New Mexico

[BKABQ]

Okay this is going to be long, and VERY detailed.
You better get a drink and smoke em' if ya got em' ...lol.

As I stated on the Intro board, I bought a Trail Buddy/Skyteam ST125-6 on March 15th, 2012. I live in Albuquerque, NM.
I used BillMeLater to pay for transaction so in case anything went wrong I would have them on my side.
I did do the research beforehand; checking with my local DMV as well as my local LE andthe State LE. Showed pics, gave the website for them to look at. I also as mentioned did not get the word from a clerk. I went straight to the DMV Bureau Chief.
Everyone had okayed the buy as a street legal bike.
But when you hear what happened next it will make all that checking useless ...absolutely useless.

I sought out Trail Buddy(TB) after reading about recomendations on either this site or another forum(s) when I was researching who to buy a bike from.
The bike arrived and all was fine. I assembled it and I was even making a video of me taking delivery, assembling it, and going for a test ride to post on Youtube snce I couldn't find any for TB (it's not on there yet, I'm waiting for the conclusion).
After delivery I called TB and verified the VIN for them to send me the MCO and Bill of Sale.
It came a few adys later (actually the Post Office lost it, but then found it and hand delivered it to me at work) but I had to wait till payday and then my weekday off to go to the DMV.

Here in NM we have offical DMV store fronts, spread out in various areas around town, we also have other places that charge on the average 20 extra bucks to do the same thing the DMV does (MVD Express).
Let me make it clear throughout all this I am dealing with the official DMV only.
I go to the DMV with the MCO, insurance, Bill of Sale, and my ID.
I get to the counter and all is going good, when all of a sudden I'm told that the engine block serial number is not on the MCO and he asks if I have the bike there? To which I answer no.
To make a long story short the MCO did not have "street legal" on it either, so now I'm told I need to have an inspection with the state police.
He hands me a form he filled out with phone numbers and email addresses and tells me to schedule and appointment with them.

Now, at the time, I was with the clerk and all he said was to get a VIN inspection from the state police.
I thought this was strange because if I had brought the bike he was willing to go out and look at it right then.
So the next day I called the DMV headquarters, located in our Capital, Sante Fe.
I spoke with someone there who sympathized with me and gave me the phone number to the Bureau Chief of the DMV divsion I had gone too.
The next day I called the DMV Chief.
She was kind of aware of my situation and then explained that the MCO did not have street legal on it, they needed the VIN inspection for the engine block VIN, and there were some strange things not showing up when they would run the VIN.
So I may as well go ahead and get the state police inspection so they could look at these things for themselves.
Btw ...the state police inspection is free.
She did offer the state police or local police, but the SP was free, more on this later.
The strangness of the VIN was because when she was entering the VIN in the national database all they were seeing was that it was built in China and the year of manufacture.
VIN digits, when broiken down are supposed to explain a lot of the characters of the bike.
For example the 1st 3 digits are the WMI or World Manufacturer Identifier.
L means China and there's usually a key that deciphers the other 2 digits.
The 4th digit usually decribes the engine type, telling the CC's and other info.
The 7th digit describes the number of strokes and cylinders
The 10th digit is always the year manufactured. 1=2001, 2=2002, etc...
Until you get to 2010 which is A, 2011 - B, etc...
So when the Bureau Chief looked this VIN up all she saw was descriptions for the 1st 3 digits (manufacture location) and for the 10th digit (year manufactured) and that's all.

On with the story...
I called to make an appointment with the state police. When I called the number given all that would happen was a vmail would come on and say "the person you are trying to reach is not in, please leave a message" ...and that's all.
No lead in like ...you have reached the NMSP???
I left a message just the same.
Aftera few days of no callbacks, I send an email to the address I also had.
A day later no response, so now I find my local NMSP offfice on their website and send an email to the commander explaining how I'm trying to get a hold of the inspection officer (I had a name, but don't want to use it here).
The next day I checked my email and find and auto-reply from the commander.
He on traing now and won't be back until monday ....4 days from now.
So I figure this is where the inspection officer is too.
Lucky for me, the commander stops by his office on Frday and checks his email and sees my letter and I put my phone number, so he calls me.
I explain my situation and he says, no problem as long as it's over 50cc's has lights, turn signals, horn, etc.. everything should go smoothly.
He then asked where I lived? I told him within the city limits.
Ooooh, we don't do inspections for in city anymore, he says.
I tell him it's on the paperwork I have.
He says don't worry, for all you've been through I'll slide on this one and let our inspection officer do yours.
I'm his supervisor so I'll tell him to go ahead and do it, and to call you set up an appointment next week.
VERY nice guy/officer for doing that.
So I paid it forward and called the Bureau Chief back and let her know that the NMSP no longer do the inspections, but they were going to go ahead and do mine.
The inspection officer calls me the next week and schedules an appointment for May 2nd. Yeah, I know ...next month.

Now I'm thinking, I'll just call APD and see if they can do it earlier than that. The DMV Chief told me they do charge a fee, somewhere around 60 - 80 bucks.
So I called them and set up an appointment there.
It was 104.00 ...bummer.
Btw, you send a check in for 104 and they contact you back within 72 hours.
I was like, cool I'll get this done and be riding in a jiffy.

