What Colorado law says about riding an electric dirt bike, question by question. 6 of 6 answered from official text. Where the state has no rule on a question, the page says "No statewide rule found" and what the law does cover.
Colorado defines an off-highway vehicle as any self-propelled vehicle that is designed to travel on wheels or tracks in contact with the ground, designed primarily for use off of the public highways, and generally and commonly used to transport persons for recreational purposes. The definition does not name a power source. Its exclusions include snowmobiles, golf carts, vehicles designed and used specifically for agricultural, logging or mining purposes, and vehicles registered pursuant to article 3 of title 42.
No person may operate, or have in his or her possession at any staging area, an off-highway vehicle within Colorado unless it has been registered and numbered under the state's off-highway vehicle article; registration runs for each year beginning April 1 and ending the following March 31 at a fee the commission sets by rule, the validation decal must be affixed as the division prescribes, and the operator must have the registration on his or her person or in the vehicle. Registration is not required for, among others, an off-highway vehicle used strictly on private property, one used strictly for agricultural purposes, or one operated in an organized competitive or noncompetitive event that the agency with jurisdiction over the land specifically authorizes. A nonresident-owned or -operated off-highway vehicle must be covered by a valid license or registration of another state or country and not have been in Colorado more than 30 consecutive days, or have been issued a nonresident permit, unless exempt under subsection (9)(e), whose exemptions include vehicles used strictly on private property; and every vehicle required to be registered under article 3 of title 42, and every motor vehicle and off-highway vehicle from another state or country, used for recreational travel on designated off-highway vehicle routes must obtain and display an off-highway use permit, unless exempt (government-owned vehicles with ownership displayed, authorized organized events, or non-recreational use of public land).
No statewide off-road helmet rule found. Colorado's off-highway vehicle law lets a county, city or town require the use of a helmet for an occupant under eighteen when an off-highway vehicle is being driven on a street, road or highway within its jurisdiction.
That is not the same as no rule: land managers, local governments and tracks set their own, so ask whoever manages the ground before you ride.
On a public street, road or highway that the state, the United States or any agency thereof has designated open to off-highway vehicles, and on a city street or county road that a local political subdivision has made an off-highway vehicle route by ordinance or resolution under C.R.S. 33-14.5-108(1), no person under the age of 10 may operate an off-highway vehicle. A person 10 or older may not operate one on such a street, road or highway unless the person has in his possession a valid driver's license issued by Colorado or another state, or is accompanied by and under the immediate supervision of a person who has one, which means at a minimum that the unlicensed operator is within direct visual contact of the licensed supervisor. The rule is limited to those designated streets, roads, highways and routes.
It is unlawful to operate an off-highway vehicle on Colorado's public streets, roads or highways, regardless of the state or other jurisdiction in which it is registered or titled, except in listed cases, including when a street, road or highway is designated open by the state or a state agency, when crossing in accordance with section 33-14.5-108.5, when traversing a bridge or culvert, during lawfully conducted special off-highway vehicle events or declared emergency conditions, on city streets or county roads a local political subdivision has made off-highway vehicle routes by ordinance or resolution (no road that is part of the state highway system may be so designated), and for agricultural purposes; a violation is a civil infraction with a $50 fine. A highway crossing must be made at an angle of approximately 90 degrees where no obstruction prevents a quick and safe crossing, after a complete stop before the shoulder or, if none, the roadway, yielding to all motor vehicle traffic that constitutes an immediate hazard, and a divided highway must be crossed at an intersection with another road or highway.
An electrical assisted bicycle is a vehicle having two or three wheels, fully operable pedals and an electric motor not exceeding 750 watts of power, and it must conform to a class: Class 1 provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and Class 2 regardless of whether the rider is pedaling, both ceasing at 20 miles per hour, while Class 3 provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases at 28 miles per hour. The definition does not include a vehicle modified so that it no longer meets the requirements for any class, or one designed, manufactured or intended by the manufacturer or seller to be easily configured, by a switch or button, a software setting, an online application or other means, so as not to meet those requirements.
This page restates state law in plain words and links the text it came from. It is not legal advice. Cities, counties and the agencies that manage federal land (the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service) add rules of their own, so check with whoever manages the ground you plan to ride.
