Given that you don’t need a license to own one, why would you be upset that a business sells them without checking for a license?

Because kids are buying bikes and riding them without licenses. They either get hurt or cause injury, which is a bigger financial deal given they won't have insurance coverage. During the first months of summer, cops also regularly pull over sportbikes because they know so many (most?) aren't properly licensed. Just as I would be liable for handing my keys to an unlicensed rider, businesses should not allow purchasers to drive away without a license.

IMO, the business ought to make clear “this vehicle does [or does not] require a license to operate on public roads”.

After that, they’re not cops.

I bought an airplane before I had a pilot certificate. It wasn’t illegal nor improper to sell that to me; it’s on me, not the seller, to comply with the law, IMO.

But did you climb into it on the seller's property and fly it away? They aren't cops, but they should still act like reasonable people. In most areas there is no law about selling scuba equipment. Scuba licenses aren't handed out by governments. But good luck buying regulators or getting a tank filled from a proper shop without showing some form of proof you aren't going to go kill yourself.

I've purchased scuba equipment and tank fills from dive shops all over the world and have seldom been asked for a certification card.

So have I, but we probably give the impression we know what we are talking about. Send a 16yo kid who doesn't know a thing and see if they sell to him. That happens at motorcycle shops every day.

So then they go out and get a license, and they still go get hurt or cause an injury. There's little to no real training required to get a motorcycle endorsement, or even a driver's license.

As I always bitch and moan about... it needs to be WAY harder to get a license or motorcycle endorsement in the first place. We are constantly attacking the symptoms of the problem, and never going after the actual cause of the problem.

If you are talking about Ontario still the motorcycle license takes 3 phases and ultimately years to get. Unlike a car you can ride by yourself with an M1 because its impracticable to have a licensed driver with you but it has severe restrictions (like daylight hours only).

Depends. 99+% of people seeking a motorcycle license already have a normal driver's license for cars. That's the standard system whereby they can ride alone after some preliminary test. They already know how to drive on the roads. But it is possible to start with a motorcycle without first having a car license. Such people are subject to a blended version of the graduated system for car drivers, with the addition of various motorcycle restrictions. I've seen a couple people do this (kids who buy a bike while in highschool). I would not recommend it.

If you enforce license and insurance you have two forms of motivation for the person to operate safely... first they can lose said license and cause serious hardships on themselves if that is their primary mode of transport, and if they cause damage / act reckless their insurance can increase.

I'm also very confused by your statement -- you seem to think saying that these folks getting a license is not a good idea, and then turn around and say it needs to be harder to get a license?? which is it?