Gas Scooter Laws | Check Before You Buy

Gas Scooter Laws

Gas scooter laws can vary from area to area.  You can't always just get a gas scooter or moped and start driving.  For example Florida requires you to have a drivers license to take your moped on the road, but you need to register at the tax collectors office and you'll get a motorcycle plate for your moped.  A moped cannot go over 30 mph (it must have pedals) and must have an engine under 50cc.  The gas scooter laws are the same, except you do not need to register but you do need a license.  In any case riders under 16 are required to wear a helmet (like with a bicycle), but that's sort of a moot point since you can't get a license if you're under 16.  The motorcycle laws require you to wear a helmet if you're under 21, if you're over 21 you'll need $10,000 of personal injury protection.  This is just an example, you'd need to check with the DMV for your state for correct information.

California Scooter Laws

California scooter laws consider a vehicle a scooter if the rider can stand while riding.  It can have a seat but if it interferes with standing, it's not a scooter.  Unlike Florida California allows scooters to travel on bike paths and bike lanes, but it cannot go over 25 mph.  They do not need to be registered or titled but the driver must be over 16.  Vespas and other traditional type scooters must be registered regardless of how many cc's.  A scooter or moped that goes over 20 mph needs a special license.  Not  only that there are certain emissions standards that are required for California.  Make sure your scooter is allowed, the state will ask for your registration back if you are sold a scooter that doesn't meet the standards.

You can see that different states have very different laws.  What one considers a scooter, the other considers a motorcycle.  Some can operate like bicycles, some need a license.  Some have limits on speed or engine size.  Some need emissions checks some don't.  Just make sure you check the gas scooter laws in your state before you buy.

Buying a Gas Scooter? Check Emissions Standards

Make Sure Your Gasoline Scooter Meets Emissions Standards!

Photo by Glass Window

 Randy Bearup a Sacramento California resident decided to park his SUV and use a gas scooter for 

transportation. He'd owned motorcycles, Harley's, Yamaha's and others. So Randy decided a scooter would be good for short trips to the store, you know stuff like that. So he goes to the Ricardo motors warehouse in Sacramento and gets a Ricardo scooter. It gets 75 miles to the gallon, great for the environment, right? He even asks the guy selling the scooter does it meet California emissions standards, some of the most stringent in the United States. The Ricardo Motors website & catalog say Randy's bike is EPA approved, and a tag on the bike also says so. It also says it's California approved... But it wasn't.

California Wants the Scooter Tag and Registration Back

So Randy gets a letter from the California DMV saying it wants the registration and license plate returned meaning he can't drive it on the road legally. Officials from the DMV say the scooter hasn't been tested and could put out as much pollution as 100 SUVs.

"Realistically, we can see an uncertified motorcycle or scooter, that can emit as much pollution as 100 SUV's or pickup trucks, and that's not an exaggeration."

State regulators say that they're being flooded with scooters using these cheap engines, all of them coming from China. The scooter Randy bought are identical to other brands, they're made at the same factory and branded differently. Some of the other models are approved, but Randy's engine I.D. numbers aren't identical and that means his scooter isn't approved.

So, if you're thinking of buying a gas scooter in California you can call 1-888-END-SMOG, and someone there can tell you if your gas scooter engine meets emissions standards.