OhJay

You won't have to wait 2 years before you're allowed to do A if you want to, you'll be allowed as soon as you hit 24. Personally with your 24th being so close I'd go down that route, you're only paying for one lot of tests then. There's nothing that says you can't have a smaller bike on full A licence I'd go find a school and start doing something along the lines of a lesson a week. Slowly build up to the test readiness when your 24th comes round. I think you'd have to be on the A2 bike for your lessons for now but the step up from that to a 600 shouldn't be too bad at all.

Oh really? We went to CMC last weekend and ran over a scooter get together there as well! No getting away from them

Yes Chris, that's the one, but we're starting from Notts area anyway Taking Chira on the motorway, first long motorway jaunt for her so more people for outriders welcome but she's on a naked 500 and a week old licence so we'll be sat at the speed limit (ummmmmmm ... just like we always do ) so the 'busa might cry With Derek dropping out and Jam maybe having to work in the morning we might have to have a slight reshuffle of plans. Want to pm us a number and we'll let you know what's doing as soon as we work it out?

Just have to drink your first beer while still sat on the bike then, Jam Soon as you finish that, crush can, put under side stand, then you can get off and get unloaded I see no problem here

Conga rats

Hi and welcome and congratulations on making the decision to get into biking First thing to do is go have a look at geton.co.uk - they're an initiative set up to try and get more people on bikes. When you've had a look around and registered they will put you in touch with a local riding school who will give you a free hour's have a go type session, introduce you to the bike and get you pottering up and down the car park to see how you like it. The idea being that you are then in front of an instructor and can ask him all the questions in the world. The idea from the school's point of view is that you're then right there and can book a CBT with them. Next step is CBT. Usually a day but can take a couple. It's Compulsory Basic Training, get you to a level where the instructor feels you're safe to be on the road on your own. Usually about £100 (worth asking in advance what their procedure is if you do need a second day. Some will guarantee price x no matter how long it takes, some will say the second day is an extra charge). There will be pottering round the car park, u turns, figure-8's etc then you'll go out on the road with the instructor for an hour or so. When you've done your CBT you're allowed to ride a 125 with L plates on. CBT certificate lasts for 2 years after which you have to redo it. To get full licence: You have to do theory test, even though you've held driving licence for years you need a valid current theory certificate before they'll let you sit the test. I had been having lessons for a couple of months before they said to go do it quick so they could get me in for tests. The actual test is broken into 2 parts. Part 1 is all the close maneuvers, it's back on the car park again I'm afraid. It's all the same u-turns, figure 8's etc that you've done before. Part 2 is the road ride with an instructor behind you. It depends how quickly you pick it up or how you decide to go about it as to how long it'll take. A lot of schools will offer an intensive week where you do theory test in advance then go along on Monday morning, do CBT on Monday, lessons tues-thurs and tests on Friday. I did a lesson a week, an hour on a Saturday afternoon, and then bought myself a 125 to ride and practise on during the week. Doing it like this took me maybe 12-15 weeks from first lesson to first test? And then a couple of weeks between test part 1 and test part 2. Cost of all lessons and tests? £500-700? Any questions, anything unclear, just ask

Conga rats Which SV did you sit on? The new ones (2004 onwards) were a good inch lower as I remember. How's about the older CBR600f? I presume the recent ones will be out of budget but the earlier ones might suit?

Helmet: The one that fits All helmets sold in this country have to conform to BSI/kitemark standard they'll all be good to a point. You'll get comfort/better wind noise/venting/removable liners/internal visors.... all for your money but they must all be to a certain standard. If you want to look at safety go to the Sharp website, you'll be amazed at how some cheaper helmets offer better protection than the more expensive ones! A £60-100 helmet that fits will offer far better protection than the £500 Arai that doesn't. Go to a shop, try on every single one in there. Get the ones that fit and see what features they have and which of those you like and how much you're prepared to spend on each of them. First helmet I got fit nicely in the shop and when I was having lessons at an hour a time it was no problem at all. Problems arose first time I went for a long ride when I found out that it pressed across my forehead and gave me the most EVIL pressing headache after about an hour and a half. When I got this one I got the helmet I liked and asked if I could take it home, wear it watching the tele for a couple of hours that evening and if it had the same problem take it back the following day. Worth asking if you can do the same. Gloves: Depending where you are you can get a decent pair for anything from £20. Have a look on eBay or have a look round the BMF show next month.

