been very generous rolling out the red tape.

You'll need all the kit first. Headlights, brake lights, indicators, switches, wiring loom. You should be able to run it all off the bike's alternator, though you might find your bike is only pumping out enough electricity for the spark plug (hell, my road bike is running like that now).

Then you'll need to get it certified. I don't know how much this costs, I don't know what they check for. Hopefully someone here can tell you, though I've asked these questions before with minimal success. That's nothing wrong with Kiwibiker, it's just how difficult it is to find out this information.

Plus many bikes are simply not allowed on the road, no matter how much legal polava you go through. My Dad had an old farm bike that had been rego'd in the past but it had since died. He phoned up the LTSA (at the time) to find out if it can be rego'd. They said no since the manufacturer hadn't made an MR2A form for the vehicle.

My suggestion is; buy a bike that is already road legal. There are several road legal Enduro bikes around. Not so much full on MX bikes, but the higher gear ratio's suit the road better anyway. Gas Gas make a 250 2 stroke that is road legal, and looks very nice.

Don't try and make a MX bike road legal unless you have the time and money and are very enthusiastic about getting the said vehicle on the road. I could see myself doing that to a classic dirt bike, or a KX/CR500.

Hopefully things have changed and someone will come along saying "actually, it's really rather easy...".

[toebug]

Like Coyote said I dont think you ould find it very easy at all. Better to get a version that comes with all the road kit like a KTM.

[AlBundy]

Maybe consider a RMX250, CRM250 (I think), or a KDX200/220... Yamaha did a WR200 but I'm not sure if they were road legal.

They are on Trademe on occasion...

Example... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-198667225.htm

Maybe a KLX? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-198445055.htm or http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-199430902.htm

Husky? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-198308338.htm

WR250... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-198553794.htm

You get the idea... Lol...

[humphrt]

Example... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-198667225.htm

Thats exactly what im after, just a lick of black paint and some new wheels, brakes etc... eventually and it'd be just what i want. Thanks for that

[AlBundy]

Sweet! Have fun with it...

[bully]

any updates on this, other than lights and stuff whats the chances of getting say a crf450 roadlegal/certified?

[motorbyclist]

probably better of just getting a WR450 than mucking about with a CRF - i think honda deliberately doesn't get them approved for NZ roads to force the market to buy whatever they call an XR nowadays

plus the WR/XR has much longer maintenance intervals than their MX counterparts

[tnarg]

Two of my friends are in the process of getting there ktm 250 exc's road legal and motarding them. The exc are the two stroke enduro version so come equiped with lights and normally come with road kit. My mate just had to get a letter from ktm saying that they were made to be road legal.
So dont think you could ever get an mx bike legal but no probs for the enduro bikes.

[Paulus]

Certainly the KTM 250EXC, Gas Gas EC250 and Husqvarna WR250 are all capable of being road legal. I've got a 2007 Husky WR250 and it is fully road legal is regoed and warranted. Now that I've derestricted it (easily done) it goes like a scalded cat. Feels very like a 250 MXer (maybe a little tamer). Not the best road bike in the world but handy for those times you need it. Nowhere near as much maintenance as a 4 stroke - just mix up the gas and ride it.

A good read:
http://www.husqvarnamotorcycles.com....R250_ADB_2.pdf

[motorbyclist]

Nowhere near as much maintenance as a 4 stroke - just mix up the gas and ride it.

now i hate to start this one again, but what maintenance on a four stroke? my YZ400f (MX, not enduro/road like the yamaha WR) has only had periodic oil changes (and the necessary air filer changes) since i bought it in march 2006, and the guy i bought it off had never looked at the engine either.

[CookMySock]

what maintenance on a four stroke?

The very high compression four strokes eat rings and pistons, and require very regular oil changes.

I looked at this very same thing. I was told basically I could bring in any ol' bike and they would consider it on its merits.

ALL bikes *imported* into NZ have a chassis/frame number on them, and this number is entered into the VTNZ database. If the chassis number is NOT in the VTNZ database, then forget it sunshine.

