Offroad-only dirtbike: Title vs MSO

[TwoSmokeDS]

Hey y'all.

Question of the day: If I never intend to ride a bike on-road, is having the MCO (Manufacture Certificate of Origin) good enough? Or should I get it converted to a Title?

For example: I buy a brand new $8000 race-ready MX dirtbike from Dealer X. If I tell Dealer X to give me the MCO and I'll take care of it myself, Dealer X won't charge me the 8.25% tax. And I put the MCO in my safe deposit box, and I never go to the tax office. That's a saving of $660. A lot of money to buy fargles.

[ShafT]

I think that's really two different questions. (1) Is the MSO/MCO enough? Technically, I think it's enough to prove ownership as off-road vehicles are not required to be titled.

(2) Could you buy and just get the MSO to save tax? In Texas, the dealer is required by law to collect sales tax (whether titled or not - and may be required to title it) and likely will not give you just the MSO. Even if they did, you wouldn't avoid the tax, you just wouldn't have a title, so why do it? If you bought out of state, you could keep it on MSO, but you'd have to deal with it on the sales side and whether a buyer would accept the MSO. If you buy in-state, you can't avoid the tax.

FWIW, dealers are trying to change that law in Tx because it puts them at a significant disadvantage to those who buy offroad only machines out of state.

[jqueen]

Actually TX does require titles even on off road bikes, they just don't enforce it, so nobody bothers. Most people think it will cost extra tax money to transfer the title, but that's only true with street legal bikes. But I imagine it won't be long until they institute some kind of penalty for not transferring titles. They recently came up with something similar on street legal vehicles.

[SilverBullet]

Shaft is correct in that a Texas dealer is required to charge you the sales tax whether you title it or not. Only exception is if you're an out of state buyer.

So having said that I strongly suggest you title it from the get go. If not and you lose your receipt or proof of having already paid sales tax you will be forced to pay it again to title the bike. And if you would lose your MSO you would be forced to then go the bonded title route to get a title as MSO's are very difficult to get reissued. Lose your title and it costs only $2 for the state to mail you a duplicate.

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[SilverBullet]

...and please spill the beans. What brand new $8000 race-ready MX dirtbike are you planning on buying? I almost don't believe you are or otherwise you would've started a thread asking about it, haha.

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[TwoSmokeDS]

I made up the part about $8000 race-ready bike to dramatize the amount of tax savings.

But I did put money down for a KX100 which is "MX racing bike" according to the dealer. Should be picking it up soon. I just need to add spark arrestor.

[SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

But I did put money down for a KX100 which is "MX racing bike" according to the dealer. Should be picking it up soon. I just need to add spark arrestor.

What? Although some will think that bike is too small, for your size and weight I don't think it is. You'll love the lightweight ~160lbs and very high 15" ground clearance for woods riding. My only concern is the power delivery. Before you complained about the power hit from your KDX220. The KDX powerband will seem tame compared to the KX powerband. Plus you will need to stay higher in rpm's and more shifting required to do so. So forewarned with that it should be a great bike for you but requiring different and finer tuned riding technique. Once you master that bike you should be able to ride anything though.

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[TwoSmokeDS]

Yeah, I know well what I'm getting into with the KX.

I pretty much got used to the "hit" on the KDX. The cylinder replating seemed to have mitigated the "hit" also. The KX is less than half the cc of the KDX, so hopefully the "hit" will be manageable.

[DFW_Warrior]

Originally Posted by SilverBullet

...and please spill the beans. What brand new $8000 race-ready MX dirtbike are you planning on buying? I almost don't believe you are or otherwise you would've started a thread asking about it, haha.

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LOL!

[SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

Yeah, I know well what I'm getting into with the KX.

I pretty much got used to the "hit" on the KDX. The cylinder replating seemed to have mitigated the "hit" also. The KX is less than half the cc of the KDX, so hopefully the "hit" will be manageable.

If I was you I would absolutely demand a test ride before giving them any more money. Better to lose a small deposit than having to resell a $4K bike and losing $1-$2K. The small cc race bikes have the hardest hit of any bikes. Some are practically like flicking a light switch on/off. Your KDX has a dimmer switch in comparison.

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[TwoSmokeDS]

I paid the money and before I pushed the KX onto the trailer
I rode around the dealer parking lot. Ring-ring-ring. Uh-Oh,
I think I made a big mistake; this thing felt like it has no
power at all. What is this! It feels weaker than my XR200.
I got home and started to do the break-in thing. Drove up and
down the street for 10 minutes at low RPM. Towards the end
of the 10-min, the bike started to wake up. All of a sudden, it
became crazy demon like. I like it. I like it a lot.

But I definitely need to do a lot of farkling.

Interesting to note that: (1) Brand new bike doesn't come
with any manufacture warranty. Sticker on the fender expressly
disclaim any warrant. "As Is" (2) Funny legalese: "This vehicle
should not be used for general off-road recreational
riding."


