Motorbike Courses - Learning to Ride

With biking costs such as bike insurance rates and road tax rising why is there still such a large amount of people willing to swap four wheels for two? Whatever the reason hundreds of new riders join the biker community each year, this article will outline some of the motorbike courses available for learner riders.

There are a number of considerations to make when looking at which motorbike course you should undertake. Firstly what size of bike are you looking to ride? this is important because if you are looking to ride a machine of less than 125cc different laws apply. How old are you? this also has a great significance because older learner riders have the scope to undertake different motorbike courses allowing them to ride more powerful machines.

Once you have answered the questions there ar two main routes to follow:

Under 21 or only looking to ride bikes less than 125cc then your option is to undertake the Compulsory Basic Training (CBT). The CBT is not a test as such but is designed to check that a rider has the ability to ride to a minimum standard of safety and competence. This is usually done by a registered person associated with a riding school, they ask you to perform maneuvers in an off road area such as an unused car park and assess you to see if you meet the the minimum standard. Once completed this allows the rider to ride a bike up to 125cc on the road if they are 18 years old or above. Completion of the CBT also allows 16 year olds to ride machines of up to 50cc on the road and 17 year olds to ride a machine of up to 125cc on the road with learner plates.

If you are over 21 and looking to ride a bike of 500cc or more on the road then you must complete all aspects of a full motorcycle test similar to the full car test. This can be done as part of a course known as a direct access course run by hundreds of riding schools around the country. These courses can vary from a one day to a five day course.

The one day courses are designed for experienced riders that have completed there CBT and ride on a regular basis. The course will involve a morning of road tuition with a qualified instructor and the Driving Standards Association (D.S.A) test in the afternoon.

The courses then range up to the five day course which is designed for novices with no previous riding experience. The five day course involves completing the CBT on the first day followed by a progression to a 500cc machine on day two or three (depends on the riders progress). The rider then receives three days road tuition from a qualified instructor on a 500cc machine followed by the DSA test on the final day. Note that in order to take the test you must have passed the motorbike theory test.

Once all aspects of test have been completed and passed then the newly qualified rider is issued with their license entitling them to ride on the road. If you have just passed your riding qualification and are looking to insure your motorbike then log onto www.bikesite.co.uk for a free online quote to see if we can give you some cheap motorcycle insurance.