Maine Motor Vehicle Laws for Motorcyclists
Licensing
Maine requires a Class M endorsement or a motorcycle learner's permit to ride on public roads. Riding without it is unlicensed operation, and a permit carries restrictions, including no passengers and a mandatory helmet for the permit holder.
Equipment and operation laws
- Helmet for riders and passengers under 18 and for permit holders; eye protection unless a windshield is fitted.
- Headlight on at all times. The bike needs at least one mirror and a working muffler.
- Handlebars may not be raised above shoulder height.
- A passenger needs a proper seat and footrests; one passenger per seat.
- Two motorcycles may ride abreast in one lane, never more. No lane splitting, no riding between lanes, and no using the sidewalk or shoulder to beat traffic.
- Motorcycles must pass Maine's annual safety inspection and carry the state's minimum liability insurance.
- Every traffic law applies: signals, speed limits, stop lines, signs.
Worked example
Two riders travel side by side in the right lane at 45 mph, which is legal in Maine. When they catch up to a slow truck, they must not both squeeze past it inside the lane. They drop into single file, and each passes the truck using the passing lane. They also may not swing onto the shoulder to keep moving.
Traps that cost marks
Assuming riders 18 and older may skip eye protection; thinking a windshield replaces the helmet for a 17-year-old; riding three abreast; passing a car inside the same lane; treating a learner's permit as a full license; forgetting that a modified, over-height handlebar or missing muffler fails inspection.