An inquiry to Florida’s Department of Highway safety and Motor Vehicles produced the following email excerpt:
[*]When do I need a motorcycle endorsement?
If you wish to operate any two or three wheel motorcycle, whose engine is more than 50 cc, you are required to have a motorcycle endorsement on your driver license or a motorcycle-only license.
* What are the requirements to obtain a motorcycle endorsement?
1. Hold at least a regular Class E operator’s driver license.
2. If under 21 years old, show proof of completion of a motorcycle safety course to a driver license office or tax collector office that issues driver licenses.
3. If at least 21 years old, show proof of completion of a motorcycle safety course to a driver license office or tax collector office that issues driver licenses OR pass the motorcycle knowledge and skills tests at a driver license office, tax collector office, or third-party tester that offers such tests.
4. The costs include the $5.00 endorsement fee, plus a license fee (see fees for original, renewals, duplicates, and replacement license), and $5.25 if applying at a county tax collector office.
* What if I bring a three-wheel motorcycle or a sidecar motorcycle for my motorcycle skill test?
A variation of the regular skill test is used and you will be restricted to “Three-wheel Motorcycles Only.”
So it appears that while a motorcycle license or endorsement will be required to operate a Can-Am Spyder in the state of Florida, persons over the age of 21 will be able to receive a license to operate the Spyder without attending any two-wheel motorcycle course. This is good news for those interested in the Spyder but, for whatever reason, a two-wheel course is not an option.
Persons under the age of 21, at least for now, will still have to take a two-wheel course in order to qualify for the license or endorsement as, at the time of this writing, no state endorsed course specifically for and using three-wheeled vehicles is known to this writer.
That may change soon, as BRP, the parent company or Can-Am, has joined the Motorcycle Safety Foundation as a sponsor, presumably to develop just such a course.
Note that using a Spyder to pass the skills portion of the licensing process will result in the motorcycle portion of the license being restricted to three-wheeled vehicles only.
If any reader wishes to add to the information listed above, please feel free to leave a comment below.
