It looks like California is holding up a lot of kit bike registrations due to the actions of one motorcycle shop. It seems they were building a lot of kit bikes from Custom Chrome, ignoring the 24 bike per year limit and as a result, anyone with one of the Custom Chrome kits has his Special Construction registration on hold until the California DMV finishes their investigation. No registrations means you can’t register your own bike if you build one and you can’t sell it because the next owner can’t register it, either. (Custom Chrome will sell you all of the parts for a motorcycle but they no longer sell kits.)
I just found out about this reading the editorial in IronWorks magazine. They found out after getting some questions from the DMV about a kit they built for the magazine and again when it was sold and the new owner couldn’t get it registered. Numerous attempts to get the problem rectified by contacting their legislators have so far failed and it’s been going on for months.
Building your own motorcycle can be an enjoyable and satisfying experience for someone who likes to get his (or her) hands dirty. If you have the ability to wrench but a little less time or skill available, the kit bike route gives you a lot of the same satisfaction, you just put the parts together. As we’ve mentioned before, however, rules are tightening up and individuals get only one shot at building a non EPA certified bike, custom shops, only 24 bikes per year.
If the EPA or DMV decides someone didn’t follow the rules and then uses a shotgun “everyone’s guilty” approach, you have a problem, no matter how strictly you followed the rules. If you’re building a custom motorcycle, just remember, you have another partner in the process now. Welcome to the brave new world.
Link: IronWorks
Related: What Everyone Should Know About the New Kit and Custom Motorcycle Rules from the EPA
Gladys says
I applaud the state of CA for its environmental laws. However, there seems to be suspicious targeting towards the motorcycle industry.
Is someone high-up in the CA DMV subjectively targeting the motorcycle industry?
I want to see the same aggressive approach taken towards the tuner cars and their exhaust systems. The same aggressive approach taken towards the trucking & bus industry with its noise and exhaust concerns.
A lack of self-policing within the “louder-is-better” crowd undoubtedly got some bureaucrat’s attention
Matt says
Here’s another reason the Roland Sands Super Single project a few stories down has so much appeal. If they can bring a conversion kit to market that can take an already street legal, and presumably titled, enduro and make a sweet sportbike it’ll sell like mad. The title is already legal. The owner just has to make sure that all the street legal parts are present (signals and stuff).
todd says
Tell you what; I’ll buy a Harley and take it all apart in tiny little pieces. Now I’ll sell it to you as a kit for twice as much so you can put it back together and feel all good about it….
Law is simple when you obey it. I’ve never had any issues with the DMV or CARB/EPA when building a custom Cafe bike. Of course, I have always started out with a street legal motorcycle.
-todd
GenWaylaid says
Would it be prohibitively expensive for custom shops to take the “Enron loophole”? Just create a new shell company every 24 bikes.
humanoid says
The market for counterfeit frame tags just took an upswing. Anybody have a spare die stamping press?