Starting the process of getting my bike licence

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock) 05/20/2017 at 05:46 • Filed to: None

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Just got booked in for my CBT test which, when passed, allows you to ride up to a 125cc everywhere but motorways. Motorcycle licencing is pretty complex in the UK, so here’s a quick sum up.

The CBT is there so that you can legally ride on the road for experience before you do your main tests. The CBT is a quick course that takes a day, which has theory, off road and on road elements. After that you progress to your full licence, which requires a full theory test, an off road manoeuvring assessment and then a seperate main test with 40 minutes of on road riding that you’re graded on. Once all that is passed you’re STILL limited to a bike with a max power output of 11kW. From there you can get your a higher level licence if you have 2 years riding experience on the small bikes and are over 19. That still limits you to around a 500cc bike. Or if you’re over 24 you can do ANOTHER round of tests to get fully unrestricted without the experience.

UK bureaucracy people...

Picture at the top is an Aprilia RS125, the bike I want to get if I have the funds.

Edit: corrected to reflect some newer rules. Some stuff is still missed out or this post would be epic, in total there are at least 5 levels of licence. It’s so confusing I’m not sure I fully understand it.

citizenlambda > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/20/2017 at 06:22

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I’m so happy I got my licence in the old days of a few years ago when it was just a 33bhp for 2y restriction for under 21s, then full unrestricted. Best of luck with the tests, and ride safe.

I cannot recommend enough going through the full training process over just the CBI though, there’s a lot they teach you over the extended period that keeps you from developing bad/dangerous habits.

davedave1111 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/20/2017 at 07:17

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First of all CBT’s not a test. As the name says, it’s compulsory basic training . You can’t fail, but you can be asked to come back for another day’s practice. (You can do CBT on an automatic scooter, which is far easier, and then learn bike gears on your own time.)

Also, CBT does not entitle you to ride any 125cc. There’s a power limit too, and that Aprilia you posted is way over it.

Above all, note that CBT entitles you to ride a low-powered bike on lower-speed roads - stay off the dual carriageways on a 125 - without any passengers. Or, in other words, they’ll let you kill yourself if you insist, but not to take anyone with you unless you really try. Bear that in mind at all times and you might just stay out of hospital.

At the end of the day, riding a motorbike isn’t inherently dangerous. It’s possible to be cautious and safe. The hard part is that not riding cautiously and safely is so much fun that you’ll be hard-pressed to remember to stay safe.

XJDano > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/20/2017 at 07:33

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I don’t know if I would have gotten my motorcycle if there were that many levels of certification.

DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/20/2017 at 09:38

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I do think the middle ground of us vs uk makes the most sense. The US license laws a hilariously lax. You can take a weekend course and hide a Hayabusa the next day. But the uk ones seem to go to far the other direction. Heck I’ve been riding a bike for 3 years now that I would just be able to start riding if I were in the uk. Best of luck! And welcome to the club!

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > davedave1111 05/20/2017 at 10:31

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Well the CBT assesses you, in my mind having to come back later is a fail haha.

I’m aware there’s an 11kW (I think) limit but it’s legal to restrict any 125cc to that level and the rule is basically unenforcable to begin with.

I see no issue with riding on dual carriageways, even low power bikes can keep up with the 56mph lorries. Obviously M roads are illegal on the CBT but I plan to go pretty much straight into the training for the full test anyway.

I’m not an idiot, I’ll be getting good gear and riding defensively. I went through a CBT on a CG125 before so I have some basic experience to build from.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By 05/20/2017 at 10:33

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Thanks! Yeah I understand stringent rules to keep people safe but this latest round of changes are pretty extreme.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > XJDano 05/20/2017 at 10:33

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I’m just going to let my instructor guide me to each next step I guess. It wont be a cheap or quick process.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > citizenlambda 05/20/2017 at 10:35

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I plan to get good gear and ride safe. I’m not looking to corner carve on a big sports bike, just enjoy a some trips out and commute to work.

