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[Ronald_McBurger]

CBT = Compulsary Basic Training. Trust me, I am a driving instructor!

[Andy B]

I could drive a 6 litre monaro, but not a 50cc moped

stupid country....

or ..... pass your bike test years before CBT was thought of, not ride for over 20 years and then buy an 850cc bike  :-?

[Marks DTM Calib]

If you want to ride a moped on the road without displaying L-plates you must take and pass a theory and practical driving test.
If you have a car licence...
If you obtained your full car licence before 1 February 2001 you are automatically entitled to ride a moped without L-plates (D-plates in Wales).

If you obtained a full car licence after 1 February 2001 you must first complete a CBT course and obtain a DL 196 certificate to validate your entitlement

So if you passed your car test before 2001 you can get on one and go.....

Still.....mopeds are the current scum of the earth....

[Ronald_McBurger]

If you passed your car test before 2001 you are qualified to drive a -50cc mpoed without L plates and without any training.

If you passed youur bike test in 1971 on a Honda 250 and haven't driven any bike for 30 years, yes you can still go out and buy a death machine and kill yourself.

If you have been driving a Ferrari testarossa for 30 years and have never had an accident, but now want to drive a 90cc Honda scooter, you must display moron plates and have your intelligence insulted by a qualified driving instructor for bikes, who will embarress the hell out of you on an off-road location, where you will receive CBT. You will ahve to display moron plates until you take a test, after which you will be restricted on engine size for ( IIRC) 2 years, after which time you can then buy a megadeath machine.

I have never seen or heard of such a mess of legislation for bikes in my life!!!!!

Problem is that bikes now are SO much fatsre than when I nearly killed myself 25 years ago. Then a Honda Superdream could be driven on L plates. Now, a Honda 125 is faster!!!

[JamesV6CDX]

I passed on 29/5/2001

[Paul M]

As stated before if you got your car licence before 2001 it will automatically include FULL moped entitlement -- so that means no CBT and no L plates necessary. About 4 or 5 years back my folks ended up with a brand new 50cc moped (long story, basically my bro-in-law works in the film industry and it was a prop that they sold off cheap after filming). So when I found out I was entitled to ride it on my licence, the novelty got the better of me so I paid for a year's insurance and off I went.

Complete and utter waste of time, it's damn near useless on anything but the quietest of roads. They're designed to go no quicker than 30 MPH (required to fulfil the "moped" classification) which is bad enough on the flat in 30 limits when everyone else wants to do 35 so drives right on your rear wheel. Add even the slightest incline into the equation and you end up being a mobile road block which pisses people off no end

To this day that moped is sitting in my folks' garage with 74 miles on the clock. Quite how I managed to put so many miles on it is beyond me, but I don't expect it'll be used again unless they sell it to a 16 year old. Still, it gave me the impetus to get my full motorbike licence and within less than a year of first riding around on that moped I was out doing proper riding on a 650cc bike.

Remember also that mopeds are very high theft risk due to the fact they're so easy to lift into a van.

[Paul M]

LOL just noticed you posted that your licence won't include moped entitlement so most of the above is irrelevant. Still, the point stands that 50cc restricted mopeds are probably more dangerous to ride than a 125cc would be due to them not being able to keep up with traffic speed.

If you're going to renew your CBT and ride on L-plates (or even get a full licence) I'd recommend going for a more powerful model, or just go the whole hog and get  a proper bike

[Martin_1962]

My rubbish moped I did 4000 miles on I think. (or was it 2000)

It was crap but did 200mpg and I got 47mph out of it 2 or 3 times. Usually just about managed 40.

[Lawman]

I'm going to get my bike license in a couple of years I think!  

[Taxi_Driver]

It may have missed everyones attention......but you need to use a TAXI  

But then i would say that  

[tunnie]

I just need something to get me between the train station and work.. about 3 miles each way... and paying £5 a day parking in the meega is a barsteward....

Err, push bike?  Will keep you fit as well

Um.... I spose

Uni for me is just over 5 miles from this house, i cycled there and back 4 days a week!

Keeps you fit, cheaper than car, a lot better than the bus!

Agreed. I commute by cycle 6 miles each day (3 there, 3 back). And the way the centre of Derby is atm it's a lot quicker than car or bus too! (Used to commute 12 miles. That's one reason I changed jobs!)

Just over 10 miles return for me, in Monday morning its brilliant, weaving though tones of traffic.

Run to uni in rush hour:

Car : 50 mins

Bike : 20 mins!

