Street legal bumper cars

[Boza]

Dunno if anyone has seen this but in the states guys are mounting vintage bumper car's to what look like go-kart or four wheeler chassis and wait for it there street legal look at the plates.

Why oh why do we have so many rules to protect ourselves from ourselves in Australia I'd build one in a heart beat.

[Yellow_Festiva]

They look cool.

Yes, it's amazing what some countries allow to be driven on the road legally.

On our honeymoon in Tahiti our hire car was a 450cc dune buggy cart looking thing.

[Boza]

Yeah I have family scattered all over the states and a lot of my cousins are what they call "gear heads" some of the stuff they show me on Skype is mind blowing I have some family in California and my 16yo cousin has a v8 powered sand rail thing it's basically a dune buggy you drive to the dune's but is fully street legal. hes say's that now a lot of states let you register polaris atv's for the road cause people are complaining about high petrol prices and cost of living.

I have some family in Texas also which is the pick-up truck capital of the world my uncle has a 2008 f250 with air suspension that goes from a 5-15 inches of lift when I first saw it it blew my mind and he run's 40 inch tall tyres on it says no drama's with cops but you get dicked over heavily tinted windows also told me they don't defect cars in most sates you just get a fine for faulty equipment. in California I believe you only need lights a horn and wipers and your pretty much road legal and can be registered.

Wish our stupid government listened to they're tax payers a bit more and help ease our cost of living I'm on a pension and unfortunatley I have to beg, borrow and steal parts because the urge for me to play with cars is to great.

[cs123]

Originally Posted by Boza

Yeah I have family scattered all over the states and a lot of my cousins are what they call "gear heads" some of the stuff they show me on Skype is mind blowing I have some family in California and my 16yo cousin has a v8 powered sand rail thing it's basically a dune buggy you drive to the dune's but is fully street legal. hes say's that now a lot of states let you register polaris atv's for the road cause people are complaining about high petrol prices and cost of living.

That's interesting. I was watching an episode of Chasing Classic Cars and they were trying to auction a 70s model Ferrari in California and couldn't because it failed the emissions test. Wonder how they get away with the stuff you mention.

Also notice a lot of performance parts come with labels about whether they can be used in California.

[lucas2]

Originally Posted by Boza

unfortunatley I have to beg, borrow and steal parts because the urge for me to play with cars is to great.

Let's hope that was an exaggeration. I agree the rules are strict, especially for people doing genuine safety upgrades e.g. larger/ better brakes, or, wider tyres with better traction, that may be deemed un-roadworthy. Even tuning a car and optimising air fuel ratios and efficiency is a grey area.

[Boza]

Originally Posted by lucas2

Let's hope that was an exaggeration. I agree the rules are strict, especially for people doing genuine safety upgrades e.g. larger/ better brakes, or, wider tyres with better traction, that may be deemed un-roadworthy. Even tuning a car and optimising air fuel ratios and efficiency is a grey area.

that's just how I express my self mate it was a joke I hate thieves because me and the rest of the world work for what they want and some a hole comes along and thinks it's rightfully his and takes it from a person that worked for 10 years sometimes doing 2 jobs to buy what they want.
I have had cars broken into in the past where they stole my gauge's stereo's even a crappy work jacket I have even had 2 cars stolen one was a bmw which I bought with an ca18det in it I was working on it slowly to get engineered then some bloody Icehead stole it and it was recovered by the cops in 1 piece but they thrashed the crap out of it and this all happened when my medical problem's started imagine how I felt a young guy in his mid 20's working 2 jobs to have money for a living and his hobbies and then wham some icehead takes your stuff not even to sell but cause he wanted it for himself imagine how I felt when the detective handling my case told me that the idiot even installed a stereo in the car thinking he was going to get away with it now that's ice for you. Wish we can have laws like some places where they cut off your fingers or hand.s for theft I'd love to chop of the hands of someone like that then he won't be able to wipe his own butt.

[Grippy]

You wouldn't want to take a corner too quickly in one of those things, they look like they'd tip over.

[Boza]

Yeah california is a weird place you register something but then you have to get an emissions test if the car is registered but fails emission's technically it's unrodworthy but I think can b registered for insurance purposes.

A relo had this issue when he did an engine swap in a mustang the way he explained it to me is you take the car to the DMV they do an inspection no engineers required like we have here if all ok it's registered but to be legal it needs another sticker or something from EPA or something like that so then you need to go there and do a smog test.

Basically they care more about the emissions than anything else in california that's how he explained it to me.

So basically if you have a registered car but no emissions sticker or paperwork the highway patrol can then take it off the road.

They actually encourage people to put late model engines into older cars for the emissions aspect aparently in california there are places that just do LS and coyote and late model hemi swaps and they are booked out for 2 months in advance.

[tut0r]

California has one of the strictest emissions laws, I can't remember what it was but something made the R34 illegal in cali....Oh wait thats right, they were being stolen chopped up and engine numbers etc changed into different cars so there was a blanket ban and a few hundred were repoed because of it!

