25 replies to this topic

[Quinlan minor]

I'm not sure a Laverda will ever be a clunker, like every guy or girl of a certain age, we lusted after a Laverda,and I expect some of us still do. The bike is an absolute credit to you.

 

 

Shooter

Thanks, Shooter.

It's served me well for nearly forty-nine years, including three trips back to Breganze, where it was built.

Most recently last July, to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Moto Laverda.

2,100 miles in nine days. Restricted myself to only 520 miles on the first day.

My distance in a day record was 917 miles, at an average of 76mph, but that was back in '91, when I was a younger man!

 

Edited by Quinlan minor, 21 March 2025 - 08:49 PM.

[Shooter63]

This talk of licenses reminds me when I took my test, back in the day a learner could ride a 250cc on L plates, the test was carried out by the examiner while he stood watching you ride about, he would walk out in the road to do the emergency stop. The test involved you riding around a pre determined course which was a block, the examiner would walk to various points around the block to make sure you were indicating, braking , lane selecting properly etc, except if the pub within the block was open, then the guy tended to indulge in a swift refresher, meaning you could do basically what you liked after the emergency stop part, everybody tried to book there test in the 10.30 to 2.00 o'clock slot, the pass rate in that slot was very high:)

Shooter

[Quinlan minor]

I passed both my Motorcycle and Car Tests on an island, on the West coast of Scotland. It had no traffic lights, no roundabouts and no dual carriageways. I sat my Car Test late, after years of driving and some track experience. 

When he banged the dashboard, for the emergency stop, I stood it on its nose, with him hanging from the seat belt, without locking a wheel.

He looked kinda shocked, but passed me anyway.

[panky]

Just checked mine and I too have a cat A bike licence without ever taking a test, grandad rights I guess because I'm ancient.

[Shooter63]

You guys with cat A licences who have mistakenly had them added by the DVLA, if you are thinking about getting a bike, please get some training first, today's superbikes are absolute weapons, something like a Yamaha R1 has around 1000bhp per tonne, you will not have experienced anything like it before, unless you are heavily into absolute top end motor sport, we may have the odd difference of opinion on here, but I'd like to keep you around.

Shooter

[panky]

Not planning any super bikes, a Honda Melody suits my riding ability and aspirations more

[mister bridger]

I've had my Honda 650 for 31 years this year, and have been all over Europe on it, including Arctic Norway and a war zone (Serbia, 95). To celebrate I'm planning to do New York to California on it this year. As I'm old though I will be limiting it to New York near Boston, Lincs, to California near Great Yarmouth!

[Quinlan minor]

I've had my Honda 650 for 31 years this year, and have been all over Europe on it, including Arctic Norway and a war zone (Serbia, 95). To celebrate I'm planning to do New York to California on it this year. As I'm old though I will be limiting it to New York near Boston, Lincs, to California near Great Yarmouth!

[Designer]

Hi,

 

I have a start date and an end date against the letter A on the back of my licence and I have never taken a motorcycle test. Here are the meanings of the letters regarding motorbikes etcetera

 

What driving licence categories apply to motorbikes?

A

Holders of a Category A licence are allowed to drive any bike of any sized engine. 

The licence is only available to riders aged 24 and over, or 21 and over if you’ve held an A2 licence for two years. You need to have completed your compulsory basic training (CBT) and passed a theory and practical test.

A1

Category A1 riders can drive light motorbikes with an engine up to 125cc and a power output up to 11kW. The category also allows riders to use motor tricycles with a power output up to 15kW.

Riders need to be 17 or over to take a test and must complete their compulsory basic training (CBT) and have passed a theory test and practical test.

A2

Category A2 is a step up from A1 and lets licence holders ride bikes up to 35kW. Bikes can’t be derived from a vehicle more than double its power and you need to be 19 years old to apply for a test.

AM 

The AM category applies to mopeds rather than motorbikes. It allows a licence holder to drive two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicles with a maximum speed of 28mph.

It also allows riders to use light quad bikes with the same max speed and unladen mass of 350kg (not including batteries if it’s an electric vehicle).

To get an AM licence you’ll need to be at least 16 years old, to have a valid CBT certificate and to pass the motorbike theory test and two-module practical test.

p

Another moped category, the letter p appears in italics and lower case on photocard licences to show that the holder can drive two-wheeled vehicles with a maximum design speed of over 28mph but no more than 31 mph.

Engines must be no more powerful than 50cc and the category appears on all standard full driving licences.

q

Category q lets licence holders drive two and three-wheeled vehicles without pedals if the engine size is no more than 50cc and the maximum design speed doesn’t exceed 15.5mph. The category also includes e-scooters.

I in my younger days many many many many moons ago bought a Honda 50cc for 30 bob 150p in todays money.

Drove around on it with L plates for about three years using it to get to the station and scrambling on waste ground, failed its MOT with a bent chassis so sold it to a scrap dealer for 30 bob.

In those days you could ride two up with L plates if the passenger held a full motorcycle licence. My brother did, so we tried to see how many times we could be stopped by Mr Plod, our record was 5 in two hours.

Mind you in those days there were far more Plods around either in cars or on foot.

 

Paddy

Edited by Designer, 23 March 2025 - 04:05 PM.

[Quinlan minor]

What driving licence categories apply to motorbikes?

A

Holders of a Category A licence are allowed to drive any bike of any sized engine. 

The licence is only available to riders aged 24 and over, or 21 and over if you’ve held an A2 licence for two years. You need to have completed your compulsory basic training (CBT) and passed a theory and practical test.

As with so much Government information, nowadays, the above is, at best, a half-truth.

I have never completed a CBT or passed a theory test, either.

This kind of half-truth waffle can cause all sorts of problems: 

 

Witness a mate of mine who, like me, passed his motorcycle test and gained a full motorcycle licence back in the '70s. He recently re-insured one of his bikes with a new company, about a fortnight later they began hassling him for the date of his CBT test.

 

Last year, before my trip to Italy, I discovered that, among the many "benefits of Brexit", I  now needed an International Drivers' Licence.

The unfortunate woman issuing the IDC tried to insist that, based on my paper driver's licence, which included group A, I was only entitled to A1 on my IDC which would rather have defeated the the object of riding my 1,000 cc motorcycle through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy.

I wore her down until she issued it with the correct categories on it. She rang me two days later to tell me that it should be A1 only. I said I didn't mind, since I had one now.

Edited by Quinlan minor, 23 March 2025 - 04:36 PM.

[Bobbins]

My daughter did a direct access course with BMW a couple of years ago and from everything she’s told me about it it would appear to be excellent training. She’s over 21 with a full car license so after doing the CBT bit the first day on a small bike, the rest of the training and test was done on a 750cc BMW even though she’s only 5’ 3” tall.

I’ve been riding for donkey’s years and 10 years ago did the IAM rider course, excellent training not just for the bike but so much transfers to small cars, particularly road positioning. I suspect my R1200GS is possibly bigger than the Mini!