Learners Guide to Motorcycles

[boggers007]

Hey guys,

For ages I have wanted to get my motorbike licence and lately I have been really considering it and have spent heaps of time looking at motorbikes etc. Now as I don't know anyone who has a motorbike licence I can't asked them the stupid questions so thought I would ask here.

How have people gone about getting their licence? I have been trying to figure out if I have to buy my own bike first before I can get lessons on how to ride it (Never ridden a motorbike so 0 experience on them) Or do teachers provide you with a bike? I see the advantage that if I have my own bike I learn to use my own which at the moment im looking at a Ninja 250R which are relatively cheap for a decent second hand one.

Any help would be appreciated.

[A^K^T]

The first step would be getting your learners permit. Link
There are some motorbike trainers/schools in Perth that have bikes you can use but you can also buy your own.

[BigAnt]

I have recently obtained my L's, in SA you have to go and do 2 half day courses where they teach you the basics on how to ride safely. For your L's you can only use their bikes, but when going to test for your P's you can use your own if you desire.

[1111111]

I've just got back on a bike after 7years. Picked this up on monday. Loving it & can't wait to begin the mods.
Cheers.

[boggers007]

Cheers for the information so far fellas, Already knew about the learners permit part so didn't mention it was mainly how has everyone else gone about learning and then going for the practical test.

[A^K^T]

Cheers for the information so far fellas, Already knew about the learners permit part so didn't mention it was mainly how has everyone else gone about learning and then going for the practical test.

I bought a new bike and did the lessons on that , i also did the test on my bike back in 1991 (from memory)
Learners permit and test done at Welshpool licencing branch.

[csv rulz]

They provide the bike and u can do a longer course if no experience on a bike! I got mine back in November and have a KLR250 which I ride regularly and occasionally i ride the old mans KLR650, love the extra grunt of it but I find it to heavy as I like to go bush as well.
If I had the money personally I would get a DRZ400E
Good luck with it, it's so much fun

[Woodchukka]

I did my test in NSW and before I could get my licence I had to have 2 1/2 day lessons. They provided the bikes (i.e. you did not need your own) and all but one in our class could already ride but we had to go through the process and man o man did we give those bikes some . Obviously if you are looking at a Ninja you want to do road riding. However be aware that I had a Yamaha FZR-R 250 and I hired a bike for the P's test as it was easier to get a trail bike around the test course than that FZR as it had the turning circle of a bus and made the test a prick to complete. Oh I completed my test in 1999 or 2000.

[Puppeteere]

If you're classed as a mature age rider (over 25) then I would just use their bike and hire one for the P plate test. Reason being if you buy a 250CC, you'll want to upgrade once off the P's and this is only about 6 months for the aforementioned. May be better in the long run to save for the bigger bike if that's your goal.

[Souljah]

If your over 25 in NSW you will be on your L's for 3 months before being able to sit the P's test. You will be then on your red P's for a minimum of 12 months before you can upgrade your license to an unrestricted moto license. So buying a half decent 250 would be a waste of time. I brought a road registerable dirt bike to learn on. Mainly to just get comfortable riding in traffic but also because they are cheap to buy and register along with being tough enough to withstand a drop or 2.
I upgraded to my full license a few months ago and only road on the road for the first time since doing the Ps test 12 months ago a few days ago and it wasn't even my bike!

[CunningStunter]

Sounds like you have 2 issues - gaining the permit to ride and buying a bike to learn to ride on.

Firstly, just get your learners as you don't need a bike for this. Even for the Ps test you can hire a bike, although you may not pass the test without prior experience or practice during your learner period.

This is where your wallet/time/need for riding comes in. If you're looking for cheap transport, doing 50-100kms/day and at higher speeds then you'll want a road/sports style bike as single cylinder dirt bikes are a bit painful on the road, high revs, lots of vibrations and alot of work for 1 cylinder. If you were right in the city and doing less/slower kms then the motard/dirt bike/more up right riding position helps and honestly, buying anything with wide bars as opposed to 'clip ons' found on road/sports bikes is going to be better for your control over the bike, again advice more for the learner.

