Riding a Moped with UK License? (Honolulu: insurance, transfer, buying)

[ammaco32]

So i was originally thinking of buying a car, but after a few sums a moped seems like a better option.

Have a few quieres:

Im hoping to buy either a 50cc or 72cc scooter, i belive that if they can do over 35mph they are not classed as a moped but in fact a moto scooter?

My question is, can i ride one on Oahu with a UK Driving license, my license permits me to drive cars and ride mopeds in the UK.

ALso are there insurance requirements for "moto scooters"


Any help appreicated. Thanks

[whynot?]

The state's Department of Transportation does not manage driver licensing; it's done by the individual counties. Oahu's is at: Motor Vehicle Information, Official Web Site for The City and County of Honolulu And this page also has links to motorcycle licensing info: http://www.state.hi.us/dot/highways/hwy-v/mvso.htm (broken link)

Here is another site that might help you: Hawaii Other Types of Motorcycles - HI Scooter & Moped Info - DMV.ORG It has a brief rundown of classifications, rules, laws, and requirements. Please note that this is a privately-owned site, not an "official" state site. Therefore, you'd want to double-check the general info here to be sure you're in compliance on Oahu.

Good luck.

[Galactastica]

i just went through all this, let me give you what info i have about it.

the big island told us there was not a certain amount of time you had to switch over from your state/countries license to a hawaii license. meaning that with your UK license, it should be fine to operate either a car or scooter.

when are read to, you'll go in and pay $2 per tests you need to take. once you pass, they print you a hawaii license right there with both/all endorsements on it.

the kind of license you need depends on the bike you want. hawaii law contridicts what they actually allow on the street. it's a little weird and confusing. basically, hawaii law dictates that if it goes faster than 35mph, it's considered a moped, where you only need a moped license, no insurance neccessary. however, they contradict that by allowing many 49-50cc scooters to be considered as mopeds even though they ussually go 45mph average. this includes the most common here, like honda metros, ruckus' and yamaha vinos. somehow in how the company tests them or the dealers list them as, these scooters which are in fact actual motor scooters because of their motors and speed limits, allows them to be sold and counted by county as mopeds. where the loop hole is, i dont know, but it basically means you only need a moped license and no insurance.

if you want something that can not, by any loop hole, be considered a moped, like any motorcycle, honda elites, vino 125's, etc, you will need to get the motorcylce endorsment transfered to your hawaii license. like i said above, all you need to do is take your license into the office, take their test, pass it and viola, they give you a new one with all the endorsments on it. if you dont have your motorcycle endorsment already i think (though i'm not sure i already had mine) you take a class (i think it's only offered in hilo here, but i donno what island your moving to) and take the test. for anything above a moped (or what they...call a moped...) you need insurance and the works, just like a car or any motorcylcle.

hope that helps, sorry it was so much reading! post again if you have other questions you think i can help with.
-haylan

[whynot?]

Yeah, I started to mention yesterday that there's always a gap between the legal definition and the enforcement. That said, however, problems tend to ensue when one has "a problem," especially one in which liability might become an issue. Therefore, I tend to recommend compliance to the letter of the law, even when it is unevenly enforced.

The current "legal definitions," as far as I can find, are (and pardon the length and verbosity of this):
"Moped" means a device upon which a person may ride which has two or three wheels in contact with the ground, a motor having a maximum power output capability measured at the motor output shaft, in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers standards, of two horsepower (one thousand four hundred ninety-two watts) or less and, if it is a combustion engine, a maximum piston or rotor displacement of 3.05 cubic inches (fifty cubic centimeters) and which will propel the moped, unassisted, on a level surface at a maximum speed no greater than thirty miles per hour; and a direct or automatic power drive system which requires no clutch or gear shift operation by the moped driver after the drive system is engaged with the power unit.
"Motorcycle" means every motor vehicle having a seat or saddle for use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, but excludes a farm tractor and a moped.
"Motor scooter" means every motorcycle with a motor which produces not more than five horsepower, but excludes a moped.
"Motor vehicle" means every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power but which is not operated upon rails, but excludes a moped.


This excerpt was copied directly from this site: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscur..._0286-0002.htm , which is a subpage of the state government's 2007 (apparently) legislative site. What caught my eye, as a former motorcyclist, were the specific power, engine size, and speed constraints, which seemed somewhat confusing and overlapping. Again, my hesitancy in saying "go for it!" is not in what one might do, but in what might happen were one involved in an accident.


The driver test is not hard here. Many people don't even study the book before they take it. I do not recommend this, but it happens. If there is no compelling reason not to take it to be fully "legal," I'd take it for liability reasons.