One night about 3 years ago, I was stopped by a policeman.
He stepped out of his car w/ flashing lights and said, "License, registration, and insurance."
I laughed at him and asked, "Are you serious?"
He actually was serious. He had seen that my bicycle was completely self-propelled, as I could not pedal without my pedal chain (just changed to a larger crank flywheel, but couldn't get a longer chain at 8 o'clock at night).
He told me that I was on a motorcycle, a 2-wheeled motor vehicle. I attempted to tell him that I did what I could to question other gov't officials.
He didn't care. He threatened me with 20 tickets, but he wrote me only two -- no helmet, no headlight. I remedied both issues ASAP -- a helmet from the thrift store and an LED flashlight with a Twofish Lockblock mount.
After that night, I never rode without my pedal chain again. I haven't had any issues whatsoever, except one undercover cop flashed their lights and told me to STOP! I did and they asked all about if I built it or bought it, how fast it went, how many MPGs, etc. "The typical inquiry."
I learned from my prior experience to just shut up. I answered their questions, but when one cop started pondering, "I'm just trying to figure out if it's a motorcycle or a bicycle," I just let him keep pondering. Had I opened my mouth and answered the question for him, he would have likely disagreed just to see me in court. They never asked for license, name, DOB, SSN, address, etc. But I did have my "attorney general opinion" that because a motorized bicycle is mentioned ONLY in the Brakes section of the MS Code, then that is all that is required (in addition to a headlight for all bicycles).
I even stopped at a red light a month or two back and a Sheriff pulled up beside me. I was kinda freaked out, because he was facing me, his window was rolled down, and he was about to say something. He said: "I know you're on a bicycle, but you still have to follow all traffic rules."
I replied, "I usually....", but then saw his eyes jump out at me, so I corrected myself, "I always do follow the rules, sir." Then he smiled and we parted ways.
Cops don't want honesty. I will go out of my way to tell people the Truth, but not a cop.