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Old 08-10-2010, 03:51 PM
Neil E. Neil E. is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Gormley, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,418
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kurdt View Post
Won't you be buying from a Canadian dealer?
Yes, but we face the same problem getting a plate. Local laws (provincial) have not changed in decades. They state that the requirements are headlight, tail light and horn as minimum equipment. Thus we can street plate an enduro machine. I have no intention of doing any pavement except to connect trails, so minimum equipment is OK for my needs (pavement is a waste of good tires).

As new government computer systems are adopted, new restrictions show up. If a serial number is different than the 17 digit North American standard, there is no way to enter it in the vehicle registration system.

In Canada we have the NVIS (new vehicle information statement) similar to the MSO. So if it states "off road use only", we have problems. Government agencies are (or soon will be) requesting (from manufacturers) lists of serial numbers for their machines that meet federal standards. These standards necessitate full road compliance. That means only DOT homologated machines can be road plated.

So when I go to buy my next bike and can't plate a GasGas, then I have to purchase a TE310 instead. Like many others, I don't want a 4T for trail riding. If I was doing dual sport riding, the 4T would be adequate.

I was hoping manufacturers would bring DI 2T bikes to market sooner. The reality is that by the time this happens, the bikes will HAVE to be DOT approved to get a plate. Only the larger manufacturers would go through this process, so we'd still be out of luck if we want to purchase a bike from the smaller (more creative) manufacturers.

We CAN get an offroad plate, but that doesn't allow us to ride down the shoulder of the road, so connecting trails is impossible.
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