Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hi all,

I'm in a bit of a predicament at the moment. I rented a bike 2 weeks ago and had fun riding it. But the company didn't like the scratches they saw on it and decided to charge me nearly $1400. However, as an alternative, they are offering to sell the bike to me cheap. It's a 2002 Suzuki GS500 -- one of the models I was considering buying anyway. The problem is though that I live in Toronto but moving to LA in january.

I was wondering if anyone is familiar with California laws for out-of-state licenses and motorcycles. Specifically, can I register and insure a motorcycle in Ontario, then bring it with me when I move to LA? Or should I register it after I move?

The other thing that concerns me is that a lot of manufacturers list different specs for California models. Is there something different about California motorcycle laws?

I'm assuming the Ontario driver's licence is accepted there since I was able to rent a car the one day that I was in LA.

thanks a lot,

Eugene

California has their own polution laws with stricter regs than the federal EPA regulations. Far as bike specs go, the only difference on the GS500s that I can think of is a half gallon smaller fuel tank on CA models to make room for additional polution equipment located between the engine and gas tank.

This makes CA bikes a bit different from the other 49 states. Most of the bike mfgs are getting around to making 50 state models now since the fed regs are scheduled to be tightened up to CA standards in a year or so.

gsJack wrote:California has their own polution laws with stricter regs than the federal EPA regulations. Far as bike specs go, the only difference on the GS500s that I can think of is a half gallon smaller fuel tank on CA models to make room for additional polution equipment located between the engine and gas tank.

Cool. Thanks for the info. So is it possible to put the equipment CA requires on a regular GS500?

What if I register it out of state and bring it with me?

thanks,

Eugene

I am not familiar with the details of registering an out of state model in CA, but it has been discussed many time on the gstwins forum which is one of the best model specific mc forums around with many CA members.

An opinion from one of hundreds of search replies:

<<< I assume your bike is at least 5 years old or at least has 7500 miles...in which case yes, it is super easy. if it doesnt meet the above requirements there might be a fee involved but no work to the bike is necessary.

check out www.dmv.ca.gov for specifics-theres a special section explaining what you are asking about ("new arrivals" section). >>>

If you hop over to http://www.gstwins.com/forum/ you should get quick help on the issue and anything else you want to know about GS500s.

Thanks a lot Jack! I did check out the CA DMV website and found the 7500 mile rule. So maybe the paperwork will not be too bad. I'll give them a call on Monday just to be sure.

thanks,

Eugene