Motorcycle School in Salinas, CA

Learn to Ride in the Monterey Bay Area

Classroom & Practice Range
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca - Lakebed Area 1A
1021 Monterey Salinas Hwy
Salinas, CA 93908

Learn to ride and get licensed!

Welcome to Pacific Motorcycle Training, the top school to learn how to ride a motorcycle safely in the Monterey area. During our classes, you will learn everything you need to know to ride and control your motorcycle safely. Whether you are interested in learning the basics of riding a motorcycle—and getting your license endorsement—or simply improving your motorcycle skills to be safer on the road, come with us and we will provide you with the best classes you can get in the Monterey Area. We are part of the California Motorcyclist Safety Program and all of our instructors are certified to teach the Total Control riding courses.

Convenient on-line classroom

The classroom portion consists of a six-hour course called eRider that can be done at your convenience and in the comfort of your home. It is highly interactive, using video and other features to address risk management, riding strategy, roadway management, impairments, and special riding situations like carrying passengers and group riding. Participants complete all classroom activities (6 chapters) before their first in-person motorcycle riding session. The motorcycle riding portion of the course consists of 10 hours of in-person instruction on gas powered motorcycles. The 10-hours of riding instruction takes place over two days and builds fundamental street-riding skills and strategies.

The eRider is a great option for busy students who are successful at learning in an individualized, self-paced environment. Please check our eRider FAQs page for eRider system requirements.

We welcome all Salinas residents as well as future riders from neighboring towns such as Monterey, Watsonville, Santa Cruz, Carmel, Hollister and Gilroy. Come learn how to ride a motorcycle and have fun with us!

Basic riding course schedule with eRider

GROUP A (Rides in the morning)

Online Classroom, 6 hours completed at home, at your own pace, PRIOR to practice range sessions

Practice Range, Session 1
Saturday 7:00 am - 11:45 am

Practice Range, Session 2
Sunday 7:00 am - 11:45 am

GROUP B (Rides in the afternoon)

Online Classroom, 6 hours completed at home, at your own pace, PRIOR to practice range sessions

Practice Range, Session 1
Saturday 12:15 pm - 5:00 pm

Practice Range, Session 2
Sunday 12:15 pm - 5:00 pm

For New Riders

Learn the basics of riding safely in a controlled environment and receive the certificate that may waive the DMV riding skill test. Our friendly basic riding course was designed for people with zero experience on a motorcycle. We provide motorcycles and helmets for you to learn with.

For Experienced Riders

Become a better—and safer—rider using your own motorcycle with our Intermediate Riding Clinic. Or take your cornering and crash-avoidance skills to the highest level with our Advanced Riding Clinics, taught only by the best certified instructors in the Bay Area!


"Had a truly informative experience. All of the teachers are patient and more importantly, extremely knowledgeable. They want you to succeed and create an environment for you to ask as many questions as needed. I highly recommend taking basic courses here."
― Baltazar Lopez
"My experience was great with Pacific Motorcycle Training in Woodland, on the Pioneer High School campus. Thomas and Steve were the instructors and they were very knowledgeable, supportive and fostered an overall nonjudgmental environment that was conducive to learning. I had never ridden a motorcycle in my life and by the end of the course I had a lot of the foundational skills down. I would recommend this course to anyone. And extra shout out to Thomas and Steve!"
― Tyler Hart
"All instructors were fantastic, especially Evie. I felt no pressure, learned at my own pace, got invaluable feedback, and learned the skills necessary to operate a motorcycle. Highly recommended."
― stacie Clark
"Couldn’t hope for a more comprehensive way to refresh my memory after not riding for the last ten years, and get my motorcycle endorsement while at it. Super easy to reach (walk through the Tanforan from the San Bruno BART station and it’s right across the street) and incredibly patient and knowledgeable instructors (props to Dillon for his great attitude and humor!)."
― Jack Scano
"Had great teachers. Christ and Isaac. Have great tips and teachings to help me do things correctly and fix my mistakes. I got great skills and confidence and will definitely take the intermediate class at a later time."
― Locks E
"I got the Total Control book by Lee Parks when I registered and read it before attending the class. I had started to adopt some of the new riding techniques before the course and recommend doing so if possible. The course followed the book with a short classroom overview of each technique and then repeated riding opportunities with coaching after trying out each new technique. The course instructors were all very professional and highly skilled riders that knew their stuff. I took the advanced course level 1 and will probably take the level 2 class when my schedule and a course line up. My riding skills increased immediately as I completed this coarse and will continue to improve as I practice during my normal riding schedule."
― Craig B.
"This is class covers basic information, but that is often the most important! While a lot of it should be common sense, I'm not sure people drive with it around here, so it's a great way to learn to ride in a safely in a friendly environment. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn to ride motorcycles and be safe doing it. I also recommend it to anyone who wants a license in the Bay Area and doesn't want to wait 4 months to take the permit test and then another 6 months to get you M1. This class allows you to get your M1 if you are over 21+ years old with one walk in visit to hell, sorry the DMV. The staff are friendly, sassy, and helpful and take the class seriously. NOTE: BE ON TIME TO ALL SESSIONS, there is a zero tardiness policy, they have to do it this way to qualify as a replacement to the DMV riding test, SO RESPECT IT! Otherwise it's a great weekend in a parking lot on small bikes learning to ride safely by practicing evasive maneuvers through cones and fast stops to be ready in the real world."
― Nicholas Johnson

Read more reviews on