Yes it is legal, when you buy a new license for an ATV if it is a Class 2 license it is legal to ride the shoulder of a county road. Not a Class 1 license tho that is what most wheelers are licensed as. Class 2 is anything over 900 lbs. and class 1 is under that, of course you can license a class 1 as a class 2 if you so desire, I figure my 500 is close to that in weight anyway once I get it loaded down for a ride with the chainsaw , and axe, and everything else strapped down..