Some laws make no sense

[Sailariel]

The other night at our MC Club meeting, the discussion turned to Trikes. In Maine, you need a motorcycle endorsement to ride a trike. If you ride a Can-Am Spyder, you don''t. The difference is that the Spyder has two wheels forward.The Spyder displays a motorcycle license plate. I wonder if the Spyder would carry automobile insurance or motorcycle insurance. Spyders seem to be selling quite well around here. It reminds me of the loophole some people enjoyed years ago in the UK with the Morgan 3 wheeler. Looks like everything comes around.

[backinthesaddleagain]

I don't know what the rules are in RI for a Spyder but I would have guessed if a "traditional" trike needed a MC license then a Spyder would as well.

[revstriker]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

The other night at our MC Club meeting, the discussion turned to Trikes. In Maine, you need a motorcycle endorsement to ride a trike. If you ride a Can-Am Spyder, you don''t. The difference is that the Spyder has two wheels forward.The Spyder displays a motorcycle license plate. I wonder if the Spyder would carry automobile insurance or motorcycle insurance. Spyders seem to be selling quite well around here. It reminds me of the loophole some people enjoyed years ago in the UK with the Morgan 3 wheeler. Looks like everything comes around.

That's interesting. I wonder if you can legally ride the Spyder without a helmet then (does Maine have a helmet law?)?

[Sailariel]

Originally Posted by revstriker

That's interesting. I wonder if you can legally ride the Spyder without a helmet then (does Maine have a helmet law?)?

In Maine helmets are optional. The majority of the cruisers are helmetless. Most, but not all, sportbike riders , touring BMW, 'Wings, and dual sports, wear helmets. The same applies to our neighbor state, New Hampsire.

[revstriker]

Originally Posted by Sailariel

In Maine helmets are optional. The majority of the cruisers are helmetless. Most, but not all, sportbike riders , touring BMW, 'Wings, and dual sports, wear helmets. The same applies to our neighbor state, New Hampsire.

Thanks. Being from MA, I remember that it was optional in NH, but I couldn't remember if it was in ME. Mandatory in MA of course.

It is optional here in TX, and I would say the same type of riders don't wear helmets here.

I still wonder about the Spyder though. I would think that the classification would be federal. Otherwise, how could you cross state lines with it? And that of course makes me wonder about how helmet laws would be applied.

[revstriker]

Got curious, so I did a little searching and found this article:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/97/132...irst-Ride.aspx

Driver's License: There is one state where you will actually need to get a Three-Wheel permit to ride the Spyder - that is Washington (go figure). There are two states where just a standard car driver's license will suffice - they are Delaware and California (go figure again). You will need a motorcycle license for the other 47 states.

Maybe they missed Maine. But California has a helmet law, so I wonder how that is applied? I also wonder what happens if you cross state lines with it.

After a bit more research, it appears that you only need a class C license in CA to ride a motorcycle if it has a sidecar equipped, or if it has three wheels. Interesting.