What motorcycle classes are there?
Last verified: 2026-06-20
Under Art. 14 VTS, “motorcycles” are single-track motor vehicles with two wheels (with or without sidecar), unless they are mopeds. “Light motorcycles” are, among others, two-wheeled motor vehicles with a design speed of up to 45 km/h and a power of up to 4 kW (engine displacement up to 50 cm³ for spark-ignition engines).
Art. 15 VTS also covers three-wheeled motor vehicles as well as light quadricycles (four-wheeled, up to 45 km/h) and quadricycles. In the EU system, all these vehicles form the L classes (L1e–L7e) under Regulation (EU) 168/2013.
| Vehicle | EU class (example) |
|---|---|
| Light motorcycle / scooter (≤ 45 km/h) | L1e |
| Motorcycle | L3e |
| Three-wheeled motor vehicle | L5e |
| Light quadricycle (≤ 45 km/h) | L6e |
| Quadricycle | L7e |
Sources
- VTS (SR 741.41), Art. 14 and 15 – Motorcycles, light quadricycles, quadricycles and three-wheeled vehicles — Fedlex – Swiss Federal Law
- Regulation (EU) 168/2013 (two-, three- and four-wheeled vehicles) — EUR-Lex – Publications Office of the EU
- Vehicle classification — ASTRA – Federal Roads Office