Rockgurl

Once I have taken my driving test and have a full US license, how does one go about getting a motorcycle license? What does it consist of? I've heard that you can do a short course and get your full license at the end of it....does anyone know about this? Once you have a full license is there a period of time you can only ride a certain engine size? I am very, very keen to get my Harley as soon as possible and realize a dream of a lifetime, and there is no better place than Arizona to get out there and enjoy the open space.

Any information is greatly appreciated...no matter how small and insignificant it may seem. I've tried the Arizona website related to license things but as usual I can't make head nor tail of it.

dudleydowg

http://www.dot.state.az.us/MVD/mvd.htm

Try this site rockgurl it should answer your questions

Pimpbot

How about this?

http://www.dot.state.az.us/mvd/drive...ator.htm#AZLaw

dudleydowg

I should add that if you call your local office for info they are quite obliging, in fact the woman I talked to in Tucson said it was a welcome relief to talk to someone British, no harm in giving it a try

Rockgurl

That's the site I had. I still can't make head nor tail of it. There are so many licenses. Which is the one I go for and can I ride a large engine bike straight away? I've managed to find the bit about how to do the course but I'm still confused about the type of license. If I do the beginners course for 20 hours, do I get my license at the end of it?

What's the difference between the licenses and do you have to go up gradually or can you go straight for the main license straight away without going through the different classes? I take it that as I am over 18 I don't have to wait 5 months before I can ride a big bike.

England is so good at explaining things on websites. On the whole I find American official websites quite poor.

dudleydowg

I'm only at the stage of trying to find out about car licenses at the moment, I was leaving motorcycles alone for the time being because I agree with you about official US web sites making no sense, Thats why I called the DMV I prefer to deal with a real person.

Webbie

Be prepared to be even more confused.
I wanted to get a bike and found out I had to learn how to drive a car first ?!
If you want to ride a motorcycle you have to have a driving licence - and the only way to get a driving licence - pass a test driving a car first - makes no sense !

The theory questions for a car you have to answer (20 out of 25 here) are so easy a 5 year old could pass.
The theory questions for a motorcyle are rock hard.
(I've been riding a motorcyle for 15 years and had difficulty)
They do eveything they can to ensure you don't get a bike.
There is a car bias here.

(For the record I am driving a car at the moment - because I saw the standard of driving here and the massive numbers quoted to me by the insurance companies. Now I know how they drive and once I've got a full time job I'll be switching.)

Webbie.

dudleydowg

My arguement with this whole thing is that I passed my car and bike test back when I was a teenager and have since got a HGV class 1. It is a whole different ball game in the UK even my USC wife can't drive a manual car over here because she can't negotiate the obstacles and change gear at the same time. The DMV should allow for the time driving and the experience gained over the years and grant a US drivers licence based on this. Maybe this is just wishfull thinking on my part.