Street Legal MTO Sport?

[Monarchist]

So this has been on my mind a lot lately.

Currently, on 3 separate occasions (once in Port Aransas, TX and twice in Fredericksburg, TX) I've driven off-airport to get gas at the local gas station.

In Port Aransas, it was a short drive on a semi-private street to the highway intersection. There, I shut down and simply pushed it across the road and into the gas station.

In Fredericksburg, I had someone follow me with their hazard lights on to the local gas station about 3/4 mi. off the airport property. I shut down the engine on the highway and coasted into the parking lot.

In both cases, the rotor blade was secure and my speed never exceeded about 20 mph.

I would love to have the gyro be legitimately street legal so that I could go short distances off-airport for gas and food. Really opens up a LOT of possibilities.

According to the information I found on the Texas gov. website, a "motorcycle" is defined as:

"...a motor vehicle, other than a tractor, that is equipped with a rider's saddle and designed to have when propelled not more than three wheels on the ground."

Well, my MTO certainly meets that criteria.

Obviously, the "Super SkyCycle" was street legal, but I'm not sure what hoops Larry had to jump through to make it so. (Presumably not many.)

Anyone have any experience or knowledge about this?

Edit: just found this list...seems very doable for passing inspection:

1. Horn
2. Mirror
3. Steering
4. Brakes (system)
5. Tires
6. Wheel Assembly
7. Exhaust System
8. Tail Lamp (1)
9. Stop Lamp (1)
10. License Plate Lamp
11. Rear Red Reflector (1)
12. Head Lamp (1)
13. Motor, Serial, or Vehicle Identification Number

-John

 

[magknight]

Thinking the propulsion will be the issue, although I'm not aware of anything in particular that would prevent the use of a prop on the street. Just don't think it'd be a good idea. Also, I can't imagine how you'd meet the liability insurance issue witn DPS and don't think you'll be able to convene your aviation insurance carrier that you are just out on a long taxi!

One additional issue might be the exhaust and emissions.

 

[MadMuz]

I am sure it is worth asking because you might be able to get a special registration, just for short taxi to get gas.... in Australia, if we have a gyro/fw on floats, it has to be registered as a boat as well (because it is engine powered and can exceed 5Kts on water)

It would be interesting if you could?:noidea:

 

[Monarchist]

Thinking the propulsion will be the issue, although I'm not aware of anything in particular that would prevent the use of a prop on the street. Just don't think it'd be a good idea. Also, I can't imagine how you'd meet the liability insurance issue witn DPS and don't think you'll be able to convene your aviation insurance carrier that you are just out on a long taxi!

One additional issue might be the exhaust and emissions.

According to the info I've found, there is no emission requirement for motorcycles in Texas...so that's easy.

And no, near as I can tell they did not think to specifically exclude propeller driven motorcycles. I can definitely understand the uneasiness...however if you think about it, every vehicle in motion is dangerous/deadly to anything that it would hit. The good thing is that I can kill the engine in probably 1/2 second, like if I see a dog or kid running into the street in front of me.

In my experience, everyone just stops whatever they're doing and stares at the weird machine driving by.

I have liability coverage now, but I haven't read the policy to see if there is a clause about off-airport ground ops.

-John

 

[Monarchist]

I am sure it is worth asking because you might be able to get a special registration, just for short taxi to get gas....

Yeah, that's really all I'm interested in doing. Trips of approximately 1-3 miles at the most, and only on slow MPH roads.

For a TRUE roadable gyro, major modifications would need to be made, primarily to the drive system.

-John

 

[ultracruiser41]

Motorcycles don't have a large spinning meat grinder behind them. Don't think the DOT is going to feel real comfortable about that little safety issue. Doesn't sound like a real wise choice to me. Just my 2 cents.

 

[kolibri282]

Motorcycles don't have a large spinning meat grinder behind them

Hover craft do. In which category are they licensed? Also all the small ones you can find have their props in some sort of protective enclosure. Perhaps you would need something like that to fit temporarily while on the road.
The first two links by the way show a "vehicle" that does it the other way round, from land/water into the air.
http://www.gizmag.com/hoverwing-home-made-flying-hovercraft/14371/
http://www.diseno-art.com/encyclopedia/strange_vehicles/flying_hovercraft.html
http://hovercraftbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/hovercraft-drivign-events.jpg

The video shows a Russian passenger hovercraft that works a bus line in Siberia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P10bSjpx4pM

Very interesting question, please keep us updated on your findings

 

[Smack]

"Saddle" is a key word

"Saddle" is a key word

John, I very recently saw that some new 3-wheeled vehicle is NOT legal in Texas due to it having SEATS instead of a SADDLE.
The Can-Am Spyder has a saddle; it is legal.
See: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/11/18/texas-puts-three-wheeler-in-legal-limbo/

Please pursue this quest for legality and let us know where it takes you.
Brian

 

[Arnie Madsen]

.

