Got a title and plates down in Texas

[Ranbo]

Well I finally did it. Over the Christmas break I was sitting around with my family looking at chinariders. I decided to bite the bullet and spend a whole day just getting my Lifan GY200 dualsport legal. I did a lot of research online before hand just because I knew that I only had 1 day to get all this done. I DID NOT have a Manufacturers Statement of Origin (MSO) or anything. All I had was a receipt or Bill of sell (BOS) Here is exactly what I had to do step by step. I live in Austin

#1 Take a day off work. Get online and get insurance through Progressive. They have Lifan listed under motorcycles. That was the easiest part. It cost me like $77 a year.

#2 Go to any auto shop that does State inspections and get my bike inspected just like I have to do my car every year. They inspected it and it passed. I got my stickers. Because it had never been titled in the US and
MAKE SURE THEY FILL OUT AN VI-30 form and give that to you. They have those and will provide you with it.

#3 Go to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicle Titles In Austin it was 1001 1/2 E Parmer Lane Austin Texas 78753. Take your receipt (BOS) and VTR-130-SOF (Bonded Title Application). they will look at it and give them back. You are only there to pay your $15 (check or cash only) and they will give you a LETTER OF REJECTION.

#4 Take your letter of rejection to a Bonding Agency. The DMV will give you a list of reputable Bonding agencies. I had to pay them $110. This dude will get out his rubber stamp and stamp some papers that he will have you fill out. Takes about 10 minutes.

#5 LAST STEP! Yay! Go to the Tax Assessor Collector 5410 Airport Blvd Austin TX, 78751. Take all this paperwork: BOS, Proof of Insurance, Inspection papers INCLUDING the VI-30 from the inspector,
LETTER OF REJECTION and other papers the bonding dude gave you, (VTR-130-SOF Bonded Title Application) and another check for like $70.

They will type a bunch of stuff in on the computer and then give you your plate and sticker. You are done. You will be totally exhausted after all this and probably weak from not having time to eat but just keep going you can do it!

Would I ever do this again? Hell yeah I would but just because I love riding that much! The whole process is so ridiculously un-streamlined. It's just a joke really. The government has ways to do everything you need to do but you can tell everything is patch-worked together over many years. Also the system makes sure that everyone gets payed along the way. God bless America. After all this I felt like I just passed the BAR exam. Good luck guys!
:D

[Weldangrind]

Congrats! After all that, you paid less than I would pay for just six months insurance.

[culcune]

Wow, quite an adventure for sure! I assume your bike is the Lifan GY-2 and not the GY-5? The GY-5 is DOT/EPA approved, and since American Lifan used to be headquartered in Texas, I assume there would be a few GY-5s on the road. The GY-2 was technically never a street-legal bike. Then again, you did not have the MSO, so whatever bike you had, you had to get a bonded title, hence the extra steps.

[Ranbo]

Yeah so when the lady was looking up the exact make of the bike she selected American Lifan. That was the only option that she had. Whatever she did it seemed to work. So the GY-5 is the street legal bike? If I have a GY-2 then I would have to do the bonded title anyway huh? I still don't know what I actually have. I also did not know American Lifan was based in Texas. I have ordered parts through hooper online. Seems like he has "sold out" on most items these days. Wow Weldangrind! Hope there are no injuries associated with those high insurance bills? I Rode the bike to Emma Long Motorcycle Park in Austin and had a great time. People call it City Park and it is only about a 15 Min ride to get there. The trails are for Moto and they are very technical. A lot of trials bikes roam the park. I took a few pics while I was there. I only went a little way into the park because if I got a flat I only had a spare rear tube and the front tire was taking a beating. Can't wait to go back. Look at this pic! I bet it's the GY-2.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa432/357Rossi/IMG_13762_zpsa3d6d08c.jpg

[SpudRider]

Congratulations! You had to pay them off, but you still defeated the bureaucrats! :D

Spud :)

[Weldangrind]

Wow Weldangrind! Hope there are no injuries associated with those high insurance bills?

The only by-product so far has been some puckering.

That looks like a terrific riding area! We don't have any designated riding areas anywere near our home, but we are allowed to ride on forestry service roads, if we have the required liability insurance. More puckering.

[FastDoc]

That looks identical to my first CB. A HSUN. I liked that bike. Those are good 50/50 D/S tires, BTW. :D Enjoy!

[Ranbo]

Thanks FastDoc! This has been a great piece to work on. I have modified every piece of it in one way or another.
The only problem I have now is that it started having problems idling. I have taken the carb all apart and cleaned it. added a inline fuel filter. I also adjusted the fuel air screw. The engine will run fine for about 10 seconds and then cough, like air is going the back through the carb the wrong way and then it will die. I recently changed the spark plug hoping that would help. I had to adjust the idle set screw in pretty fast (2700 rpms) to keep it running. I dropped the needle "C clip" to the lowest groove on the pointed side of the needle. After all that I have an idle that is fast and then slows down and not real consistent. It definitely gets a little better after the engine is hot. The engine has tons of power running through the gears with no hesitation. It's just this idling thing that I need to fix. I'm thinking that I may have an electrical issue? Or could it be that metal EPA pipe coming out of the head that goes to the intake that needs to be capped off? Any Ideas guys?

[Ranbo]

Okay guys, I think I just figured it out. I was reading some other post and Weldandgrind was talking about helping his buddy fix a scooter that would not start, You said something about adjusting the level of the float. I suspect that my bike is running too lean. I think I will bend my float tab just a tad bit to make the float go slightly higher in the bowl. I used to do this when I was a kid on my 2 stroke YZ80. Will try this and let you guys know.

[Weldangrind]

If it's not the float level, I suspect that something is caught in the slow jet or the slow jet passage.

[Ranbo]

Okay so the weather outside was finally nice. So this morning before going to church I ran down stairs and took another look at the bike. I took off the air filter and started the bike with my fingers over the carb. When I did this it seemed like the bike wanted to idle. So after some screwing around on it I finally decided to look for a vacuum leak. I followed the hose coming off the intake and it led me to the EGR. It was there that I discovered the break in the line. I cut the line off and stopped the suction with my thumb. Now it idles as good as new:) now that it is street legal, I think I want to just cap all that junk off. What do you guys think?
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa432/357Rossi/dirtbikeIdle_zps1697cd1d.jpg

[Weldangrind]

I'd lose it. I'd cap off the vacuum barb at the carb, remove the device and make a gasket and block-off plate at the head (assuming that's where yours connects).

[SpudRider]

I'd lose it. I'd cap off the vacuum barb at the carb, remove the device and make a gasket and block-off plate at the head (assuming that's where yours connects).
X2. ;)

Spud :)

[Ranbo]

Okay, now you guys have started the gears turning :idea:
I found a piece scrap 1/8" thick aluminum today at work to make a cap for the head. If I have time this weekend I will fab one up. I love making little things like this. It gives me a reason to use my tools!

[Weldangrind]

The reason that device is there is to send a blast of air into the exhaust stream to make the catalytic converter work. Since you're removing the device, you could also cut the cat out. Do you have access to a welder?

[Ranbo]

I am sort of a welder wanna be. I have a Lincoln wire welder and a 220 volt stick welder. I will look up how to do this now here on the forum. It is really silly to think that this bike would even have a catalytic converter. I mean come on!

[Weldangrind]

It's an EPA thing; they can't even think of getting bikes into California without emissions controls.

The cat will likely be a bulge in the header tube, somewhere near the heat shield (behind your leg).

I'm a wannabe weldor too.