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Does anybody know what Montana's laws are about side mounted plates?
Going on a trip and I don't want the hubby getting pulled over needlessly.

CYNWAGON wrote:Does anybody know what Montana's laws are about side mounted plates?
Going on a trip and I don't want the hubby getting pulled over needlessly.

ive never seen a state that allows you to have a plate anywhere but facing the rear end. It MUST be viewable by a cop from behind. Plus a cop can pull you over for any reason they want and having a plate on the side is just one more reason to pull him over.

Hm, I interpreted the question to mean plates mounted on one side of the bike (and sometimes turned 90 degrees), but still facing the rear, which I have only seen a few times http://www.cyclespot.com/forums/photopo ... small1.jpg. I can't find anything about it in Montana MC law or google searches, but I'm with Ofblong: it needs to be in clear view from the rear for sure. I don't know if you would get problems with it being mounted on either side of the wheel.

My guess it would be like front plates on a car, in BC they are required, in Alberta they're not. BC won't ticket an Alberta car for not having the front plate as it's legal in they're home jurisdiction.


But that's just a guess...

I'm pretty sure that's how it is in the states as well. I'm spending a few months in Texas, which also has a two plate law, but my 3000gt from Alabama only had the rear and it was never a problem.

dr_bar wrote:My guess it would be like front plates on a car, in BC they are required, in Alberta they're not. BC won't ticket an Alberta car for not having the front plate as it's legal in they're home jurisdiction.


But that's just a guess...

That would be my guess as well.

But the reason they don't ticket Alberta vehicles for no front plate (BC or any State I've been in) is because Alberta doesn't issue front plates and they can't ticket a legal set-up from another jurisdiction..... if that State/province recognizes the original location. All States and Provinces recognize all other States/province's licensing and registration policies. The cops in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana sure give you the hairy eyeball, though...

So if the bike plate set-up is legal in Alberta, it will be in Montana. I don't know if the plate set-up is legal here or if the cops here just don't enforce it. I have never looked into it. A Montana cop having a bad day could still write you a ticket for any reason he wants. You will have to go to court there and fight it, and should win with no problem. But it creates a huge hassle for you.

My guess is the cops in Montana see enough of us Canadian Texans down there that they won't bother you, but they could if they wanted to.

The only state I know of that has been goofy about side-mounted plates is Florida, mostly because of a poorly written law. They were ticketing bikes (out-of-staters, too) to the tune of $1K

Thanks for all the input
The plate is on the left side of the bike sideways, lit and visible from behind. It's legal in Alberta, he checked before he did the mod.... The only thing that you can't do is modify the plate (cut it down to size).
Maybe he should ride in the middle of the group so he's "invisible"

BuzZz wrote:

dr_bar wrote:My guess it would be like front plates on a car, in BC they are required, in Alberta they're not. BC won't ticket an Alberta car for not having the front plate as it's legal in they're home jurisdiction.


But that's just a guess...

That would be my guess as well.

But the reason they don't ticket Alberta vehicles for no front plate (BC or any State I've been in) is because Alberta doesn't issue front plates and they can't ticket a legal set-up from another jurisdiction..... if that State/province recognizes the original location. All States and Provinces recognize all other States/province's licensing and registration policies. The cops in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana sure give you the hairy eyeball, though...

So if the bike plate set-up is legal in Alberta, it will be in Montana. I don't know if the plate set-up is legal here or if the cops here just don't enforce it. I have never looked into it. A Montana cop having a bad day could still write you a ticket for any reason he wants. You will have to go to court there and fight it, and should win with no problem. But it creates a huge hassle for you.

My guess is the cops in Montana see enough of us Canadian Texans down there that they won't bother you, but they could if they wanted to.

I dont know every aspect of the laws BUT this isnt necessarily the case. I mean if you ride in michigan (even though your from indiana) you WILL get ticketed for not wearing a helmet while riding your motorcycle. Same thing with something like suspension heights. I know the height limit for trucks etc etc in indiana are higher than in michigan but if a cop pulls you over and your not within michigans limitations they will ticket you for it. I know of a couple friends who found the height restriction issue. they both had the maximum limit for indiana which is higher than michigan. Both got pulled over in michigan and got tickets for them.

oh and yes when you say mounted on the side to me thats mounted on the side like on the fender. trust me ive seen some "people" do that before cause their vehicle was so rusted that they had no choice but to bolt it to he side of their vehicle.

I think Arizona has something about that too... I could be mistaken, but I remember one of the guys complaining about how he got pulled over because his plate was on the side of the bike so the cop said it was "illegally mounted" or something like that.