Anyone here got their bike license?

[MintySport]

Howdy, was just wondering if anyone on here had their motorbike licence and what process did you go throught to get it and what could you ride staright away........

Cus im havin an arguement...well...disagreement with a guy i work with cus i was sure that if you took your basic bike test you were only allowed to ride upto a 125cc bike for the first two years and then you became unrestricted.

But the other guy says that you take your test and can only ride upto whatever you took your test on I.E. Take your test on a 250cc, you can only ride a upto a 250cc for the life of your licence

Can anybody shed any light on this argument? lmao

 

[AppleSei]

I think youre both right and wrong IIRC

here ya go http://www.dvla.gov.uk/drivers/rdmcycle.htm

 

[project-cinqy]

Atm, the law says this,

Before you ride anything you have to take your complusory basic training (CBT.) Then:

at 16 you can ride up to 50cc on L plates
at 17 you can ride up to 125cc on L plates. you can also take your full test, but you are then restricted to a machine of 33bhp or less for 2 years. This can be any bike as long as it's restricted. Once your 2 years is up you can then ride anything.
At 21 you can do any of the above, or opt to take your direct access test and ride anything you like.

I have my full license, was the best thing that I ever did.

Jon.

 

[1.8Stilo]

I was waiting till i was 21 to do the test for any bike any size as i dont want be restricted to a bike with 33bhp for two years! Although you can buy the bike you want if its more than 33bhp and have a ristrictor put on it.

But apparently after speaking to my local bike test centre they are bringing in a new law this year that to ride any bike any size you will have to be over 25 now :bang: :bang: which kind of screws my plans up as it meant to come in this summer and im not 21 till october

So i think im gona to do the restricted 33bhp test, and get the bike i want and have a restrictor put on it

I dont know if it will affect the other test's aswell i didnt enquire that much into it at the time? Can anyone else shed some light on this?

EDIT: oh im ready to do my test - did the CBT ages ago and theory test, well i fink im ready anyway but was just waiting for my 21st so i wasnt restricted!

 

[Chas Uno]

Yup, got mine!

I started out in 1986 just after I turned 17 with a provisional licence plus 'L' plates, and rode a 100cc bike for about a year and a half . I also passed my car test at 17, so I then had unrestricted motorcycle provisional entitlement on my car licence.

If I only had my provisional bike licence, I would have had to pass my test within two years else have the licence revoked for a year. But with a full car licence I then had indefinite provisional bike entitlement. This regulation has since been changed and many people have lost this option on their car licences.

In 1987 I then signed up to a motorcycle course and trained and took my 'Part 1' test (bit like CBT, but not compulsory just to get on the road with L plates). You had to get the Part 1 test before you could apply for the Part 2 test, and the Part 2 was like the the current pursuit style test.

For the Part 2 I had to ride round the block while an examiner watched me from the side of the road. I kid you not! He would stop me every now and then, tell me to ride round the other way, ask me to perform an emergency stop, then ask me a few highway code questions. That was it!

I failed the part 2 the first time (don't know why, the examiner was very vague), took it again and passed. I was 18 and had a full bike licence with NO restrictions on capacity. However, the cost of insurance of anything over 250cc was astronomical. When I tried to insure a Kawasaki GPz 550 in 1988 I was given quotes of £1500 TPFT! This was 18 years ago!

The whole test and training system has changed so much since I did it, in many cases for the better. Back when I started motorcycling, it was daft that a 17 year old with absolutely no experience could buy and insure a 125cc bike capable of over 70mph. Far better to make sure a biker has at least the basic skills before being let loose on the public roads.

Then again, it seems so much more complicated now. I'm glad I have my licence and don't have to worry about getting one!

 

[project-cinqy]

lol I wish I was around when my dad was. I'd have loved to ride a KH250 on L's lol

just 100mph lol, and wheelies even when you didn't want them.

I'm glad I've taken mine. The new laws will only affect licenses recieved after 01/01/04 afaik And anyway, (and I'm not condoning law-breaking) it takes 30 mins and a little mechanical knowledge to remove the restrictors from a bike withe carbs. It's just a piece that fits between the carb and the head/manifold that closes off a certain amount of the inlet. Not hard to take out. 3 mins a carb if you know what your doing. And is an insurance/policeman going to strip your carbs out to find out if you have it fitted? I knew a lad who took a dremel to the restrictors and opened them up, so it looked like they were fitted. he had a certificate to say they were fitted, and thats all you need. Just feign ignorance. (again I don't condone this, this is just what I know people have done. In my eyes its more dangerous to have an underpowered bike. Accident rates have only dropped since the 250 law was changed due to the CBT!!! not due to the lack of power.)

Jon.

 

[1.8Stilo]

Yes your rite the restrictor is quite an insignificant part, but you need it fitted by a garage to get the certificate for the insurance company and looking into it this costs around £250

 

[project-cinqy]

lol or someone who fixes bikes for trade. My dad runs his small, normal one car garage as a garage. It helps with the agreed value insurance on his harley, as he has reciepts for everything. he'd fit it while you watched, do the certificate on the pc, sign it, and you'd be free to take them out whenever you wanted. (again not condoning it.)

Jon.

(edit) You do have to order the restrictors through a registered garage. but that can be done by ordering the part. Our local garage said they'd order them if we paid the carriage.

 

[Chas Uno]

lol I wish I was around when my dad was. I'd have loved to ride a KH250 on L's lol

Don't forget the Yamaha RD and the Suzuki X7 Both little screamers! The RD was tough and could hit about 95mph, the X7 was supposedly the first 250 to hit 100mph but was a bit light and flimsy. The KH could go over 90mph and was the only one that sounded like a banshee thanks to it's triple cylinder engine

*sigh*, sports two strokes were so much fun. Powerbands and wheelies every day