California Motorcycle Dealer Bond$10,000 §11710(b) Bond + Form OL 25E

Yes. California Vehicle Code Section 11710(b)(2) creates a specific carve-out for motorcycle-only and ATV-only dealers at $10,000 — one-fifth of the $50,000 amount that applies to full-vehicle retail dealers under 11710(b)(1). The reduced amount reflects the lower average sale price and lower aggregate claim exposure per transaction in the motorcycle category. The bond is filed on DMV Form OL 25E, not OL 25. To qualify for the reduced amount, the dealer license must be restricted to motorcycles (and optionally ATVs); the moment the dealer adds a passenger-car category, the bond steps up to $50,000 on Form OL 25.

Form OL 25E is the DMV-prescribed surety bond form for the $10,000 motorcycle-only, ATV-only, and motorcycle/ATV combination dealer license. It is structurally similar to the $50,000 OL 25 used by full-vehicle dealers — the obligee is the same (Department of Motor Vehicles of the State of California), the condition language tracks Division 5 of the Vehicle Code — but the principal description and bond amount fields are written for the motorcycle-tier license. The DMV will reject a $50,000 OL 25 filed for a motorcycle-only license, and will reject a $10,000 OL 25E filed for a license category that includes full vehicles. The form letter matters.

Yes. The motorcycle license category does not exempt the applicant from the DMV occupational licensing dealer examination. The same exam is administered for used motorcycle, wholesale, and used car dealers. Franchised new motorcycle dealers (Harley-Davidson, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Indian, and similar authorized retailers) are not statutorily required to take the pre-licensing education course but still face the dealer examination, place-of-business inspection, and bond filing. Plan on the same multi-week timeline a full-vehicle dealer faces; the only thing reduced for motorcycle dealers is the bond amount, not the licensing burden.

No. Cal. Veh. Code 11712 requires an established, permanent place of business for every DMV-licensed dealer — including motorcycle-only dealers. The required display area is smaller than what a full-vehicle dealer needs (motorcycles take less floor space), but the structural requirements are the same: permanent (non-mobile) building, permanent exterior signage, posted business hours, a phone listed in the dealer name, and a display area that can physically accommodate the inventory the dealer holds out for sale. The DMV inspector measures the display area at pre-licensing inspection. A residential garage, driveway, or storage unit will not satisfy 11712.

One bond. The combined motorcycle/ATV dealer license is the most common dual category at the $10,000 tier and is treated by the DMV as a single license endorsed for both vehicle types. The single $10,000 OL 25E covers the entire license — there is no stacking, no double bond, and no premium uplift on the surety side for adding ATV inventory to a motorcycle-only operation. If the dealer later adds full vehicles or commercial trailers, the bond must be replaced with the $50,000 OL 25, because the license category itself changes.

Generally no. Cal. Veh. Code Section 312.5 defines an electric bicycle (Class 1, 2, or 3) as a bicycle with operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts, and Section 21200.5 confirms e-bikes are treated as bicycles, not motor vehicles. A pure e-bike retailer is in the same category as a bicycle shop — no DMV dealer license, no OL 25E bond, no place-of-business inspection. The line moves the moment a dealer sells something that no longer fits the e-bike definition: a moped, a low-speed scooter without operable pedals, or any electric motorcycle that exceeds the 750-watt / 28-mph thresholds. Those are motor vehicles and require the $10,000 motorcycle-dealer bond on OL 25E.

The Consumer Automotive Recall Safety Act (SB 766), effective Oct. 1, 2026, applies to motorcycle dealers the same way it applies to full-vehicle dealers. The advertising, doc-fee disclosure, and add-on disclosure rules apply across the dealer license; there is no motorcycle-only carve-out from SB 766. What did not change is the bond amount — motorcycle dealers remain at $10,000 under 11710(b)(2), and the OL 25E form was not redrafted by SB 766. The compliance lift is in advertising and finance disclosure, not the bond instrument.

For applicants with excellent personal credit (FICO 700+), the $10,000 motorcycle dealer bond typically runs $100 to $200 per year — roughly 1% to 2% of the bond face. Mid-tier credit (650 – 699) is generally $200 to $300 per year. Fair credit (600 – 649) lands in the $300 to $400 range, and challenged credit (sub-600) usually issues at $400 to $500 per year. Most California sureties will quote a two-year premium that aligns with the DMV biennial license cycle, often with a small multi-year discount baked in. The motorcycle bond is one of the cheapest dealer bonds in the country precisely because of the $10,000 face — even at sub-600 FICO, the worst-case premium is well under what a $50,000 bond costs an excellent-credit applicant.

No. MSF rider certification is not a California dealer licensing requirement. The DMV does not require dealership principals or sales staff to hold MSF rider certificates. That said, many franchised motorcycle dealers — particularly Harley-Davidson Riding Academy locations and Honda/Yamaha/Kawasaki authorized schools — choose to host MSF-curriculum rider education as a sales touchpoint, and some manufacturer dealer agreements reference MSF instruction as a competency standard for sales staff. None of that flows back to the DMV dealer license or the $10,000 motorcycle dealer bond.

Two years, identical to the full-vehicle dealer license. The biennial cycle is set by the DMV Occupational Licensing branch. The $10,000 OL 25E bond runs alongside the license, and most sureties quote a multi-year premium that aligns with the two-year term. Used motorcycle dealers must complete 4 hours of continuing education biennially (the same CE requirement applied to used car dealers — there is no separate motorcycle CE curriculum). Renewal is filed on Form OL 45 with proof of CE; the bond does not need to be re-executed at renewal as long as the existing OL 25E remains continuous and the surety has not given cancellation notice.

Same claim categories as the full-vehicle bond, sized to the motorcycle market: failure to deliver clean title within 30 days, odometer rollback on a used bike, failure to pay off a trade-in lien (very common in motorcycle resale because riders often trade up with negative equity), sales tax collected and not remitted to CDTFA, misuse of dealer plates on personal-use motorcycles, and material misrepresentation about prior-crash history or salvage status. A claim is paid up to the $10,000 face amount; the dealer then owes the surety under the indemnity. Motorcycle claims tend to be smaller per claim than car claims (lower-priced inventory), but the bond exhausts faster — three $3,500 title claims will use up the entire bond face for the license cycle.

Yes. Live Scan fingerprint-based background checks are required for all principals on the dealer application — owners, partners, corporate officers, and LLC managing members — regardless of whether the license is motorcycle-only or full-vehicle. The motorcycle license tier does not reduce the principal background check requirement. Live Scan results are sent directly to the DMV and the Department of Justice. Disqualifying prior offenses (recent fraud, theft, or DMV-specific misconduct) can deny the license entirely, in which case no bond filing matters.