Maryland = If Nazi Germany Won WWII

HeliMark

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Sounds worse than California. We have no annual safety or emissions inspections for motorcycles here. They were talking about an emissions program but then in a sudden and uncharacteristic bout of common sense it was realized that since motorcycles only comprise about 3% of the traffic flow (even in CA) and they are ridden on average, much fewer miles than cars, that the profit to expense ratio made no sense and the idea was dropped.
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Checkswrecks

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Ah, the MVA, that's right - how could I forget after waiting in line that ran around the side of the building...

MVA aside, there's also a lot to like about this area. Looks like there's a lot of good riding in this part of the state, especially here in the ag reserve. And I'm definitely looking forward to exploring the roads of VA and the mountains to the west. Not so much around the beltway I think.
Other than vehicle inspections and anything having to do with guns, I find MD Govt much less oppressive than California and a lot like the New England States. As for your 40 year old bike, it classifies as Historic, so no inspections and an easier title to get:

Riding-wise, being northwest of DC is fantastic.
North into the hills of PA,
VA and the Shenandoah Valley are beautiful,
west into some of the best unending motorcycle roads of WV (just don't speed excessively passing through VA!),
East to the beaches in a few hours,
and while we get some muggy summers the weather is generally pretty moderate.

You ought to hook up with Dirt_Dad and I some time when it gets a bit warmer.
 

Sierra1

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. . . . We have no annual safety or emissions inspections for motorcycles here. . . .
Went and got the bike inspected today. No emissions, just safety . . . . honk, honk. . . . blink, blink; $7.00. The place I go had recently filled in the treadmill that they put the OBD I cars on, and hook up the breathalyzer. The OBD I cars are all over 25 years old now, which means no emissions; no need for the breathalyzer any more. OBD II just hooks up the connector under the dash.
 

WJBertrand

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Went and got the bike inspected today. No emissions, just safety . . . . honk, honk. . . . blink, blink; $7.00. The place I go had recently filled in the treadmill that they put the OBD I cars on, and hook up the breathalyzer. The OBD I cars are all over 25 years old now, which means no emissions; no need for the breathalyzer any more. OBD II just hooks up the connector under the dash.
Interesting OBD II cars in California are still connected to the sniffer and run on a dynamometer. They don't test them now until they are over 7 years old however. My 2013 Mustang GT has yet to be smog tested while my wife's Rav4 has been inspected every other year, which reminds me it's due again next month. I guess they decided there weren't enough cars less than 7 years old that were failing to make checking them worthwhile anymore.
 

Sierra1

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That's my bitch with the TX emission testing. They claim they're trying to clean the air, but only certain counties have to test. And, then everything (cars/trucks/bikes) that's actually causing the pollution. . . . is exempt. Making the people with the newer cars, read cleaner, forking over money for cars that are almost guaranteed to pass. It's a money mill that has nothing to do with clean air.
 
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ChrisMD

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Other than vehicle inspections and anything having to do with guns, I find MD Govt much less oppressive than California and a lot like the New England States. As for your 40 year old bike, it classifies as Historic, so no inspections and an easier title to get:

Riding-wise, being northwest of DC is fantastic.
North into the hills of PA,
VA and the Shenandoah Valley are beautiful,
west into some of the best unending motorcycle roads of WV (just don't speed excessively passing through VA!),
East to the beaches in a few hours,
and while we get some muggy summers the weather is generally pretty moderate.

You ought to hook up with Dirt_Dad and I some time when it gets a bit warmer.
Nice - thank you for pointing out the Historic exemption! I specifically looked for that and had read an article claiming that historic vehicles still needed the full safety inspection, but it seems that only applies to dealers. I will definitely give that a try!

Also will be happy to take you guys up on the ride - not sure which bike I'll be on at that point but I really do need get out on two wheels and explore the area. Thanks!
 

AVGeek

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It was odd, I owned a 2002/2003 Class C Ford E-350 chassis motorhome that I bought when I lived in California, and kept when I moved to Nevada and Arizona (something I didn't know about was split years on RVs, my chassis was technically was an 02 while the "finished" VIN showed it as an 03). California didn't test it at all, as it exceeded the GVW limits, while both Nevada and Arizona did. Nevada was a simple sniff test while Arizona used the dyno. When I got my diesel pickup, that turned around again as Arizona would do a sniff test on diesel, while I had to search out a dyno-equipped shop for my truck in Nevada (and there are only 3 such shops in Clark County). While California does emission testing statewide, Arizona really only does it in Maricopa county (Phoenix) while Nevada is only in Clark (Vegas) and Washoe (Reno) counties, so at least its based on population.
 

Checkswrecks

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Maryland doesn't do pollution checks on bikes, just safety and most of it is pretty basic. The thing they seem to get a lot of people on are itty bitty aftermarket turn signals and missing side reflectors. Slap a piece of good reflective red/white (SOLAS) tape like sued on truck trailers and good to go.
 

SHUMBA

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Good point. AND you're the only state in the US that allows filtering, so points for that!
Oops!!! Did I hear that Idaho or one of those western states just recently approved lane splitting or filtering.
Just wish Canada would have a look at lane splitting....not likely in my time.
SHUMBA

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SHUMBA

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BTW....in Ontario Canada we recently got rid of emissions testing.
Having said, everytime you buy a car/motorcycle it must be safety inspected.
If the same car/motorcycle were to be bought and sold 12 times, it would have to be safety inspection 12 times.
Duh??? Politicians at work.
SHUMBA

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Checkswrecks

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You have more rules than Germany.
Unfortunately true it seems.

My ex was German so we spent part of every summer in Germany at her Mom's. I found they have/had less restrictions in a lot of ways (not cars) but much more bureaucracy. A difference was in how most really believed in following the rules that we in the US would take as what "should" be done.
 

ChrisMD

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Maryland doesn't do pollution checks on bikes, just safety and most of it is pretty basic. The thing they seem to get a lot of people on are itty bitty aftermarket turn signals and missing side reflectors. Slap a piece of good reflective red/white (SOLAS) tape like sued on truck trailers and good to go.
Thanks - in that case maybe I was over-worrying based on my experience with the auto inspections. If it's just basic stuff (lights, reflectors, brakes, horn, etc) then I should be fine - my bike is in good running order as far as basic safety goes.
 

Checkswrecks

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Thanks - in that case maybe I was over-worrying based on my experience with the auto inspections. If it's just basic stuff (lights, reflectors, brakes, horn, etc) then I should be fine - my bike is in good running order as far as basic safety goes.
Here's the list at the bottom of the page: https://mva.maryland.gov/about-mva/Pages/info/58000ASE/58000-01T.aspx

Pretty basic list for motorcycles so probably no worries. Something to be aware of is brake discs & pads because they look for wear grooves and mic the thicknesses of each. Just make sure they are above minimums before you take the bike in.

If a vehicle fails inspection, we used to be able to take it to a more lenient inspector. Now the inspectors need to record things like the rotor and pad thicknesses and if a vehicle fails the shop computers are wired right to the State, and that stopped inspector shopping.
 
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