How hard to get a WR street legal in NJ??

[njracer]

Has anybody done this? Any tips or suggested DMV's to visit?

Thanks,

njracer

[George_Roberts]

It's hard. There's a guy that visits this site. Woodsracer something is his name. He answered some of my questions that I posted last week. He has one, but he got really lucky. I'm looking to do the exact same thing.

First, you need the title. Because you have to take it to a DMV and hope they don't notice the "Off Road Only" sticker right dead in the center of the title. Maybe they won't notice. Try a real busy DMV, inner city maybe, an hour before closing.

Next, if they actually give you a plate(which they won't) you'll need a dual-sport kit for the blinkers, horn, and mirror. Not too pricey, but don't waste your money unless you have the plate already.

Then, take it to inspection and hope they give you a sticker(even though it doesn't have DOT tires). Inspectors are clods when it comes to motorcycles.

Do you have the bike already? If not, really look into your options before you make the purchase. KTM EXC series don't have the "Off Road Only" marked on the title. They pass right thru.

Good Luck!

[beezer]

Buddies of mine have gotten YZ250's plates.

They go to the Morristown DMV and look for the dumbest looking clerk. This may take some time as most are stupid.

Another option is getting a dealer to throw the title into the middle of the pile that he brings to the DMV. the clerks are doing so many bikes they don't pay attention. I have a WR450 on order and thats what my dealer is doing. The DMV clerks make next to nothing and stupidity and fraud is rampant.

[Chaindrive]

I am fighting this battle in Iowa. If I had purchased the bike already Titled and licensed in another State, instead of Titled and licensed in Iowa, they would have no problem with it...go figure! ?

Might be your best bet, too. Then it is simply a Title transfer just like buying a car from out of state.

Best of Luck to YOU!

[rodeo1080]

Morristown DMV and the dumb looking clerk thing works the best. Have a dealer do the inspection, if you have bought a new bike most likely the dealer you purchased from will hook you up. As for blinkers and all the rest of the stuff, you can pretty much get away with having just a headlight and working brake light. I went to the junkyard and grabbed the switch off an older junked street bike and wired up some handguard blinkers, works great. I don't really use my bike for road travel but when I'm on the roads with traffic I make sure I hand signal.

[ridermannow]

hey guys, I am in morris county, nj and looking at buying a used 4-stroke to make street legal. I really like the WR250F so this would be great to get a street legal one. Has anybody successfully made their bikes street legal in this damn state? If so, what bikes would you recommend I look at to buy used to have a street legal NJ bike? You mention something about KTM EXC having no problem being street legal. Is this still the case? I want to know befoer I choose what bike to buy.

[steveracer]

try Pa. you could get a reconstructed title and just retitle it in nj. any Pa. title and tag place will have the papers.

[wrooster]

guys,

i just had a go 'round with another TT'er on this subject. below is a cut-n-paste that may lend some more info.

jim aka the wrooster

'01 wr250f

----- begin included message -----

in NJ you get your bike with a CoO (certificate of origin, not a title). the CoO for dirt bikes like ours says "THIS VEHICLE IS DESIGNED FOR OFF-ROAD USE ONLY". so when you go to the NJ DMV they see that and say "no dice, we only title and register on-road vehicles -- have a nice day". *some* people have lucked out and gotten a sympathetic (or brainless) DMV counter person, and walked out with a title, registration, and plates. grrrrr. didn't work for me; i even sent my wife in TWICE and told her to make eyes at the male DMV clerk. failure on all counts.

so in 2001, not having any other option, i did register my bike in VT, which got me a plate. every year the VT DMV folks send me a registration renewal ($23) and a current year registration sticker for my bike. i have not had any problems with this strategy -- yet. hypothetically if i got stopped, the officer could give me a hard time since i don't live in VT. but it's going ok so far, and i've done a bunch of DS events (like the six days of MI). however, i don't have a title, since as you know VT doesn't title bikes with displacement less than 300cc. and so i can't transfer my registration to NJ, since i have no title. one important concept here is that VT does NOT require any type of inspection to register (or keep registered) a motorcycle (as far as they are concerned, i own a "motorcycle" and not a "dirt bike" per se).

now my brother-in-law, who lives in michigan, says that in michigan your new bike is delivered with a title. you can then take your title to the MI DMV and get plates -- once you get the bike inspected as "road worthy". and that, in michigan, is very little added hardware. so if you buy your bike in michigan, you could be all set. the dealer may even help you along this process. my brother-in-law thinks that if i sold him my bike for a buck, he could take my current CoO, my VT registration, and so forth, to the MI DMV and walk out with a valid title, MI registration, and MI plates. then he could sell the bike back to me for buck, and i could transfer the plates to NJ. in theory of course. ? but in NJ i would still need to go to inspection every year -- i don't see any way around that. which could be a large PITA if you know what i mean. like DOT-compliant tires, letter-of-the-law turn signals, and so forth. it may be every other year now, which is still a PITA though.

my brother-in-law is ex-NJ and went through all these same hoops when he was competing in enduros out here. i think he's happy that MI is a lot easier to deal with. you should look into how bikes are delivered in PA, it may be beneficial to get one there, where the dealer may title the bike for you. and then it's easier once you have the title.

