Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Not Legal In Maryland ?

The Federal Government has no restrictions on the import or sale of Morgan Three-wheelers, but the the states have the authority and responsibility for their registration. At the Federal level three-wheeler manufacturers have so far convinced the US DOT and EPA that these are motorcycles. This could change if a single cabinet-level official decides to crack down on three-wheelers.

I didn't know that Maryland had joined Connecticuit and Texas in refusing to register 3-wheelers, but I'm not surprised. Both California and Kansas have warned that they are studying this.

Three-wheelers are still legal here in Virginia, and one my friends is putting in a lot of miles on his MOG 3W. But, in my opinion, the outlook for the MOG 3W in America is pretty bleak. (I hope I'm wrong.)

I'm told there's a title and tag agent here who can get it through as a custom motorcycle. I'm just skeptical when spending 50K as to whether or not to go forward. This sucks.

Hello Ken ! Any chance of registering in another State and then re-registering ? Or just keeping the out of State plates ?

If the federal gov't approves a motor vehicle for sale, a state cannot prevent it's registration.

They can impose additional standards on a manufacturer (as is the case with Cali emissions stds.) for cars to be sold within their state, but they cannot prevent a vehicle from being lawfully registered in that state if it is legally sold by an authorized representative of the manufacturer unless there is a specific set of criteria for the manufacturer to sell cars within that state that the vehicle is in non compliance of. So, unless a state has a specific set of regulations for 3 wheeled vehicles that would apply to the M3W, that state cannot prevent you from registering it, they cannot make up a rule at the time of registration. They can determine if the registration is as a motorcycle or a car, however.

Sorry for the legalese. You might want to check with your insurance carrier as well.

Don't think I can register in another state without an address there.

You can't.

Find out if Maryland has a specific prohibition against registering 3 wheelers. I'd doubt it.

It's a motorcycle in the US and would have to be registered in Maryland as such. Maryland has motorcycle requirements as all states do. Things like lighting requirements, a horn, etc. One part of the regs that shot down the M3W was that BS about dual headlamps being no greater than 8" apart. There supposedly were other issues relative to "brakes, tires and glazing". Not sure what "glazing" referred to. Maryland sent a letter to MMC stipulating what needed doing to make it Maryland compliant. I assume MMC threw it out. The MVA person said MMC never responded.

Maryland registers 3 wheel bikes. Can-Am, Harley, T Rex, etc. just not M3Ws

Unfortunately Morgan exploited a loophole in US law that allowed a 3 wheel car to be registered as a motorcycle. Some countries, such as Great Britain and Italy, have specific regulations for 3 wheeled vehicles and they are also covered under EU vehicle classification. These rules are now somewhat outdated and were never really intended to apply to vehicles such as the M3W that have car controls. We therefore have a situation in Italy where a bike licence and helmet is required to drive one even though no bike riding skills have any relevance for the M3W. The answer is obviously specific regulations to cover this class of vehicle.

It seems that some states in the USA have realised that the M3W is really much more car than bike and I foresee a general clamp down on the category, unfortunately for US enthusiasts.

Australia seems to have seen the situation reasonably correctly and, despite some ugliness in the solutions adopted (not really the fault of the regulations), I think they have got it right. They seems to have accepted many compromises that would make Australian homologation impossible for a car and have approved the Australian spec M3W a minimalist car with a reduced safety spec by comparison to the 4 wheelers. In effect they have created a precedent for reverse trikes with car controls that could be followed by other manufacturers.

I hope, for the sake of our American cousins, that the legislators in the US are looking at framing specific rules for reverse trikes with car controls. If not I suspect it will become increasingly difficult to put such a vehicle on the road.

So cover up 1 headlamp?


Might be worth asking for a copy of the letter (from the State under Freedom of Information or somesuch).