What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

New Bikes, Old Bikes, Bike Setup, Bike Mods, Questions, Riding Technique, Advice.
Brass
2024 RMDRA Member
2024 RMDRA Member
Posts: 1329
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:04 am
Location: Calgary, SE

What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by Brass »

What are the requirements in Alberta for making an off-road bike street legal?

Can anyone say for certain what is required and what can be fudged? By that I mean can you use a bicycle bell as a horn and hand signals instead of signal lights?

As a side bar question, does a street legal bike give you more access to trails that are otherwise closed to OHVs?
The voices are back. Awesome!

User avatar
Aaron
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:12 pm
Location: Calgary, Just underneath that giant magnifying glass in the sky.

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by Aaron »

I've been reading about this out of curiosity for a while.

But from what I've read it's a legal grey area mainly because of one bit of the traffic safety act, that states no closed course vehicles/vehicles not designed for highway use, or bikes that have parts from those bikes may ever be used on highways. But if they register and insure your bike for highway use, it's technically legal from your stand point, because they should have told you it was not. (this is all 2nd hand internet information though. So it might not be true or might be out of date.)

But heres a bit of a list (most likely not complete) I've complied from other peoples answers as well as links to previous forum topics. I cant find it but I remember someone posting in a forum with all the tickets, and ticket values for everything that they could hit you with. So by complying with that list you would be fine.

-Register your new bike as a street bike, switching the registration from off road to street is a hassle. But be aware you must now comply with all safety regulations for a street bike.

- Spark arrestor

-Lights, hand signals will likely get you pulled over.
--Signal lights have to be amber
--Tail lights have to be red
--Head lights need to white, etc.
--Visible at 60 meters
--Physically attached to the bike. (the strap on / backpack types are not allowed)

-You have to have a horn, even for powered bikes.

-When purchased the tires must not say "Not for highway use"

-Muffler cant be too noisy or could warrant a pull over.

-Have to have reflectors in specific locations.

-Have a side mirror on the left side.

-You must have a class 6 license, 5 is only for mopeds.

Forum links: Registering an offroad bike for the street?, The Gas Gas is street legal!, Street legal??, Legal Bike.

And heres the links to the traffic safety act, amendments, and all related acts available for free in pdf format online.

- Traffic Safety act
- 05, 07, 09 Amendments to the act
- Off-highway Vehicle regulations
- All related traffic acts

A relatively large amount of heavy reading, I'm currently browsing through it when it interests me. I'll post any excerpts that may be helpful.

User avatar
absurveyor
2024 RMDRA Member
2024 RMDRA Member
Posts: 1042
Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:54 pm
Location: Calgary (South)

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by absurveyor »

Well written Aaron. One big thing is if you are involved in an on road accident with a non conforming bike your insurance and the law may not be too favorable. You also need a brake light and a center mounted visible plate. I did the math last year and the equipment tickets add up to a few hundred dollars pretty quickly. Most off road bikes need a stator upgrade to run the electrics.

Advantages of a street registered (dualsport) bike:
You can ride on LOC's (they show up as Red lines on the Mclean map or the main Mclean road)
Insurance is way cheaper if you have had a class 6 for a while.
'If you can't be fast at least look cool"- Absurveyor circa 1992

User avatar
Aaron
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:12 pm
Location: Calgary, Just underneath that giant magnifying glass in the sky.

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by Aaron »

I found where the answers lie! Motor vehicle safety regulations. I'll browse through in the next week or so and try to compile an official list of whats needed.

I also found a possible but temporary work around in the traffic safety act, requiring no changes to your vehicle. You'd have to convince them to give you a permit though. "Me and 2 other riders would like to use a path that becomes technically highway for a stretch, we will be in full safety gear, only in daylight, and using hand signals, could we get a day permit so we don't have to permanently alter our bikes?" you never know till you try.

Traffic safety act, Section 62, Subsection (1-a-iii)
Subsections 2, and 3, are enforced on Subsection 1.

