Intro and first question.

[Frarig]

Hi all! I'm in the deep south of Cornwall and will be returning to biking after a lapse of 20+ years when I get my XR400R tomorrow! Cannot wait, even if it is a '97 model off Ebay with 7K on the clock! :toothy8: I'm also looking forward to joining in with what seems like a very pleasant bunch on this site.

On to my question: I returned to the UK last year after a lonnnngggg time in S.Africa, and I'm finding the bike license procedure a bit confusing. I know I need to do the CBT (will be doing that in Penzance next week), but could anyone help me with what I need to do after that? A1, A2, DAS? I just want to get mobile on the XR4 as soon as possible and I don't really mind riding with L-plates or whatever. Also not planning on getting anything bigger/more powerful in the foreseeable future.

Any advice you might be able to give me would be much appreciated.

Cheers!
Fraser

[AIRWOLF]

Hello and welcome to the site :thumbup:

Things have changed while you have been away.

You can only ride up to 125cc on L plates with cbt cert.

I think you will need to do a direct access to ride the xr400.:(

I'm sure Stanbloke will be along to give you the latest info.

[Lord Vader]

Howzit:D:D
Welcome to the site.
Can not answer your questions regards the licence but i am sure someone will be along shortly with a clever answer.
You will quite a few South Africans on here
Where abouts in SA did you live?We lived in Joburg for 14 years:D

[nomad]

hi frarig
wecome to the site and i'll try and help with your confusion

ok..the law stands as this

you can ride up to a 125 with L plates and a cbt certificate,this gets you on the road

then you need to take your theory test and then finally your practical test
you now have two options

option 1-you can take your full bike test on said 125 but you will be restricted to 33bhp for 2 years but there is not a cc limit involved... you can ride a large capacity motorcycle as long as it is 33bhp or have a 33bhp restriction kit fitted this usualy costs around £150-£175 fitted from most dealers

option 2-you can take your test on a motorcycle of more than 48bhp( usualy a 600cc bike ),this is called direct access and can be arranged through your local training school who will also supply the bike and is normaly done as a 3-5 day pass course
this will allow you to ride any motorcycle with unrestricted power output

most people go for direct access as it's over in a week
best of luck in what ever you decide to do

:D:D:D

[Zenarchy]

I'd recommend the direct access course, where you'll do your training and test on a 500cc bike most likely (provided by the training school). That'll give you a Category A unrestricted license so you'll be allowed to ride anything you like immediately with no restrictions.

The cost of having your bike restricted (if it needs to be restricted) unless you know how to do it yourself cheaply, could otherwise go towards your direct access training, so might work out to be cheapest option as well. On top of this, if you decide to change bikes in the near future (within the next couple of years) you'll have much more to choose from at better prices if you don't need to worry about getting a restricted bike or restricting whatever bike you decide on yourself.

It's likely that you'll still need lessons, even if you decide to take the test on a 125 as it's not just a case of knowing how to ride, but knowing how to do things in exactly the way the examiner expects, so some training is invaluable in that respect.

I would apply for your theory test right away and try to get that out of the way as soon as possible. You need to have a theory test certificate pass number before you can apply for your full bike test, and it's likely that there's a fairly long waiting list for both the theory and practical tests around this time of the year.

The testing centers might be particularly busy this year as a new harder (and slightly more expensive) practical test comes into force in October this year, so there'll be a lot of people trying to get through their test before that comes into force.

Some of the larger training schools block book practical tests so they coincide with their direct access training schedule, so it might be worth ringing around some of those first to see what sort of test date they can offer you (they may be able to get you in quicker than if you book the practical test yourself).

I'm not sure if they are able to do the same thing with theory tests though. It might be an idea to ring around and ask as that might help you to cut your waiting time down a bit. If not and you have to book the theory yourself then I would do that without delay as you could find yourself with a wait of several weeks for a theory test, then when you pass, several weeks to several months before you can get a suitable test date for your practical test after that (unless you can get a cancellation or find a training school with one already booked they can assign to you in conjunction with your direct access course).

If you do need to book the theory yourself, you can do that online on the dvla website, though there's also a number on there that you can ring to check for cancellations which might get you a date a bit sooner.

