Should i be taking my bike test?? (best learner legal 600cc)

[Ollie 125 lover]

I am 19 and have recently passed my cbt for the second time. I have been riding my cbr125 around but when i see these 600cc bikes fly past i am so jealous its unreal. so i am now debating throwing in the towel with my cbr, doing my test and getting a proper bike (really liking the R6)

Can some one please explain about the whole restriction thing, from what i have heard i will be restricted to a 33hp bike. so is it possible to buy a restricted 600cc? am i too ambitious going from a 125 to 600? (been riding for 3 years but obviously only on small bikes/scooters) i am quite a short person and the cbr 125 fits me perfectly, are the bigger engine size bikes actually larger?

If i dont do the test i am going to have to move to the shitty sounding 2 strokes purely for power reasons (got my eye on a rs125) the problem is i love everything about my cbr, riding position sound looks everything apart from its under power 4 stoke engine.

So can someone please tell me my next step? another factor is i am going to uni in September for 4 years so probably wont have time or money to do a bike test in this time. so should i be doing it now before it possible y gets harder again??

Thanks, Ollie

[clarke]

Hi Ollie,

As far as I'm aware you can't do your test on a bigger bike until your 21 years old(?) whilst you're a learner you can't ride any bike bigger than a 125cc. Therefore if you want to ride a 125+cc you'll have to take your test first!

I did my motorbike test on a 125cc 23 months ago... Part of the reason was I was used to the 125 and the test was cheaper. I also wasn't interested in getting a bigger bike straight away.

However, the I then saw the XVS 1300A midnight star and just couldn't resist. Had my 1300cc restricted to 33bhp (instead of it's 72bhp) and in a way am glad I did as it's a big jump from the 13bhp of my XVS125. Managed to get the dealer to throw the restictor kit in for free (and the removal of it for free too!). But you need be aware that restricting your bike will put your insurance UP (in my case £300).

If you want a good (cheap) bike all the instructors round here use 500cc bikes for the DAS and they seem quick enough. For example, you can get an older Suzuki GS500 for around £1,000 - £1,500.

What I would say is do a test sooner than later as they're introducing a new test in 2011 which sounds a bugger! This is what I was told:

"3rd Driving Licence Directive (3DLD):

Yes the EU has introduced another directive aimed at ‘harmonising’ the way testing and licensing happens across Europe. The 3rd Directive affects two main groups; motorcyclists and people who tow things. I thought I’d use this bit of space to try and explain what it’s going to mean for people who want to ride bikes in the UK.

Basically the idea behind 3DLD is to restrict young rider’s access to the most powerful bikes. It will introduce a new category of licence, A2, which will sit between A1 and A.

A1 machines will be 125cc and under, A2 will be equivalent to 33 bhp / 400cc type machines, and A will remain the unrestricted category. Riders who start riding A1 machines at 17 will have to have at least 2 years worth of experience before they can complete a test and gain access to A2 machines. They will then require a further 2 years experience (minimum) on those machines before they can do another test to gain access to category A machines.

The alternative is for young people to wait until they’re 19 and do ‘direct access’ to category A2, or wait until they’re 24 and do direct access to category A machines (3DLD raises the age of direct access from 21 to 24).

In theory this sounds like quite a sensible idea, ensuring that young riders gradually work their way up to very high performance machines. It doesn’t however, tackle the issue of older riders doing ‘direct access’ and going from a novice to an R1 rider in a week. Let’s be honest - however good the training school is, it’s difficult to teach years of experience in 4 days, and it’s experience that really counts when it comes to riding.

It also fails to take into account the fact that one the most, if not the most, at risk group of riders on our roads are the 16 - 18 year olds on mopeds. These riders have the highest number of deaths and serious injuries. With the use of testing between each level of access, rather then training, it could result in riders learning to pass a test rather than actually learning the skills necessary to ride safely.

When you consider that 3DLD is going to cost something in the region of £10m to implement and yet only a small percentage of riders will use the graduated access route (most will simply wait and go through direct access) it truly makes the mind boggle and begs the question as to whether those making policy on motorcycling have ever actually been on a bike in the first place."

Hope this helps & Good luck,

Graham

[clarke]

Also just noticed my restriction paperwork says the bike is limited to 33bhp (25kw) and it's restricted (tested) top speed is 87mph...

I know some peeps consider removing their restriciton kit saying the cops won't know unless they test the bike, but if you're stopped above the restricted top mph then...!!