If you had the time/money and didn't need a bike to get to work/commute on then I'd recommend finding a cheap trailbike and doing some riding around the trails. Even if you're not mad keen on dirt bike riding this will give you some of the skills you'll need without having to play out in the traffic. You'll conquer changing gears/throttle control to the point where it's second nature and one less thing for you to think about when learning to deal with traffic because that's nearly an artform in itself. You don't want to be thinking about how to change gears or which lever is the brake/clutch lever when facing a Bus who's about to T-bone you.....

Something you've not mentioned but is fairly crucial to your bike choice is the type of riding, your age/height/weight because a CBR250 for a 7foot/150kg giant won't suit same goes if you're 5foot flat and 40kgs dripping wet.
A taller dirt bike isn't going to be for you and you'll need a low seat height as a mandatory....

If you have the time/money but are more interested in road bikes/not wasting time dirt bike riding then do a few of the Stay up right advanced courses to hone some of the skills like advanced braking, advanced cornering and body position etc.

2 bits of advice for the wise......

1. Always, always, ALWAYS, treat every vehicle as though they're out to kill you. Even if you're going down a straight road, have 'right' of way and have seen the driver waiting to pull out perform a headcheck - assume they have NOT seen you (or have misjudged their timing), you can simply roll off the throttle, cover the brake as a 'just in case'. This is important on smaller bikes that don't have the power to get you out of a tricky spot.

You will become a little more paranoid on a motorcycle and this WILL save your life one day. As will:

2. Always, always, ALWAYS, give yourself an 'option out' - even when or maybe especially when you're stationary. Sitting at the lights in the middle track of your lane RIGHT up the clacker of the car in front gives you no room to move if you see a semi with locked wheels/smoke approaching your rear. Give yourself a little space/buffer room, you could lane split and avoid becoming a cars new bonnet emblem.....ideally you should always be scanning down the road as far as you can and giving yourself several options.

Hope you find this advice useful, unfortunately I am one of those die hard, love 2 wheels types so I apologise for the essay! Post up a pic of your ride in the BIke forum section when you're ready!

[5.7heaven]

from my personal experience (got my license just before christmas), use a learners class bike to learn on and do the test on. i did my L work on a bike, then used a different one for my test and found it difficult changing from one to the other as they were different makes and models. get the L's, do some rides, when you're confident do your test. once you have your license then find a bike you like and get it.
i did the same for my car, learnt in mums, got my license in mums, then bought my own.
if you're interested i have a 2006 VTR 250 for sale as well, was my first bike, never dropped it, great machine

[boggers007]

Sounds like you have 2 issues - gaining the permit to ride and buying a bike to learn to ride on.

Firstly, just get your learners as you don't need a bike for this. Even for the Ps test you can hire a bike, although you may not pass the test without prior experience or practice during your learner period.

This is where your wallet/time/need for riding comes in. If you're looking for cheap transport, doing 50-100kms/day and at higher speeds then you'll want a road/sports style bike as single cylinder dirt bikes are a bit painful on the road, high revs, lots of vibrations and alot of work for 1 cylinder. If you were right in the city and doing less/slower kms then the motard/dirt bike/more up right riding position helps and honestly, buying anything with wide bars as opposed to 'clip ons' found on road/sports bikes is going to be better for your control over the bike, again advice more for the learner.

If you had the time/money and didn't need a bike to get to work/commute on then I'd recommend finding a cheap trailbike and doing some riding around the trails. Even if you're not mad keen on dirt bike riding this will give you some of the skills you'll need without having to play out in the traffic. You'll conquer changing gears/throttle control to the point where it's second nature and one less thing for you to think about when learning to deal with traffic because that's nearly an artform in itself. You don't want to be thinking about how to change gears or which lever is the brake/clutch lever when facing a Bus who's about to T-bone you.....

Something you've not mentioned but is fairly crucial to your bike choice is the type of riding, your age/height/weight because a CBR250 for a 7foot/150kg giant won't suit same goes if you're 5foot flat and 40kgs dripping wet.
A taller dirt bike isn't going to be for you and you'll need a low seat height as a mandatory....

If you have the time/money but are more interested in road bikes/not wasting time dirt bike riding then do a few of the Stay up right advanced courses to hone some of the skills like advanced braking, advanced cornering and body position etc.

2 bits of advice for the wise......

1. Always, always, ALWAYS, treat every vehicle as though they're out to kill you. Even if you're going down a straight road, have 'right' of way and have seen the driver waiting to pull out perform a headcheck - assume they have NOT seen you (or have misjudged their timing), you can simply roll off the throttle, cover the brake as a 'just in case'. This is important on smaller bikes that don't have the power to get you out of a tricky spot.

