Street Legal Motorcycles, Scooters, and Four Wheelers in Pennsylvania

You may be wondering if your particular motorcycle, scooter, or four-wheeler is street legal in Pennsylvania and if you need to register it. This guide will help you to determine the laws for all types of bikes and motorized vehicles by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT).

What Makes a Motorcycle Street Legal in PA?

To ride your motorcycle on the roadways in PA, it must be registered, you must have insurance and it must have passed an inspection for both safety and emissions. You must also have a motorcycle endorsement on your driver’s license or a motorcycle license. You may be restricted to a certain size of the motor on a motor-driven vehicle depending on what size bike you took your skills and driving test on.

Are Dirt Bikes Street Legal?

Dirt bikes are not typically street legal to ride on the roadways of the state of Pennsylvania. Some dirt bikes can be classified as motorcycles and be inspected, insured, and registered so they can operate on public roads. Most dirt bikes are not insured, registered, or inspected and the operators are not usually licensed either.

Are Scooters Legal?

Scooters are defined by the state as a motor-driven cycle and they have a maximum of 5 brake horsepower in the engines. Scooters must pass inspection with the proper equipment, such as turn signals and lights. You do need a class M or motorcycle driver’s license to operate your scooter on public roads. If you have the 8 restrictions on the motorcycle license, then you can’t drive a bike with an engine larger than 50 CCs.

Are Gas Bikes Legal in PA?

Gas or motorized bikes can be classified as an electric pedal cycle, a moped, or a motor-driven cycle. This is based on the engine size, brake horsepower, and design speed. So, if you have your gas bike classified as either of these three types of vehicles, you can insure it, register it and pass inspection in Pennsylvania to ride it on the public roadways.

Are 2 Strokes Street Legal?

In PA, 2 strokes are considered dirt bikes and they are illegal to ride on public roads. The 2 stroke can’t be registered as a road motorcycle because the VIN traces it back to a bike that is specifically labeled “not for highway use.”

How Do You Make a Four Wheeler Street Legal?

In Pennsylvania, a four-wheeler is not permitted to operate on public roadways, highways, and streets. They must only be used on private property and the owner of the property has to give their permission to do so. In the case that an ATV needs to cross a roadway, it is permitted on two-lane roads and it must cross at a 90-degree angle to the traffic. The driver must stop the vehicle completely and look for oncoming traffic before crossing the road because the traffic on the road has the right of way.