47 isn't enough to take the full A licence test. The power needed to pass the test is 54ish, which is more than you're allowed to ride on the A2 licence. So either you're riding illegally to the test or committing fraud by lying to the test centre. And how are you going to get that dyno certificate when you said in your first post

Nope, if you did A2 under the new scheme I'm afraid the restriction never runs out. You are allowed to take the A test when you hit 24 but you have to do that to get rid of the restriction, it never just runs out of it's own accord any more

If you do it on a 125 all you can ride is a 125... You just get to take the L plates off, take it on a motorway (why?) and take pillion

The bikes you do the test on are engine size and power The licence you get is purely restrictive on power. A2 you have to do the test on a bike at least 400cc (most will use 500's since that's what they have from the last round of test rules) and between 33 and 46hp (with a power/weight restriction but I don't think anything falls foul of that?) When you then pass you are restricted to 47hp but the bike can't have started with more than twice that. You can take the restricted licence if you're worried about the 600, of course you can.

DAS simply means you do your test on the big bike and you get an unrestricted licence directly rather than having to go through all the stepwise restrictions which is exactly what you're talking about and you can do since you're over 24 You'll do the mod 1 and 2 tests on a 600 bike. Do it through a school and they'll supply the bike, you don't have to get one (and I wouldn't dare imagine what insurance would be like on one without a licence!) at which point you tear up your L plates and enjoy the bike shopping bit You can very probably find a local school that will do you a lesson a week on a Saturday, that's how I did it and then I had the whole week in between to practice what I'd been taught that weekend. You don't have to do it all in one go. As for what 125 to get what sort of bike style do you like? Do you want a sports bike? Do you want a cruiser? Do you want a comfy commuter? Or do you not care at this point and something nice and friendly to learn on and get through your tests on?

Think it's a backwards step personally but he wanted the factory ride. Can see why he was pissed off at Yamaha though with them talking to Pol Espargaro about the Tech3 ride. Hope it works for him or if not that he then still gets the chance of a winning ride. Rossi and Lorenzo's contracts end at the same time, we might be on 4 biker per team by then and we have no idea what state the championship will be in with them all looking more like CRTs

No such thing as an unsuitable bike. I give you exhibit A also spotted at Donington yesterday [album]753[/album] You're not trying to break lap records, you're learning what you and what your bike can do

Yes, you will still need L plates, you will still be restricted to a 125, all the CBT does is "validate" the provisional entitlement on your licence. Need the test to take them off. You are still a learner on a bike.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Pop over introduce yourself in newbies First question: how old are you?.. The process is still the same: CBT, Theory/Hazard, mod1, mod2 but it will change what bike you do the tests on and what licence you get out the other end. If you can find a book with a DVD you can stick in the computer it's far better than a book itself. Learning the questions for the theory isn't hard, just got to go through them a few times to get all the questions solidified. Practicing the hazard is far more valuable to understand the ins and outs of it so if you can get something that will let you practice a few on the computer it's well worth it.

Conga rats

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/108975 Pigeons meet cat A year too late for Cal to get his factory Yamaha ride?

You don't need luck, just relax and enjoy it.

Go to MSV track days' website and sign up for their newsletter, they keep sending me e-mails with all the upcoming days listed and offers and what's going on at each of them... and tempting me... the bast*rds

Enitrely up to you, no one's going to shun you for it Only thing is they might not zip together which is only an issue if you plan on going on track

Conga rats

No and no Pedrosa feeling dizzy this morning, didn't do warm up and out the race And Lorenzo has said he doesn't want to take any more risks and recover properly so won't be at Laguna Although I wonder how much Pedrosa not being in this race will have influenced that decision

Conga rats