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Old 01-30-2011, 11:25 PM
 
17 posts, read 57,095 times
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Hi, I'm lookin to buy a motorcycle. But thats not the problem. I'm a student, and I have a Hawaii Drivers License. I know I need a different license to ride a bike. Do I need to get a California Drivers License before I get a bike license? Please help
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Old 01-31-2011, 12:20 AM
 
Location: Central Bay Area, CA as of Jan 2010...but still a proud Texan from Houston!
7,484 posts, read 10,448,062 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Damo1991 View Post
Hi, I'm lookin to buy a motorcycle. But thats not the problem. I'm a student, and I have a Hawaii Drivers License. I know I need a different license to ride a bike. Do I need to get a California Drivers License before I get a bike license? Please help

I have a motorcycle for sale!

To answer your question...Yes you will need a separate motorcycle license. I moved here with an out of state motorcycle license. All I had to do was take the California written motorcycle test in order to obtain a California motorcycle license.

California Motorcycle License - Handbooks, Requirements - DMV Guide
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Old 02-02-2011, 03:46 PM
 
1,669 posts, read 2,243,937 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Damo1991 View Post
Hi, I'm lookin to buy a motorcycle. But thats not the problem. I'm a student, and I have a Hawaii Drivers License. I know I need a different license to ride a bike. Do I need to get a California Drivers License before I get a bike license? Please help
As long as you have a motorcycle endorsement on your Hawaii DL, you are fine for a while. Technically, you are supposed to get a California license 10 days after setting up residency. I rode in SF on my North Carolina drivers license (with motorcycle endorsement) for a year and a half until a SF city cop pulled me over for an illegal lane change. He threatened to impound my bike because he said, as far as the state of California was concerned, I was driving without a license. Then he let me go because it was Christmas eve, but warned me that I would be ticketed and have the bike impounded if he caught me again without a CA drivers license.

If you don't have a motorcycle endorsement on your Hawaii drivers license, and you're caught riding in California you will get an expensive ticket.

So, you are always running that risk if you're driving without a California license. And the chances are that the cops will not be as forgiving as this one was to me.

Look here for more info on getting a motorcycle license in CA:

Driver License and Identification (ID) Card Information
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Old 02-03-2011, 02:54 PM
 
Location: A bit further north than before
1,651 posts, read 3,697,846 times
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Students don't need to re-register, they can keep their home state's DL.
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