The Challenge of Going Street Legal
If you’re serious about exploring every inch of terrain, from rugged trails to scenic backroads, a dual-sport setup is a must. Up near the mountain house, the off-road riding options are endless, but a lot of the good stuff requires a street-legal bike to access. Rather than limit our adventures, we set out to make most of our dirt bikes street legal.
Not too long ago, converting an off-road bike was straightforward—throw on some lights, a horn, a mirror, and head to the DMV. But in true California fashion, that process was shut down, making it impossible to plate a dirt bike locally. The workaround? Street legal conversions are still honored under state reciprocity laws, meaning a bike plated in another state remains street legal anywhere in the U.S., as long as it meets the licensing state’s requirements.
The Licensing Workaround
Enter Dirt Legal—a service that takes the hassle out of getting an out-of-state plate. Currently, they offer registration in Montana and South Dakota, with Montana being the best option for motorcycles due to its permanent plate (no renewal required). The process was seamless, fully online, and quick. The only delay? Me dragging my feet to get to UPS and ship the title.
Once everything was processed, we had an LLC in Montana and a Montana plate in hand within a couple of weeks. Many states, like California, require out-of-state plates to be transferred within 30 days, but this doesn’t apply to Montana LLCs. That means the bike’s legal home is Montana, even if it spends most of its time in California.
Making It Truly Street Legal
A plate alone doesn’t mean you’re good to go—you still have to meet Montana’s street-legal requirements:
- White headlight(s) with high and low beams
- Red taillight(s) with a brake light function
- Front and rear reflectors (yellow front, red rear)
- White license plate light
- Front and rear turn signals
- DOT-approved tires
- Mirror(s)
- Horn
- Quiet exhaust with a muffler
- Spark arrestor (for trails and OHV areas)
Back in the day, Baja Designs was our go-to for dual-sport lighting kits, but they’ve since exited that business. After checking the current market, we went with the Tusk Motorcycle Enduro Lighting Kit from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC. This kit covers all the essentials: turn signals, taillight with brake light, license plate light, horn, and a mirror. It even includes a handlebar switch, but not the actual headlight. For that, we installed the Polysport HALO LED headlight.
For tires, we stuck with our tried-and-true setup: a Dunlop D606 on the rear and a Pirelli MT21 up front. The bike was already running an FMF exhaust with a spark arrestor, so that box was checked. The only thing missing? Reflectors—but let’s be honest, that’s low on the priority list.
Stay tuned for Part 2, where we dig into the non-lighting upgrade process!