The APD comes out and looks it over and is amazed. He has some original Honda CT70's at his lake house. He can't believe he's seeing one very similar, brand spankin' new and a 125cc to boot.
He looks it over and everything looks good, but he can't find the FMVSS label that is supposed to be around the handlebar area according to standards set forth by the NTHSA for imports (see this link, section 3: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/impo...ges/page3.html ).

Now the bike does have the EPA label (which by the way states it meets all federal requirements for "on-highway use ...remember this for later) and a manufacture label that states it meets all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards ...BUT ...it is mounted mid cycle on the side wall of the T-frame ..riveted on the 4 corners of the metal label.
The APD officer also sees the MCO. He can't do anything.
He takes pictures of the EPA/DOT plates and of the VINs and tells me that it will be a few days before he can tell me anything, and leaves.
Btw ..when you pay, they come to your house. NMSP require you bring it down to their office.
In the meantime, I start doing research on the troubles with chinese bikes and find the PennDOT story.
I forward this information along with tons of other info to all the parties involed, DMV, APD, TB, and NMSP.
Heck, we've even had the APD vehicle theft divsion checking stuff for APD.
I'm trying to do their work to get this issue moving along. Red tape sucks!

Next I do research on the bike itself.
I'm curious about why the bike does not have the street legal status, on the MCO, when they have certainly built and designed a bike for the road , according to the NTHSA standards on that link above.
The Skyteam website (www.skyteam.cn).
There you have country options. Choose Noth America.
The next screen shows on road, off road, and accessory off to the left.
If you click on "on road", and then click on the large pic of a bike in the center of the page, another widow opens with a row of their 'on road' bikes.
Mine is the Skymax (black), but you have to click on that photo and another window opens to choose the displacement. Mine is ST125-6.

So Skyteam lists my bike as being for ON ROAD use in North America, we've verified that.

Being sold with lights, mirrors, turn signals, and the fact that it also has street tires on it, as stated in the NTHSA statement above (#3), also verifies that it's meant for on road use.

Another hint it was built for ON ROAD use is the EPA plate, it states "This Vehicle Conforms to US EPA Regulations Applicable For Model Year 2011 On-Highway Motorcycles".

I'm trying to get info from TB, about why Skyteam says, almost in every form, that this is for road use ...but refuses to list it on the MCO.
The president of TB tells me he has forwarded my concerns to the Skyteam address he has.
Another problem is that, on the MCO, it states the model/make as Sacin. Nowhere on the MCO does it state anything about Skyteam.
It's clearly engraved in the gear box covers, on the EPA and DOT plate and stenciled on the back of the seat.
It was built at the jaingsu sacin (spell??) motorcycle factory, but that is the only way the word Sacin appears.

Luckily I do live on a self storage property and I do get to ride it around that property and everything is fine with the bike.
That's why I bought the bike. The self storage properties I run are like 3 blocks away from each other.
I live on one property and the main office is on another.
I was going to use the bike to go back and forth only.
It sounded better ...at the time, than dragging my car out everyday to make the trip.
I know what you're saying ...ride it anyway.
I would, but my office is on Route 66 (very busy 6 lane highway) and I have to cross it.
I see lots of police out there everyday, so I didn't want to chance it.
I'm trying to do this all legally as possible.

TB actually gets these bikes in and changes out the carb before shipping it on to the customer. They know the carb on the original is no good so they replace it for you.

As of this writing I am on hold.
I talked with the Bureau Chief a few days back and she stated all my paperork has been sent to the DMV headquarters for the Director review.
Only problem is ...there is no\body in the Directors position at this time ...does it get any worse ...lol.
The Secretary of the DMV is filling in.
As the least, they will okay it for off road use ...but that's not why I bought it.
So i'm wondering about my return options possibly for "item not as decribed"?
TB states on the site that they do not make any promises of street legalness and to check with local and state authories before buying, but this has nothing to do with local or state. They were ready to approve it if it weren't for VIN and MCO issues ...I believe it's more on a Federal level.
After all, how many dirt bikes come with street tires, mirrors, turn signals, etc.. Yes, enduros do but that's not this.
This bike was built, and advertised as on road, that's overly obvious.

This whole situation reeks of red flags.
But this was not something that I could have found out about beforehand. It took having the bike and the MCO in hand to find out there were problems.
That's why I say the checking beforehand doen't work.

Since I have kept the NMSP inspector in the loop, he hasn't called me to cancel my May 2nd appointment, so maybe that's a good sign.

I will update this thread as things progress.

I also heard, from TB, that a man in Lousiana who also bought one was having similar troubles.

Would I do it again? Probably, but I'd have a lot more questions next time around. At the least asking the seller if the engine serial number and "street legal" are printed on the MCO.
I've owned bikes before (Suzuki GN125 street bike, but major manufacturers don't make small street bikes anymore, beisides scooters), about 20+ years ago, but I've never had to deal with MCO's myself.

Any comments, or questions, will certainly be appreciated.
Thanks for reading, maybe you learned something and I will too.