Freeway Legal?

One of the questions we heard most often when we first fielded the CSC-150 was:  Can you take it on the street?   It seemed like a pretty silly question to me, but I guess it was to be expected based on the current US predilection with big bikes.

You’ve read my scribblings on this before…here in the US, we’ve been making bikes bigger and bigger and bigger for decades, so I suppose it was logical when we introduced a 150cc Mustang replica for folks to wonder if it was street legal.  It was actually that sentiment that prompted us to organize the first Baja run on these bikes.   My thought was that anybody who wondered if the bikes were street legal would kind of realize how silly the question was when they saw us ride to Cabo San Lucas and back.

The Cabo run pretty much put that question to bed, but then the next question was:   Can you take them on the freeway?

That question was actually not easy to answer.    The answers and opinions on freeway legality were like belly buttons…everyone had one, and no two were exactly the same.  It was almost funny.  People who had no idea what they were talking about did so with great conviction.   Some folks thought the bike had to have a minimum top speed.   Some thought it depended on weight.   Some thought it depended on engine size.   Everyone thought they were right.

I thought the freeway question shouldn’t be that hard to answer, so I called our local police department.   They didn’t know.   I next called a local California Highway Patrol office, and guess what:  They didn’t know either.  Finally, I called the California Highway Patrol headquarters group in Sacramento.   I had spoken with that group when I wrote The Complete Book Of Police And Military Motorcycles a few years ago and they seemed knowledgeable.   To my great surprise, the fellow I spoke to there (who was in charge of motor officer training) also didn’t know what made a motorcycle freeway legal.   But he promised to find out and call me the next day, and he did.

Here’s what I learned:  In California, if a two-wheeled vehicle has a 150cc engine (or larger), it is legal on the freeway.   There is no minimum speed requirement.     That’s it.   Straight from the CHP’s mouth.   I would guess that most police officers don’t know this, based on my experience asking the question around different police agencies, so I think as long as you’re not doing anything stupid the chances of being stopped for riding on the freeway (at least here in California) are pretty low.

The reality is I take my CSC-150 on the freeway all the time, and I’ve never been stopped.   I almost always stick to the right line, where traffic generally seems to roll at about 55 mph (a speed my CSC-150 has no problem matching).   It’s interesting…here in La La Land we have what I would describe as aggressive drivers, and it’s not uncommon for traffic in the fast lane to be rolling along at speeds well over 80 mph.   In the right lane, though, 50 to 55 mph is pretty much the norm.

Please note that I’m describing our California situation.   Your state most likely has different laws, and you’d have to check to evaluate your home state situation as it pertains to freeway riding.

As always, ride safe, my friends!