get a WA State motorcycle license

Nobody wants me to ride a motorcycle. Well, except Ivan. I’ll be careful. And I agree that it can be dangerous. But I passed the written and riding skills test. And I learned more about riding a motorcycle than I would have imagined. Two days of riding excercises and one night class.

Anybody got a good motorcycle for sale in the Seattle area?

Ivan signed us up for a state-subsidized MC licensing course this coming Thursday. Turns out that I was wrong about how the test works—if we pass everything during the course we actually don’t have to take the written or the riding test! We get a certificate that can be taken to the licensing office within 180 days and they simply grant you a motorcycle license.

Todd & Alyssa—sign up with us! Here’s the number:

Evergreen Safety Center
800-521-0778

It’s $100. The schedule for this course is:
Thurs 2/23 6pm-9pm
Sat 2/25 8am-5pm
Sun 2/26 8am-2:30pm

If you’re late you’re disqualified. The Sat/Sun courses take place at Boeing Field.

Here’s a big PDF (72 pages) of the WA Motorcycle Operator Manual.

Todd asked me last night if mopeds required a MC license in WA State. It turns out that mopeds with 50cc motors or less that travel 30mph or less do not require a special license. Anything over that threshold requires the standard MC license.

In WA State you can avoid the written knowledge test by taking a certified rider course. But everyone has to pass the State’s riding test.

1. Private lessons w/ Zolt @ NW Motorcylce School. Zolt charges $60/hr and says it takes people 4 to 6 hours of one-on-one instruction to get basic skills. He told me that you’ll pass the knowledge exam and riding exam with his instruction, but the state does not waive the knowledge text when you take a course here. They claim to have the highest rating for motorcycle instruction in WA State and used to train Seattle’s motorcycle cops. So, about $250 (they provided the motorcycle) to get 4 hours of one-on-one instruction

1. Group lessons with Evergreen Safety Council. They are subsidized by the State. This course effectively waives the knowledge portion of the WA State motorcycle license test. The State’s subsidy pays about 2/3 of the fee and it’s a group class, therefore much cheaper. Classes are in demand and don’t start until April 2006. The subsidized class is $100, the unsubsidized class is $200. The course is 16 hours (2 full days).

So, anybody have opinions about the classes? After looking at the Evergreen site and seeing that they don’t have Seattle courses the private lessons aren’t looking half bad.