Goodbye Loser

[MikeyG]

Well done.

Only 10 more days till my test so hopefully will post the same in a week and a half.

Will there be a ritual L plate burning?

[Indiana_Jones]

Congrats man

-Indy

[skidMark]

ahhhh bugger and the cheapest i can get a gpr 100 for is $215 fitted which is bloodey cheap**connections with wholesalers**

start saving my penny's i guess

[McJim]

Well done, keep yourself safe and get your 'Full' asap eh?

BTW You youn'uns seem to hold the 'L' plate in a lot more importance/loathing than it warrants - ALL learners for the last X years have had to have it.

Not all learners are young.

My problem with the L plate is as follows:

I'm not even allowed to prove I'm a good rider for another 2 and a half months.

I can't drive out to the beach coz the road is twisty and has a limit of 100km which means cages will approach me from behind with a 50km speed differential and poor visibility round corners.

Drivers automatically assume you're a spotty teenager and bully you safe in the knowledge that you won't have the balls to chase them and have a quiet word in their ear when they stop.

They get a bit of a surprise when I follow 'em home, remove the helmet, let them take in the difference between my size and theirs, the close cropped greying hair, the age and wind hardened features and I quietly say "Please watch, please think and please don't assume because I'm a learner that I wasn't using the road before you were born. Thank you for your time and enjoy your evening."

But I hear what you're saying.

[phoenixgtr]

Well done mate. Now just comes the long wait til the full

[Hawkeye]

BTW You youn'uns seem to hold the 'L' plate in a lot more importance/loathing than it warrants - ALL learners for the last X years have had to have it.

Is it an ego thing?

It's a bit like having no hair round your balls, we were all like that once and we all know it - so it's no big deal once you have some - same as your 'L' plate, most of the older riders see "Yeehaa, got rid of my L plate" and think "hmmm, big deal, so what"

Youn'un - Thanks scumdog. Never been called that for years. Been driving a cage for 33 year and only recently moved to bikes. The 'L' plate was more frustration to me. I can go out and buy a 250 scooter, ride without 'L' plate and use the m'way but because it's a bike.... No m'way, no late nights and 70k. Even on the resticted I'm not allowed out after 10pm. Yet I can drive a 4L cage anytime.

[Hawkeye]

Not all learners are young.

My problem with the L plate is as follows:

Drivers automatically assume you're a spotty teenager

I totally agree. Having to prove to a tester following me in a cage that I can read the road and see the dangers, even though in 33 years of driving the cage I have never had an accident. I was driving when this guy was still in nappies. It's about time they introduced an accelerated path for old buggers like us eh Jim

[Ixion]

Youn'un - Thanks scumdog. Never been called that for years. Been driving a cage for 33 year and only recently moved to bikes. The 'L' plate was more frustration to me. I can go out and buy a 250 scooter, ride without 'L' plate and use the m'way but because it's a bike.... No m'way, no late nights and 70k. Even on the resticted I'm not allowed out after 10pm. Yet I can drive a 4L cage anytime.

No, you can't. Scooters have same rules as bikes, only mopeds (< 50cc, <2KW, <50kph) are different.

But the curfew stuff is stupid for mature learners. (Not too sure that it's not stupid, full stop)

[Hawkeye]

No, you can't. Scooters have same rules as bikes, only mopeds (< 50cc, <2KW, <50kph) are different.

But the curfew stuff is stupid for mature learners. (Not too sure that it's not stupid, full stop)

If that is the case then why the hell would anyone buy a 250 scooter if they already have a bike licence.
I've seen so many scooters without L's on.

I have never really looked into the road code regarding scooters. Decided that if I was going to ride on two wheels, then it had to be the real thing.


And yes, the curfew drives me nut's.

[davereid]

Yeah, the testers think they are all motorcycle/car/truck mechanical experts just like the pigs. They wont hesitate to fail you if they think your bike is not up to standard. Heres the good bit - even if an a-grade mechanic says your bike WAS ok its tough - you get to pay a new test fee.

[scumdog]

Yeah, the testers think they are all motorcycle/car/truck mechanical experts just like the pigs. They wont hesitate to fail you if they think your bike is not up to standard. Heres the good bit - even if an a-grade mechanic says your bike WAS ok its tough - you get to pay a new test fee.

And we all KNOW all bike owners are mechanical experts - unlike testers and pigs eh?

[davereid]

I was failed my first class 2 test after the tester refused to test me claiming my truck was not up to standard - after proving it was I had to pay another test - as well as paying to prove my truck was OK.

Yes it seriously pisses me that unqualified and often unskilled people make expensive decisions for driver and riders.

I wait with interest to see how often my stock standard XL1200 harley breaks the new "no louder than factory" but there is nowhere to measure it rules.

Thats a ticket that will be dished out for failing the attitude test, not for noise !

[rwh]

Not all learners are young.

My problem with the L plate is as follows:

I'm not even allowed to prove I'm a good rider for another 2 and a half months.

A problem with the licensing process, not the L-plate

I can't drive out to the beach coz the road is twisty and has a limit of 100km which means cages will approach me from behind with a 50km speed differential and poor visibility round corners.

A problem with the 70k limit, not the L-plate

Drivers automatically assume you're a spotty teenager and bully you safe in the knowledge that you won't have the balls to chase them and have a quiet word in their ear when they stop.

Haven't been bullied yet; I'll take your word for it.

I put mine on as properly and conspicuously as I could - none of this hiding the top right corner under the number plate so you can barely see the yellow.

I figure that if I stall at the lights (which still happens occasionally, especially on hill starts), I'm more likely to be given a break by the person stuck behind me - seems to be valid so far; I haven't even had a toot yet :-)

No problems for me.

The 70k limit and the curfew I do have problems with.

IIRC when the graduated system first came out (I got in just ahead of it for my car licence), the requirements for a restricted made a bit more sense too - the supervisor just had to be an older person, not necessarily a driver at all. They were there to make sure teenage drivers were being sensible, not to assist with the driving. I don't think the curfew applied with a supervisor present either. Now, it seems to be nothing to do with ensuring teenagers behave themselves - I don't see the point at all.

Richard

[McJim]

If that is the case then why the hell would anyone buy a 250 scooter if they already have a bike licence.
I've seen so many scooters without L's on.

Apart from you, me and rwh NO LEARNER uses an L Plate anyway. People who listened to The Who buy scooters. I knew of a fella put an RD350 engine in a Vespa back in the late eighties.

But yeah the 50cc scooters are actually called mopeds by the government (despite a lack of bicycle pedals) as are the little 50cc street magics (so long as they're restricted to 50kph).

Never take legislation in New Zealand literally. It's specifically designed to be obscure and open to interpretation to allow maximum lattitude to the courts. I feel sorry for the police having to enforce these ambiguities.

Allegedly the 70kph rule for learner motorcyclists was voted for by a panel of 'Experts' who wanted to find a way to keep learner motorcyclists off busy motorways. At least one of the experts suggested the following wording "Learners are not allowed to use motorways" (such as is successfully employed in the UK) but this lacked the neccessary ambiguity for New Zealand law hence the 70kph rule was proposed and the sensible voice was drowned in the ensuing democratic idiocy.

[Blairos]

Nice work on making the transition from 6L to 6R

My 6R test is in 16 days

I do have a question though - given I am well over 25, and the opportunity will exist to reduce the time required to go from 6R to Full Class 6 status... These "LTSA Approved" courses that will help me achieve that - what exactly are they?