I am perfectly able to weld up some frame and slap all the bits on it and name it anything I like, and they will STILL look at it. There are plenty of absurd homemade contraptions on the road - all certified and road legal.

However, on the opposite side of he coin, my bro in law has an 80's XR250, which cannot go on the road for some reason. I think he's giving up too easily.

SO make from that what you will, coz stuffed if I know.

Steve

[motorbyclist]

The very high compression four strokes eat rings and pistons, and require very regular oil changes.

yes, that's exactly my experience running 12.5:1 compression every other weekend for the last few years

i find what the manual says, what people with too much money do, and what the rest of us do are two very different things

to be fair, the yamaha has two compression rings where all the other japs have only one, but the official service intervals aren't that much longer.

aren't two strokes also meant to be be rebuilt every other race meet? sure there's less parts to replace on the two stroke, but i find the four stroke to be more reliable (ie less finnicky/prone to seizure/fouling/melting) and have much longer service intervals

[Paulus]

yes, that's exactly my experience running 12.5:1 compression every other weekend for the last few years

i find what the manual says, what people with too much money do, and what the rest of us do are two very different things

to be fair, the yamaha has two compression rings where all the other japs have only one, but the official service intervals aren't that much longer.

aren't two strokes also meant to be be rebuilt every other race meet? sure there's less parts to replace on the two stroke, but i find the four stroke to be more reliable (ie less finnicky/prone to seizure/fouling/melting) and have much longer service intervals

I hope you're trolling. Have you ever owned a modern 2 stroke? Your YZ400 isn't in the same state of tune as a newer 450. It isn't a lot more powerful than a DRZ400 and that is a very reliable machine. IIRC it also has stainless valves not titanium. It is these highly strung 4 strokes that have the high maintenance requirements. Top ends and bottom ends last as long or longer on the 2 strokes and are much cheaper to replace when they do need it. My last seizure from bad jetting was in 1986 on an IT200and it was my fault from going too lean on the main. All it needed was a hone, new piston and rings. Pretty quick and easy to change a fouled plug too.

[motorbyclist]

I hope you're trolling. Have you ever owned a modern 2 stroke? Your YZ400 isn't in the same state of tune as a newer 450. It isn't a lot more powerful than a DRZ400 and that is a very reliable machine. IIRC it also has stainless valves not titanium. It is these highly strung 4 strokes that have the high maintenance requirements. Top ends and bottom ends last as long or longer on the 2 strokes and are much cheaper to replace when they do need it. My last seizure from bad jetting was in 1986 on an IT200and it was my fault from going too lean on the main. All it needed was a hone, new piston and rings. Pretty quick and easy to change a fouled plug too.

how new is modern; does 2001 count? (didn't development cease shortly thereafter?) does having to return to the carpark on a trail ride to retrieve a plug and tool for my mate's two stroke bike count as quick and easy? a family we ride with regularly having the old man carry plugs with him at all times?

True, my valves are stainless, and after 11 years of development the newer bikes are, well, newer..... so to be fair my experience is only really valid up to 2003 models - including my mate's yz426f (might be an 02) that he's had longer than i've had mine, and my old man's 05 yz250f (i'll round down to 03 cause it hardly gets used) - but that includes titanium and sofar we've not had any need to even look at the clearances.

i suppose my experience is skewed by constantly helping out people who have cooked/clogged their two stroke (on and offroad) due to neglect, abuse, or lack thereof - ie, if you don't have a clue there's going to be trouble - yet often things come down to a case of "two-stroke-itis" while so far my "i'll fix it IF it breaks" approach to four stroke ownership has been working out fine

yet, without pulling out my manual, my maintenance intervals are pretty shocking; not much better than the newer models, yet it's still going hard in spite of my best efforts to run it into the ground - what i'm trying to say/point out is that "four strokes cost lots" is not always true. i wouldn't even call it a rule of thumb. heck i'd recommend you buy the motor that best suits your riding style, cause ultimately that seems to be the decider anyway.

not that it matters if they don't make many two strokes anymore

EDIT: i suppose sometime in the next few weeks is time for my bi-annual spark plug change - i bought five of them back when kumeu honda closed down and i've still got one left after my friends/family used three