Do you need a Motorcycle license in order to drive a Vespa LX 50 around in California?
Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at
2:38 am
Now, it’s 49cc, and I’ve been told that a motorcycle is anything over 50cc, so I figure I wouldn’t need an M on my license in order to drive this around in California. I’ll only be driving it around on abandoned roads in the middle of nowhere (I live in a small valley. There are lots of streets that people ride quads on).
You need an M2 license, which is not hard to get. The thing is, in California you can’t just get a motorcycle license. It’s an endorsement on your car license, so you have to have one of those.
Yes, 49cc is not a ‘motorcycle’, it’s a ‘motor driven cycle’. So you still need a license.
California does not depend on any motors by sized. A Vespa LX50 is legally a motorcycle, a motor-driven cycle. Your Vespa requires registration, license, and insurance. You are required to drive a motorcycle Class M1 driver’s license, or an endorsement on your Class C license.
If you are under 21 years, you are also required to take and pass the CA-MSP Basic Rider Course. http://www.ca-msp.org/
(In California a M2 license is for a motorized pedal bicycle, not for a Vespa, and there such thing of a Class-3 license.)
Yes, you must have a class M endorsement on your class 3 license to drive a 50cc scooter, plus it must be registered and you must wear a helmet (in california). If the streets are dedicated county roads, paved or not, or they are city or county roads the cost of a citation is not worth the risk.
Ride safely!