Permits
62(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Act or a motor vehicle
document, the Registrar may on receiving an application issue a
permit doing one or more of the following:
(a) in the case of any vehicle,
(iii) authorizing a person to operate a vehicle on a
highway when that vehicle does not comply with the
equipment standards applicable to that vehicle;

(2) Where the Registrar issues a permit, the Registrar may, on the
permit or in an appendix to the permit, set out any term or
condition to which the permit is subject that the Registrar considers
appropriate in the circumstances.

(3) Where the Registrar is of the opinion that a person to whom a
permit is issued is not complying with or is contravening the terms
or conditions of the permit, the Registrar may cancel the permit.

Brass
2024 RMDRA Member
2024 RMDRA Member
Posts: 1329
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:04 am
Location: Calgary, SE

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by Brass »

Thanks for pulling all that together Aaron. Really great effort!

I'm not interested in using my bike for true street duties but would like to have it legal for those times when you find yourself unloaded at the wrong staging area or looking down a long fire road.

The registry office in westhills has told me that the registration change is a pretty simple deal, just go in and have it done. That takes care of the paper work side of things but there is still the hardware issue. Since the old tank .... err bike, currently parked in my garage was also sold as a street model, the parts for the conversion are easy to come by. But every extra pound you add to the bike is another pound you have to pick up when you fall down. A true case for "less is more". Which was the reason for my question. It's easy to add everything needed to turn my old DR into the street legal DR-S model but that adds close to 15 lbs to a 272 lb bike!

When I purchase the next bike, (likely a KTM 200/250 xc-w or GG ec 250, I'm still on the fence) I'd like to have it registered as a street legal bike for the same reasons. It sounds like when this is done with a new bike there are less problems.

There are no problems with having the class 6 license, I've had that for 22 years.
The voices are back. Awesome!

orangekoolaid
User
User
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 8:07 pm

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by orangekoolaid »

Hi guys, I want to bump this thread as I'm looking for some answers here. I'm living in Alberta.

Thinking of buying a ktm xcw 500 and then adding a dualsport kit to it. Because I wont have to deal with the smog sludge. I'm wondering if this can ever be officially street legal? I have heard of the following scenarios

1)if the bike was registered as street from new it can now can be used as a street bike as long as it has all the equipment

2) if the bike was ever registered as OHV it can never be used as a street bike

3) you can convert a OHV to a street bike??

The strange thing is all these times I have plated dirt bikes and insured them, my insurance company nor the registery have ever asked me if it was an OHV. There is nothing on my dirt bike registration that says OHV even though it is not street legal, never was. Can anyone shed some more light on this? My concern is that I'm able to register and insure it, but futher down the road get into an accident and my insurance is cancelled or they refuse to cover me after the fact. This would not go well with my street bikes that are also insured.

User avatar
turbo2point3
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 64
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by turbo2point3 »

This was an OHV only

Image

It had a headlight only to start with.
I put on a speedo, brake light switches, DOT dual sport tires, 1 mirror and horn.
It had to go in for a out of province inspection $135.00 but its plated and all legal and many said it can't be done.

Ride it all the time and love it.
old Husky
Headquarters
250s, 360, 400s
430s, 500s + 510s
a dozen cool bikes :)

User avatar
malcolmzilla
2024 RMDRA Member
2024 RMDRA Member
Posts: 879
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:14 am

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by malcolmzilla »

All my bikes are street reg'd, 2 factory legal, one "conversion".

Given the current legal climate, I'd buy the exc, deal with desmogging, remap, and gearing, and not lose any sleep at night.

orangekoolaid
User
User
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Aug 29, 2013 8:07 pm

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by orangekoolaid »

I'm trying to find out where exactly on the registration does it say OHV or street use?

Brass
2024 RMDRA Member
2024 RMDRA Member
Posts: 1329
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:04 am
Location: Calgary, SE

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by Brass »

Wow this is an old thread.

