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Failed Inspection for tape on turn signal stems

nc5p

New member
My 2013 F800GS has been in my garage undergoing long needed repairs (forks, new seat, etc.) and I thought it was time to go get it legal to ride here in Texas. It had been registered at my other house in Albuquerque but since my wife will be riding it sometime soon it needs to be registered here. She has been rather jealous since I got the R1200GS last February. I got the insurance transferred over yesterday, fairly painless. Today I took it out for the first time in many months to get it inspected. After some frustration finding a place near me that inspects motorcycles I finally found a place. Everything is fine except my front turn signals. The bike was kept outdoors for several years out in the desert, rode to work almost daily, and parked in the open sun. The stems on the lights long ago snapped. I fixed this cheaply by putting a split piece of poly pipe over them, then taping this in place. It didn't really look that bad and they never gave me any problem. Until today. I was told the state inspection specifically forbids tape being used to hold the lights. So I rode home, and got the bright idea to just use hose clamps. I bought the camps, put them on, then went into the house to get ready to go back to the inspection place. When I returned to the garage both lights had fallen off. The stem material had crumbled to pieces.

This afternoon I went to Cycle Gear and purchased two universal fit lights. They look good and put out plenty of light. I will return tomorrow and see what happens. I would not be surprised if DOT requirements are not brought up. This kind of makes me mad since people around here put purple lights on their cars and all sorts of crazy lighting systems are used on the street with little sign any enforcement is taken. Car inspection amounts to plugging into OBD and looking for fault codes. Motorcycle inspection seems to be the third degree. The guy even looked at my brake fluid (which he commented was very clean).

Is this normal or did I just get a guy who is doing everything by the book and others don't? I can't wait to get to the county tax office and spend a day only to be sent home for something. The R1200GS, Tacoma, and the wife's Equinox were purchased here in Texas so we didn't have to go through that experience with them.
 
Well.. I think the short answer is yes- Yes there will always be state inspectors that act like Nazi's- just because they can. Here in VA- the state inspection procedure had to be revamped a bit- because there were a bunch of dirtbags arbitrarily failing people over window tint. (and ignoring it for a fee) So- window tint was specifically REMOVED from the procedure- and became an enforcement thing. So you can get a ticket for overdone tint- but you cannot be failed for inspection.

Now your bike sounds like it had some issues there with the lights. Tape visibly holding the lights on does seem a bit obvious to me- but I understand your bigger point. I'm not keen on being held for ransom over ticky tack nonsense, either.

My solution is to avoid bike dealers/service centers and go right over to my local car shop for state inspections because in Virginia- an SI is an SI. By law- if you're authorized, you have to do both cars and bikes and you cannot refuse. That said-these guys deal with cars all day. They hardly get paid anything at all to do a state inspection of any kind, so they are not interested in investing significant time to pick apart a motorcycle over $12.

Now they will certainly apply common sense. Bald tires, grinding brakes, and duct tape holding your turn signals on will probably not fly here in VA either. Nor should it.
 
My last two years of inspections on a 40 year old bike have consisted of garage owner inputting info into system, taking my money, and applying the sticker, which he says by law he is required to do himself.

Nothing inspected on the bike whatsoever.

SPP
 
That what makes it bad, and everybody ends up paying for it. Well, this year he has to do a little more work plus invest in more Equpment that should make him happy. I like the guys that just hand out stickers and then complain when they get fined. IMO it's not worth the $6 to not do the right inspection. Last guy that I know ended up losing and get behind bars by not during the right inspection. The people that do these types of inspection have no concern about your safety.
 
I'm thinking there is some safety involved especially for those riders not mechanically inclined....Probably more about revenue and tracking. :dunno

Anyway, here in Mass, it is $15.00. There is the inspection of all lights and light actuation and aiming. There is a flashlight look at brake pad(s) where applicable. The inspector has to have a M/C license and is supposed to drive the bike into the bay. Short inspectors will allow a rider to bring it in if the Bike is too tall. Inspection sticker is affixed to license plate in a specific spot.

I remember when the inspection sticker was $2.00 twice a year.....sticker was kept with the registration. :gerg

OM
 
My last two years of inspections on a 40 year old bike have consisted of garage owner inputting info into system, taking my money, and applying the sticker, which he says by law he is required to do himself.

Nothing inspected on the bike whatsoever.

SPP

Kind of the same with me but the dealer knows how I am with my machines.
 
My last two years of inspections on a 40 year old bike have consisted of garage owner inputting info into system, taking my money, and applying the sticker, which he says by law he is required to do himself.

