Shipping out from UK to Kiwi Land soon

[Mrs_Toon_Nut]

Hi folks, my husband has just bought me a new 125cc moped scooter and we are wondering what's the best way for me to get myself "mobile" in NZ?

We're hoping to go in around 4 weeks time, I have no provisional licence and have never applied for a licience of any sort here in the UK.

Here's my questions:

Bearing in mind the time scale we have set ourselves, I'd need to send my passport away to apply for a UK provisional licence, is it worth it and will the UK provisional licence actually mean anything in NZ?

What do I need to do once we get to NZ in order to ride my scooter legally?

I've had no basic training, not even parked my ass on the thing yet!

Realistically, how quickly could I be mobile after we arrive? Bearing in mind, I might be at least 6 weeks ahead of my scooter anyway, so could I do anything to speed the process up while my bike is on the high sea's?

Thanks

Mrs TN

[Kiwi Graham:Me]

Hi Mrs Tn,

Prob not worth getting a UK provisional (I may be corrected).
When you get here book into a basic handling skils test. Courses are run all over the place if your coming to Auckland try these people http://www.ridertraining.co.nz/

With this certificate you can get your learners following a multi choice scratch test and the clock starts ticking them for you to qualify for further tests leading to you full blown licence.

All of the above you dont need 'your' bike for.

Good luck and welcome to Aotearoa.

KG

[Gibbo89]

Hi folks, my husband has just bought me a new 125cc moped scooter and we are wondering what's the best way for me to get myself "mobile" in NZ?

We're hoping to go in around 4 weeks time, I have no provisional licence and have never applied for a licience of any sort here in the UK.

Here's my questions:

Bearing in mind the time scale we have set ourselves, I'd need to send my passport away to apply for a UK provisional licence, is it worth it and will the UK provisional licence actually mean anything in NZ?

What do I need to do once we get to NZ in order to ride my scooter legally?

I've had no basic training, not even parked my ass on the thing yet!

Realistically, how quickly could I be mobile after we arrive? Bearing in mind, I might be at least 6 weeks ahead of my scooter anyway, so could I do anything to speed the process up while my bike is on the high sea's?

Thanks

Mrs TN

hi mrs TN,

welcome to kb.

as with the above comment, i dont think you will need to bother with getting a license over in the UK. (again, some1 can correct me if I am wrong)

if the bike is 6 weeks behind you, then that is plenty of time to organise a basic handling test ( you drive around on a suzuki gn125 (manual bike)). i.e weave between cones, breaking etc. Costs around $180 for a lesson on the things you will be tested on plus the test itself.

then you recieve the certificate the same day as you pass it, then study the roadcode and do a theory test on a computer at the AA.

all can be done in 6 weeks

hope that helps.

[reggie1198]

Hi Mrs TN,

I am almost in the same boat - so to speak - my bike will be leaving Ireland in about 2 weeks and we go in about 5.

I am hoping to change my Full Irish (licence, not breakfast) for a kiwi bike licence upon arrival.

Hope the preparations for the move are going well

Sean

[scracha]

Mrs TN, from a license perspective a CBT probably won't be much use over here.
If however you want some decent cheap training then the UK CBT is fantastic value for money and without wanting to sound like an old fat, has saved a lot of lives*. It's a full days training (as in, from about 8am to 4pm) with a minimum of 2 hours on the road. Worth nothing that if you don't pass the standard, many of the training schools charge a pittance if you take 2 or 3 days to get through it (I had one guy take ermm....4 weekends but that was exceptional). Well worth the 100 quid. The official training here is a joke although there are quite a few good private instructors out there.

Hi Mrs TN,
I am hoping to change my Full Irish (licence, not breakfast) for a kiwi bike licence upon arrival.
Sean

Sean, don't bother straight away. You can drive/ride here legally on your foreign licence for up to 12 months since your last entry into the country. Sooner you get your license, sooner you get points on it . After about 11 months, book in for the multiple choice theory tests (1 for car, 1 for bike...although there's bugger all difference...it's just a stealth tax) and you can then swap your license. Oh...and if you wear spectacles/contacts then take them to the test as they test your eyesight in both eyes (I'm shortsighted in just one eye so I skimmed through it by memorising the lines of letters ...not recommended but otherwise I'd have to wear gregory pecks whilst driving.....major PITA).

*BRONZ somehow can't accept this fact

[tri boy]

otherwise I'd have to wear gregory pecks whilst driving.....major PITA).

