Can you take your licence test on a 400?

[Goregotha]

I am wanting to purchase a 400 and was wondering if you can take the riding part of the drivers licence test on a 400.

[Buffalo]

What state are you in. Rules vary from state to state but most will let you take the test on it.

[Goregotha]

What state are you in. Rules vary from state to state but most will let you take the test on it.

I live in West Virginia. I am new to all of this.

[paulcbrowne]

You can call DMV at 1-800-642-9066. The Burgman 400 and 650 are classified as motorcycles (at least that's what the Sheriff of Jefferson County taxes me on every year!) and I'll bet that there's no problem testing on your 400. That said, you might consider taking an MSF basic course that will get you a waiver on the riding part of the test. It's a good course to take anyway.

Google "WV motorcycle license test" and you'll get lots of helpful links.

[Goregotha]

You can call DMV at 1-800-642-9066. The Burgman 400 and 650 are classified as motorcycles (at least that's what the Sheriff of Jefferson County taxes me on every year!) and I'll bet that there's no problem testing on your 400. That said, you might consider taking an MSF basic course that will get you a waiver on the riding part of the test. It's a good course to take anyway.

Google "WV motorcycle license test" and you'll get lots of helpful links.

Thank you very much. We all gotta start somewhere right.

[Daboo]

This is a personal opinion, but from what you wrote, it sounds like you are brand new to motorcycle riding. I recommend taking the Motorcycle Safety Course and having them give you the riding test on their bikes.

The instruction you'll get will get you up to speed quickly. Plus, the riding portion of the test has you doing some figure 8 turns in a confined area. If you're not familiar with it, you could easily dump the bike.

The bikes they use are donated by the local motorcycle dealerships and they take care of all the costs. If you dump your Burgman, you could end up with some major road rash on those beautiful plastic body panels and be heart broken afterwards.

Chris

[Steve D UK]

I don't know how it works over there but in the UK (and this applies to bikes and cars) if you take your test in/on an automatic and pass, you only get an automatic license. If you take it in a manual, you can ride/drive both.

[greenyaris]

I don't know how it works over there but in the UK (and this applies to bikes and cars) if you take your test in/on an automatic and pass, you only get an automatic license. If you take it in a manual, you can ride/drive both.

Don't forget that we (UK) are restricted to engine size for age. eg, a 16/17 year old can only ride up to 125cc

[Big Jake]

I too highly recommend taking the MSF BRC. In WV it'll count as the riding portion of your MC licencing. You can go ahead and take the written exam in order to obtain your learner's permit which will allow you 90 days to become familiar with your bike before the riding exam. There are a lot of benefits to the MSF course! See here for details: http://msf-usa.org/index_new.cfm?spl=2& ... rse%20Info

If you choose to go ahead and get your full license by taking the riding exam, then yes, you can use your 400. I did at the Fairmont exam site. You definately will need to go beforehand and practice on their course though. Those tight turns are ridiculously tight.

My recommendation though is to go through the MSF BRC and get qualified that way. Good luck in whatever you choose.

[Scooter Mama]

+1 on taking the MSF course. Not only do you get valuable practice using their bikes but you get the benefit of the instructors years of experience in riding. Listen to what they tell you in the classroom and always remember you are invisible to other drivers even when they look right at you.

Good luck and enjoy.

[cliffyk]

Interesting reading, back when I got my Massachusetts driver's license it was just that, a driver's license--the only restriction was that if you took the test with a slushbox you were limited to automatic trannys. When they introduced the separate motorcycle endorsement (whenever that was) I had to go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles and show them a current motorcycle registration, we got "grandfathered" in...

[Bilgeboy]

Absolutely take the MSF Training Course. I just completed it in Georgia this past week-end. Excellent instruction. I used their bike(a Suzuki TU250, lightweight, easy to manage). Georgia offers the written and range(road) tests all in one week-end exercise. I strongly urge you to use the motorcycle that is offered for the training and test. The only real stinker maneuver for the scooter is the low-speed figure eight in a box about 18 (maybe 20) feet wide. Points off for touching the lines, or putting a foot down. Keep in mind the 400 has a specified turn radius around 8.5(+/-) feet. that's at the steering lock. If you're well-practiced, you can do it. If not well-practiced, you'll lose points and maybe drop your scoot in the process. For a newbie or an old retread such as I am, this course is really a high-value investment.
The pass rate in the motorcycle course road test is below 50%, for participants operating a maxi-scooter.

Be safe out there.

[Daboo]

... If you're well-practiced, you can do it. If not well-practiced, you'll lose points and maybe drop your scoot in the process. For a newbie or an old retread such as I am, this course is really a high-value investment...

The problem in my mind, is the practice. I've read of several members here who took their brand new Burgman to the local parking lot to practice slow speed maneuvers and dropped it. There's no way you can drop a Burgman without messing up the body panels.

I took the Experienced Rider Course in Washington State when I first started riding again. There was a guy there with a brand new expensive, chrome covered Harley bagger. He dropped it in practice. I don't know what he did, but I knew what he must've felt.

Chris

[Bilgeboy]

Amen, Chris....