Nothing inspected on the bike whatsoever.

SPP

You'd think he'd be required by law to actually do an inspection.
 
Then there's South Carolina, no inspections. You can stand by the road and here every vehicle go buy that needs brake attention, wheels canted needing upper/lower ball joints, no brake or tail lights functioning. all safety issues.
 
Corruption and cost to tax payers is the reason that Florida did away with inspections. It is bad thing as we have all kinds of crappy vehicles on our roads on top of the crappy drivers…
 
Most accidents are caused by a defective driver, not a defective vehicle.

True but when you see wheels and axles coming of vehicles it makes you wonder… Just watch “just rolled in” on Utoob… People refusing to repair certain things leaves me to wonder about their mental condition driving those vehicles and “sharing” the road with all of us…
 
Most states didn't inspect vehicles until Congress passed a law that stipulated that states would lose Federal highway funds unless they adopted an inspection program. Some states set up costly but lucrative annual systems. Some states - eg: Kansas that I know of, instituted on-road stops as needed when defects are noticed. I think (but not positive) the Federal mandate has dissolved. Every couple of years the Texas legislative goofs debate eliminating the system and usually wind up just jacking the price a little bit. Last time around they at least eliminated the stupid stickers the inspection shops had to pre-purchase. Now the shop gets $7 and the County collects $7.50 for the State.
 
Some states specifically require that turn signals are solidly attached and tape rightly doesn't cut it. A brief scan of Virginia's requirements makes it look like turn signals are about the only thing that DOESN'T have the requirement of being firmly attached, but I've been specifically told that's the case in Maryland for instance.

Around here a SI is usually a light check and occasionally a brake pad thickness check but they usually get that part wrong. According to the manual they should be doing an operational check of the brakes (either the inspector or the owner ride the bike for this) but that NEVER happens.
 
Good news: it passed. He rode it around the parking lot to verify that the brakes worked, checked all the lights again, and took my insurance information. He liked the new turn signals. They do look a lot nicer than the sun scorched old ones.

Now I just have to fill out that nasty form and sit all day at the county tax office. They really turn the screws to you if you bring a vehicle into the state after initially moving here. The tax in first 30 days of residency is $90 per vehicle, after that if you bring in a vehicle you kept at your other house it's the sales tax on what you paid for it. Maybe I misunderstood it but it looks like they want the tax on it's new value and don't allow for depreciation. They do have a line to subtract for tax paid to another state but NM it's 5% and TX is 6.25% so I will probably end up paying 1.25% on the total new purchase price. I'm looking for the bill of sale, found the title but not sure how I will get one if it was lost in the move. Maybe Sandia BMW could get me a copy of it? have a feeling this 2013 F800GS will cost me $1000 to title and register in Texas. It's tempting to just keep it registered at the other house but my insurance company won't let me get away with that. No wonder so many folks around this part of town drive forever on paper tags or no tags at all.
 
Some states specifically require that turn signals are solidly attached and tape rightly doesn't cut it. A brief scan of Virginia's requirements makes it look like turn signals are about the only thing that DOESN'T have the requirement of being firmly attached, but I've been specifically told that's the case in Maryland for instance.

Around here a SI is usually a light check and occasionally a brake pad thickness check but they usually get that part wrong. According to the manual they should be doing an operational check of the brakes (either the inspector or the owner ride the bike for this) but that NEVER happens.

The inspector *usually* doesn't get much money from the inspection (the state usually gets most of it, but all states do it a little different).
For that reason, why would any inspector take on the liability of driving your car to "test" the brakes?

Heck... you drove there without crashing into the building, so the brakes probably "work".

I sure wouldn't take on that liability for the $4 those guys get in Louisiana. It doesn't even cover the time it takes to fill out the paperwork.
 
Ny

Here in NY, they have upped the game in motorcycle inspections requiring shops to buy equipment that was not needed before. With the tiny amount of money my friend was making on each inspection versus the cost and hassle of the new requirements, he has chosen to stop doing them. Bigger shops may perhaps be able to afford the changes but he can't. St.
 
A while back, the state (MA) decided that a "roll on" Dyno was the way to go to check vehicles and emissions. If you have ever seen a real Dyno, picture a goofy, cheesy looking Dyno.

If you can imagine to grief with that kind of deal, picture that the electrically powered Dyno sat on the floor. As this was a violation of the electrical code that the whizz-kids didn't think of before implementation, the legislature had to grant them a "special" waiver to operate the now mandated system. :hungover

SNAFU's like this reinforce the theory that it is fees first, safety second. :eek

OM
 
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