does any 1 no if you can ride a 600cc bike with l plates on if the bike has been restricted to 33 b h p mmmmmm keep geting conflicting info from people dus any 1 no if this can be done
think you're right wb. limit on L plates is 125 cc which will be around 12 bhp although you could put L plates on it if you're using it for lessons and riding under the supervision of an instructor.
on your own after passing CBT you are restricted to 15bhp 125 cc max with L Plates minimum age 17
With a qualified instructor you can ride whatever you like as long as it has L Plates on and the instructor is linked by radios (riding their own bike) and oyu have to be over 21
If you take your test on a direct access machine it has to produce 47 bhp or is not powerful enough to take the DAS test on
If you pass your test on a 125 then you can ride whatever you like (no need for L Plates) but cannot produce more than 33 bhp .
This restriction lasts for two years from date of test pass. You do not have to ride anything in this 2 year period (although defeats the object).
After the 2 years are up - you can ride any power/size motorcycle - even if you passed test at 17, (You can take an accelerated access test if you don't want to wait 2 years - but you HAVE to be over 21 to take Accelerated Acc)
If you pass your test on a DAS bike then you are not limited to the size or power of the bike.
although I did like the idea behind the direct access being introduced - was one of the reasons I decided to become an instructor in the 1st place. As at the time there was not much inbetween a 125 and a 600 - not helped by MCN saying bigger is best otherwise you're not a "man"
although it seems that the UK is moving away from the big capacity sports bike like it used to be anyway
@tcat - are you saying that if you take test on 125 33bhp you can only ride that and nothing bigger for 2 years, then after 2 years you can ride a more powerful bike or can you still only ever ride a 125 33bhp unless you do test on a bigger bike? Sorry to be a stereotypical girlie but I was reading about this too a couple of weeks ago when enquiring about CBT prices and couldn't get my head around it either! Thanks @sweep - good posting!
Chickflick75, All this is a bit after my time as I did my test in 1983, but from what I understand if you take your test on a 125 CC bike at any age you are restricted to 33 Bhp for the first two years and are then open to ride anything. If you are over 21 or under 21 with a full car license you have the option to take a direct access test on a larger bike (usually 500/550 CC). If at the time of the test you are under 21 you are still resticted for two years to 33 Bhp, however if you are over 21 there is no restriction. I stand to be corrected as I'm not 100% sure of this. CBT is a different issue and is something which all new license holders have to take prior to going on the road on any bike. As for sidecars JP, do you remember the days when you could put L Plates on a big bike, put a car on the side and ride it? Like most teenages at the time, I had a sidewinder. They were the days.
chickflick, as far as I understand it (but again I'm as confuddled as you ) if you pass your test on a 125 (33bhp) you can ride a bigger bike but it has to be restricted to 33bhp for the 2 years then it's unrestricted, there's kits that get fitted to your bike to do that. That's kind of the way I'm looking to go at the moment BUT I may try the direct access and then be unrestricted....but of course that's in the future, still got to get more practice in
The 125cc bike mustn't exceed 14.6bhp or 11kw which is why more powerful 2strokes like the RS125 have to be restricted to make them learner legal.
You can't pass your A2 test on a 125 that makes 33bhp, if such a bike exists. The restrictions are on CC as well as power output measured in BHP and KW.
It is complicated but tcat's post is spot on from my understanding of things.
Thanks guys - I did the CBT 10 years ago and had a 125 but was quite content maybe I'm just getting greedy and impatient now!! at least I'm a little bit clearer of the options.
just going off on a slight tangent, my son, who was 19 at the time had (well still has) a 600cc restricted Yamaha thundercat, and the insurance was no different for restricted/unrestricted, something I found a bit strange
![l plates on a 600 cc bandit - Forums [Biker Match]](/images/backgrounds/strips/8mobileLQ.jpg)
![l plates on a 600 cc bandit - Forums [Biker Match]](/images/backgrounds/strips/8desktopLQ.jpg)
