Texas Motorcycle Knowledge Test Cheat Sheet
The fastest way to review before your DPS motorcycle test — the numbers and rules most likely to appear.
🪪 License & Course
- You need a Class M driver license to ride
- Class M also covers 3-wheel bikes, motor-driven cycles & mopeds
- A TDLR-approved training course is required of everyone
- Completing the course waives the written knowledge test
- Skills test waived for 18+ with course cert + unrestricted Class A/B/C
- Course certificate is valid 2 years
🔢 Most-Tested Numbers
- Following gap2 seconds minimum
- Wet / heavy traffic / night3 seconds or more
- Front brake70%+ of stopping power
- Scan ahead12 seconds
- Legally intoxicated0.08% BAC (adult)
- Alcohol clears~1 drink per hour
🪖 Helmet & Gear
- Helmet required under 21 — must meet FMVSS-218
- 21+ exempt only with the course OR medical insurance
- Texas does not separately require eye protection (still advised)
- A face shield protects your whole face; goggles protect only the eyes
- Headlight on for motorcycles made after 1975
- 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 handgrip toward the turn
- Swerve? Brake before or after — never during
- Stop in a curve? Straighten up first, then brake
✅ 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
- Being passed? Stay in the center of your lane
⚠️ 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 ahead, too fast" → Slow before — don't brake hard mid-curve
- "Lane sharing" → Each vehicle needs a full lane
- "Front wheel locks" → Release the front brake, then reapply
- "Carrying a passenger" → Bike responds slower — ride slower
- "Waited an hour per drink" → Side effects can still remain
- "Chased by a dog" → Approach slowly, then accelerate away
🚨 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 → Grip firmly, close throttle gradually — don't brake
- Rear wheel locks → Keep it locked until stopped if straight and upright
- Obstacle you must cross → Hit it near 90°, slow, 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
- 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 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 intoxicated0.08% BAC (adult)
- Under 21 — Zero ToleranceAny detectable alcohol
- Leaves the body~1 drink per hour
- Fatally injured over .08%About 29% of riders
- 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 = 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, crowded, or at night
- Helmet under 21; headlight on; eye protection advised
- SEE = Search, Evaluate, Execute · 0.08% BAC = intoxicated
Confirm every number against the official Texas Motorcycle Operator Training Manual (2020-2021) 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. Majority third-party consensus is 20 questions / 80%. Texas is unusual: a TDLR-approved Motorcycle Operator Training Course is required of every applicant, and completing it waives the Class M knowledge (written) test. The written test is required by statute only for applicants restricted to operating a moped.