Head to YouTube on any given day and you can find countless videos of dirt bikers trying to evade police on their street legal dirt bikes. While some get away with the feat, many others get caught, and it’s a lot worse if your paperwork isn’t in order. Take for example this guy who evaded police on a non-legal dirt bike recently in Houston.
Dirt Bike Evasion in Houston
At the beginning of May, an unidentified man was speeding down the streets of Houston on his dirt bike. It was after midnight and the bike had no headlight. When police attempted to stop him, he refused and then proceeded to lead them on a chase through the neighborhood.
Eventually, he was stopped and ended up dropping his bike. That wasn’t the end of the chase, however. From there, he took off on foot and attempted to hide in a yard. It took some police canines to sniff him out which led to his arrest. As of right now, we don’t know what his charges will be, but we imagine that the fine city of Houston will want to make an example out of him.
Other Dirt Bike Chases
Running from the police on a dirt bike isn’t a new crime. In fact, in April alone, there were two memorable instances of illegal dirt bikes evading capture.
The first occurred in Hartford, Connecticut where a pedestrian was struck by the bike. The crime was witnessed by two police officers who chased down the 19-year old rider. He was charged with multiple counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with police, evading responsibility and reckless driving.
Another instance occurred in Nashville where both an ATV and dirt bike rider were arrested. These riders were charged with two counts of felony evading arrest. An officer was dragged by the ATV driver during the March 16th incident. At that time, the streets were overtaken by illegal riders and the police in Nashville have been cracking down ever since.
For your entertainment, make sure you also check out this compilation of dirt bikers vs. cops.
Making a Dirt Bike Street Legal
Riding a dirt bike is a lot of fun; no one can argue with that. What’s more fun is being able to take it on the street, but very few are equipped to do it legally. Thankfully, there are ways to make a dirt bike street legal. In most states, it requires modifying the following components:
Headlight
Indicator lights
Tail light
Brake light
Rear view mirror
Horn
DOT-approved tires
Fuel tank
License plate bracket
Once you have all the required parts, then you have to get the bike inspected and/or approved by your local offices. This requires plenty of paperwork, and often several trips to the DMV. Either way, it’s worth the effort.
Don’t be a fool.
Sure, you can take an illegal dirt bike on the streets as these guys did, but is it really worth it? Why not just invest a little time and money to do it the right way? At Dirt Legal, we’ve helped countless other riders just like you make their bike street legal. Our services are the fastest way to make your dirt bike street legal.
It’s what we do.
The first rays of January sunlight glint off my windshield, casting a brutally honest reflection of my off-road adventures from the past year. My trusty 4x4 sits covered in a crusty landscape of dried mud, silent testimony to both my triumphs and spectacular failures. This year, things will be different.