but in any case if you buy in NJ, you are going to find it tough to get a title to your bike; and that means you are not getting NJ registration nor plates. and pretty much the only way you can get a title in NJ is with a CoO that doesn't say "FOR OFF-ROAD USE ONLY" in bold letters. i have heard the the CoO on bikes that come through Canada DO NOT have that statement. so there is an possible option if you are considering getting your bike through shippingmasters or the like.

now then, there is one other option which in hindsight i wish i had considered. recall that VT doesn't title bikes less than 300cc's. here's an idea. buy a "big bore" kit that makes your 250F into a 302F. don't install it yet. send your registration paperwork to VT and indicate displacement as "302cc". include the invoice and related info from big bore kit vendor. VT DMV sends you registration AND a title, along with the plate. if this works, you may choose to install the big-bore kit or not, that is an ethical decision which is up to you. if you choose not to, you could return it. i am not saying that this strategy will or will not work, it's just something i conjured up while waiting for the Nth time in the NJ DMV line.

in any case, on my bike right now i have:

--no title

--my original CoO

--VT plate

--VT registration paperwork

--VT yearly registration sticker

--liability insurance from Riders Insurance Co.

if i did get stopped i would happily explain that i have a house in VT where the bike *usually* lives. it might even work. otherwise, i'd probably be warned that i have 30 days to reregister my bike in NJ. but since i have all of my paperwork in order (e.g., NJ DMV motorcycle endorsement on my valid NJ driver's license, VT DMV registration + plate + sticker on my vehicle, and proper liability insurance for my vehicle) i'm pretty sure that unless i got some gung-ho yahoo cop that i would slide by. this is still an untested theory however.

let me know what you are going to do, or if you have any other thoughts on our fine NJ mess.

jim

----- begin included message -----

Jim,

I just read you post on "legalizing my 03 WR 250." I see that you live in NJ. So do I. Did you register your bike in Michigan? The reason I ask is because I am thinking of buying one of the 04 250Fs. I plan on riding the bike in enduros. To do this I will need to register the bike and get plates. I know how tough it is to get an off road bike registered in this great state of ours. This is the reason I purchased my KTM. I have heard VT is starting to crack down. They will not title a bike under 300ccs. I don’t have all the facts but this is what I hear. A friend of mine was turned away with his 03 WR 250. I am leery of buying a 250F and not being able to register it. Does MI allow you to register off road bikes?

[CronicArt]

This is something I was also looking into. I e-mailed NJDMV and they gave me a phone # to call. What you have to do is put on the street conversion which you can get from Baja Designs for about $450. You would also need a kickstand (WR has this already) You need to have the exhaust quieted down, mirrors, and D.O.T. tires. Once this is all done you have to bring it to a DMV inspection facility to obtain an afidavid stating that your bike meets all road legal requirements. You take the afidavid to DMV along with your certificate of origin and they will issue you a title, registration, and a plate. The down fall is it will cost you close to $800 - $1000 to convert everything. It might even bring up the value on your bike because that would be a rare thing in NJ. OR you can try Vermont. I was thinking of converting my YZF to supermoto so I could legaly rip up the streets since they won't let my legaly do it in the dirt. Here's the # they gave me.

Please contact the Inspection Unit

at 1-609-633-9474 for information and assistance.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[R_Little]

I registered a Dr350 that came with a regular (non-off road title).

I also registered a WR that I bought in Ohio with an Ohio State title.

I also hear that the KTM's don't always sail through DMV.

I think your best bet is to buy a bike that already has an out of state title.

Good luck

[beezer]

I told you how to do it.

You go to a DMV that has minority clerks. If you got to one in a better neighborhood the clerks there are usally whites that hate their job and take it out on the customers. They highlight of their day is when the get to screw someone over. The minority clerks just want to get thru the day as quickly as possible. You could get a plate on kids tricycle.

Thats how we do it, pay attention.

[steveracer]

look into a special construction title in nj . thats what I am doing in pa with my wr. it has to meet all inspection req. though. it would be the same as building a chopper from the ground up. I think.

[CronicArt]

You let me know which DMV that has the clerks that don't enjoy screwin us over and I'm there! ?

KTMs come from the factory with titles not certificate of origin papers and they do not state closed circut use only.

[Small_Booger]

Anyone have any updates on this topic?

I have a kx450f with a PA title I'm willing to put lights and a horn on even though NJ doesn't have an inspection for motorcycles any more and I'm really never planning on riding it on a paved street. If I go the VT route, will I be able to reticle in NJ?

Edited December 22, 2012 by Small_Booger

[MaxPower]

what do you mean by title?

The MSO the dealer gives you when you buy the bike or a DMV title where you had a plate?

The biggest thing is to have your bike insured. You get busted crossing a road without a registration its a ticket

Get busted without insurance you are having your wife drive you to work for the next year because the judge has your licence

Its easy to get screwed in South Jersey too. There are fire roads with 3 foot deep whoops that are registered as legitimate roads as if you were riding your KX down the Parkway