Can one take the DMV skill test on an Enertia or any e-bike?

[Kelly Olsen]

I was just going through the California DMV Motorcycle Handbook to study for the motorcycle license test and I came across the following:

Motorcycle Skills Test

Basic vehicle control skills are in-cluded in the motorcycle skills test to determine your ability to maneuver in normal traffic situations. You will be asked to identify nine items on your motorcycle before the actual riding portion of the test. The items you will be asked to identify are the:• Starter• Kill switch• Clutch• Throttle• Gear selector• Dimmer switch• Brakes• Turn signals• Horn.

Gear Shift Ride – Ride in a straight path, shifting gears up, then down, complete a U-turn and return, shifting gears up, then down and end in a smooth stop at the starting point.

Going to be hard to point out the clutch and then shift gears on an e-bike. In fact, not hard, more like impossible. I can already see the DMV worker saying that the test requires you to do these things and that you must fulfill the test requirements because that is what the rules say. You know how they are about rules.

Should never have let my motorcycle rating lapse. But at some point they are going to have to acknowledge e-bikes when there gets to be more of them on the road and either change the rules for the test to allow for e-bikes or make two types of licenses.

[Brammofan]

I have to take my riding test by November.  Expect a full report.

[HighlanderMWC]

Just take the MSF course as passing it replaces the need to take the DMV skill test. Plus it's a better set of people to deal with.

[Kelly Olsen]

Just take the MSF course as passing it replaces the need to take the DMV skill test. Plus it's a better set of people to deal with.

Yes, this is an option I've looked into and is a good idea to take the class anyway and they are right up the street from my house. But I posted this as more of general issue which is just an interesting question and shows how technology and bureaucracy don't travel on the same time line.

Also, the DMV handbook says the the test must be taken on a motorcycle that is registered, so one could argue that if the Enertia or any e-bike is registered and has plates and the State permit to be on the road, then it qualifies to be used for the test even if it does not have a clutch or gears. But I'd rather not be the first person trying to convince the DMV of this. And California DMV people are known to be very dogmatic sometimes.

[Brammofan]

Just take the MSF course as passing it replaces the need to take the DMV skill test. Plus it's a better set of people to deal with.

I will likely take the MSF course next Spring, but it's not an inexpensive option.  The DMV test is $0, and the MSF course is usually over $200.

[enertia-ette]

In the state of Oregon you can take the DMV test with the Enertia since they register it as a "250cc motorcycle equivilant". Its really easy with the small bike however, regardless of the cost of the safety classes, they are worth it!

[Kelly Olsen]

In the state of Oregon you can take the DMV test with the Enertia since they register it as a "250cc motorcycle equivilant". Its really easy with the small bike however, regardless of the cost of the safety classes, they are worth it!

Oregon is a progressive State in many ways. The safety course here in California is $250, so it is not cheap. But my nephew took it and over the period of a year, they chose him to come back every three months or so for study of how their lessons worked and he was paid $75 each time for a total $225. So the course only ended up costing him $25 so far. And if they bring him back again, he'll be into a $50 profit. But I don't think they do that for everybody.

[enertia-ette]

No, we dont have anything like that, to my knowledge. I think its a great idea, though. I think our classes are actually too brief and could use some fine tuning. With that said, they are also very beneficial. The cost for a beginner to get a certificate to take to the DMV about $180. I was in a class with 8 people and 3 had no experience. There should have been a true "beginners" class for those 3 and then on to the class I took. It was painful to watch and one young woman left in tears and said she never wanted to see a motorcycle again! The Enertia would have been perfect for her and the other two, as well!