Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: Street legal?, honda xr400, local constabulary

Question
This question may be out of your area, but I'll ask anyway.

I live in New Mexico. My Honda XR400 motorcycle is street legal here in New
Mexico and has a New Mexico licence plate. I have no turnsignals on the
motorcycle (which is legal in New Mexico) but can I ride my motorcycle on
California streets on a vacation trip? I know California requires turnsgnals on
California motorcycles, but how about visiting motorcycles from out of State?

I ride my XR400 on trails, but sometimes to go between trails I need to ride
on public streets short distances.

Any help on this question would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Answer
You're right, I can't answer a question about California laws, but can at least give you a little advice:

If your bike otherwise meets California equipment requirements (don't know what they are, but probably headlight hi/low, tailight with stop lamp, mirror, horn, muffler, etc.) and you use hand signals in place of turn signals, you'll probably be okay with an out-of-state plate. My guess is they've got bigger fish to fry than your turn signals.

As a rule though, I'd expect that California would require you to conform to their laws, ultimately. For example, a rider from a non-helmet-law state would still be required to wear one in California. This probably applies to other laws as well.

I hope that helps. You could also try to find an online forum for ORV operators in California, they could probably give you some good advice for how to handle the local constabulary.

Pat