North Dakota Motorcycle Knowledge Test Cheat Sheet
The fastest way to review before your NDDOT motorcycle test — the numbers and rules most likely to appear.
🪪 Permit & License
- You need a Class M permit or license to ride - any size, two or three wheels
- Get the Class M permit first, then pass the on-cycle skill test for the license
- No Class A/B/C/D license? Pass the Class D knowledge test first
- An approved safety course (within 1 year) waives the skill test - not the written test
- Learner's permit: no riding after dark, no passengers
- Ages 14-15: 510 cc max, safety course, 2-month permit hold
🔢 Most-Tested Numbers
- Following gap3 seconds minimum
- Poor conditions4 seconds or more
- Front brakeabout 70% of stopping power
- Scan ahead12 seconds
- Adult DUI / under 210.08% / 0.02%
- Alcohol clears~1 drink per hour
🪖 Helmet & Gear
- Helmet required for every operator and passenger under 18 (U.S. DOT standard)
- If the operator must wear one, every passenger must too - any age
- Eye protection is not required by ND law, but strongly recommended
- A face shield protects your whole face; a windshield is not a substitute
- Never wear tinted eye protection in low light
- Keep your headlight on at all times
✅ 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
- Following gap? 3 seconds; 4+ when wet or crowded
✅ 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 - 2x 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" → 3 sec; 4+ in poor conditions
- "Made eye contact" → Driver still may not yield
⚠️ More Test Traps
- "Curve ahead, too fast" → Slow before - don't brake hard mid-curve
- "Lane sharing" → Usually prohibited - each needs a full lane
- "Chased by a dog" → Approach slowly, then accelerate away
- "Carrying a passenger" → Bike responds slower - ride slower
- "Large animal (deer)" → Brake and prepare to stop
- "Small animal in your lane" → Stay in your lane - don't swerve
🚨 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 + 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 at 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 tracks at 45° or more
- Night: ride slower and open a 4-second-plus following gap
- Night: high beam when not following or meeting a car; low beam in fog
- Running wide in a curve is a top single-vehicle crash cause
🏍️ Motorcycle Control
- Countersteer: press left grip → lean left → go left
- Use both brakes every stop - the front gives about 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
- Adult limit0.08% alcohol concentration
- Under 210.02%
- Refuse the testLicense revoked 180 days–3 yrs
- Leaves the body~1 drink per hour
- As little as one drink hurts judgment and balance
- Impaired riding is far deadlier than impaired driving
🎯 Last-Minute Before the Test
- Both brakes to stop - front brake = about 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 3 seconds - 4+ when wet or crowded
- Helmet for under-18; headlight always on
- SEE = Search, Evaluate, Execute · 0.08% adult / 0.02% under 21
Confirm every number against the official North Dakota Motorcycle Operator Manual (Class M) 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. 25 questions / 80% is a strong multi-site consensus; NDDOT does not publish an official count. The 2025-2027 manual teaches a THREE-second following distance (4+ in poor conditions) and a front brake supplying about 70% of stopping power. Partial helmet law (under 18). DUI 0.08% adult / 0.02% under 21.