[Gas up - Let's Go!]

so i am now debating throwing in the towel with my cbr, doing my test and getting a proper bike (really liking the R6)

Good for you, but an R6? forget it, restriced it will be a pig even if you can get any insurance.

Can some one please explain about the whole restriction thing, from what i have heard i will be restricted to a 33hp bike. so is it possible to buy a restricted 600cc? am i too ambitious going from a 125 to 600? (been riding for 3 years but obviously only on small bikes/scooters)

You can restrict anything, but there is always a downside, generally, the bigger the bike (or more importantly, the bigger the bhp) the more asmatic it's going to be, so you'r better going for a smaller bike that needs no restriction or a mid-range 600. Bikes like the MT-3, XT660X XT660R or XT660Z all come in at around 50bhp so restricting them down doesn't effect them too much (especially when you drop a tooth on the front sprocket)

If i dont do the test i am going to have to move to the shitty sounding 2 strokes

Carefull....... Lots of Smoker lovers here, full of good advice, even if they do leave a smoketrail behind them...

"3rd Driving Licence Directive (3DLD):

I wouldn't worry too much about this, the UK has one of the toughest routes to a full liciense. This is going to hit the likes of Greece (where you have to be able to ride the bike 20 meters without falling off) hardest.

Although a return to the old way of motorcycle liciensing, to me is a good thing. But as Graham says, it's focusing on the most 'at risk' groups, in 10 years time they'll realise that the 'at risk' groups have moved to the 40-something, new age born again bikers (all the gear, no idea types) and it'll change again.

There is nothing wrong with learning to ride a small, low powered machine properly, if you can get your CBR125 around corners quick, then you'll be bloody fast when you get a bigger bike (by fast I don't mean straight line speed, I mean your cornering will be fast) as cornering quickly on the CBR's push-bike tyres is much harder than on say a CBR600 with a big fat curved lump of rubber.

When I was younger I loved speed, as I get older I've slowed down yet I corner faster and with more control and anticipation than many others (thanks to the IAM), I almost never need to carry out an emergency stop and all braking is nice and gradual. Sure, power rangers wiz past me on straights and just before corners, on corners and other dangerous places but normally it's because experience tells me to slow down, it's not something you can be taught is experience, you have to learn it and the best way is to do it slowly.

[Ttaskmaster]

33bhp is 400cc, which is plenty of power to misbehave with. Trust me - I speak from experience*.

Personally, I'd love to see a young'un on a properly restricted Hayabusa or Rocket III... Just because.

*Pulling a stoppie in front of your instructor on an XJ400 does NOT bode well for your forthcoming test

[pilninggas]

I am 19 and have recently passed my cbt for the second time. I have been riding my cbr125 around but when i see these 600cc bikes fly past i am so jealous its unreal. so i am now debating throwing in the towel with my cbr, doing my test and getting a proper bike (really liking the R6)

Can some one please explain about the whole restriction thing, from what i have heard i will be restricted to a 33hp bike. so is it possible to buy a restricted 600cc? am i too ambitious going from a 125 to 600? (been riding for 3 years but obviously only on small bikes/scooters) i am quite a short person and the cbr 125 fits me perfectly, are the bigger engine size bikes actually larger?

If i dont do the test i am going to have to move to the shitty sounding 2 strokes purely for power reasons (got my eye on a rs125) the problem is i love everything about my cbr, riding position sound looks everything apart from its under power 4 stoke engine.

So can someone please tell me my next step? another factor is i am going to uni in September for 4 years so probably wont have time or money to do a bike test in this time. so should i be doing it now before it possible y gets harder again??

Thanks, Ollie

hate to be negative but i am 5'6"/5'7" and i could nto fit on any of the latest generation 600cc sports bikes, they are simply too tall (it's paradoxical too as they are very cramped to ride if you are tall, apparently). I had an 08 zx6r and could just tip-toe on it, unfortunately it got wrote off after 6 weeks, i got paid off and looked at all the 09 600 sports bikes, not one i could ride, least of all the R6.

Earlier stuff may be better, but be aware this can be a significant problem. 1000cc superbikes tend to have a lower seat height!!!

[mervin]

Dont knock strokers mate the TDR 250is running 50 bhp stock. and is more fun than sticking a bag of ferrets down ya trousers.

Get on and take ya test 33bhp aint that bad better than 12.5 anyday

Merv