It doesn't sound like he's firmly applying the letter of the law to me. he was merely checking license, registration and insurance. What would happen if one of those uninsured bikes were to get in an accident in that little town and it was shown that the local law enforcement was just letting them slip by? I understand that this event has been going on for many years, but perhaps some people actually complained. Or perhaps there has been issues in the past and they wanted to set a new precedent. Asking motorcycles to be legal for road use is not an excessive request, IMO.