To the O.P.... there's a common thread(no pun intended) in all the advice here:

Take the MSF course.
Check your ego at the door.
Use the bikes offered for the course. They are very basic machines with standard controls and rough edges(they are frequently dropped).
Get the endorsement (Motorcycle Class on your license). Get legal.
Enjoy your new scooter with cautious beginnings.
Have a lot of fun!

Consider also... the low speed maneuver test(figure eight) in a box assesses your ability to control a small, lightweight motorcycle in an extremely tight situation. If you succeed, then you have demonstrated you can do a smooth U-turn in the width of two parking spaces. It's not necessarly a practical maneuver, but it exhibits at least a modicum of skill in how to handle a motorcycle.

NOTE WELL: At the speed required to execute this low-speed maneuver, your scooter's automatic clutch will almost certainly decouple. You'll fall down, bruise parts; scooter develops rash. Not pretty, and you'll be furious. To successfully negotiate this in a maxi, you must learn to keep a little throttle on and control speed by draggging the rear brake.

Again, do yourself a favor, take the course and use the bike supplied.

Nuff said.

Be safe out there!

[Wes_Ingram]

The MSF class is worth the time!!!!!!

[RussL]

and also well worth the money... You also generally get some discount in your insurance... The local Suzuki dealer sponsors the MSF course here in Ft Myers Florida. They do both the written and driving test within the course... You will learn some good stuff...

[gruntled]

My license is due for renewal in June & I worry they may want to retest me because of my age. I got the motorcycle endorsement right after it became law in Kalifornia about fourty years ago. I was the first one to get the endorsement at that local DMV & they didn't have any idea what kind of a test to give me. When I told him how long I had been riding, how many different states & countries he just had me ride in a couple of circles & change gears a few times & passed me.
The next time I had to pass a short written test & that's all I have ever done.

[Finnie9]

I live in tiny Delaware and was able to take the motorcycle test on my Burgmann. I'd imagine most states are the same since a 400cc or 650cc would be considered a "motorcycle" under state law rather than a "moped" or scooter. Here, anything with a 250cc engine and up is considered to be a motorcycle for licensing and insurance purposes.

[gruntled]

Just got my new license & no driving test was required. Vision test was passed easily & the automobile written as well.
The motorcycle written was another matter. The test is really a reading comprehension test more than anything. Many questions have two or more correct answers & you must choose which they considered the "best". They even have a higher requirement for renewing than for new riders.
I missed seven & the maximum was four. You can take the test three times so I checked my answers both right & wrong & took it again. Most of the questions on the second test were different but I just barely passed with four wrong. I have only been riding 57 years.

[respond2us]

Msf would be wise!

Just wanted to chime in here, you guys are bringing back some memories.

When I took my mc driving test in Arkansas, 14 years old, I took it on a 50cc Honda scooter. Easiest test ever. The tester had us bikes pull out of the parking lot, ride about 70 yards, hand signal a left turn, u-turn and come back. He watched from the DMV parking lot. That was 20 years ago. I'm hoping the test is a little more thorough. They were basically giving them away then.

[ASpring6]

I used my 2003 650 to take the test in NC. For the "manual" segments of the test, I just showed him I had the option to "shift" gears. I was given my endorsement with no restrictions.

[Deedah]

In Kentucky I took my driving test for my MC license on my 400. I drove about 25 yards zagging left to right three times (loosely) turned around drove straight about 25 yards and the test was over. It would have been simple on any bike. Kentucky did add a couple of maneuvers to the test in May of this year.

I will not contradict any of the advice here in this thread, as new riders should always get more practice, but the test in my state was a joke.

Deedah

[delburg]

I live in tiny Delaware and was able to take the motorcycle test on my Burgmann. I'd imagine most states are the same since a 400cc or 650cc would be considered a "motorcycle" under state law rather than a "moped" or scooter. Here, anything with a 250cc engine and up is considered to be a motorcycle for licensing and insurance purposes.

In Delaware any bike that exceeds 49cc requires a motorcycle endorsment.....

[Just Me]

In Ohio it costs $25. to take a weekend MSF course. It would be well worth it at 10 times the cost. I learned stuff that guys with 40-50 years of riding didn't know. Finally got one of them to go and he came back shaking his head and had a ready excuse for all the stuff he didn't know. "I was self taught and never thot of lots of the stuff they taught." We are now working on two more riders who have been riding over 40 years. They seem to be afraid of all the stuff they didn't know.

Be smart, take the MSF course.

[delburg]

In Ohio it costs $25. to take a weekend MSF course. It would be well worth it at 10 times the cost. I learned stuff that guys with 40-50 years of riding didn't know. Finally got one of them to go and he came back shaking his head and had a ready excuse for all the stuff he didn't know. "I was self taught and never thot of lots of the stuff they taught." We are now working on two more riders who have been riding over 40 years. They seem to be afraid of all the stuff they didn't know.

Be smart, take the MSF course.

I'm a "Rider Coach" here in Delaware and I usually have at least a couple experienced riders in each class, some have been riding for 30+ years, and I hear the same thing all the time,

"I didn't realize I have been doing it wrong all these years".... The best classes for this are the ERC's (Experienced Riders Course)..........