🏍️ Motorcycle licences and riding skills
Categories AM, A1, A2 and A, the 125cc permit, protective gear, the off-road and on-road tests, and the core riding skills: lifesaver, road position, filtering, braking and cornering.
Categories and ages
| Category | What you can ride | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|
| AM | Mopeds: max design speed 45 km/h, up to 50 cc | 16 |
| A1 | Light motorcycles up to 125 cc, max 11 kW, power/weight max 0.1 kW/kg; motor tricycles up to 15 kW | 18 |
| A2 | Motorcycles up to 35 kW, power/weight max 0.2 kW/kg (not derived from a bike of more than double that power) | 20 |
| A | Any motorcycle | 24 (or 22 with 2 years' experience on A2) |
For every category you must pass the theory test first (separate category A question bank), then the off-road test, then the on-road test.
The 125cc permit for car drivers
Holders of a full Category B car licence can get a permit to ride motorcycles up to 125 cc after 10 hours of training with a licensed instructor. The permit has limits: no pillion passenger, and it is valid in Malta and Gozo only — it is not a full A1 licence and is not recognised abroad.
Protective gear
- Helmet: compulsory for rider and passenger on any moped or motorcycle. It must be an approved type (ECE 22.05/22.06), the right size, fastened properly, and never one that has been dropped hard or involved in a crash.
- Eye protection: visor or goggles, clean and unscratched; never a tinted visor at night.
- Jacket and trousers with armour (shoulders, elbows, knees, back), gloves and boots covering the ankles. Shorts and sandals offer zero protection on asphalt.
- Bright or fluorescent clothing by day, reflective at night, to help others see you.
The off-road test
Before you go on the road, you show basic control on a closed area. It consists of 8 exercises; the exact order is set by the examiner. Typical exercises include: taking the bike off and on the stand and wheeling it without the engine, a slow-riding slalom, a figure of eight, a slow ride (walking pace), a U-turn, a controlled stop, an emergency stop and an avoidance (swerve) manoeuvre.
The on-road test
You ride in traffic while the examiner follows and gives directions by radio. They assess observations, road position, signals, speed, junctions, roundabouts, overtaking and hazard awareness. The same rule applies as for cars: one serious or dangerous fault means a fail.
Core riding skills
The lifesaver glance
A quick look over your shoulder into the blind spot just before you change direction or lane. Mirrors on a bike do not show what is right beside you. Do it before moving off, turning, changing lanes, and before leaving a roundabout.
Road position
Normally ride in the centre to slightly left of your lane: you are visible in the mirrors of the car in front and away from the gutter (gravel, drain covers) and the centre line (oil, oncoming traffic). Adjust to see and be seen: move out to look past parked vans, move in at blind left-hand bends.
Filtering safely
Riding slowly past queues of stationary or very slow traffic is common in Malta, but dangerous if done badly. Keep it slow (a small speed difference), watch for doors opening, pedestrians stepping between cars, cars changing lanes or doing U-turns, and never filter near junctions, crossings, or where you cannot see. Never cross continuous white lines or ride on hatched/painted islands.
Braking
Use both brakes. On a dry road the front brake provides most of the stopping power (up to about 70–75%) because weight shifts forward. Squeeze progressively, never grab. In the wet, on gravel or loose surfaces, use gentler pressure and more rear brake. With ABS, brake firmly and keep the bike upright.
Cornering
- Before the bend: check mirrors, choose your position, and finish braking while upright.
- Select the correct gear.
- Look through the bend to where you want to go.
- Lean, and keep a steady or slightly increasing throttle through the curve.
- Accelerate gently as the bike straightens up.
Slippery surfaces
Watch for gravel and sand (common at bends and junction mouths in Malta), painted lines, manhole covers and tram-like steel plates, diesel spills near roundabouts and petrol stations, and wet limestone roads that become very slippery. Cross them upright, without braking or accelerating hard.
