Alabama Motorcycle Knowledge Test Cheat Sheet
The fastest way to review before your ALEA motorcycle test — the numbers and rules most likely to appear.
🪪 Permit & License
- Class M license required — "Class M" must appear on your license
- Minimum age for a motorcycle (Class M): 16
- Age 14: restricted motor-driven cycle license only (Restriction B)
- Pass a knowledge test and an on-cycle skill test to be licensed
- Testing is handled by ALEA driver license examining offices
- Carry your license whenever you ride — show it on demand
🔢 Most-Tested Numbers
- Following gap2 seconds minimum
- Poor conditions / night3 seconds or more
- Front brakeAt least 70% of stopping power
- Search ahead12 seconds
- Immediate path4 seconds
- Handlebar height limit15 inches above the seat
🪖 Helmet & Gear
- Helmet required — every rider and passenger, every age
- Shoes required by law for operator and passenger
- Eye/face protection strongly encouraged — face shield or goggles
- A face shield protects your whole face; goggles only the eyes
- Choose a DOT-standard helmet that fits snugly, no cracks or frayed straps
- Never wear tinted eye protection when little light is available
✅ Remember This Answer
- Quick stop? Use both brakes at the same time
- Front brake? Squeeze firmly and progressively — never grab
- Curve? Slow, Look, Press, Roll
- To lean and turn? Press the handgrip toward the turn
- Swerve? Brake before or after — never while swerving
- Stopped in traffic? Stay in first gear
✅ Remember This Answer (2)
- Starts to rain? Ride in the cars' tire tracks, not the center
- Railroad tracks? Cross straight, within your lane
- Tailgater behind you? Change lanes and let them pass
- Cut reaction time? Cover the clutch and both brakes
- Daytime visibility? Headlight on — 2× as likely to be seen
- Front wheel locks? Release the front brake, then reapply
⚠️ Common Test Traps
- "No room to stop" → Swerve — don't just brake harder
- "Stop fastest" → Both brakes — not front alone, not rear first
- "Brake while swerving" → Wrong — brake before or after only
- "Made eye contact" → Driver still may not yield
- "Following distance" → 2 sec; 3+ in poor conditions
- "Lane splitting" → Prohibited in Alabama
⚠️ More Test Traps
- "Curve, too fast" → Slow before — don't brake hard mid-curve
- "Lane sharing" → Only two motorcycles abreast — never with a car
- "Chased by a dog" → Approach slowly, then accelerate away
- "Carrying a passenger" → Bike responds slower — ride slower
- "Waited an hour per drink" → Side effects can still remain
- "Small animal in your lane" → Stay in your lane — don't swerve into traffic
🚨 Emergency Situations
- Tire goes flat → Hold grips, ease off throttle, keep straight, edge off the road
- Stuck throttle → Twist it; if still stuck, cut-off switch + pull in clutch
- Wobble → Close throttle gradually — don't brake, don't accelerate
- Rear wheel locks → Keep it locked until stopped if straight and upright
- Obstacle you must cross → Hit it near 90°, slow, straight, rise onto the pegs
- Engine seizes → Squeeze the clutch, pull off the road
🌧️ Surfaces, Weather & Night
- Pavement is most slippery in the first minutes of rain
- Slippery surface: slow before it, no sudden moves, both brakes gently
- Cross parallel seams or grooves at 45° or more
- Night: ride slower and open a 3-second-plus following gap
- Night: high beam when not following or meeting a car
- The front brake still works on a slippery surface — squeeze it gradually
🏍️ Motorcycle Control
- Press left grip → lean left → go left (press toward the turn)
- Use both brakes every stop — the front gives 70%+ of the power
- Corner in four steps: SLOW · LOOK · PRESS · ROLL
- Slow tight turn: lean the bike only, keep your body upright
- Pick the lane third that helps you see and be seen
- Gear pattern is 1-N-2-3-4-5; change gears before a turn
🍺 Alcohol & Impairment
- Legally intoxicated (adult)0.08% BAC
- Under 210.00–0.02% BAC
- Leaves the body~1 drink per hour
- As little as one drink hurts judgment and balance
- Impairment begins well below the legal limit
- Marijuana distorts your sense of time, space and speed
🎯 Last-Minute Before the Test
- Both brakes to stop — front brake = 70%+ of power
- Every curve: SLOW · LOOK · PRESS · ROLL
- Press the grip toward the turn to lean
- Brake OR swerve — never both at once
- Follow at 2 seconds — 3+ when wet or crowded
- Helmet required for all; shoes required; signal every turn
- SEE = Search, Evaluate, Execute · 0.08% BAC = intoxicated
Confirm every number against the official Alabama Motorcycle Manual before test day. Full helmet law →
Source: Test details reflect the consensus of major rider-education sources — confirm with the state agency before your visit. Question count is not published on the official ALEA page; about 30 questions and an 80% passing score is the consensus of major third-party study sites. The knowledge test is based on the Alabama Motorcycle Manual.