Well, now that there's a dedicated subforum to pollute...
I spent my afternoon at the DMV. To complete the registration, I needed to have the vehicle inspected. The vin is on the outside of the battery case on the right side and on the left side of the frame underneath the seat, removed with four phillips screws. The engine number is six digits on the rear left wheel that might be hidden between say 8 o'clock and 12 o'clock.
That the vehicle is pure-electric caused a moment of confusion when the guy started talking about an emission sticker, thinking it was hybrid but with that clarified everything was okay.
Insurance from the motorcycle people affiliated with esurance was great. I guess just this summer they received training and a special binder for electric two-wheel vehicles. They had efun listed so I had no problem with them accepting my scooter.
The scooter did everything I need it to going up the Big Hill from the coast to inland and the ride back down to just above sea level was so fast I wish my iPhone had GPS. It also kept up with the rush hour traffic in front of me on a perfectly flat stretch just outside of Seaworld that's signed at 50 and runs at 55-65 generally.
I live in CA too, and i was wondering if this is registered as a scooter, or motorcycle?
from what i heard, anything that goes over 30 is a motorcycle. but i could easily be wrong! ;)
motorcycle
In rural Colorado, registration proved to be challenging. A deputy came to the house to confirm the vin. The county clerk didn't seem to know what I was talking about. "We usually go by the number of ccs." "But it's got an electric motor," I replied. "The equivalent of 4 hp." A clerk in the back, trying to help; "Just ask him how many ccs it's got."
I called the head of the department and asked for her help. She said they had not trained for electrics, and she would have to ask the State of Colorado what to do.
I called back to check every day for the first week. After 2 weeks, the county clerk called to say it would be o.k., but I would need to make an affidavit and have it notarized. They were able to do that at the clerk's office, and asked for information about the original equipment, capabilities, and whether anything had been modified.
Eventually, I was able to register the scoot and ride legally. The road test for motorcycle driver's license is another story...
V Mabus
-over $90 gas saved so far