Do you need a Motorcycle license in order to drive a Vespa LX 50 around in California?
You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “Do you need a Motorcycle license in order to drive a Vespa LX 50 around in California?”.
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!