So far in 2025, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s Basic RiderCourse has been entirely unavailable to residents of New York state, so prospective new riders have been unable to take the next steps towards getting licensed. The best beginner training, the most effective and efficient way to get a motorcycle license, has been roped off for the dumbest reason imaginable: Bureaucracy. As of last Friday, though, the red tape has finally cleared and motorcycle safety courses are back on the menu.
Motorcycle courses in New York had been paused for the 2025 riding season thus far due to contract negotiations with the state government. Mark Johnson, press secretary for the NY State Comptroller’s office, gave Jalopnik some details as to what exactly that meant:
The contract has been submitted to the Office of the State Comptroller for review. A bid protest has also been submitted by a non-selected bidder that is concurrently being reviewed along with the contract transaction.
Courses are back online
Now, though, that’s all been settled. The contract was fully approved “late Friday,” according to Johnson, and the MSF says it’s set for a five-year duration — riders won’t have to worry about another delay like this for half a decade. The MSF course has long been recommended as the way to get your bike license, since it skips over the need to own your own bike for a road test, and that’s now finally available as an option again in the state of New York. I, personally, will resume pestering multiple people in my life to go sign up.
The New York State Motorcycle Safety Program and MSF websites once again list course openings in New York state, and schools are now finally accepting students to begin their two-wheeled careers. Some local schools even seem to have expanded their offerings, with Motorcycle Safety School Inc. — the school that Andy, Alyssa, and I all visited back in 2023 — now offering motorcycle road test at some DMVs in addition to the classic RiderCourses. All these options are starting up in May, though, so aspiring New York motorcyclists should get yourselves signed up now — with fewer classes this riding season thanks to the delay, those spots are likely to fill up even faster than normal. Get yourself an MSF BRC slot, get your license, and get out there on two wheels this summer.
