Unconventional Vehicle Registration (Hawk 250)
 

Started the process of getting plates for my Hawk 250 this week, spent some time at the DMV but have a little more homework to do before they'll allow me to register it.

Got VIN verification done for free by a nearby car dealership, no issues there.

Brought the Certificate of Origin, proof of insurance, and bill of sale into the DMV.

From what I understood, they could not find the RPS Hawk 250 in their system, and thus needed me to do some additional homework and register as an unconventional vehicle.
It sounds like as a result of this process, the bike may be entered into the system.

They tried searching for several variations of the make using RPS, Ricky Powersports, and Chongqing Haosen Motorcycles, etc. but had no luck with any of them.

Anyways, the additional work is a bit of a pain but really not too bad, to register as an unconventional vehicle you need the following in CO:
Copy of front and back of MSO / Certificate of Origin
Copy of Federal Certification Label (NADER, this should be on the bike itself)
Vehicle / Motorcycle description (specs) sheet (This is listed in the owner's manual)
Buyer's invoice
Photos of vehicle (I was told get photos of both sides, front and back)
Copy of EPA certification sticker on the bike
County contact name and phone # (I'm told this will be provided by the employee at the DMV)

I'll have this all together in a day or so, and hopefully it all goes smooth after that!

What state are you in?


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Oops, thought I put it in the post, I'm in Colorado.

The state may ask you to use different tires.

I think you might be right.

I got a call from the DMV, the unconventional vehicle registration was denied by the central office in Denver. The lady on the phone didn't know the details, they will be mailing me a document with the reasons for denial so I can try to fix everything and try again. I'm thinking tires may be one of the reasons.

Also, the MCO says the Make / model are RPS Hawk 250, but other documents say It's Haosen HS250GY. Any insight on that part as far as registration is concerned, Adam?

Got the letter back from the DMV:

http://i.imgur.com/JG06v0a.png

The EPA sticker shouldn't be a problem, the last photo I took was a little dark and probably didn't fax well. But the NADER label and NHTSA registration I have no idea about.

When I search the NHTSA manufacturer database (http://www.nhtsa.gov/apps/manufacturer/lookup.htm) I get no hits for RPS, Ricky Power Sports, etc.

Also no hits for Chonqging Haosen, but tons of hits for variations of Chonqging (Bashan, hensim, zongshen, etc.)

As for the NADER sticker, I don't see any other stickers/labels on the bike anywhere. What is the NADER sticker, is it hidden somewhere that's tricky to find?

Any advice?

It has to be the standard plate/sticker on the bike that has all the info on it. There is usually only one. Engine and tire specs, manufacturer specs etc. etc. It is on every motor vehicle that might be legally ridden on the streets.

I"m a bit worried about buying a Hawk without knowing if anyone has got one licensed in Hawaii. May be a reasn to choose a Bashon ot Will?

Just call your department of motor vehicles and inquire.


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Plus there is always the Connecticut method or whichever northeastern state it is people have been getting their China bikes registered through.


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The bureaucracy is kind of a mess, this is why Hensim left the US eight years ago to focus on Africa/South America. In Texas, people are successfully registering it under RPS. The problem is every state is different. When I have spare time I've been calling up state offices and asking questions, but they are notoriously uncooperative. I'll talk to two people and get two totally different answers. Illinois gave me a great response, "We are unable to respond due to the lack of a state budget." :doh:

I have also been told that it is really the dealer's responsibility to register the bike. Customers aren't supposed to do this, and dealers should know what to do. That's part of the problem with internet sales, which is why we are working on locating local dealers who we can work with.

As Adjuster stated, you need to contact your local DMV before you purchase any Chinese motorcycle. They will make the decision regarding a license for your motorcycle, so they are they are the final authorities. ;)

Thanks for all the info, I'm not seeing the sticker anywhere, so I might start a thread in the dual-sport forum to see if anyone has located this on their Hawk 250. I'll keep working on the CO registration, otherwise I'll maybe look at registering in a different state where others have already successfully registered this bike.

I would go the Vermont route. We have had success stories here.

X2 on using the Vermont route. ;) Here is a link to a thread describing that process. :)

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=12368