Indiana Motorcycle Knowledge Test Cheat Sheet
The fastest way to review before your BMV motorcycle test — the numbers and rules most likely to appear.
🪪 Permit & Endorsement
- Need an Indiana DL with a motorcycle endorsement, or a learner's permit
- Endorsement minimum age: 16 years and 90 days
- Permit requires a knowledge exam + vision screening
- Permit valid 1 year; may be renewed only one time
- Option 1: Ride Safe Indiana safety course. Option 2: knowledge exam + skills exam
- Under 18: a parent/guardian signs an Agreement of Financial Liability
🔢 Most-Tested Numbers
- Test to pass20 of 25 correct (80%)
- Following gap2 seconds minimum
- Wet / heavy traffic3 seconds or more
- Front brake70%+ of stopping power
- Scan ahead12 seconds
- Legally intoxicated0.08% BAC
🪖 Helmet & Gear
- Helmet required: every rider under 18, and every permit holder, any age
- Permit-holder helmet must meet the DOT standard (49 CFR 571.218)
- Licensed riders 18+ may legally ride without a helmet
- A face shield protects your whole face; goggles protect only the eyes
- A windshield is not a substitute for a face shield or goggles
- Never wear tinted eye protection when light is low
✅ Remember This Answer
- Quick stop? Use both brakes together
- Front brake? Squeeze firmly — never grab
- Curve? Slow, Look, Press, Roll
- To lean and turn? Press the handgrip toward the turn
- Swerve? Brake before or after — never during
- Two hazards at once? Separate them, handle one at a time
✅ 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? Let them pass
- Cut reaction time? Cover the clutch and both brakes
- Daytime visibility? Headlight on — 2× as likely to be seen
- Blind intersection? Move where the driver can see you soonest
⚠️ 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
- "It starts to rain" → Slow down, ride in the tire tracks
- "Following distance" → 2 sec; 3+ in poor conditions
- "Made eye contact" → Driver still may not yield
⚠️ More Test Traps
- "Curve too fast" → Slow before — don't brake hard mid-curve
- "Lane sharing with a car" → Unsafe — each needs a full lane
- "Front wheel locks" → Release the front brake at once, then reapply
- "Carrying a passenger" → Bike responds slower — ride slower
- "Engine seizes" → Low on oil — squeeze the clutch, pull off
- "Permit rider at night" → Not allowed — daylight only
🚨 Emergency Situations
- Tire goes flat → Hold grips, ease off throttle, keep straight, edge off the road
- Stuck throttle → Twist it; if still stuck, kill switch + squeeze the clutch
- Wobble → Close the 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
- Cross railroad tracks straight, within your lane
- Night: ride slower and open a 3-second-plus following gap
- Night: high beam when not following or meeting a car
🏍️ Motorcycle Control
- Countersteer: press left grip → lean left → go left
- 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
- Stay in first gear while stopped; change gears before a turn
- Head-check your blind spot before every lane change
🍺 Alcohol & Impairment
- Legally intoxicated0.08% BAC
- Under 210.00–0.02% BAC
- Leaves the body~1 drink per hour
- As little as one drink hurts judgment and balance
- Alcohol hits your judgment of your own riding first
- Best plan: don't drink, or don't ride — pacing yourself is not enough
🎯 Last-Minute Before the Test
- 25 questions — 20 correct (80%) to pass
- Both brakes to stop — front brake = 70%+ of power
- Every curve: SLOW · LOOK · PRESS · ROLL
- Press the grip toward the turn to lean (countersteer)
- Brake OR swerve — never both at once
- Follow at 2 seconds — 3+ when wet or crowded
- SEE = Search, Evaluate, Execute · scan 12 seconds ahead
Confirm every number against the official Indiana Motorcycle Operator Manual (Ride Safe Indiana / MSF 20th Edition) before test day. Full helmet law →
Source: Some test details are confirmed by the state agency; the rest reflect the consensus of major rider-education sources. 25 questions / 80% confirmed in an official BMV search snippet. Indiana licensing is run through Ride Safe Indiana, a program within the BMV. A learner's permit holder must wear a DOT helmet, ride only in daylight, and carry no passengers.