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Kansas

What Kansas 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.

Published

Reviewed . Sources: K.S.A. 8-197(b)(1)(A)(i); K.S.A. 8-126(a), (w); K.A.R. 115-8-13(a), (f)(1)-(2); K.S.A. 8-1598(a); K.S.A. 8-1501; K.S.A. 8-235(a), (c); K.S.A. 8-127(a); K.S.A. 8-198(a); K.S.A. 8-142 (First); K.S.A. 8-1489.

The answers

Is an electric dirt bike an off-highway vehicle?

No statewide rule found

No statewide off-highway vehicle class for two-wheeled machines found. K.S.A. 8-197 defines "nonhighway vehicle" as used in K.S.A. 8-197 through 8-199: it includes any motor vehicle which cannot be registered because it is not manufactured for use on the highways of the state and is not provided with the equipment state statute requires for vehicles of that type used on the highways. In the registration act, an "all-terrain vehicle" is a motorized nonhighway vehicle, other than an electric-assisted bicycle, 55 inches or less in width and 1,500 pounds or less dry weight, traveling on three or more nonhighway tires, and a "motor vehicle" is every vehicle, other than a motorized bicycle, electric-assisted bicycle or motorized wheelchair, that is self-propelled.

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.

What we read: K.S.A. 8-197(b)(1)(A)(i); K.S.A. 8-126(a), (w), checked . Official text for Kansas, K.S.A. 8-197(b)(1)(A)(i); K.S.A. 8-126(a), (w), external site

What it needs to ride public off-road land

No statewide rule found

No statewide off-road registration, decal or permit rule found. K.A.R. 115-8-13 is a Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism rule for department lands and roads: motorized vehicles, a term that includes electric or gasoline-powered two-wheeled vehicles, must be operated only on department roads and parking areas except as the regulation, posted notice or the secretary provides, and, except as the regulation provides, a motorized vehicle is prohibited on all department lands and roads if it is not registered under K.S.A. 8-127 or with the corresponding authority in another state or country, or is unlawful to operate on an interstate, federal or state highway under K.S.A. 8-15,100 and 8-15,109.

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.

What we read: K.A.R. 115-8-13(a), (f)(1)-(2), checked . Official text for Kansas, K.A.R. 115-8-13(a), (f)(1)-(2), external site Statute text read through a published copy of K.A.R. 115-8-13(a), (f)(1)-(2), external site where the official page would not load.

Helmet rule off-road

No statewide rule found

No statewide off-road helmet rule found. K.S.A. 8-1598(a) bars a person under 18 from operating or riding on a motorcycle or motorized bicycle unless wearing a helmet that complies with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration minimum guidelines, and K.S.A. 8-1501 says the article's provisions on the operation of vehicles refer exclusively to operation upon highways except where a different place is specifically referred to in a given section.

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.

What we read: K.S.A. 8-1598(a); K.S.A. 8-1501, checked . Official text for Kansas, K.S.A. 8-1598(a); K.S.A. 8-1501, external site

Age and supervision rules for young riders

No statewide rule found

No statewide age, supervision or training rule for operating an off-road motorcycle found. K.S.A. 8-235 covers licensing: no person, except those expressly exempted, may drive any motor vehicle upon a highway without a valid driver's license, and a person operating a motorcycle that is registered in Kansas must hold a class M driver's license.

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.

What we read: K.S.A. 8-235(a), (c), checked . Official text for Kansas, K.S.A. 8-235(a), (c), external site

Riding it on public roads

Every owner of a motor vehicle intended to be operated upon any highway in Kansas, whether a resident of Kansas or another state, must apply for and obtain Kansas registration before the vehicle is operated in the state, except as otherwise provided by law or by an interstate agreement made by the director of vehicles. A nonhighway vehicle is not required to be registered, but that does not limit K.S.A. 8-142, under which it is unlawful to operate upon a highway, or for the owner knowingly to permit the operation upon a highway of, any vehicle that is not registered, has no certificate of title or does not display its assigned license plate, subject to the exemptions in K.S.A. 8-135, 8-198 and 8-1751a.

K.S.A. 8-127(a); K.S.A. 8-198(a); K.S.A. 8-142 (First), checked . Official text for Kansas, K.S.A. 8-127(a); K.S.A. 8-198(a); K.S.A. 8-142 (First), external site

Where the e-bike definition stops

An electric-assisted bicycle is a bicycle with two or three wheels, a saddle, fully operative pedals for human propulsion and an electric motor of less than 750 watts that meets one of three classes. Class 1 and class 3 motors assist only when the rider is pedaling and cease to assist at 20 and 28 miles per hour respectively; a class 2 motor may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches 20 miles per hour.

K.S.A. 8-1489, checked . Official text for Kansas, K.S.A. 8-1489, external site

Before you ride

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.

For a young rider, the before-you-ride checker puts the helmet and age rules first.

Official riding areas and the permits Kansas asks for: where to ride in Kansas.

Statutes change. Each answer carries the date it was checked; the page is re-checked at least every 180 days and says "Review due" if that slips.

Other states