Snowbikes will not be "legal" in ALL US Forests

[sodahucker]

We may have missed the boat on this one guys but the US Forest Service is looking to add new restrictions to over land vehicles. The good news is that they added an exemption for snowmobiles, the bad news is the added an exemption to the exemption for Timbersled kits and its cousins. Suggested wording is below.

"The proposed rule would add a definition for snowmobiles because, as explained in the description of proposed §§212.51 and 212.81, snowmobiles would be exempted from the mandatory designations in 36 CFR 212.51 and would be addressed separately in 36 CFR 212.81. The proposed rule defines a snowmobile as a motor vehicle that is designed exclusively for use over snow and that runs on a track or tracks and/or a ski or skis. This definition would not include motor vehicles such as SUVs, ATVs, or other wheeled vehicles that can be outfitted with tracks that turn them into vehicles that can travel over snow because these vehicles are not designed exclusively for use over snow."

We need to figure out a way to get our bikes included in the definition. Input was supposedly closed in September but I haven't seen anything come out yet. Did anyone provide input on this? Anyone have any ideas? How can we get the word out?

Here is a link the the thread I pulled this from. It gives information on how to comment and has more details.

http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=376545

 

[sodahucker]

Replying to my own topic because I'm classy. It looks like we may be (somewhat) ok, based on the wording from the Forest Service website. We still don't know what the final result looks like.

http://www.fs.fed.us/publications/over-snow-vehicle-faqs.pdf

Still... we need to be watching this. The groups fighting against us are much more organized than we are.

 

[AZ800]

Even though the language about "exclusively" designed for snow travel is pretty damning, the fact that it lists atv,utv etc as being exempt from the exemption and that snobikes have track and ski, I think it was designed to outlaw tracked atvs only.
New laws can be out of date with current technology just due to the amount of time taken to draft and pass them.
Similar situation with wake surfing. Laws passed to outlaw teak surfing have been misconstrued by some municipalities to portray wake surfing as illegal.
Personally I don't give a chit. Especially since Im planning on getting a Sno bike this year.
Feds can kiss my @ss.

 

[allpowersports]

That's pretty much what we already have in both Sweden and Norway. If you go by the regulations snowbikes is pretty much banned her!

 

[tomk]

I have spoke to our state DNR Recreational Vehicle Coordinator here in MN (the head guy, not just a deputy) about a year ago, he says the same.
At the Fed Level they are trying to change the definition of a snowmobile to state, "originally manufactured for over the snow travel" I asked what the timeline looked like to get that put into place. He said "legislation has been put in to motion, it just a matter of time, it could be one year it could be five years, it may not happen at all." fully tracked vehicles are already illegal on the trails, but they think the 2X4 quads with skis are going to be a problem. I thought "yea because there are soooo many of those around":noidea: we will see, time will tell

 

[Rush44]

If snowhawks are legal any decent lawyer could argue the legality of snowbikes. All its going to take is for the states to finally pull their heads out of their collective asses and allow us to register the kits as snowmobiles.

 

[Comp 670]

I was told in Washington you can register a snow bike as a snowmobile...

 

[chumbilly1]

In WA we can register the kit as a snowmobile. The problem here is "some" snowbikers have realized the access possibilities and ridden to places that are not supposed to be reached with motorized vehicles. In our two local national forests the federal law enforcement officers have a real woody for catching someone out of bounds. Locally they even got a 500,000 dollar grant for aerial surveillance of the wilderness. People better be careful, we will get a bad rap real quick!

 

[Comp 670]

That is one thing I have noticed about "some" NOT ALL snow bikers... They think they can go where ever they want and they are going to get our riding areas shut down very quickly. Yes, there are some sledders out there with the same attitude.

I was talking to a snow biker just a few days ago that had the mentality that he could go and do whatever he wanted because he felt they could never catch him... Sad that some just have to be idiots..:noidea:

Please do everything you can to be legal AND ride in legal areas only!!

 

[snowbikekits.com]

As the pioneers of the sport we have the responsibility to hold the bar high for ourselves. One person can ruin it for everyone.

In the MidWest we have the same issues with the wording of the definition of a snowmobile. No matter which state we live in - one thing we have in common is our want to use the National Forests or state/local riding areas and how we are affected by the laws that may prevent us from doing so.

I know we will never satisfy everyone that may oppose us, but there are a few things we can do that will go a long way towards keeping us friendly to other people living or recreating in the areas we ride and project a positive image for snowbiking.

1. Do the best you can to get the proper registration. If you have any kind of registration/use sticker on your machine it tells others that you are responsible and respect laws and rules. Getting stopped and having nothing tells people you don't care and think laws do not apply to you.

2. Don't go where you are not supposed to be. It's our responsibility to know where we can and cannot ride.

3. Be responsible with noise. Try to get a turn down if possible, keep your silencer packed. Noise upsets non snowbikers and closes riding areas/access trails.

 

[tomk]

well said snowbikekits, In MN you can register your kit as a homemade snowmobile. So that is what I do. I also get a bike registration too just too keep everyone happy

 

[JFonseca]

Its only illegal if you get caught.:face-icon-small-hap

 

[Comp 670]

Its only illegal if you get caught.:face-icon-small-hap

WRONG.... They take pictures of tracks in Wilderness areas and then use them to get even more areas closed. It has happened in many areas. So even if you don't get caught you could very well impact riding areas.

 

[41racing]

I have not registered mine yet here in mn but plan on it. I went in and asked questions about what I had to do and they said just register it as a snowmobile. They even called another dept to get the right answers. I'm going to register mine as a timbersled, use the timbersled serial number and say it's a 450cc motor. Not saying anything about Yamaha.

 

[tomk]

thats the right way to do it here in MN, if you want to be extra safe get a OHM registration too for your Yami, then you will be double covered if the officer is being a D about it. PS where are u in MN?

 

[n16ht5]

Its only illegal if you get caught.:face-icon-small-hap

We have been under the crosshairs for a while, don't screw things up for us

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=27938.0

 

[tomk]

We have been under the crosshairs for a while, don't screw things up for us

www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=27938.0

interesting read, about half are for and half are against, good to see from the otherside

 

[41racing]

Fergus falls area. And I do have a mn ohm license on the bike. Had to when I took it to the dunes in Idaho this fall.

 

[SteepNdeep450]

interesting read, about half are for and half are against, good to see from the otherside

Agreed I read 3 pages, sucks to see a few on there that are completely irrational about the subject. Seems some are also just basically against it because they don't want to share the land. I'm all for sharing, but some people that aren't on the motorized side of travel are completely against sharing with us.