I plan to go straight from the CBT to the tuition for the full licence, so I wont be at that low level of training for too long.

DipodomysDeserti > davedave1111 05/20/2017 at 10:49

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I would argue that there is inherent danger anytime you stick an internal combustion engine between your legs.

There’s inherent danger in just walking across the street.

davedave1111 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/20/2017 at 14:46

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“in my mind having to come back later is a fail haha.”

Mine too, but at least they don’t charge extra for it :)

“the rule is basically unenforcable to begin with.”

Nope, get pulled over and the police will check the bike’s rated power against your license. You have to demonstrate a bike’s restricted, if it is.

“I see no issue with riding on dual carriageways, even low power bikes can keep up with the 56mph lorries.”

Try it. If you don’t immediately shit yourself, you’re either blind to the dangers or mad. Just getting a 125 up to dual-carriageway speeds is scary enough for me, let alone hanging on for dear life as you’re almost tossed off the bike by the aerodynamic wake of a succession of overtaking lorries. (They’re not all limited to 56 MPH, not by a long shot.)

End of the day, you’re not going to do long distances on a 125. So you might as well use the single-carriageway A roads.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > davedave1111 05/20/2017 at 16:15

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I’m looking at the CB125F right now which is well under the max power rating for a learner and supposedly quite happy at 60mph even with a larger rider (I’m only a small chap).

CRider > DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By 05/20/2017 at 16:27

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The US is too big for a 125cc restriction. Some rural areas require highway driving to get anywhere, and 125s aren’t safe in those conditions.

CRider > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/20/2017 at 16:29

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That Aprilia is not a starter bike, it’s a small race bike. The power delivery and ergonomics are not for beginners.

jordang1028 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/20/2017 at 16:30

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I knew it was tough in the UK but not that tough! Weird how opposite bike laws are here. My motorcycle safety course was basically un-failable, and there were one or two people who really should not have passed. But they can go right out and buy a 180mph death machine the next morning.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > jordang1028 05/20/2017 at 16:33

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Yeah one extreme to another it seems. As others have said, somewhere in between would make the most sense.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > CRider 05/20/2017 at 16:35

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Fair enough. They’re pretty popular over here for starters, so I assumed it would do the job. Regardless I’m probably going to end up with a new/ newish basic Honda CG anyway. Reliability and ease of maintenance are important, I don’t want unexpected maintenance issues to get in the way of my learning.

citizenlambda > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/20/2017 at 17:07

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That’s great. The full licence doesn’t teach you so much to corner carve, but it makes sure you build a good base of safe habits.

Happy riding, flogging a 125 within an inch of it’s life (also known as riding normally in traffic) is a whole bunch of fun. Bit like slow car fast, and fun on the occasion where I have to jump on a loaner bike.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > citizenlambda 05/20/2017 at 17:14

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Well no licence is going to train you for knee down corner carving I guess, same as no car instructor teaches you to drift haha. I’m looking forward to just getting some experience, it’s been about 5 years since I was last on a bike.

DucST3-Red-1Liter-Standing-By > CRider 05/20/2017 at 19:48

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Agreed, but maybe something like a 80 hp limit for the first few years, just to keep people from killing themselves too quickly.

davedave1111 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 05/21/2017 at 06:06

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Good little bikes, and I expect they can just about hold 60, as long as there’s not too much headwind, not uphill, etc. But 60 just isn’t fast enough to keep up with traffic on a NSL dual carriageway, where most traffic is doing 70ish (bare minimum) or faster.

It’s not impossible, just really unpleasant and not very safe. If you have a route involving a mile or two of fast dual carriageway, that’s one thing. But stick to the single-lane roads, as much as you can, don’t plan on doing lengthy stints on motorway-lite roads.

And remember, you’re mostly pretty safe on a bike as long as you leave the throttle alone :)

davedave1111 > DipodomysDeserti 05/21/2017 at 06:08

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You can argue semantics if you like. I wouldn’t consider something dangerous (as opposed to containing some element of danger) unless it had significantly more than the amount of danger involved in normal existence.