I'd like to learn to ride a motorbike... had a 50cc scooter in Miami. Was fun...

I'd love a job in town at the B.A.R Honda F1 place, but it will be impossible to get a job there me thinks  

[Marks DTM Calib]

If you spike your hair up they could use you as a brush for cleaning the exhaust pipes out with....

[Paul M]

Just over 10 miles return for me, in Monday morning its brilliant, weaving though tones of traffic.

Run to uni in rush hour:

Car : 50 mins

Bike : 20 mins!

I'd like to learn to ride a motorbike... had a 50cc scooter in Miami. Was fun...

I'd love a job in town at the B.A.R Honda F1 place, but it will be impossible to get a job there me thinks  

You'll absolutely obliterate that time on a motorbike, they're great for going through town at rush hour. I live in the city centre of Edinburgh and walk to uni every day, one day last week I had to go to Sighthill on the outskirts in the morning to pick up cam cover gaskets from the VX stealer before heading back into the city for 9am. Got there and back in about 40 minutes, and that includes the time spent in the dealer getting the bits. In a car I think it'd be going on for 45-50 minutes each way, on a pushbike maybe a little less but what you make up in the dense city traffic you lose when it quietens down a little (particularly on the way out of the city) as there are a few 40 MPH roads on the way. The beauty of a motorbike is that you can almost always go to the front of the queue at traffic lights even if there isn't enough space for both of you beyond the junction as you can easily thrash any car sitting alongside when the lights change

I would probably use a pushbike more often within the city if only for the exercise but the main thing I don't like is that you need a shower when you arrive unless you cycle like a granny

[tunnie]

My mum is the problem when it comes to me getting a bike, my argument is she used to own horses, and they do 30mph weigh 2 ton and have no brakes!!

Dad had a bike too, but as he pointed out its changed since his day

I see the learners going down my road, leaner up front instructor in the middle, learner up back.

looks like fun to learn, for me motorbike to uni time would not be much quicker, traffic is heavy, only just enough room for push bike.

Lecture centre is quite a way from motorbike/car parks, but i can zoom right up there at 25 mph on the push bike (its down hill  )

Another problem for me is insurance, Paul whats yours like? - Unlike car insurance i hear its based on experiance and not your age?? Not sure if thats true.

I got silly quotes about 2 years back (me 20) for 2k + for a small bike. It was cheaper for a V6 Omega!

In the current climate, I would quite like to get a motorbike to my future job, which will prob mean a 8 /10 mile run to the local station.

Bit like James situation....

[Paul M]

My mum was never keen on the whole motorbike thing, and still isn't! Although I still try to stay in the good books as it were, I'm not going to refrain from doing risky things in my life because other people are worried about potential consequences... it's one of those things where you can spend your life wrapped in cotton wool but it would be a pitiful existance. I did wait until I was 21 before getting my licence though, mainly because I couldn't afford it earlier (only reason I could drive at 17 is cos my folks paid for everything) and I wanted to do direct access

Insurance, like cars, depends a lot on the usual factors: performance, theft risk, your age/experience, where it's parked, etc. There are insurance groupings for bikes that go up to 17 IIRC, although they're not really an industry standard the way they are with cars. I have found my insurance dropped a lot since getting my licence, hence why I can now insure an R1 TPFT for just under £500 -- although that's garaged in a safe area with an alarm/immob and datatag marking. When I first started riding that same policy would have been well over £1000. Obviously I've gotten older by a few years in that time too so it's hard to say how much is experience and how much is age. Your usual "commuter" big bikes like the GS500 and ER-5 are pretty cheap to insure and still plenty quick up to 100 MPH or so, they're around 50 BHP and weigh 160-170 Kg.

Many insurers take into account your car NCB when quoting, so if you've got a few years on that it'll help. Even now that I've got some bike NCB my current insurers took my car into account as I have more NCB on that. Not sure how much it affects it though. Obviously you have to declare any accidents or claims you've had regardless of the vehicle so if you're clean there that helps too.

Remember to budget for some good protective gear too, even low speed falls can result in some pretty nasty injuries if your skin is being scrubbed off the tarmac. Thankfully I've never come off (yet!) but even so I'm not complacent and always wear the full gear -- boots, jacket, trousers gloves, back protector and of course helmet. Whenever I see guys out in nice weather wearing shorts & T-shirt on an R1 or Gixxer etc it reminds me of some pictures I've seen of guys who came off and are sporting some really nasty road rash :O