Your registration will say OHV or Motorcycle in the vehicle type section. If I recall correctly.

I have registered my last few bikes as motorcycles ever since this post was started.
The voices are back. Awesome!

User avatar
madhatter
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 8:43 pm
Location: Medicine Hat Alberta

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by madhatter »

Ive never heard switching a off road only bike to street legal as being easy.
Most registry offices will either want some form of proof of bike being street legal.
Yeah it is done tho....

I've owned street legal dirt bikes for years now.....all KTM EXCs
For the life of me I don't understand why more people who off road don't get the EXCs,there is practically no disadvantage besides a little bit of fiddling with gearing and remapping....and a few more pounds of weight....well besides price :lol:
Racers I can see would want the XC/XCW tho.
Spent a few days down in the Crowsnest with a group of dual sport riders,all on fast ligh modern dual sports.
Ride to breakfast in town,run to gas station and Subway for lunch,ride any road and hop off onto any Singletrack or trail you want.
It probably was the most fun I've had on a dirt bike simply because of all I could and where I could ride....which is everywhere :D
The one disadvantage to being completely legal would be tire selection....as in a real DOT knobbie.
There are a lot of DOT tires out there and some very good ones,tho most of us DS dirt bikers probably bend that rule a bit.

User avatar
axel99
2024 RMDRA Member
2024 RMDRA Member
Posts: 1277
Joined: Fri May 26, 2006 9:06 am
Location: Scouting 2017 Dirtier Moose

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by axel99 »

The people at the Motor Vehicle Registry don't have a clue about motor vehicle regulations. I was denied registration renewal because the insurance card I had only listed my name and the expired registatrtion had my name and my spouse. I was not trying to chage the vehicles title. They just could not figure out that the insurance card and registration serial matched and that is all that matters. Went to another registy and ther was no issue.

My concern would be that if managed to get your OHV registerd for Highway Use and it was ever challanged, it could get nasty. I suspect the onus will be on you to prove you made the modifications to be compliant with the trafic safety act regulations.

Get a dual sport or move to BC :thumbsup:
#Z3B

User avatar
turbo2point3
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 64
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:57 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by turbo2point3 »

What i have seen and heard there is no off highway insurance any more in AB, its just motorcycle insurance.
A few friends got plates with highway status, the clerk at the registries just changed it right there on the computer.
My bike was from BC and was never in the system, so i got the OPI papers.
The fish cops have no clue whats what, they will say you need signal lights but they can't give you a ticket for not having them.
old Husky
Headquarters
250s, 360, 400s
430s, 500s + 510s
a dozen cool bikes :)

User avatar
malcolmzilla
2024 RMDRA Member
2024 RMDRA Member
Posts: 879
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:14 am

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by malcolmzilla »

Registry and insurance grey areas aside...

Smart (or persistent) SRD, RCMP, Municipal police, or Sheriffs, familiar with the Traffic Act, can make your life on a "converted" dirtbike miserable, to the point of confiscation. I know this both directly and anecdotally. :crybaby: Any argument you start with a constable, will, whether you are right or wrong, result in you losing... :lol:

Not to mention insurance companies, despite providing the policy, in the event of a claim, will likely do a thorough investigation, and in the event of a non factory issued "street motorcycle" NVIS, deny you claim and policy based on your fraudulent declarations, despite even having an approved inspection, and then your property and assets are also now at risk. :thumbsdown:

As mentioned, I won't be doing another "conversion", after having owned two. With the EXC models, aside from being able to connect OHV trails on a XC or XCF model, there is no real technical reason to favour converting the XCW models. Any pinger bombing the Maclean road or 940, is gonna score the ire of SRD, regardless of registration.

Caveat emptor.

User avatar
okotok
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 67
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2012 5:00 pm

Re: What is Needed to Convert to road legal?

Post by okotok »

"Any pinger bombing the Maclean road or 940, is gonna score the ire of SRD, regardless of registration."

Of course we all know that "pinger" is a term of endearment. :)

Post Reply