2018 Lifan KP Mini California CARB legal
 

I called my 'local' Chinese pit bike dealer, Kronik Racing in Simi Valley, and the gentleman on the phone, Pete (maybe the owner) mentioned that he has started to carry the Lifan KP Mini 150. I asked him if those were for mail-order because they are not CARB legal, and he told me that they are for in-store sales and are now CARB legal! I went to American Lifan's site, and they show the 2018 lineup offered with different colors:

http://americanlifan.com/motorcycles/kp-mini/

That's great to hear!

I learned that one has to watch it here. My CB guy said that everything he sells is CARB legal.....but may not be street legal. My Xmoto was a fully lit enduro bike but was only able to be green stickered for dirt.....which still made it CARB legal.

Good point! The only thing I can think that would ease one's mind is that your bike was a gray area bike in California a few years back, meaning it was like the Hawk/Magician siblings are today nationwide. Back then, many companies imported fully-lighted enduros, and got them EPA certified, like the Hawk/Magician, and in many states, including California in the mid-2000s, one could get them plated (usually depended on which DMV one went to). Back then, the green sticker for off-road use in Cal. was easier to obtain, which is my guess where your bike fell into. By the time you got your bike, California had figured out the loophole for the numerous fully-lighted bikes, and put an end to that! On a side note, a friend bought a two-stroke CR250 back in the early/mid 90s (1994?). There were actually hundreds of dollars in green-sticker fees to get the title in his name, so the clerk at the DMV ran it through as a street-legal conversion, and gave him a plate, registration, and a title, sight unseen, at the Oxnard, California DMV. Those were the days...

The KP Mini is different in that it is EPA/DOT legal for 'on-highway' use; different list than the 'off-road' EPA list.

This is great to hear! Drive the aftermarket parts industry!

hey I recently purchased a lifan kp mini and I live in california. Should I be worried about registration, insurance?? Bought it online still waiting for my MCO

If the bike is not CARB certified, you might not be able to register it.

would i be able to register it in say arizona?

Yes, but I am not sure how much of sticklers California law enforcement is. I understand CHP are sticklers, but not sure about other departments. What I mean by stickler is you will raise 'red flags' by having a California license and Arizona license plate and registration. You will have to convince the officer (and possibly a judge if you received some sort of 'fix-it-ticket') that you have a residence out of state. I do know my sister's boss has or had a home in Las Vegas, and his vehicle is registered in Nevada, yet lives in the L.A. area.

That being said, you might have bought one of the CARB legal versions. There were a certain number of them available for sale. Link what dealer you got it from. You might even be able to get a refund, although I am sure it would be difficult to impossible. But, I would have no problem letting you use my address. I am guessing you would have to travel to Yuma to register it. Then again, you could use the Montana or Vermont route. I am not sure which one, or possibly both, allow it to be done by mail.

The one loophole for getting non-CARB bikes registered is if one lived out of California, and then moved to California and got a license and registered vehicles there. If you were to register your bike at my address, I don't think they would buy the argument of moving. I guess you could continue to ride it with an Arizona plate if your bike is a non-CARB compliant version.

wow you're awesome man thanks for even replying to me! i was a fool and didn't do any research, but no where in the website I bought it from mentioned not only the year of the bike but if it was CARB compliant let alone legal to ship to california. I dm'ed Lifan on facebook and they had messaged me saying that shipping the KP Mini's are Illegal in california. I actually did receive the bike, but their return policy is pretty bad. Here's the link to the 'dealer' : https://www.killermotorsports.com/li...assembled.html

I'm down to try the Arizona idea it sounds interesting. I'm even willing to drive to an arizona DMV it can't get any worse at this point.

Edit: Also I check the manufacture date of the bike its 06/17 so im already screwed? I didn't see anything that said it was carb legal. but there was an EPA sticker or something like that

Contact American Lifan on Monday and see if they can confirm or deny your bike as being CARB compliant, as the dealer won't help you. Perhaps they can push for something from Killer? Where in California are you? If you are a no-go for registration, try the states that do if from mail to save you a trip out this way.

Sure I'll contact them on monday see what happens. I live in the bay area around SF.

Any update?

My buddy registered his KPMINI150 in California second hand. The original owner bought the bike from Venom and the MCO + Bill of Sale was under the seat

Sorry for the late reply here, been dealing with new job and stuff. I just received my MCO Today, it says that my KPMini is a 2018 Model. Wondering if im in the clear haha

Keep us posted :tup: I am curious if they did send you a CARB certified model knowing that you could theoretically (maybe, possibly, could be, lol) go after them along the lines of fraud. There are two sides to the story, and theirs would be YOU should have checked out the laws before ordering. Yours would be they told you it was California compliant.