Nevada Motorcycle Knowledge Test Cheat Sheet
The fastest way to review before your DMV motorcycle test — the numbers and rules most likely to appear.
🪪 Permit & License
- A Nevada Class M license is required to ride
- Pass a 25-question knowledge test (80% to pass)
- Plus an on-cycle DMV skills test
- A Basic Rider Course waives all DMV testing
- Permit (18+): valid 6 months, renew once / 5 yrs
- Permit limits: daylight, no passengers, no freeways
🔢 Most-Tested Numbers
- Following gap2 seconds minimum
- Poor conditions3 seconds or more
- Front brake70%+ of stopping power
- Scan ahead12 seconds
- Legally intoxicated.08% BAC
- To pass20 of 25 (80%)
🪖 Helmet & Gear
- Helmet required — every rider & passenger, any age
- Mopeds too — operator and passenger (NRS 486.231)
- No windshield or screen? Wear a face shield or goggles
- A face shield protects your whole face; goggles only the eyes
- Keep your headlight on, day and night
- Never wear tinted eye protection at night
✅ 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 grip toward the turn
- Swerve? Brake before or after — never during
- Helmet & eyewear? A windshield is no substitute
✅ Remember This Answer (2)
- Starts to rain? Ride in the cars' tire tracks
- 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
- Where do crashes happen? Intersections, and the first few miles
⚠️ 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" → The driver still may not yield
⚠️ More Test Traps
- "Curve too fast" → Slow before — don't brake hard mid-curve
- "Lane splitting?" → Illegal in Nevada (police excepted)
- "Ride two abreast?" → Only with consent; staggered preferred
- "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
🚨 Emergency Situations
- Tire goes flat → Ease off throttle, hold straight, edge off
- Stuck throttle → Kill switch + pull in the clutch
- Wobble → Close throttle gradually — don't brake or accelerate
- Front wheel locks → Release, then reapply the front brake
- Obstacle you must cross → Hit it near 90°, rise on 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 first, no sudden moves, brake gently
- Cross parallel seams or tracks at 45° or more
- The oily center strip is hazardous when wet — use the tire tracks
- Night: slow down and open a 3-second-plus gap
- High beam when not near a car; low beam in fog
🏍️ 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, 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 21.00–.02% BAC
- Alcohol clears~1 drink per hour
- As little as one drink hurts judgment and balance
- Marijuana distorts your sense of time, space and speed
- Impaired riding is far deadlier than impaired driving
🎯 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 (countersteer)
- Brake OR swerve — never both at once
- Follow at 2 seconds — 3+ when wet or crowded
- Helmet + eye protection always; lane splitting is illegal
- SEE = Search, Evaluate, Execute · .08% BAC = intoxicated
Confirm every number against the official Nevada Motorcycle Operator Manual (DMV-701) before test day. Full helmet law →
Source: Test details are confirmed on the official agency page. Confirmed on the official DMV page: 25 multiple-choice questions, 80 percent or better to pass. Nevada also gives an on-cycle skills test, which an approved Basic Rider Course waives.