Modern Vespa

Being from the UK and reading a few posts on here I wanted to ask you something.

Do you not have to do any test or training before you can go out and ride on the road over there?

Not sure about the USA but in Canada you may ride any 50cc scooter without a licence.

Above 50cc you would have to have a regular car driving permit and a special permit that would allow you to ride a motorcycle.

The rules are pretty much the same in the US ....

What what England ? What are the rules over there ?

You have to do the CBT Compulsory basic training here first before you can ride anything. Its a day spent learning the controls and basics in a carpark and then a few hours on the road with an instructor.

Thats valid for 2 years and you can ride up to a 125 but have to display l plates at all times.

After that theres different tests depending on what you want to ride, which have just changed and apparently got harder.

I think maybe you can ride something small without doing a cbt if you have a car licence that you have had since so many years ago but i dont know ive never owned a car or a licence for one.

Some state allow you to ride a 50cc scooter with no tags or license, but any thing over that all states require tags, insurance and an M class license. You do not have to take any training but do have to pass a written and skills test by riding a course.

Wayne B

Seems madness i know people moan about the rules and laws here but they are there forf a reason i guess.

Its worrying that someone could just do lots of revision about riding a bike and pass a test and go out and ride one without training.

Having said that it was only 20 or so years ago here that you could go out buy anything up to a 250cc motorbike slap and l plate on the back and off you go, no test, no instruction etc no nothing.

Beware the 3rd EU Licence Directive due in 2013 - under discussion is forbidding any unaccompanied riding without a full licence. So bye-bye 'provisional' status. Madness of course, but MAG, BMF and FEMA are watching this closely!

Yes, and then you have these idiots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNh0ba2-X_8

Wayne B

Well, legally and insurance-wise you need an M or L class license to ride on the roads here, (Illinois)

Or you can go in to the DMV, get the motorcycle book, take the written permit test, pass it and this allows you to ride on the road with other M class license holders. I think you can also get insurance on a permit but I am unsure.

Illegally, a lot of people here purchase bikes or scooters first and start riding. Then go into take the test at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

I hesitate to say this, because I will probably start a s**t storm but... I knew someone who bought 150cc scooter off the internet and he used that to go back and forth to work.

I thought that was great until I found out he had lost his license to drunk driving. He dried himself out and got himself back on track. However, He had no license or insurance. What he did about getting a title and plates for the scooter, I do not know.

i really should of done my test 12 years ago when I first started riding. Instead of just redoing the cbt every couple of years. Laziness and the fact that I have always been happy riding a 125, i dont need more power or speed really.

This is simply not accurate. Motorcycle licensing is governed by each individual province, and there are differences. To generalize to "all of Canada" makes no sense.

In Ontario, you need to obtain a Limited Speed motorcycle license in order to operate motorcycles or mopeds with a maximum speed of 70kph and a maximum displacement of 50cc or less. Any faster, or larger, and you need a regular motorcycle license. To obtain either a motorcycle license (limited or not) or general driving license, you have to go through a graduated system.

Ontario licensing information can be found here

In Alberta, it is a bit more confusing. You need to obtain a Class 6 license to ride a motorcycle or moped (and be 16 years of age or older), or a Class 7 license to operate a moped only (and be 14 years of age or older). You can also operate a moped with a Class 5 license (again, confusing).

More information about the Alberta system can be found here

That is only two examples. Each of the 10 provinces and 3 territories will do it a little different.

Yea here in Indiana,I see bunches of 150cc chinese scoots on the road with no tags.There all the same size as the 50cc scoots,so no one no's any different. No license or insurance needed for 50cc scoots here.

Question,if you live in a state like Indiana where as I said no license or insurance is required for the 50cc scoots,can you legally ride your 50cc in other states that do require 50cc scoots to be tagged and insured?

Taking the test costs not much more then a CBT, I really recommend doing it. Your insurance will come down by more than the difference in cost. Plus one day you may well want more than the power of a 125, and you'll be in a position to do it straight away.

Get the Theory test done first (lasts two years).
Your CBT and Theory must still be current for the next two bits.
Look up and practise the exercises needed for the Module 1 (off-road) bit. This only costs a tenner a time to take, so you can treat the first one as cheap practice, but it'll be a doddle on your 125.
Then take the Module 2 (observed ride on-road).

No.

Wayne B

My insurance is only £60 a year so I doubt it could come down much more. But yeah I should do it. Without having a big head I doubt I would need many lessons either.

I got my learner's permit in California without ever having operated a two-wheel vehicle on m own (in the US - Bermuda doesn't count). That allowed me to ride an displacement during daylight hours without a passenger and on surface streets or expressways. After six months, I would have had to pass the full license test or take an approved course - which my wife and I each did to get full endorsement - or revoke my learner's status and drive only a car.

The first time I ever operated a tw-wheel vehicle in the US was when I bought my GT from the seller, after having had my permit for three days.

I doubt you'll need any lessons as such. It would certainly be worth going out with an experienced friend so they can give you some tips. However getting a day's training will pay more dividends than just helping to pass the test, honest.

I thought it would be helpful to practice riding so I took the permit test before anything else. Then I found out that I couldn't buy my first scoot since I wasn't able to get insurance before I had a M1 license. So I took the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course through the local community college. It was 2 weeknights with videos, discussions and testing and 2 Saturday rider training on motorcycles.

After I passed the MSF course they gave me a slip to take to the DMV. Little did I know that since I already passed the permit test, they just said congratulations, you'll be getting the license in the mail. After that I was able to purchase a P200, get insurance and actually practice!

I hear the other option is to take the DMV rider test where you do all sorts of figure eights and cone work it the parking lot. It's supposed to be much more difficult possibly trying to encourage most people to take the class.

Must have been a requirement at that dealer. I was able to buy my scooter without a permit or license. I didn't ride it home but I was still able to buy (it was delivered to me). Once I got my permit GEICO had no problem insuring me. After I got my M1, I notified GEICO and they even gave me a discount for taking the MSF course.

This varies a great deal by state

Back in New Jersey,
all scooter riders were supposed to be accompanied by a licensed rider
until they had passed a ride test and had their full motorcycle license

Here in South Carolina, most "scooters" are "mopeds" because they are 50cc
These require:
* no license
* no insurance
* no training
* no gear

how does it work with no insurance then? If you hit something or someone you have to pay yourself? What if someone hits you

Yes. You can hope that they are insured and that the collision is so clearly the other driver's fault that their insurance will pay you without a fight.  Even then, expect to be low-balled on repair or replacement.

Otherwise, you're hosed.

The price of pizza will soar!

In South Carolina, you have to go to the DMV and pass the written exam for motorcycle riders to get a learner's permit. Our local Vespa dealer will not (correctly) sell, or even let someone take a Vespa (over 50 cc's) on a test drive, without a learner's permit.

I was able to get insurance with the learner's permit.

In theory, you have one year to go back to the DMV and take the driving test before getting a full license. The full license enables you to drive at night and have a passenger.

In practice, some people keep going back and renewing their learner's permit over and over again.

Here's a link to a MV wiki article about scootering laws in various localities.

https://modernvespa.com/forum/wiki-laws

Bloody good point!