It's nice to ride a brand new bike instead of 10 year old worn
out second hand bike. The gear shifting is so smooth.
The clutch lever is so light weight.

[DFW_Warrior]

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

Interesting to note that: (1) Brand new bike doesn't come with any manufacture warranty. Sticker on the fender expressly disclaim any warrant.

Race bikes never do. Chances are though, that you wouldn't need to anyway. Those KX's are pretty much bulletproof and a tried and true design.

[SilverBullet]

Originally Posted by TwoSmokeDS

I paid the money and before I pushed the KX onto the trailer I rode around the dealer parking lot. Ring-ring-ring. Uh-Oh, I think I made a big mistake; this thing felt like it has no power at all. What is this! It feels weaker than my XR200. I got home and started to do the break-in thing. Drove up and down the street for 10 minutes at low RPM. Towards the end of the 10-min, the bike started to wake up. All of a sudden, it became crazy demon like. I like it. I like it a lot.

Congrats on the purchase. Now the task will be learning to ride it to its potential. Your observation above is exactly what I forewarned, low rpm = no power. This bike doesn't put out torque like your XR200 or the KDX220 does. Power comes on abruptly at high rpm so you need to always wring its neck some and keep it there by selecting the right gear. No more low speed lugging for you. Hopefully you'll have a blast! If not we'll see the new thread soon.

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[ShafT]

Those are fun machines! After you've ridden it a while, if you're going to be doing any woods riding or technical slower trails, you might consider adding a Steahly (or other brand) flywheel weight. Do some research and it may mellow the "hit" of that mx-bred engine without numbing it too much. I've seen recommendations of 10 oz to 12 oz. weights.

[TwoSmokeDS]

I probably hold off on the wheel weights for now. I don't mind using the clutch to keep
it from stalling. The clutch is 10 tens lighter and smoother than my KDX. I guess it's
meant for 10 year old hands. It feels effortless. With the KDX, I get severe hand cramps after a couple hours of trail riding.

[swoody126]

unless you have to use public lands, to ride on, it is highly unlikely that you would ever need a title or proof of ownership

at least that's the way dirt bikes used to be

since the great influx of folks from north of the red river, the title issue has become more prominent

SO, if you intend to sell it in the future, you will likely need a title, at that time

there are some politicians that are promising NO NEW TAXES, every time we turn around

but the FEES that have been introduced & raised in recent times have gone off the chart(state park fees went up 12%)

the new fees associated w/ late transfers of titles have been discussed elsewhere on this site, ad nauseam...

go ahead & pay the taxes & get a title

then you wont have anything to worry about in the future

2¢, cha ching

sw

[TwoSmokeDS]

Yeah, I bought it from a local TX dealer. Paid my taxes. It wasn't enough to justifiy driving to Louisiana.

1. Skid plate
   I see there's only one skinny downtube that protects the engine nadir.
   Everything is exposed, like a street bike. I'm getting the Ricoshay Skid
   Plate for sure. Is there any additional engine guard I need to think
   about? There just doesn't seem to be much frame support for the skid
   plate if there's a big hit.
   
2. Kick Stand
   Bike doesn't come with a kick stand. No wonder MX bikes are so light
   weight on the spec sheet. They don't come with all the trail stuff. But I
   degress. I hate to increase the weight of the bike anymore. It's only got
   a 100cc. And it's going to be hauling around my fat butt than it was
   ever intended to. I see Steahly has a nice kickstand for my KX, but it is
   made out of steel and that sounds like heavy. Any other idea to besides
   leaning it against a tree?
   
3. FMF TC Q Silencer (Spark Arrested)
   Will I likely need to rejet with this silencer if I am using stock pipe?
   
4. Spark Plug
   Stock plug is NGK R6252K-105 (10.5 heat range). These plugs are
   expensive! $10 a piece. After 20 minutes of break-in, the motor is
   really, really difficult to start. Is the plug fouled? I took the plug out
   and it looks normal but black. I was able to start the motor with a
   NGK BR8ES, and after warmed-up, I switched back to the stock plug
   and was able to start it and ride. I was afraid the BR8ES would
   overheat the engine.

[DaveAlvarado]

One more quick point, vehicle sales tax isn't 8.25%, it's 6.25% minus any trade-in credit.

[OLDERMXER]

I really hope you like your new bike. I'm riding a 250f now but always loved riding a nice 2 stroke 125. If you are interested in charging & riding aggressive you will learn to love it. I happen to know someone who can show you how & teach you how to ride it. You remember Kyle...nxlevelmx. Guaranteed to take much time off the learning curve for you.

[TwoSmokeDS]

Once I get the bike sorted out, I definitely would want to consider professional training !

Kyle instruction was great. Is he going to have another older/slower-guy/gal-class?