Do Enduro Bikes Need Indicators? - Ultimate Off-Roading

Enduro motorcycles are enjoyed on many off-road terrains. You might have noticed, however, that enduro motorcycles do not possess indicators if you just purchase them from the factory. You might think that this is a mistake or that they gave you a defective enduro motorcycle. So, the question remains whether or not enduro motorcycles should come with indicators and whether or not enduro motorcycles need them.

Standard enduro motorcycles do not come with indicators. This is because indicators are not required to drive enduro motorcycles off-road. However, if you wish to drive your enduro motorcycle on-road, you will have to comply with the necessary requirements, one of them being installing indicators.

Whether or not enduro bikes require indicators depends on what you want to use the enduro bike for. When it comes to the on-road legality of an enduro bike, there are many requirements that must be satisfied. So what other requirements are there to be able to drive on the road, other than having indicators on your enduro motorcycle? We take a look at all the relevant aspects in the article below.

Do Endure Bikes Need Indicators?

Enduro bikes that come out of the factory as-is are, for the most part, not allowed to drive on the road. Accordingly, they are not road legal and must ride on terrains and trails that are designated for them (and other off-road dirt bikes). There are, however, manners in which you can have the enduro bike approved to be road legal.

To make your enduro bike legal for road usage, it is required that you add several components and, if required by law in the region or country you live in, register the motorcycle as road-legal. The components that you must add in order to make your enduro bike road-legal are a brake light, turn signals, a horn, and a rearview mirror.

Some enduro bikes have models that comply with the requirements for on-road use but merely have to be registered for highway use.

Accordingly, if you have an enduro bike and you only wish to use it for the trails for which it was designed, you do not require indicators/turn signals. However, if you wish to make it legal for on-road usage, you will have to make the appropriate modifications – one of which includes the addition of adding turn signals/indicators – depending on the region where you live.

How To Make Your Enduro Motorcycle Street Legal

We have now discovered that you do not require indicators to be able to drive your enduro motorcycle. We have, however, discovered that you would have to acquire indicators on your enduro motorcycle if you wish to make it road legal.

Now we can explore all of the requirements that must be met, in addition to installing indicators, to ensure that your enduro motorcycle is road-legal.

Upgrades To Your Electrical System

To upgrade your motorcycle to be street legal, it may require an upgrade to an electrical system. Most of the time, people have found that it is a good idea to do a stator upgrade.

The Headlights

In order to make sure that your motorcycle is road-legal, most states in the United States require that the motorcycle possesses a headlight. The headlight must also have the ability to switch to different modes of brightness, such as low and high beams. It may be a bit confusing sometimes because not all areas require the switch that adjusts the brightness of the headlight.

Furthermore, the headlight must be DOT (Department of Transport) approved; otherwise, the statutory requirement will not be satisfied.

On a side note, it is recommended that one has a headlight that can change between low brightness and high brightness settings – purely for the sake of safety.

The switch that changes the headlight from low brightness to high brightness, as well as the high beam indicator, has to be visible to the rider from his/her seated position. Additionally, the brightness switch must be within comfortable reach to the rider.

The Brake Light

Your enduro bike must have a tail light that has a brake light function in order to be road-legal.

Turn Signals (Indicators)

It is not a requirement in every state in the United States, but some states do require that you have indicators and that they must be at the front and back of your motorcycle. Additionally, the states that do require that your motorcycle has indicators mostly contain rules about where the indicators must be relative to the tail- and headlights of your motorcycle.

The switch for your indicators must be placed on the grip of your left hand. This is to ensure that your hand does not let go of the throttle when signaling to turn.

As with the other components on your motorcycle, indicators also have to be DOT approved. However, it may be hard to locate DOT-approved indicators, which is why some state that it is possible to get by with just a normal functioning set of indicators.

Exhaust

Most of the states do not say much about exhaust requirements, other than that it must be properly functioning, adhere to the sound regulations as set by the state, and that the exhaust must not produce excessive amounts of smoke.

If possible, it is safer to find an exhaust that is EPA-approved. If it is not possible to do so, try and find an exhaust that does not have an overly loud muffler, is dent-free, and is clean.

If the exhaust appears normal and fit for road usage, your chances are higher of it being considered acceptable for road usage.

Usually, only the silencer requires replacing, which is why a slip-on can be used to take care of that aspect without spending too much money.

Rearview Mirrors

Your motorcycle requires, at the very least, one rearview mirror to be road-legal.

The Horn

If your enduro motorbike does not have a horn, it is required that a horn be installed to ensure its road legality.

Wheels

The motorcycle must have wheels that are DOT approved.

Bracket For Your License Plate

Being able to display your license plate is a requirement to make your motorcycle road legal. States usually have their own requirements on how the license plate must be displayed. Thus, the best advice to give is to contact your local DMV on how the plate must be displayed.

Doing Research

In order to make sure that you comply with all the necessary requirements to get your enduro bike road legal is to consult the necessary information. The best place to start is to go to your local DMV, whether it is online or in person, to find out what they say you would require to drive your enduro motorcycle on the road.

If there is an institution that knows what is required to drive on the road, it would be the institution that communicates the laws to all the drivers on the road. Once you have consulted the DMV, you will know exactly what they require of you, and you can begin your process of upgrading your motorcycle and obtaining the necessary information.

Gathering The Correct Documentation

It should not be surprising, but many states require that you provide a lot of documentation before you are able to register your motorcycle as road-worthy.

These can include documents that verify the motorcycle, the upgrades that have been done to it, whether the federal or state standards have been met, the manufacturer’s certificate of origin, etc.

It is important, as mentioned earlier, that you should consult your DMV if you wish to know what documentation is required of you.

Once you have gotten the necessary information, you can go to a licensed mechanic and get all the necessary upgrades and have the mechanic sign off on them. Thereafter you can go to the DMV and fill out the necessary paperwork to make your enduro bake road legal.

Conclusion

In conclusion, enduro bikes do not need indicators, per se. If you simply want to use your enduro bike for driving off-road, you should be fine. If, however, you want to drive on-road, you will have to install indicators.

That said, indicators are not the only thing you have to worry about. Make sure you check all the requirement boxes, in addition to making sure your enduro bike has indicators installed.