Completly new to Biking ;)

[DominicJ]

I think the title sums everything up fully, Well the reason I'm here is to ask for some help - Well allot of help.

First of - I'm 21 and I have 6 months till my 22nd birthday and I have decided that for my birthday I want to buy a bike and be driving.

I have never drove a bike before nor a car but I do have a provisional license but that is it, I have been reading websites and such (Duffer's Guide was helpful) but I'm getting a bit confused on how to get a license, which tests to do have to take and what not?
Basically I'm hoping there is a list or a set of test which I can take but I don't know which ones.

And second how much does it cost for all the tests and can I just take them all at once or do I have to have space in between or?

Thank you all very much in advance.

[pinkyfloyd]

Basically this is the order of things:

CBT - Costs around £100 depending on school and you need this before your allowed to go play on the public roads.

Theory test - Costs around £30 or so. You need to do this before completing the following steps.

Mod 1 - Costs £16 or so and is an off road practical test.

Mod 2 - Costs around £70 and is a prectical on road test.

Pass all of the above in order and you will have a full motorcycle license.

How you pass the above is up to you. You could buy a bike after your CBT and practice yourself and gain your A2 License and be restricted for 2 years.

You could hire a training school at around £100 per day and use their expertieze and bikes to pass your test on a 125 and get your A2 restricted license

Or at your age you could go DAS at pretty much the same price as above and pass your A unrestricted license and ride any bike you want.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.

[Andy_Pagin]

After CBT you can practice on a public road, BUT CBT is extremely basic and in my opinion (and many others on this forum) it's nowhere near adequate for someone like yourself with zero road experience.

If I were you I would get some extra training after the CBT before hitting the road, read some books cover to cover (I found Haynes 'Learn To Ride' a good one) and do some on-line theory tests eg. https://www.all4bikers.com/theory/
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They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa, hey-hey,
the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer

[Skudd]

Ring a few schools up and see what their prices are and if they can teach to your needs. then stump up the cash. Using a schools bike is probably best as this will give you time to find out what bike you want when you pass. these days getting a 125 at you age is a waste of money when you can do the DAS.
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[DominicJ]

DAS - Whats is this DAS it sounds like a pretty good idea and would mean I wasn't restristed to a 125 which would be nice, and by the way - Thank you all very much for the quick response

[Rogerborg]

OK, here's how it works. The tests are the same regardless of what bike you sit them on.

However, the bike that you sit them on determines what class of license you get. Essentially there are only two that concern you:

A2 Sit on a bike between 120cc and 125cc capable of at least 100kph. This is an A2 test bike, and what the DSA are currently calling a "Standard Motorcycle" (although this is informal terminology and subject to change). If you pass both practical modules on an A2 bike then you'll get a full "A" license, but with a 2 year restriction to 25kW / 33bhp (and 0.16kW/kg power to weight). You can ride any capacity of bike, but it can't generate more than 25kW (probably at the crank, it's a very vague law). After 2 years, this upgrades automatically to an unrestricted A license. Many people call this an "A2" license (although it's not, there's currently no such thing).

A/DAS. If you are 21 or over, sit on a bike that generates at least 35 kW / 47 bhp, i.e. a 500cc+ machine. This is an A category bike. Passing both practical modules on such a bike gets you a full "A" license without any restriction, and you can immediately ride any bike you like. This is referred to as the Direct Access Scheme, or DAS. Again, this refers to the test, not to any particular style or length of training course.

In practice, if you want to sit a DAS test then you'll do a training course with a bike school and then sit the tests on one of their bikes, covered by their insurance. Most places will call this a "DAS Course" - although again, DAS really only refers to the test.

The overwhelming majority of riders over the age of 21 choose to sit DAS tests. 21+ riders sitting on A2 bikes are a statistical quirk. It's a perfectly viable route though, and you have the option of sitting an "Accelerated Access" test at any time within the 2 years restriction period - basically this is just a DAS test by another name.

Long post short: if you want quick access to big bikes, talk to your local training schools. If you're not in a hurry, do a CBT, buy a 125, and book and sit A2 tests yourself when you're ready.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[DominicJ]

Thank you very much