[Texas Jay]

I hope I'm not breaking any copyright laws by mentioning this, but ...

In the book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Motorcycling", Leno tells about his first bike (a Honda 350 purchased in 1971 from a Harley dealer near Boston). He said there was really no training in those days. He just bought the bike and rode home. And he gives the impression that he didn't even have a motorcycle license (he was just winging it).

He got on the freeway and didn't have a clue what he was doing. He turned his head to see if there were any cars nearby, and his eyeglasses flew off. He was riding a bike for the first time, on the freeway, in the rain, without his glasses. But he remembers thinking: "This is fun".

BTW, it's a pretty good book.

 

[Uncle Bob]

That's the way things were done back then. When I got my drivers licence it automatically gave me the right to ride a motorcycle. Actually it gave me right to drive anything except a bus.

Remeber my Dad telling me that when he bought his first car back in the 40's that you just paid two bucks more to get your permit, no test involved.

 

[md2lgyk]

Yep. I wasn't quite that stupid, but when I bought my first bike in 1974, Connecticut didn't have a motorcycle endorsement.

 

[zot]

In Ontario all you had to do to fool the cops is type an "M" behind the "C" on your driver's licence. They didn't have computers then so nobody knew if you had passed a motorcycle licence or not. Some guys would change their address to Quebec for a month or 2 since you didn't need to pass a motorcycle exam and then transfered back to Ontario. Things have changed.

 

[inspiron]

In Europe, the European Drivers License (and the new Swiss Drivers License) are laminated, tamper-proof plastic cards, a bit thicker than a credit card. Almost impossible for a "amatuer" to modify or forge.

 

[Gixxerdale]

Leno tells about his first bike (a Honda 350 purchased in 1971 from a Harley dealer near Boston). He said there was really no training in those days. He just bought the bike and rode home. And he gives the impression that he didn't even have a motorcycle license (he was just winging it).

He got on the freeway and didn't have a clue what he was doing. He turned his head to see if there were any cars nearby, and his eyeglasses flew off. He was riding a bike for the first time, on the freeway, in the rain, without his glasses. But he remembers thinking: "This is fun".

BTW, it's a pretty good book.

Same story here, just change1971 to 1972 and the Honda 350 to Ducati 450. On day 2 I went to the DMV on the bike and took the test. Been riding ever since.