How long to get A licence from scratch
Discussion
Just after some guidance, I know it won't be set in stone.
Currently hold a full UK car licence (since 1996), only ridden a moped aboard (Greece, Bermuda etc), have no CBT or theory pass for bikes.
Assuming I line all the timings up for CBT, Theory, practicals etc (and I also assuming I pass them all first time), what would you guesstimate the minimum time required to get an A licence?
Currently hold a full UK car licence (since 1996), only ridden a moped aboard (Greece, Bermuda etc), have no CBT or theory pass for bikes.
Assuming I line all the timings up for CBT, Theory, practicals etc (and I also assuming I pass them all first time), what would you guesstimate the minimum time required to get an A licence?
I did mine in 4 days via a Direct Access course.
The only issue is if you fail any of the parts then you can't do the rest. It looked like this:
Day:
0 - Theory test (do this before you start)
1 - 1/2 day CBT, 1/2 day on big boy bike
2 - morning training, afternoon MOD 1
3 - Full day training
4 - morning training, afternoon MOD 2
I had a full car licence so the MOD 2 was a piece of cake. I could have easily done it in 3 days but the timing for the tests meant that I may as well do an extra day training between the MOD 1 and MOD 2.
The only issue is if you fail any of the parts then you can't do the rest. It looked like this:
Day:
0 - Theory test (do this before you start)
1 - 1/2 day CBT, 1/2 day on big boy bike
2 - morning training, afternoon MOD 1
3 - Full day training
4 - morning training, afternoon MOD 2
I had a full car licence so the MOD 2 was a piece of cake. I could have easily done it in 3 days but the timing for the tests meant that I may as well do an extra day training between the MOD 1 and MOD 2.
You could do it. But theres a lot more about not dieing on a bike than passing your test.
Had a friend passed his test but couldn't balance or go round corners, crashed a week later and gave up.
Take your time and get used to being on a bike - you're exposed to the elements and other traffic in a way you aren't in a car , and it takes getting used to
Had a friend passed his test but couldn't balance or go round corners, crashed a week later and gave up.
Take your time and get used to being on a bike - you're exposed to the elements and other traffic in a way you aren't in a car , and it takes getting used to
keirik said:
You could do it. But theres a lot more about not dieing on a bike than passing your test.
Had a friend passed his test but couldn't balance or go round corners, crashed a week later and gave up.
Take your time and get used to being on a bike - you're exposed to the elements and other traffic in a way you aren't in a car , and it takes getting used to
You don't stop learning once you get your licence.Had a friend passed his test but couldn't balance or go round corners, crashed a week later and gave up.
Take your time and get used to being on a bike - you're exposed to the elements and other traffic in a way you aren't in a car , and it takes getting used to
JustAnotherNobody said:
You don't stop learning once you get your licence.
I vividly remember my examiner saying to me, "congratulations you've passed your test, now please go and learn to ride a motorcycle".At the time I felt he was just illustrating how most learning comes after the test, but in hindsight maybe I just was really s
t. 
I did mine over 2-3 months as I wasn't in a rush.
I actually enjoyed having more lessons than required, I learnt to actually ride a motorcycle and had a good laugh going out with the instructors (who were all advanced riders) so come test time it was a breeze and I enjoyed it - no wobbling or overcooking corners.
I'd recommend this method if you can spare the time.
I actually enjoyed having more lessons than required, I learnt to actually ride a motorcycle and had a good laugh going out with the instructors (who were all advanced riders) so come test time it was a breeze and I enjoyed it - no wobbling or overcooking corners.
I'd recommend this method if you can spare the time.
There is the addition that you may have to consider that you may need extra practice at certain intervals. For whatever reason i struggled with the clutch bite point for some reason when i went to do CBT, yet weirdly at another school i was absolutely fine from the get-go.. dodgy bike.. maybe.
jan8p said:
I did mine over 2-3 months as I wasn't in a rush.
I actually enjoyed having more lessons than required, I learnt to actually ride a motorcycle and had a good laugh going out with the instructors (who were all advanced riders) so come test time it was a breeze and I enjoyed it - no wobbling or overcooking corners.
I'd recommend this method if you can spare the time.
I also did mine over a few months (June 2016 - CBT, Sept- Theory, MOD 1 October, two lessons and passed test 1st time, MOD 2 Nov , two lessons and passed 1st time), there were varying reasons for the time span, but in-between I did a lot of studying, learning about bikes, but mainly I wasn't in a rush to pass and relaxed about it. Then it is a big big learning curve, I was wary about filtering until I was actually really confident in knowing my bike, now London tightness is no problem, as in I either do filter or I don't, that decision making is to me a vital skill.I actually enjoyed having more lessons than required, I learnt to actually ride a motorcycle and had a good laugh going out with the instructors (who were all advanced riders) so come test time it was a breeze and I enjoyed it - no wobbling or overcooking corners.
I'd recommend this method if you can spare the time.
I also did a BikeSafe soon after with the Police which is a great training session, hoping to do my IAM as soon as I have time. However, the greatest experience is mileage, 8000 miles in less than two years for me, most of it in my first year.
JustAnotherNobody said:
I did mine in 4 days via a Direct Access course.
The only issue is if you fail any of the parts then you can't do the rest. It looked like this:
Day:
0 - Theory test (do this before you start)
1 - 1/2 day CBT, 1/2 day on big boy bike
2 - morning training, afternoon MOD 1
3 - Full day training
4 - morning training, afternoon MOD 2
I had a full car licence so the MOD 2 was a piece of cake. I could have easily done it in 3 days but the timing for the tests meant that I may as well do an extra day training between the MOD 1 and MOD 2.
Thanks for the detail.The only issue is if you fail any of the parts then you can't do the rest. It looked like this:
Day:
0 - Theory test (do this before you start)
1 - 1/2 day CBT, 1/2 day on big boy bike
2 - morning training, afternoon MOD 1
3 - Full day training
4 - morning training, afternoon MOD 2
I had a full car licence so the MOD 2 was a piece of cake. I could have easily done it in 3 days but the timing for the tests meant that I may as well do an extra day training between the MOD 1 and MOD 2.
To everyone else, fully appreciate the learning curve here, simply exploring whether I'd have the ability to be able to do this and have the option of a 5am weekend blast on empty roads with the very occasional commute.
Appreciate all feedback so far.
dxbtiger said:
Thanks, helpful.
I live aboard, was pondering whether it could be done in a week in the UK, unlikely it seems.
I know plenty of people who have done exactly that, coming back to the UK for a week and smashing it all out in one go. If you do go down this route, watch out for putting yourself under too much pressure and making silly mistakes I live aboard, was pondering whether it could be done in a week in the UK, unlikely it seems.
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