Confused with A1 Licence Laws :(

[Guest]

Hi,

I'm 17 and have yet to take my CBT, planning to do so in the near future. I believe I understand the basics about licences (in part, thanks to this thread: viewtopic.php?f=47&t=52550 ).

I'm mainly stumped on whether to get a restricted 125 now. Once I've done my CBT and the tests that follow to get my full A1 licence, can I derestrict the bike or am I still limited to 11kW / 14.7bhp?

The bikes I've been looking at are as follows:

[*]Cagiva Planet 125 (up to 23bhp?)

[*]Yamaha YZF R-125 (15bhp)

[*]Yamaha WR 125R (15bhp)

[*]Aprilia RS 125 (15 bhp) [this would be my solid choice, but I've heard horror stories pertaining to its reliability]

[*]Cagiva Mito 125 (up to 33 bhp?)

The Mito and Planet are my biggest concerns since I've been looking around at reviews. IF I have to have the bike restricted following my full A1 licence they will drop to 14.6bhp and be much slower than advertised, correct? The only real benefit I see of getting a 2 stroke in this instance would be better acceleration and higher top speed. However this would be reduced with the restriction, so would a 2 stroke be just as slow as it's 4 stroke counterpart?

And my final question is in regard to the legality of restriction: if you were to be caught on an unrestricted bike when it should be restricted, what kind of penalty would you face? I've found it hard to find a definitive answer.

Thanks in advance.

TL;DR:

1) Can you derestrict a 125 following your full A1 licence?

2) If you can/cannot, which bike out of the ones listed above (or others!) would you recommend?

3) Would a 2 stroke still be faster even when restricted?

[fq-craigus]

At 17 now you can only do the cbt and when you turn 21 you can do a restricted licence then at 24 a full a licence. They changed it start of last year

[Stilton Jo]

At 17 you can do A1 - this gives you a 125 licence (do your CBT first though!) - you can take the L plates off, and carry a pillion. You will need to do theory, Mod 1 and Mod 2 on the 125. After 2 years you can then go on to do A2 on a 500.

As far as the restrictions go - there I am not sure!

check the government websites!

[Guest]

3rd time I've typed this out

Thanks for the responses.

This is what is confusing me:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... icence.pdf

I'll do the CBT for my A1 and nothing else, allowing me to ride 11kW bikes (15bhp).

By the time I'm 19 (just over a year, A1 CBT still valid) I'll do my full A2 licence to allow me to ride up to 35kW bikes.

My question is, is there somewhere in between ^those 2 times when I could ride a 125 with higher than 15bhp? And are there any penalties for doing so if it's not legal?

And can you recommend any nice 125's that'll do at least 60mph comfortably, preferably 70+? Will the 2 strokes accelerate far faster?

[Stilton Jo]

CBT - then A1 tests.

You then have to wait til 19 to ride anything bigger/more bhp.

Why do you need to do 70+ on a 125 anyway???? You can't go on motorways until you get rid of the L plates, and a 125 on a motorway is a pretty nerve racking experience.!

So, basically, no, nothing between 125 and an A2 licence when you are old enough.

soz!

[Guest]

Alright, thanks a lot.

The reason I was saying I'm only interested in doing the CBT for my A1, not the tests, is because I'll only have the 125 bike for a year before I'm 19 (since I'm almost 18 already). Or am I doing this wrong?

I'm glad you cleared up the bhp/age nonsense, it's really been bugging me. So a 33bhp or 23bhp 2 stroke is basically pointless for me since I'm upgrading to a bigger bike once I pass my A2, and it would have to be restricted in the meantime.

As for 70+ it's not so much top-end speed (even though I clearly made it seem like that) I'm more concerned with acceleration and getting ahead of traffic. Also it would provide a nice buffer for potentially overtaking on dual carriageways.

Thanks again for the help!

[OhJay]

You are still restricted to 15bhp on A1 I'm afraid. It's exactly the same bike you're allowed to ride on CBT, the only difference is taking the L plates off, pillion and motorways.

I'd definitely advise getting a 4 stroke over a 2, they're far more reliable and need less maintenance. If you're into the sporty type bikes I'd say look at an R125, it's got the 4 stroke reliabity but is still a decent sporty bike.

To be honest at nearly 18 unless you have a need for pillion or motorway I'd say stick on your CBT for a year, get a bike to play on and do the A2 at 19. You'll have a year's experience under your belt by then and can do the A2 and start the countdown to your 2 years 'til the full licence.

[Zipster]

+1 on Oh Jay's post ^^^^. Ride on your L plates for a year and get some experience. Do your A2 in a year.

[TomGrainger]

Yeah don't bother trying to derestrict it. You are limited down to 15BHP, otherwise you could easily get one of the crazy 2-smokers that do 90ish. Plus even if you don't derestrict one, your insurance will be through the roof. If you're only on it for a year, don't get an R125, just get a YBR, DT or CBF depending on your preference.

Once you hit 19 though, the fun begins. That's when you will want to actually think your choice through and buy something with pzazz. For now though, keep it simple.

[TomGrainger]

Oh and btw I did the dumb thing and got the full A1 licence. When I booked in for my lessons for A2, the woman on the phone didn't even understand what A1 was because nobody gets it haha. I needed it to get on the motorway, plus it reduced my insurance cost a bit.

[Guest]

I understand the fact that people recommend you to not get a "fast" 125, but I'm glad I got mine (RS 125). It's restricted, but when I go for rides with people with bigger bikes, I can keep up.

Yes, there are times where they can take off and fly away, but the majority of the time I can keep up.

If you like to go FAST, then by all means get one. A fast 125 won't satisfy you fully, but it'll be better for you than an "average" 125.

It's up to you whether you derestrict it or not (it would be illegal obviously)

An when you're 19 you can do A2.

This helps: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... icence.pdf

[MR_W]

The way I see it, if you ride a de-restricted 125 then you are in effect riding without a licence. End result would be bike confiscated and a ban to go with it I imagine.

4 stroke 125s still accelerate well, but normally die off in power when they hit 55mph or more from memory (been almost 10 years since I rode one).

[littlecat]

I managed a steady 70mph on a 20 year old SR125 when fetching it home for my daughter( lots of giggles)...but I agree with whats been said, unless you need to use motorways, or carry a pillion... then the A1 is pretty useless, and you may as well ride on a cbt till 19.

as for derestricting when you're not supposed to... wouldn't go there for many reasons

[Joeman]

It's restricted, but when I go for rides with people with bigger bikes, I can keep up.

Hahahaha....

Who do you ride with?? They should be ashamed of themselves...