I got my M1 license on Friday!

The M1 license is the first step toward the M (Motorcycle) license in Ontario’s graduated licensing system. It lets you ride a motorcycle unaccompanied, without a passenger, during daylight hours, on roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h or less, with zero blood alcohol. It’s a short step — an M1 license is valid from 60 to 90 days, so you have to move to your M2 (or rewrite your M1 test) before the 90-day period expires, but you can’t get your M2 even if you qualify until 60 days have passed since you got your M1.

The M1 is a written test comprising three sections: the 16-question sign and road rules tests that are part of the G1 (car) license, plus a 24-question motorcycle-specific test. One carelessly wrong on the sign test, two wrong on the road-rules test that were about restrictions on the G1 and G2 license (which strikes me as silly for an M1 test, since I’ll never have to do graduated licensing in the car), and a couple wrong on the motorcycle test of the “all are correct, choose the one that is more correct than the others” variety and my new license card is in the mail. Of course I don’t have anything to ride with it, but it’s the step I have to do before the course, and it’s done. It was weird sitting down to write a test at the MTO. It’s semi-privatized now, but I couldn’t really tell the difference.

The M2 test is a road test, but I’ll be getting mine by completing my motorcycle course at the end of June. Of course, I won’t be able to actually get my M2 for a month after that, but I’m not planning on doing a lot of night riding, passenger-carrying, or trips on the 417 in the first month of bike ownership, so that’ll work out fine. The only place it will hurt a bit is in insurance, but I’ll get my M2 rate once I move to the M2 anyhow.

I also learned that I have 20/25 vision. I was close to 20/20 for my pilot medical, so I should probably swing by an optometrist in the next little while with all the staring at computers and such.

I also picked up a pair of practically-new motorcycling boots from a poster on the ott-motorcycles forums this weekend, too, so I’m now all set for gear for the course. I might pick up some textile riding pants to wear instead of jeans, since I’ll need them once I start riding after the course anyhow.

Everything’s finally coming together…