You will become a little more paranoid on a motorcycle and this WILL save your life one day. As will:

2. Always, always, ALWAYS, give yourself an 'option out' - even when or maybe especially when you're stationary. Sitting at the lights in the middle track of your lane RIGHT up the clacker of the car in front gives you no room to move if you see a semi with locked wheels/smoke approaching your rear. Give yourself a little space/buffer room, you could lane split and avoid becoming a cars new bonnet emblem.....ideally you should always be scanning down the road as far as you can and giving yourself several options.

Hope you find this advice useful, unfortunately I am one of those die hard, love 2 wheels types so I apologise for the essay! Post up a pic of your ride in the BIke forum section when you're ready!

Thanks for the input cs had a feeling you might pop up at some point, Probs should have pointed out that im 6'2 and im about 75ish kgs. Haven't seen a ninja in the flesh for a while so never took size of the bike into account. I would use the bike for work communtes (80k's a day ranging mainly between 80-100km/h) as well as the weekend joy ride but in saying that I have a car so bike is not a necessity. Didnt look into the dirt bike as well I know they can be pretty annoying on the type of driving I would be doing but in saying that I live 2 mins from a big pines area which gets alot of dirt bikers so Im in the perfect area for that. Money not being an issue really ideal goal one day is to buy and R1 but in saying that Im sure a nice powerful 250 would keep me happy seeing as I drive a lancer.

from my personal experience (got my license just before christmas), use a learners class bike to learn on and do the test on. i did my L work on a bike, then used a different one for my test and found it difficult changing from one to the other as they were different makes and models. get the L's, do some rides, when you're confident do your test. once you have your license then find a bike you like and get it.
i did the same for my car, learnt in mums, got my license in mums, then bought my own.
if you're interested i have a 2006 VTR 250 for sale as well, was my first bike, never dropped it, great machine

Thanks for the reply man, Still thinking thinking about this so in no rush to buy a bike as I have a feeling when I do I wont be selling that one for a fair while unless I come into some more money lol

[eric]

As you are in Wa you will have to sit a theory test and gain you R-E learners permit and sit the PDA on a bike under 250 cc then after a year sit the PDA again on a bike bigger than 250 cc to remove the engine restriction if you wish to ride bigger bikes (trust me you will).

2 bits of advice for the wise......

1. Always, always, ALWAYS, treat every vehicle as though they're out to kill you. Even if you're going down a straight road, have 'right' of way and have seen the driver waiting to pull out perform a headcheck - assume they have NOT seen you (or have misjudged their timing), you can simply roll off the throttle, cover the brake as a 'just in case'. This is important on smaller bikes that don't have the power to get you out of a tricky spot.

You will become a little more paranoid on a motorcycle and this WILL save your life one day. As will:

2. Always, always, ALWAYS, give yourself an 'option out' - even when or maybe especially when you're stationary. Sitting at the lights in the middle track of your lane RIGHT up the clacker of the car in front gives you no room to move if you see a semi with locked wheels/smoke approaching your rear. Give yourself a little space/buffer room, you could lane split and avoid becoming a cars new bonnet emblem.....ideally you should always be scanning down the road as far as you can and giving yourself several options.

THIS

out of everthing we look for on your PDA this is the most important part you have to have eyes everywhere.
But get as much practise as you can(at least 20 hrs) and I would buy a bike and get comfortable riding it, I have failed many a person who has only jumped on the bike for the first time on the day of thier PDA. also get a good instructor they will teach you your roadcraft more than a mate who cant explian to you what they have as instilled knowledge.

Best of luck

[timy]

Have been riding since I was 5, started off on dirt then moved to road then back to dirt.. Since u have a pine forest out the back I would suggest buying say a wr250 or drz250, something both road registrable and good to practice in the forest.. Start off on dirt, learning throttle control and gears, don't use ur rear brakes when learning at all, they can kill inexperienced riders on wet roads very easily!!

No matter whether u get a sports 250 or a dirt 250 by the end of a year you WILL want bigger and will sell.. Buy a cheap dirty for $4000 and sell it a year later for $3500.. Then buy a 750 don't go straight to a 1000 as it will prob be to quick unless u have been riding most days..

Hope this helps...