snowmobikes illegal in MN -see attached

[tomk]

Im in MN and know of a bunch of guys in WI that ride trails. What would happen if we registered with a WI snowmobile and then paid the out of state trail pass to ride MN?

I have a road legal plate and OHM sticker for my bike. What sucks is that a trail runs right through my property and I like to get the family loaded up on the old Indy (I ride the snowbike) and ride four miles to a local restaurant for lunch, the kids think this is the coolest thing in the world. Now I cannt ride the snowbike there and it is to much to fit myself, my wife and two kids on the Indy to get lunch. I already got in trouble last year for letting my son ride his 120 on the trail to this restaurant.

I just spoke to the head MN guy. He is the officer in charge of all Off road laws and regulations, he said that once you modify your motorcycle to have a ski and a track it is now classified as an "Off Road Vehicle" (ie. Jeep wrangler or CJ) not even an OHM because it does not have wheels. he said the only place we can use our ORVs is on public waters or public ORV trails (which we barely have) and we have to abide by all ORV laws including registering properly and having all of the required safety items associated with an ORV.

When I asked him "can I use my engine and build a ground up machine and register it as a "home made snowmobile" he reminded me that the law says a snowmobile is defined as a machine steered by skis or runners originally manufactured for over the snow/ice transport." I said ok, then we moved on.

 

[kinneyt]

We have "runners". just one ski


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[epicloop]

I wonder how long it is going to be before we see something "approved/legal" from the snowmobile manufacturers or from bike manufacturers, snowbikes must be or will start making a dent in sled sales.

 

[41racing]

I wonder how long it is going to be before we see something "approved/legal" from the snowmobile manufacturers or from bike manufacturers, snowbikes must be or will start making a dent in sled sales.

I just don't see it happening. There is what, maybe two thousand kits sold a year? So that's maybe 2% of snowmobile sales? Too small of a market share for any large scale manufacture to get into it.

To my fellow mn snowbikers out there. We need to get together and get the laws changed. I don't know if we need to sign a petition and present it to a state representative or just exactly what needs to be done, but we have to do it now and get it in the upcoming legsulative session.

 

[sorsy1]

Cooke City

Hey there guys this topic is making me sick to my stomach! We have a trip planned to head to Cooke City in Feb. We are from Canada is this law going to screw up our trip? There will be 2 or 3 of us on Timbersleds. I don't want to have to rent a sled once I get down there just to be able to ride. I talked to Nick at the Exxon in Cooke the other day and he had heard nothing about this law. Could anyone be able to fill me in? Thank you.

 

[tundramonkey]

Hey there guys this topic is making me sick to my stomach! We have a trip planned to head to Cooke City in Feb. We are from Canada is this law going to screw up our trip? There will be 2 or 3 of us on Timbersleds. I don't want to have to rent a sled once I get down there just to be able to ride. I talked to Nick at the Exxon in Cooke the other day and he had heard nothing about this law. Could anyone be able to fill me in? Thank you.

This is for Minnesota not Montana

 

[rotax3006]

Hey there guys this topic is making me sick to my stomach! We have a trip planned to head to Cooke City in Feb. We are from Canada is this law going to screw up our trip? There will be 2 or 3 of us on Timbersleds. I don't want to have to rent a sled once I get down there just to be able to ride. I talked to Nick at the Exxon in Cooke the other day and he had heard nothing about this law. Could anyone be able to fill me in? Thank you.[/QUOTE]

There is no law in montana regarding snowbikes that i know of. MN is minnesota not montana. Have fun and be carefull the snowpack at cooke city is pretty unstable right now.

 

[grinney]

I wouldn't worry about cooke all the locals have bikes and ride them and I also rode past the ranger on my friends last year I point at the sticker all he did was give me thumbs up

 

[mrsnaglepuss]

This is something we should all be concerned about, because it effects all of us, on both sides of the US and Canadian border in all States and Provinces. If your local officials do not recognize a motorbike that has been modified with a track kit and a ski to modulate over snow covered terrain and be deemed a snow vehicle and is registered and/or licenced as such like snowmobiles in a State/Provincial Area designated for such use, we all have a big problem.

We must all band together and lobby sate and local officials/politicians and the like to educate them because they are ignorant of the facts. Snow vehicles of the size and wieght of snow bikes most certainly do not exude the footprint of even a traditional two ski snowmobile. Snowmobiles most certainly traversing over snow covered terrain do not cause any long term effects, on flora after the snow has melted, as I will challenge anyone to tell me where they have been? Try that with a quad, 4x4, ATV, or dirt bike for that matter in the other three seasons? As long as we do not chase or harass any animals, litter, participate in any destructive behaviour of habitat or property and stay within the designated boundaries and respect other stakeholders we are acting responsibly. If we go rogue we all loose.