Bike tests.

We could be related.

 

I found the 500 I dased on to be a much more docile and planted
experience. The 125 was a lumpy, bumpy lashy, wobbly, windblown chunk of
shit. The 500 was the same but had the weight to slow the wobbles.

My examiner guessed wrongly that I'd been riding for two years though.
I know that I'm an atypical example of the young bike riding fraternity.

All the guys my age I know who dased have similarly not met sticky ends yet.

 

<snipped>

If it isn't legal I'm stuffed as I wear clogs 99% of the time and
don't wear them for driving cars.... though clogs and bikes are okay.

Shoes are the work of satan!

Aj

 

On 17 Jan 2009 16:00:31 GMT, wrote:

snip>

Not in the UK you didn't.

The 16 year old moped bit came in long after the 250cc law or had you
forgotten about the fact that learners could only ride a 250 unless
they attached a sidecar?

 

Andy, you're wrong here. Very.

 

Moped law was, what, '73, maybe '72? And the 250cc thing was way before
that, wasn't it?

 

IIRC, Moped law was 77 (that's why R reg mopeds were faster) and the 250
law was 1983.

These are hazy dates from memory - so probably all wrong.

 

The 250cc learner law came into force in 1960, believe it or not. But
you only needed to be aged 16. In 1971,the age limit for learners was
raised to 17 (but left at 16 for mopeds).

Mopeds were defined as having an engine of less than 50cc, and being
equipped with pedals as a means of propulsion.

On 1 August 1977, mopeds were restricted to (about) 30mph by law. And
the requirement for pedals was dropped. This was because of the sports
moped boom, and the era of the 50mph Fizzie.

The two-part motorcycle test was introduced in 1982 and the one-year ban
if you didn't pass your test within two appears appeared in the same
year.

Learner riders were restricted to 12bhp 125s in 1983.

 

No, correct, except that by '250 law' you mean '250 learner ban'.

 

Something which occasionally had to be proved to my local cops.

Yea, I was thinking about *real* mopeds (ie full power 'super-peds'), not
the new things.

 

Yes, yes - Just as I was working out which bike I was going to buy in 18
months time...

 

Hmmm, am I?

I think you'll find that up to December 1971 a 16 year old could ride
a motorcycle of up to 250cc or unlimited capacity with a chair. You
wouldn't be buying a provisional licence using shillings at that point
because we'd gone decimal earlier in the year.

This was the point I was making but I might have misread the original
post.

 

Point firmly rested, I think

--
Lozzo
SV650S K5, ZX-7R P4, CBR600F-W, SR250 SpazzTrakka, SR250 Project
SpazzCaffer
I see a bright new future, where chickens can cross the road with no
fear of having their motives questioned

 

Mopeds only became restricted to 30mph in 1977, but a 16 year old was
only allowed to ride a 50cc moped for a long time before that.

--
Lozzo
SV650S K5, ZX-7R P4, CBR600F-W, SR250 SpazzTrakka, SR250 Project
SpazzCaffer
I see a bright new future, where chickens can cross the road with no
fear of having their motives questioned

 

More likely parallel evolution, Brother Sweller.

 

Hmmmm - when did these rules come in ?.
It is highly possible that my old memory is having a few parity errors.
The main point, however, is that it was trivial to get a licence in
those days. Most of us survived without formal training.

I took my test in 1961 on a Bantam [1] and got the Dominator a few months
later so I never personally had L plates on a big bike.

[1] Not admitting how young I was when I started messing around on the
first Bantam.

 

Sorry, you're quite correct. Misread your post.

 

Six years.

 

16 year olds were restricted to 50cc mopeds from 1971. 16 year olds
were restricted to 250cc bikes from about 10 years earlier.

The moped laws wouldn't have affected you then.

I rode a Bantam a long time before I was 16.

I reckon I was right in my reply to you even though TOG says not.

 

Which is a fucking long time when you're 16

--
Lozzo
SV650S K5, ZX-7R P4, CBR600F-W, SR250 SpazzTrakka, SR250 Project
SpazzCaffer
I see a bright new future, where chickens can cross the road with no
fear of having their motives questioned