We built these and they were registered in the motorcycle category (USA) .... 3 wheels , and have to be under 1500 pounds ... used for parking patrol ... police etc.

.

 

[MadMuz]

That's weird Smack? You can have a T rex, but not a Polaris? The T-Rex are notoriously wicked things (ie: FUN) :noidea: TX sounds a bit like Australia for banning anything too exciting? What if you live in Arkinsas, Louisiana, New Mexico or Oklahoma where maybe you can buy and drive one? Does that mean you cant drive one thru TX? I know in Qld, over here, they wouldn't let people buy those Suzuki cars with the hayabusa engine, the Kizashi but you could everywhere else uke: Qld has always been a 'stick in the mud' tho

 

[Richard Anderson]

Would it be legal to temporarily mount a Slow Moving Vehicle triangle on the rear of the gyro to allow it to taxi a short distance on a public road in daylight hours? These are used on farm tractors,implements,and wagons.

 

[Arnie Madsen]

.
Not your everyday motorcycle HAAA!!!

Found a couple of videos ... one from the mfg ... and a good one from a guy who buys them used at city auctions for his restaurant deliveries .

They are aluminum bodies with a robust internal tubing structure ... you can roll them a hundred times and drive away if you can get the engine to start again

Plenty of power but governed to about 40mph max , designed for city use , not highway ... back in the 1990's I did all the TIG welding for the aluminum body panels , I would grind and sand the weld joints smooth and after they were powder coated they looked like a cast part .

$33,000 new but they sell as low as $3000 at city dispersal auctions , would be perfect as an airport runabout etc ...


....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifc1vuR4YQY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCTm24EaY98

 

[JEFF TIPTON]

Although not a motorcycle.

1932 HELICRON

http://www.lanemotormuseum.org/collection/video

 

[Monarchist]

John, I very recently saw that some new 3-wheeled vehicle is NOT legal in Texas due to it having SEATS instead of a SADDLE.

Hmm...I'm not sure. Larry Neal built the Super SkyCycle and drove it street legal with a seat, not a saddle.

The new Polaris gizmo is considered a motorcycle because it has 3 wheels. It definitely does not meet safety standards for passenger automobiles.

So I don't think the type of seat is really critical.

-John

 

[SandL]

there is a dangerous parts law in some countries ie you cant have big jagged bits of most crash metal sticking out from your vehicle. ie rotor blades and spinning prop.
mostly the logic goes that you must not do damage to someone else. ie brakes, and steering, uk you can fail a vehicle test if you have no water in the wiper bottle a cracked wind shield or cracked steering wheel.
maybe you could get around some if this by having a ridged tow bar and a friendly passer by to tow you to the garage. ridged if it's against the law to have a human in a trailer, (if not a rope and good brakes and good luck) I also guess you are talking about out of town gas stations, take care many out of town roads are not maintained so well and you may pick up a lot of loose stones through the prop if using prop power. I suspect a passing policeman may not have the right forms or training to bring about a charge anyway !!

 

[Texasautogyro]

Ok John I had this discussion in depth with Larry three years ago. The big problem is the prop. The second is the rotor. His sky cycle had a special folding rotor. It also had a separate small direct drive engine just to drive the rear street wheels. It used a snow mobile slip belt clutch type setup. It also had tail lights and brake lights. They could be shut off for flight.

More trouble then it's worth.

 

[Monarchist]

I don't really see the rotor as a big problem. The 3 times I've ventured off-airport thus far, it's socked and not a problem. It can't spin and isn't tall enough to get caught on anything. It only extends a few feet in front of the nose, and just barely behind (where it's pretty high up thanks to the sock.)

Tail lights, brake lights, horn, etc. That's all easy.

The only real achilles heel I can find is the prop, which as others have said could be shrouded.

It really opens up possibilities when you can drive off-airport...even just a couple of miles. Again, this is not Larry's concept of traveling on the highway long distances, etc. It is basically to open the gyro up to nearby eateries, gas, etc.

Most airports I've seen have a gas station within a mile or so from the field. Why pay $6 per gallon for AvGas (which is not recommended for Rotax) when I can drive just a few minutes and fill up on super?

 

[bugflyer]

Here's a dual-purpose machine that's coming along slowly.
https://www.facebook.com/SamsonMotorworks

smiles,
Charles

 

[Monarchist]

Here's a dual-purpose machine that's coming along slowly.
https://www.facebook.com/SamsonMotorworks

smiles,
Charles

I looked and looked, didn't see the rotor blades anywhere...

To be honest, I'm not really interested in a car that flies. All vehicles that try to be both car and plane that I've seen end up being good at neither.

I'm looking to make my awesome gyro into an admittedly crappy car for the purpose of making re-fueling and eating easier when traveling.

 

[gear.check]

I would love to have the gyro be legitimately street legal so that I could go short distances off-airport for gas and food.

All it takes is money. The Dutch-built (US legal) PAL-V is supposed to hit the market in 2015. It looks like just what the doctor ordered, but not cheap!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jgyp20f0jU#t=36