Even if you have a full car license, and have sat the theory test for that, you'll still need to do the bike specific theory test.

When preparing for the theory test, be sure to get a practice cd/dvd software with hazard perception videos on. The hazard perception part of the test is what most people find difficult, as it's as much a test of playing a computer game, and clicking in exactly the right places, the right number of times according to the rules of the game, as it is an actual test of your perception. A practice cd/dvd will allow you to get your head around how that part of the test works, so you don't make any common mistakes like clicking too early, too many times etc. which can result very easily in a fail.

Edit >> here's a link you might find helpful : http://www.xsmotorcycleschool.co.uk/?Page=GettingStarted (there are links to each part explaining it all in detail). This is the website of the guy I did my training with.

[Frarig]

Zenarchy -- thanks v. much for all the info. I've followed your advice and booked a theory test online (28 April) and I've also found a different training school that will do the CBT and DAS combined and says they have practical dates pre-booked. So everything is in motion...now all I have to do is resist the temptation to get on the bike before I'm legal!

Thanks again!

[Frarig]

Hi Nomad. Thanks for the welcome and for the license info. As I mentioned in my reply to Zenarchy, I'm going to do the Direct Access and I've made a start on the process today.Hopefully I'll be legal within the next few weeks/ month.

Cheers!

[Frarig]

Hehe, howzit Lord Vader. Thanks for the welcome! I was in Cape Town and the surrounding areas (Robertson, McGregor). Lovely part of the world, although Cornwall's beautiful too. Looking forward to exploring it on two wheels.

[Frarig]

Hiya Airwolf. Thanks for the welcome. Yep, I'm going the direct access route -- costs a bit but I guess I may's well bite the bullet now and get it over with.

Cheers!

[HUDDERS]

Hi and welcome to the Mad House :D:D

Good luck with the DAS :thumb::thumb:

[Zenarchy]

Zenarchy -- thanks v. much for all the info. I've followed your advice and booked a theory test online (28 April) and I've also found a different training school that will do the CBT and DAS combined and says they have practical dates pre-booked. So everything is in motion...now all I have to do is resist the temptation to get on the bike before I'm legal!

Thanks again!

No worries, and welcome to the site btw :)

Looks like you've done well getting the theory test so soon. When I applied last year I think there was about a 3 week wait for the theory alone.

Something I forgot to mention was that I'm not sure about the license itself if you've just arrived in this country recently and don't have a british issued driving license. If that's the case it might be worth dropping the dvla a line to ask about this, as you may need a british license with provisional motorcycle entitlement on it to take the test.

If you have a british license already, it's worth checking that it's got bike entitlement on it as well (not sure if that would effect your theory test but it might effect your practical). I think all licenses issued recently have this on, but I still had an old provisional license from years back that didn't so had to have it updated.

So everything is in motion...now all I have to do is resist the temptation to get on the bike before I'm legal!

I'd try to resist that temptation as I think you can get points on your license before you even get it, if you get caught. Not to mention that you'd be riding without a license or valid insurance (even if you had an insurance policy it wouldn't cover you as your license wouldn't be valid).

You don't need to have your theory certificate to do your CBT though, so if you wanted to get out on a bike in the mean time, you could always do your CBT before your theory test or might be able to take that before your full Direct Access course and practical test. You'll need your CBT certificate before you start on the direct access course. Some Direct access courses do the CBT on the first day, then the training for the bike test on the following days, but you may be able to organise to do it sooner if you're itching to ride (then get a discount on the DAS as you'd already have the first CBT day out of the way). Something to consider anyway (best to ask whichever training school you're going with about this and see what they recommend though).

Good luck :)

[Frarig]

Cheers, Hudders!

[Frarig]

Hi again Zenarchy
I have the UK drivers license (just a straight swap for the S.A. one) and from what I can tell it has a provisional bike license (has an 'A'). So that should be cool.

Yeah, I'll just have to be patient and wait until I've got all the needed paperwork before I go riding. No access to a 125, so I'll just do the Theory/CBT/DAS and take it from there.

Thanks again for all your assistance with this.
Cheers!