Ok, so I was reading the www.detnews.com this morning and there is an article about a guy using a golf cart to run local errands around town. He has made all the provisions to the cart (headlights, tail lights, signals etc etc) to make it street legal, apparently got it registered, insured and plated and is good to go.

I own a quad and know that in some states you can do the same for quads as well. I know that you can't in Michigan and the topic has come up on sites before. If I remember right, the catch has to do with the rear end setup. Something about having a solid axle without a limited slip differential or something along those lines.

My question is this. How do the IRS quads (like an Outlaw) work, do they give us an out and offer the potential to make a quad street legal?

This topic came up at the fire station the other day. The Police Officer that stops in pretty often said the issue is they don't have DOT approved tires on them (providing that they have required legal lighting and such), I guess that is the basic diffrence. HE also mentioned something about most quads not having a title but just a registration?

I'm sure Law Dog could shed some light on this issue.


Later,
Roger

Below is a copy/paste of the form from the SOS that you get to vehicle "street legal" . One side is 4 wheel the other side is 2wheel and trailer. Basically you go to SOS get this form and have a local Police Dept. do the inspection. For 2 wheel vehicles/trailers it is on the other side (I don't have a text copy of the other side).


PART 1 – VEHICLE NUMBER INSPECTION
I have inspected the serial number (the vehicle identification number) on the vehicle described above. The number is:
________________________________________ _______________________________________________
Vehicle Identification Number (if none, enter “none”) (Law Enforcement Only) VIN from federal Safety Sticker
I certify the information provided is true to the best of my knowledge.
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
Signature and Title of Person Making Inspection Date
________________________ __________________________________ (_____ )______ ___________
Agency/ Department Address Telephone Number
PART 2 – ON-ROAD EQUIPMENT INSPECTION BY A POLICE OFFICER
This vehicle has all the necessary on-road equipment as required by the Michigan Vehicle Code.
UNIT A – FOUR-WHEEL MOTOR VEHICLES
LIGHTS
Headlights (one each side, high and low beams)
Turn signals (front and rear)
Taillight (at least one, if equipped with two both
must work)
License plate light
Brake lights.
INTERIOR
Horn
Bright light indicator
Windshield wipers
Windshield washers
Brakes (adequate to stop and hold the vehicle)
Parking brake
Safety belts (1965 and newer models).
WINDSHIELD AND MIRRORS
Safety Glass (no plexiglas, sufficient size to protect
driver and passengers, no cracks, no obstructions,
non-transparent material prohibited)
Outside rearview mirror on driver’s side (adjustable)
Half-ton or more capacity trucks outside rearview
mirrors on both sides.
EXTERIOR
Bumpers (required on passenger vehicles, 14 to 22
inches above the ground except 4-wheel drive)
Tires (2/32 inch tread, no exposed cord or tread
separation, approved for highway use by D.O.T.)
Exhaust (good working order, no excessive noise.
Must include a tailpipe and resonator where the
original design included a tailpipe and resonator)
Differential gear.
Signature and title of police officer making equipment inspection for four-wheel motor vehicle:
_____________________________________________________ ________________________
Signature and Title of Police Officer Date
________________________ __________________________________ (_ ___ )__________________
Agency/ Department Address Telephone Number
TR-54 (08/01) Over for Motorcycle and Trailer Equipment Inspection

I saw a quad runnung down the I75 business spur in the Soo today with Michigan plates on it, I turned around to try to catch the guy to find out how he got it plated but I lost him. Also I guy who lives in my apt. complex has a off road dirt bike that he some how got plated, no turn signals on it, so I dont know how that got plated.

Dirt bikes use to be easy, I had a CR250 with plates on it in the late 80's.

So since a quad is a four wheel vehicle it would have to adhere to the regulations above. All the lighting and electrical stuff doesn't seem bad at all, not much to that. Already meets the headlights, brights, bright indicator and break light - tail light requirements. Brakes and parking brake are already taken care of, mirrors would not be a problem. The stock exhaust shouldn't be an issue sound wise.

Looks like the snags would be:
1. Differential gear -- seems like the biggest hurdle to jump
2. Windshield -- wonder how they would interpret that?
3. Bumbers -- again, probably depend on how they interpret it.

How about the seat belts?

I was in Germany a few years back and saw quite a few of them on the Autobahn. They had street tires on them.

Forgot about that, I would put that into the "depends on the interpretation" department.

What do they do for 3 wheeled vehicles like trikes? They do not have seat belts.

The three wheelers are considered to be a motorcycle because of the way you sit on it. If you straddle the seat, like a bike, it is looked at like it is a bike, hence no need for windshield, seat belts, wipers, bumpers and such. If you sit down into a seat, it is looked at like it is a car. But I remember something from awhile ago about a buddy that had a street legal dune buggy that did not have a windshield but he had to always wear a helmet and goggles of some kind to satisfy the requirement for a windshield.

The sticky wicket for a quad is the diff thing. The only quads I know of that 'might' have a legal diff in them are the big 4x4 hunting quads. The Outlaw is an IRS but it does not have a diff.

Or you could just drop your wrist and not look back, it works for me.

I agree, the differential seems to be the biggest obstacle. I have seem quads made by KTM that were designed to be able to be used on the street in Europe, wonder if they have a differential set up or a solid axle. Time to do some internet research....




Don't see how this is pertinent to the conversation, but thanks for the great advice.............

Great idea!!! That will keep the road shoulders open for all of us! Actually,that is just what got them closed originally.