Enduro Motorcycle - Motor Vehicle Registration Requirements

Motor Vehicle Registration Requirements

Since enduro courses may include spells on public roads,enduro bikes may need to be registered for road use. In the United States, for example, vehicle registration is a common requirement of regional Enduro sanctioning bodies. Since many of today's Enduro bikes are directly derived from their MX counterparts, they don't come with a "street-legal" title. That means that their title explicitly states that they are for non-highway use only. Many states will not permit the registration of vehicles with such titles for on-highway use. Some states have off-road only registrations, but these are not valid for participating in Enduros where the sanctioning body requires a registration, because the purpose of requiring the registration is to validate the use of public lands that are used in the event, as well as to validate the use of public roads that are "liaisons" between different off-road sections of the course. Purpose-built Enduro bikes, such as the Husqvarna TE250, some Husabergs, and a select few others come with standard street-bike titles. The bikes that don't come with street-legal titles come instead with an "MSO," a Manufacturer's Statement of Origin, which is nothing more than a document that proves legal title to the bike, but that usually cannot be used for motor vehicle agency registration, depending on the state. Some more liberal states include Pennsylvania and Vermont, whereas New York and New Jersey apply much more scrutiny. California has some unique regulations that require certain California-only emissions modifications. The quest to register Enduro bikes has become a cat-and-mouse game between Enduro riders and their state motor vehicle agencies, and manufacturers that offer competitive bikes that come with street-legal titles are at a huge marketing advantage.