My 2003 Honda TRX250EX is a registered Arizona motorcycle, I can legally drive it anywhere in the state. It seems to me that all states have to respect each others registration and licensing, which is why we can drive from state to state without getting a license and plate in every state. This means I can legally drive my ATV from Arizona to any other state? Anyone tried this?
Hawaii.
You will have to contact the motor vehicle authorities in which ever other states you plan on going through/to. I really doubt you will get a definitive answer here. Sorry.
If you’re going to do this, you’ve picked a bad time of year to go through the northern states in a vehicle with no enclosed cab or heater.
Just because you can legally ride this thing on the street doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Low pressure floatation tires were not designed for extended high speed driving and the solid rear axle works well on dirt where the inner wheel can skid during a turn but makes steering really tricky on pavement.
Also, these vehicles are geared for off road use and on the highway, the engine will rev to the moon while you are only going 40 mph in top gear.
Even if you legally can, why would you want to?
Although I’ve never gone through the trouble of becoming a certified iron butt, I’ve ridden motorcycles through 13 states, and the conclusion I’ve come to is that, unless I have a lot of time to take a leisurely vacation, and no particular set destination, this kind of long distance adventure really isn’t for me. A lot of people watch the movie Easy Rider and get it in their heads they want to go on a similar adventure, but when they shot Easy Rider, they only rode about 30 MPH, and they only rode long enough to shoot the scenes.
My advice is to take a long trip on your ATV inside the state to get a taste of what a longer trip would feel like. Chances are, you will be glad you are still inside Arizona when you realize this ATV wasn’t made, and isn’t suited, for long trips.
I don’t believe you can ride one in OK legally on public roadways although I see it done far too often. To me riding an ATV on public roads is almost a death wish; not due to ineptness on the part of the rider but because it’s far too easy for a car to overtake on or for a car driver to lapse into that “never saw it” scenario.
This is a sore spot for me because on more than one occasion I’ve almost whacked an ATV when coming over a rise on the roadway and found one doing 30 in a 55 or the most common one, blowing through stop signs and whatnot.
Just a couple of years ago I came extremely close to taking out a guy near here who runs a tractor repair facility. With 4 bags of cattle feed onboard he chose to exit a dirt road onto the highway by blowing through a stop sign at full speed. The intersection was obscured by shrubbery and the only thing that saved his bacon was the fact that I saw a small dust cloud at the last second and had already gone for the brakes.
I think you can drive it anywhere EXCEPT the highway…Where as a motorcycle can ride on the highway.
The reasoning (you’re almost there) you can drive it anywhere is that the vehicle, as registered, has to abide by the laws in the state it’s registered in. Every state will respect the registration laws of every other state (including Hawaii).
So, legally speaking, if your vehicle (whatever it is), is registered in Arizona, and for some crazy reason you want to ride this thing to Maine, you can do so. You just better be sure that the Arizona laws don’t restrict you from certain areas (like highways), and the states you pass through don’t impose further limits (like THEIR highways). Ignorance of the law is not a defense, and if you ride this illegally on a highway, expect to be stopped, fined, maybe impounded, and maybe even jailed. Remember, “street legal” doesn’t mean “highway legal”.
Also, these vehicles are geared for off road use and on the highway, the engine will rev to the moon while you are only going 40 mph in top gear.
Careful with generalizations. My 850 should be in low gear below 35mph. In high gear it goes well over 65. That’s as fast as I’ve been willing to take it. The kids roar by on the street doing 50+ routinely on the way to the sand pit and trails …
Az registered atv’s are allowed anywhere, INCLUDING highways. I have been riding my TRX to work everyday for a year and a half now. Atv’s CAN be safely driven on asphalt, I am living proof of this. I have a little more than 8000 street miles on this bike, and I have spent two hours solid going 50-55 mph in the 100 degree Arizona heat without any tire issues(Kenda tires). My TRX250 obviously isn’t going to cut it for a cross-country,but perhaps a TRX450r? A TRX700XX can easily hit 100mph with some minor sprocket/tire adjustments, plenty enough to cruise 75 mph all day.
As I said above, it may be legal for highways in AZ, but if you hit another state, it may not be. It’s up to you to be sure.
Can you get a windshield for a TRX450r? Have you ever tried riding a long distance at highway speeds with no windshield and no back support?
Like I said, try a long trip inside the state first, and this conversation might become moot.
If it is registered and plated as a motorcycle you should be able to drive it in any state. States I’ve lived in (MI, NY, NJ, PA, OH) all require you carry proof of insurance as well as the current registration. They all inspect motorcycles also. Therefore, your vehicle must have working headlights, taillights, turn signals, rear view mirror, and other standard equipment. You could be ticketed and the vehicle impounded if it doesn’t meet the requirements of the state you are motoring through. Reason is you can remove safety equipment after a vehicle is registered and plated.
“…but when they shot Easy Rider, they only rode about 30 MPH…”
Bad pun, my friend.
I saw a review on line that said a 2006 has a top speed of just under 60 MPH. I wouldn’t drive this vehicle on any interstate highway and I’d have real reservations about driving it on any limited access highway.
Chaissos: “Every state will respect the registration laws of every other state (including Hawaii).”
But the question was can you legally drive there? I’d pay to see that.
A lot of places allow “neighborhood vehicles”, golf carts, etc to be used for local use and that might include ATVs but I’m not certain about that. They may not be technically legal but tolerated, until kids start racing them around the neighborhood.
There was even an airport community somewhere that specifically allowed pilots to taxi their airplanes to and from the airstrip and their homes.
From what I understand, “rails to trails” and other organizations are trying to convert or co exist with rail road tracks to extend vehicles like bikes and ATVs. If that’s available near you as it is along parts of the East Coast, it might be worth a safer look. I’m not real familiar with the program itself, but spending a majority of your travel time on groomed trails instead of the highway might be safer for all. I bike and ski along those available near us and coexisting with the ATVs is easy.
BLE: Those places are typically privately owned, like retirement communities (“golf carts” is kind of a clue) and there is still an airport community like the one you describe, “somewhere” in Florida. It’s privately owned, and John Travolta lives there.
You can do almost anything you want with vehicles on private land. No driver’s licenses needed.