Dirt bike regulations in Alberta-looking at getting an MX bike

[sideways]

Hey everyone,

I've been riding offroad trails for a few years now and am looking at getting into motocross so I plan on purchasing a Honda crf250r, which will be my first race bike. Now aside from on the track, I would also like to use this bike to do some trail riding as well.

I guess what I'm getting at is whether or not I'm gonna have an issue using a competition bike away from the track on crown land? I plan on getting the bike registered/insured so I'll have a licence plate but it doesn't have the mandatory headlight/tail light. Is this law strictly enforced in Alberta? Am I going to run into problems riding this bike on crown land?

Thanks for any responses.

 

[Stg2Suby]

Yes the fish & wildlife cops are enforcing this now; you need a functioning head and tail light for visibility. Good thing is you can get away with battery powered bicycle type lights (or at least you could for the last couple years).

 

[sideways]

Thanks for the reply Stg2Suby. Is this law in effect even during broad daylight, or is it just a dawn/dusk type of thing? Seems kinda silly to need to have a light on during daylight hours...

 

[ckmoose]

Legally, You have to have a functioning headlight and taillight attached to your bike at all times. Their reasoning, if you have an issue close to dusk, it will put you on the trail after dark. At least that's what they told us when they were hassling a couple friends of mine two years ago.

 

[sideways]

Well this is kind of disappointing, guess I will need to look into one of those battery powered light kits Stg2Suby recommended. It's tough to find a multi-purpose bike that's legal/practical in all situations. If I went with the Honda Crf250x instead of the r model, it has a headlight/tail light which makes it good for trail use, but then it also has e-start which is not permitted on the race track and also extra unnecessary weight and less ideal suspension settings for racing.

Are there any other stipulations I need to be aware of? There's no type of emission/exhaust checks for offroad vehicles in Alberta is there? I'm not sure if the competition bikes have the same emissions equipment as the regular offroaders.

 

[Stg2Suby]

In practice they are enforcing registration/plate/lights when you get checked in Alberta. Regarding exhaust I think strictly speaking there may be requirment for spark arresting type muffler but I never had any issue with the stock muffler on my CR250 the 3 or 4 times I've been checked. There is certainly no issues relative to emissions checks. If I were you I would go with the 250F and strap on a tiny LED handlebar light and taillight for riding on crown land. I got mine from MEC they have a decent selection of lights for cheap.

 

[sideways]

^Awesome, thanks for the suggestions. Do you have any pics of your light setup on your CR Stg2Suby? Also, did you have any trouble registering/insuring your CR since it's a motocross bike or was getting a plate for it not a problem?

 

[Andrew.L]

I've been racing for a long time and riding the trails too.
I use my race bike and have no headlight or tail light.

Then again where I ride I have never had the 5-0 or anyone stop me or talk to me what so ever.

 

[Stg2Suby]

^Awesome, thanks for the suggestions. Do you have any pics of your light setup on your CR Stg2Suby? Also, did you have any trouble registering/insuring your CR since it's a motocross bike or was getting a plate for it not a problem?

Actually sold the 250 and don't have any pics handy; been riding my ATK enduro last 2 years. For registering just bring your proof of insurance and bill of sale to a Registry branch and get it plated as off-road bike.

 

[Stg2Suby]

I've been racing for a long time and riding the trails too.
I use my race bike and have no headlight or tail light.

Then again where I ride I have never had the 5-0 or anyone stop me or talk to me what so ever.

We've been checked in the more popular areas last few years, Mclean creek, Waiporous, couple times various locations west of Sundre Caroline etc. Day trips less of a chance running into 5-0 but when camping they seem to drop in to visit sometime during the weekend.

 

[sideways]

I've been racing for a long time and riding the trails too.
I use my race bike and have no headlight or tail light.

Then again where I ride I have never had the 5-0 or anyone stop me or talk to me what so ever.

Andrew where do you usually ride that you haven't had any trouble with cops? Also what kind of bike is that rmz450?

 

[gordhunt]

I just tape a flashlight on the bars and a red bike light zip tied to the back fender you can get them at crappy tire for $5

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[LID]

but then it also has e-start which is not permitted on the race track and also extra unnecessary weight and less ideal suspension settings for racing.
.

There shouldn't be any trouble with e-start at the race track. I'm pretty sure all the big 4-stroke KTM's are e-start only now(track bikes).

 

[Andrew.L]

I ride the grave Flats
(ruby falls)
Near the Small band Boyz native camp.

Huge spot for a lot of people down on Pembina River road.

If the cops made a trip down there they would have to have huge gas tank because of the time it takes to stop and go and keep their vehicles running.

Grave Flats (Pembina River Road)
-Ruby falls... all the trails out there

Nordegg
-never ran into a park ranger or police

 

[GYMBRAT]

rules, what are rules???

 

[Stg2Suby]

Just to clarify it's Fish & Wildlife officers doing the enforcement not RCMP

 

[nippy54]

Hey everyone,

I've been riding offroad trails for a few years now and am looking at getting into motocross so I plan on purchasing a Honda crf250r, which will be my first race bike. Now aside from on the track, I would also like to use this bike to do some trail riding as well.

I guess what I'm getting at is whether or not I'm gonna have an issue using a competition bike away from the track on crown land? I plan on getting the bike registered/insured so I'll have a licence plate but it doesn't have the mandatory headlight/tail light. Is this law strictly enforced in Alberta? Am I going to run into problems riding this bike on crown land?

Thanks for any responses.

Pulled out the Ghost (Waiparous) FLUZ map...
"Tail lamp on the vehicle rear, capable of emitting a red light visible from at least 60 metres (185 ft)"
"At least one WHITE headlamp on the front capable of illuminating at least 60 metres (185 ft)"
Hope that helps. Funny thing is, just for the halibut and at night on the edge of a field, I made a distance measurement of my stock XR200 light with the engine idling and at around 150 ft, I couldn't see the trail in front of me. Charging system is fine, it just provides weak lighting. Does that make my bike illegal for the trails? Technically yes, but I've yet to hear about anyone who's had their lights measured for distance. I've been stopped a lot for license & insurance but only got hassled once about the lights and that was during daylight hours when I had no headlight due to a bad wire connection. They let me go with a warning but not before they wrote that down in their little notepad. I asked if I was supposed to run with the headlight on during the day and they said no but they occasionally do checks to make sure the stuff is working when you need it. Maybe at dusk, they might get more hard-nosed about it. Seems like the whole thing is pretty arbitrary...

 

[sideways]

Thanks for that info nippy, that really helps. All these regulations have me second guessing my choice of the crf250r and are making me want to give the crf250x more consideration...the r is such an agile raw bike though it'd be a shame to have to pass one up just cause I want to bomb around on some trails once in a while!

 

[LID]

If you like the 250R better, just spend 30-50 bucks on some mtn bike lights and you're good to go. It will be way snappier on the track with the R instead of the X if that's where you ride the most.

 

[goodngrubby]

I've posted this a couple times already, but I think they're worth a shot...I have no doubts that they're kinda junky, so I bought 6 of them.