Remember one guy saying its one of the rarest cars you could see in california an r34.....I could spit out my front door and hit one! Maybe if we were a bit more relaxed like NZ laws I mean I can't even import a honda crx sir for another 4 years because it was 'sold' here....but not the sir....GO figure..

[2011G6E]

Those things are awesome!!!

And yes...that's why the larger ones of those four wheel buggies you see on sale here have indicators and lights and seat belts...in a lot of places oversease you can legally register them for the street. We saw some on the streets in Vegas when cruising around the suburbs just having a look around. Overseas they treat drivers like adults...

Outside the Shelby factory/museum outside Vegas...road legal. And this was a pretty "mild" one compared to a lot of the ones we saw over there...



Tyres outside guards? No problem...this was an extremely common mod for Jeeps...



Those bumper cars would present no problem to most places over there...

[Boza]

I don't understand it you can put a mini moke on the road yet a four seat polaris with seat belt's a cage and probably more occupant safety than a moke are illegal here if I could register one here and had the money i'd do it in a heartbeat and even if I got killed in one it would be more fun than dying in a bed from sickness or old age. All I'm saying is our authorities just don't want us to have fun if we had more stuff to play with then maybe less people would sit around on there butt's drinking. Even in conservative UK they're now letting people register four wheelers and polaris's and other atv's on the road to help people commute that can't really afford a car and don't necessarily want to ride a scooter or motorbike. I had one of those petrol powered bike's that I scrimped and saved to build so I can go the local shops and do basic things cause I have arthritis in my legs and most of my joint's the bloody thing was slow as but at least it got me around on one tank lasted me easily a few months then some ***** decided to outlaw them so now i have to save for an electric kit and convert to an e-bike I'm upset cause they promote affordable transport then they outlaw it I don't get it

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by Boza

I don't understand it you can put a mini moke on the road yet a four seat polaris with seat belt's a cage and probably more occupant safety than a moke are illegal here if I could register one here and had the money i'd do it in a heartbeat and even if I got killed in one it would be more fun than dying in a bed from sickness or old age. All I'm saying is our authorities just don't want us to have fun if we had more stuff to play with then maybe less people would sit around on there butt's drinking. Even in conservative UK they're now letting people register four wheelers and polaris's and other atv's on the road to help people commute that can't really afford a car and don't necessarily want to ride a scooter or motorbike. I had one of those petrol powered bike's that I scrimped and saved to build so I can go the local shops and do basic things cause I have arthritis in my legs and most of my joint's the bloody thing was slow as but at least it got me around on one tank lasted me easily a few months then some ***** decided to outlaw them so now i have to save for an electric kit and convert to an e-bike I'm upset cause they promote affordable transport then they outlaw it I don't get it

Someone once told me that if a motorbike was invented today that it would have never been allowed on the road.

Funny, you can register and drive a totally original 1920's car yet something more modern that is a little 'out there' is a big no no.

Look at the Ariel Atom - pretty much a high powered engine bolted into a light frame that has F1 performance that would leave many 'Supercars' to shame. And allowed on the road in the UK and the US...

[Xauterus]

When the Moke was produced it was to the standards of the time.

I stir a motor cyclist mate of mine about if you did a jsa for riding a bike then you wouldnt be allowed to.

[2011G6E]

Yes, the standards older vehicles were built to do sometimes raise eyebrows.
My Kawasaki Mach IV two stroke 750 triple made in 1974 was a "superbike" of it's time...and it still has performance that leaves some newer sports bikes behind. However, this is built on a chassis where an experienced owner learns to feel the chassis flexing in sweeping bends, with a single non-vented or drilled solid stainless steel brake disk on the front "gripped" (and I use the term advisedly) by a 40mm diameter single sided caliper, and a smallish drum brake rear. It rides on factory sized 2.75" front and 3.25" (you can squeeze a 3.25" front and 4" rear onto it...just) wide rear tyres (if I park it beside my '08 GSX1400 and compare the width of the tyres it looks like it's fitted with pushbike tyres). The rear shocks are simple pre-load only adjustable ones, and the front forks are only 36mm in diameter...your kids little paddock bike you can but these days sometimes has forks nearly twice that big and suspension far more sophisticated.

The thing is, at the time this was all cutting edge stuff, the flagship model from one of the biggest makers in Japan. And it was perfectly normal for the time.
Guess there's a reason they have the nickname "Widow-Maker"...

Same with cars...I've looked at one of the newer Polaris four seaters, and honestly the thing had features that some cars I have owned didn't have. It was probably a lot safer as well, and one would make an excellent "around town car".

[Boza]

I'd ride around town in a foyr seat polaris with a bed on the back any day over say a Yaris or echo with a box trailer.

I have seen a few yaris's echo's with box trailer's on the back in inner melbourne

[Sprint]

the airbag is your face.