Can I ride a bike over 250cc? (licence question)

[yobbosayyo]

ok, this is a bit tricky, so please bear with me...

I'm a New Zealander but I bought my first bike here in Korea. At the beginning of this year I upgraded my korean bike licence to the equivalent of a "full" New Zealand licence

Now I am coming back to NZ and I am wondering if I can ride a bike over 250cc while I am going through the process of getting New Zealand motorcycle licence. I think the LTSA website says I can, because it says I can use my korean licence for up to a year in NZ.

So if I buy and ride a 400cc bike and then pull out my korean licence if I get pulled over, will I be ok?

thanks a lot for your help

[Yamahamaman]

Possibly, as New Zealander, your Korean license will not be worth the paper it is written on.

[Posh Tourer :P]

You would also need to prove that you had been here for less than 12 months - and that you had actually emigrated to Korea and returned, not just gone on holiday. So you would probably have some trouble with your general "copper on the beat" but you may infact be legal. I guess you'd need to write a few explanatory letters to get off a ticket if you did get one...

[Ghost Lemur]

As far as I'm aware, you'll be able to ride on you Korean Licence (as a full) for up to 12 months. By which time you'll need to have replaced it with a NZ licence. I don't know if going from one licence to another whether you'll have to go through the graduated system, or go straight to your full.
Have you looked at Intl Licences? Maybe another option. LTSA website should have all the necessary info and regulations.

[avgas]

just go sit the full nz licence and be done with it, my indian friend had a full indian mb license he rung up ltsa and they said "Just sit your full nz license and it doesnt matter".
They just want to check you can ride
Watch out for NZ bikes thought - they arent as restriced as the koreans (dont they do license by hp over there?)

[spudchucka]

Do you hold or have you in the past held a NZ drivers licence for any class of vehicle?

If you have then I don't think you will be able to transfer your Korean licence. If you have never held a NZ licence then you shouldn't have any problem and you will be able to drive on your Korean licence for a year before having to get a NZ licence.

I'm not certain of this but I dealt with a similar scenario years ago and I think this was the situation then. Things may have changed so go to http://www.ltsa.govt.nz and check with someone there, they'll have your answers.

[dhunt]

Do you hold or have you in the past held a NZ drivers licence for any class of vehicle?

If you have then I don't think you will be able to transfer your Korean licence. If you have never held a NZ licence then you shouldn't have any problem and you will be able to drive on your Korean licence for a year before having to get a NZ licence.

This isn't true, I had a kiwi restricted cage license at the time I applied to transfer a philippine bike license to NZ. All you have to do is show your overseas license (valid ie not expired)and your passport and then they will make you sit the theory test for motorbikes and the full practical test.

You are allowed to ride on your overseas license for up to 1 year before getting an NZ license. In my case I had been in new zealand for more than one year so I had to be issued with a temperory license a couple weeks prior to sitting the full practical test.

Hope that helps

[inlinefour]

ok, this is a bit tricky, so please bear with me...

I'm a New Zealander but I bought my first bike here in Korea. At the beginning of this year I upgraded my korean bike licence to the equivalent of a "full" New Zealand licence

Now I am coming back to NZ and I am wondering if I can ride a bike over 250cc while I am going through the process of getting New Zealand motorcycle licence. I think the LTSA website says I can, because it says I can use my korean licence for up to a year in NZ.

So if I buy and ride a 400cc bike and then pull out my korean licence if I get pulled over, will I be ok?

thanks a lot for your help

Because without a NZ full bike licience the answer is no. :sly: