Is getting a motorcycle licence in NZ too difficult?

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Is getting a motorcycle licence in NZ too difficult?

I personally think it is to easy...

[HungusMaximist]

I am soooo glad that I got my motorbike licence in Australia,

There's none of this 70 km limit or curfew hours......

[Renegade]

back to the thread topic, i think it would be alot more appealing for young folk that were looking at getting there licence if the only cars they could drive were 1300cc corollas and the like, no turbos, no v8s, no nothing untill they their full licence.

i think that it would help if finance companys got on board aswell and acted responsibly when lending cash, yeah right as if they would.

[homer]

why do you think the asians that come here all want a drivers licence first ....it looks good to mummy back home even if there spending all there money on hot cars and not doing well at the scool or uni

[Pancakes]

Haven't read the whole thing before replying which is unusual for me but here's my 2c.

I don't think it's too expensive BUT also haven't bothered to get off my car or bike restricted (car for 7 years, bike for 2) cos of the cost and there's no added benefit for me. I think it's too easy to get on a bike but there's not enough difference between lerners and restricted. There should be more steps (but not too many) maybe 4? with power limits or power and size not just size. I also think this needs to be the same for cars with age/size/power maximums. I think there needs to be a maximum power for a full and if your driving/riding something with wicked power to weight, litre+ bike, 5+ litre N/A car or 2.2L+ turbo car a bit more training would be needed to get you "Full Plus" or whatever. Would make moving up to more fun bikes harder but you'd be in better company on the road.

Also for younger people what about not just fines for Mummy and Daddy to pay but another year on the wait to move to the next class. Those that are interested in keeping up with their mates they better not get snapped or a turbo car is 3 years away not 2 etc.

[Squiggles]

Not too hard, possibly too easy but i think its got a pretty good balance

I know someone whose into the whole loud, low cars, high speeds sort've thing, seeing my bikes and hearing them he wanted to get a bike so bad...
he bought a CBR250RR, and riding it scared the shit out of him, everything was just TOO real, he felt the speed and so forth, fool then proceeded to think he car skills meant he was the man on a bike and failed to take right hander while going 10k over the limit an hour after license conditions

he learnt the hardway. Has since stopped riding and sold the bike but before he sold it he rode it everyday to work for a month and started to fall for just the everyday joy of riding, he now misses his wee cibby.

I dont think it would've made a difference if it was harder for him to get a license, he really wanted it and would have done whatever it took to get it, but had he been riding anything bigger than that 250 (which is what we wanted to be doing) then i doubt he'd still be here

I do think its good how we do the basic handling skills, if it was to get "harder" i would say dont make it stricter, but go further in depth in the handling skills test, more like the courses where you are taught to ride first, but with some real world thinking thrown in there

It is good how its those who care that run the courses (or at least this has been the case for both me and hanne, not somewhere like the AA), the tester spent 2 hours with hanne till she had the weaving cones down to an art, just getting her to trust the bike and look where she wanted to be, he wasnt going to pass her till she could do it but wasnt going to leave till then either. I can only imagine how good this guy would be running such courses

[jonbuoy]

Graduated system is daft at present - how does riding a 250cc "moped" for 1 year prepare you for a 125BHP superbike? No wonder new riders are put off. Should be a 400cc four stroke for 2 years. A 400cc bike is much closer in handling and performance to a "real" bike IMO and wouldn't make people so desparate to upgrade to bigger bikes, the route a lot of people take is from 250cc to 600cc which is a massive jump in power.

[90s]

From the back of my UK licence - categories:
A1 Light motorcycles ... <125cc ... <11kw
A(i) Motorcycles ... <25kw & <0.16kw/kg
A(ii) " above

Note the graduated system. Note the 'learners' start on the 125cc cat - as is usual throughout Europe. Note the power/weight conditions. 250cc learners as NZ is very rare - hence the reduction in these 250s being made. Its fairly easy to get up and running on a 125 though.

From this you can see in NZ it is too easy to get a larger capacity bike, ie. 250cc & and powerful 250cc bike. So count your lucky stars those of you moaning about being stuck with 'small' bikes.

Right, onto the next part.

The process of getting the NZ bike test is a little tedious. And so it should be - to weed out those who have not got the aptitude and restraint for biking. But process is nothing really.

The actual tests and system are laughable. The tests are very easy, do not really teach you how to ride, and to be able to take them from 15, well.

I started out at 15 on a 50cc licence. In this environment (Belgium and France) nearly everyone does spend their late teens on bikes. Whilst many do not move up to bigger bikes most people on the roads HAVE ridden in traffic on small vulverable machines. Is it any wonder that if you ask people that have toured across the world they often say France is the best place for motorbikes - treated with respect by cars?
I do not think a 15 yr old petrol head should be able to get a 'real' motorbike. They should learn about the road from the bottom up. Sadly in NZ with the appalling standard of driving this will put them in a dangerous situation (but they are already).

Final contraversial bit: I do not think we want loads of bikes on the road as 'solutions' to traffic or environmental problems. About 2% or so of people on the roads ride motorbikes. Probably not many more have the capability to actually ride a bike responsibaly well. A bike takes up more road space than a car. A bike needs space around it to corner and be safe. Bike are in high danger of being hit by other bikes - and increase the number of bikes on roads and rules designed for cars within lanes and the number of bike on bike accidents will rise exponentaly.

Bikes are a niche. Where bikes are the main transport - where cycles or motorbikes (ie. places in India, Asia or China) there is total chaos.

Keep bikes niche. Bikes are in reality for elite 'drivers'. And those comfortable with responsibility for their own safety. I want the motorcycle next to me at the lights to be another rider, who has found it a hard journey to get onto a big, powerful bike.

I don't want it to be some young punk who dreams only of a hot car but finds it easy and cheap to get on a powerful bike and get out there and cause some chaos.

(quite an old guy style rant)

[2fst4u]

probably the complexity and/or danger. sure motorbikes arent dangerous if you know what your doing but people dont know that. it cost quite alot too. a decent bike and all the gear is quite expensive. people my age just cant be bothered saving up

[hospitalfood]

no idea about to hard ???? never bothered to get one...........

but seriously..........???

[imdying]

I just met up with other young guys who were on 250s when I was learning. We had so much fun ripping around on our 250s, the time just flew!

[Mikkel]

Too difficult?

Fuck no, too bloody easy if anything. Those tests are jokes IMHO.

And if the young blokes at 15-18 years of age, who may or may not have any prior experience driving anything at all, find their wait unbearable do consider that someone at 25+ who might have 10 years of practice driving high powered cars still have to wait 9-12 months before getting a full license.

The real bullshit though are the license restrictions on 6L and 6R - while I think it's a fair judge to have to display a learners plate when you're new in the traffic most of the rest is utter bullshit.
All this gives new riders an incentive not to even get a license or just not display their L plates...

Also, having ridden the crappiest bike you could find for 3 years while saving up for your turbocharged hayabusa would be a death sentence for most people. There's no proper progression when it comes down to it - just a dumbed down worthless licensing system.

Make the riding training prior to getting your learners much more intensive with proper instruction and tests that actually illustrates your riding skills. Then remove the learners stage for anyone who's already got a restricted or full license in any other category. Make penalties for all traffic offences reflect the experience of the driver/rider (e.g. double demerit pts for learners) to encourage people to stay within their limits until they've developed enough experience. Remove the firm periods for the different stages and make the practical tests hard and realistic. Perhaps even throw in a real handling test on a closed track before getting a full license.
Oh yeah, and mandatory 3rd party insurance all around.(this is one of my main gripes really... too fucking stupid that this is not already in place).