As opposed to the pain of broken bones on the child you hit on a dark/wet/night?????
Get over ya self and wear the bloody glasses!

[scracha]

As opposed to the pain of broken bones on the child you hit on a dark/wet/night?????
Get over ya self and wear the bloody glasses!

Kill a child, not your speed. Should be in bed at night anyway.

[reggie1198]

Mrs TN, from a license perspective a CBT probably won't be much use over here.
If however you want some decent cheap training then the UK CBT is fantastic value for money and without wanting to sound like an old fat, has saved a lot of lives*. It's a full days training (as in, from about 8am to 4pm) with a minimum of 2 hours on the road. Worth nothing that if you don't pass the standard, many of the training schools charge a pittance if you take 2 or 3 days to get through it (I had one guy take ermm....4 weekends but that was exceptional). Well worth the 100 quid. The official training here is a joke although there are quite a few good private instructors out there.



Sean, don't bother straight away. You can drive/ride here legally on your foreign licence for up to 12 months since your last entry into the country. Sooner you get your license, sooner you get points on it . After about 11 months, book in for the multiple choice theory tests (1 for car, 1 for bike...although there's bugger all difference...it's just a stealth tax) and you can then swap your license. Oh...and if you wear spectacles/contacts then take them to the test as they test your eyesight in both eyes (I'm shortsighted in just one eye so I skimmed through it by memorising the lines of letters ...not recommended but otherwise I'd have to wear gregory pecks whilst driving.....major PITA).

*BRONZ somehow can't accept this fact

Cheers Scracha,

I already have a full NZ car licence since about a month after turning 16 - it's the bike licence I never bothered to get while I lived in NZ.

I will use the Irish one while I sort out the Kiwi licence - but I have no doubt that any pionts will find there way onto my Kiwi licence

Cheers

Sean

[triple-bee]

Hello flower,
Are u and ur hubby on british ex pats ? the name looks familiar

[YellowDog]

Yep I did all that stuff. If you can stick your scooter on the container then that's fine. It would have bene best to have bought one here and used the space for stuff you need.

There are some excellent trainers out here in NZ however the actual standards required are very low indeed. You can ride a 250cc out here on your learners licence. Those Ninjas really do go awfully well for a learners bike The Aussies seem to have got it right by ignoring engine size and going for rating by power.

As your scooter does not have a manual gear shift (I suppose it might?) as has already been suggested, you will be better off doing a proper learners course out here before your bike arrives.

Do take this seriously as you need to be armed with critical knowledge to help you be safe on the road.

The first thing I wanted to do once I eventually got my bike over (2 months later) was to ride over the Auckland harbour bridge on a bright summer's day. I did this at 80mph rather than 80kph (damn speedo had reset itself due to the battery being almost flat) and I overtook a cop car on the inside as I was turning off the motorway. He didn't look happy, but as I was close to max lean wondering why everyone else was going so slowly, I didn't have time to stop and apologise.

UK number plates are quite good for such circumstances.

You'll need to get your bike pass for compliance before getting a registration. If you have a standard model, it's a no brainer.

Good luck.

[Magna83]

Cheers Scracha,

I already have a full NZ car licence since about a month after turning 16 - it's the bike licence I never bothered to get while I lived in NZ.

I will use the Irish one while I sort out the Kiwi licence - but I have no doubt that any pionts will find there way onto my Kiwi licence

Cheers

Sean

Na you'll be fine mate. The whole license-transfer process is very unofficial. Think it cost around $40 to get it changed over. They just look at your license and give you the NZ equivalent. They do it then and there and only takes 5 minutes. I got a full NZ car license off the back of my learner Irish license the day I went in for my motorbike test at a local VTNZ. I folded it backwards so he wouldn't see "LEARNER" written all across the front and marked down that it was a full license. He never checked!

[andyapp]

I converted my UK Car and bike license over 3 years a go, and you will need to do the theory part of the road code. I would suggest that you look at http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/roadcode/ and have a quick read up.

Good luck and welcome to paradise

[ClutchITUP]

Ummm learn how to ride would be the quickest way to get mobile.
on a flat feild would be best poppet
Thats the hard bit. Licences are the easy bit in NZ ,
If ur planning on going back to UK why not get a provisional? the price may double before you get back there and the training will be superior to our cowboy licence testers
So yeah if u can ride a manual bike an memorise a road code u can be legally mobile within a couple of weeks on a 250cc