Minnesota Motorcycle Knowledge Test Cheat Sheet
The fastest way to review before your DVS motorcycle test — the numbers and rules most likely to appear.
🪪 Permit & Endorsement
- Need a valid MN driver's license first, then add the motorcycle endorsement
- Pass the 25-question knowledge test for a 1-year instruction permit ($29)
- Under 18 must finish a Basic Rider Course before any test
- At 18+, the BRC waives the on-cycle skills test
- Knowledge test may be taken only once per day
- Endorsement renewal adds $17 (two-wheel only)
🔢 Most-Tested Numbers
- Following gap2 seconds minimum
- Poor conditions / night3 seconds or more
- Front brake70%+ of stopping power
- Scan ahead12 seconds
- Immediate hazardwithin 4 seconds
- Legally intoxicated.08% BAC
🪖 Helmet & Gear
- Helmet required under 18 and on a permit; optional for endorsed adults
- Eye protection required for every rider — even with a windscreen
- Contact lenses do NOT count as eye protection
- No tinted eyewear when little light is available
- Headlight on at all times when riding
- A windshield is not a substitute for goggles or a face shield
✅ Remember This Answer
- Quick stop? Use both brakes together
- Front brake? Squeeze firmly — never grab
- Curve? Slow, Look, Press, Roll
- To lean/turn? Press the handgrip toward the turn
- Swerve? Brake before or after — never during
- Eye protection? Always — even with a windshield
✅ Remember This Answer (2)
- Starts to rain? Ride in 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
- Worst crash spot? Intersections
⚠️ 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 splitting" → Prohibited in Minnesota
- "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
- Stuck throttle → Twist it; if still stuck, kill 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 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
- Ice forms on bridges, overpasses and shaded spots
- Night: ride slower and open a 3-second-plus following gap
- Night: don't outrun your headlight — high beam when alone
🏍️ Motorcycle Control
- Press the grip toward the turn → lean → go that way
- 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
- Head-check your blind spot before every lane change
🍺 Alcohol & Impairment
- Legally intoxicated.08% BAC
- Under 21lower limits apply
- Leaves the body~1 drink per hour
- Alcohol impairs a rider sooner than a car driver
- Judgment is the first thing affected
- Cannabis distorts 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, dark or crowded
- Helmet under 18/on a permit; eye protection always; headlight always on
- SEE = Search, Evaluate, Execute · .08% BAC = intoxicated
Confirm every number against the official Minnesota Motorcycle and Motorized Bicycle 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. The motorcycle knowledge test is 25 questions — 20 correct (80%) to pass. The 40-question exam is for the standard Class D license, not the motorcycle test.