Octang Frye

We're planning a dirt biking trip in late summer. My nephew and dad are coming. 22 year old Nephew has been riding dirt bikes a long time but doesn't have a license.

I got my motorcycle endorsement two years ago and I did a weekend class.
With bike rental and tuition and practicals, I think it came to about $350.

Nephew was chatting to my wife at 4am this morning that it costs 700UKP to get a license over there. And you have to be 24. Is it just me or is this just absurd Nanny-statism with an arbitrary age?

Ugh, I really would find stuff like that stifling if I went back to the UK to live.

lansbury

There you go this will explain it all to you. https://www.gov.uk/ride-motorcycle-m...e-requirements

There has been a restriction on age to size of motorcycle for many years.

MidAtlantic

Many years meaning around 1971 I believe

Octang Frye

I already read it. Rating bikes by kilowatts. Absurd.

Anyway, we have a '98 Russian Ural with sidecar. 650cc. I would like a Honda XR 400 dirt bike, and maybe a RS1200. Or a Triumph Scrambler.
Harleys have never really done it for me. Nor sportsbikes.

Jack8602

This is one thing i think the UK has right.

I've had bikes for years, i had an R6, R1, GSXR 1100, and a more subtle Z1000. I regularly went to the bike meets back in the UK, and there'd be so many dickheads who'd turn up on a 20 year old Ninja ZX6 the day after getting their shiny new license.

The younger kids who were 19 with those bikes, who'd had a 2 year restricted license prior were 10x better than the direct access kids who got it at 21 with no prior experience. On the whole, I'd agree with the 24 age limit for an unrestricted bike. Seen too many unsafe rides and lay downs with younger riders on a bike that's way beyond their experience levels.

If i didn't live in such a busy area, I'd get another bike - but with how Texan's tailgate at 0.2m away, i'm not so keen on getting one until i buy a house further out of the city.

Octang Frye

I was following this girl the other day on her bike. She's got all the gear - except she's wearing jeans. And she's following a big pickup with a camper/topper thing and, honest to goodness, she's about two meters from the pickup's bumper.
She can't see left or right around this thing and certainly can't see what's in the road ahead - or if the pickup was to abruptly stop; she'd be toast.

My friend used to drive her Volvo station wagon like that. At 90mph, maybe 10 meters from the car in front. Her rationale: She's a "good driver" and has "good reflexes". The eff. One Mississippi... I don't think you'd get through "One".

It's something I tell the wife all the time and I sound like a broken record but she forgets all the time. The two second rule. One Mississippi, Two Mississippi.

BenK91

I also have my endorsement.

Did you find the test equally as hilarious as the driving test here in CO?

Sand Dunes are a great spot to take dirt bikes if you weren't already aware!

Octang Frye

I did my driving test in Georgia. It was pretty easy.

I actually got pretty worried about the motorcycle test. I had an embarrassing experience as a little kid at an army display. Was put on a bike and didn't know how to work it so lost control.

Anyway, as I said, I got pretty nervous because the examiners were failing people left and right. Mainly people that showed up with their fancy bikes and leathers but who hadn't attended classes.

We'll head to the Sand Dunes at some point. I've been there with the dogs and it's great.
We're going to re-trace Stanley's route to find Livingstone.

chawkins99

"Only a fool breaks the 2-second rule".

BenK91

There's a decent track just south of Ft Collins, you can see it when heading north on I-25. I'll figure out what it's called and edit my post with the details!

Octang Frye

Yeah, there's a couple up there on either side of I-25. IMI at Dacono and there's one just south of Loveland. And then there's Thunder Valley by the foothills.

markonline1

Sure they weren’t Kevlar jeans?
As someone that had their midlife crisis midway through last year and go my 2 wheel license for the first time, I gotta say the US way of doing things is down right mental. Being able to jump on something like an R1, or even an R6 is just stupidity. I think the UK has it hang on where you step up sizes. I started on an R3 and it’s been the perfect bike to learn riding on the road (the thing is a freakin blast). Don’t even get me started on states that don’t enforce a helmet law!!!!

Octang Frye

I don't agree with helmet laws. I think you're a damn fool if you don't wear one, but I think it should be up to individual. I try and be ATGATT but there's a few times I've ridden without a lid.

I did look into kevlar leggings you can wear under your regular jeans. Seem pretty good.

This girl I know passed her test and went straight out and bought a big V-twin. She dropped that sucker a couple of times and sold it. So I will concede there is some merit to working your way up. Some of these bikes weight 1000+ lbs.

Some of the things I liked about the classes I took, which as a non-rider you don't always think about:
Parking front wheel out from the kerb.
Safely parking on a hill.
Tips and tricks for getting your bike home. Riding without a clutch etc. The instructor said you never want to leave your bike by the side of the road because someone will nick it. And it's true. You never see a broken down motorcycle unattended.
Riding in the wind.
Riding in a group.
Riding defensively.
Braking in a straight line.
Braking in a curve.

Guindalf

Sold my motorcycle last year after not really being able to ride it for two or three years before that. I have diabetic neuropathy in my hands and feet, so my fingers feel frozen before I even set off and my balance is affected.

It was ridiculously easy to pass the test, although it took me too attempts! I was concentrating so hard on controlling the bike through the right-hand bend/turn that I forgot to pull the clutch in and stalled and laid it down - embarrassed!

I was back shortly after and not only did I not have a problem, but they'd widened the curve as others had complained it was too tight!

If trikes weren't so danged expensive, I might have considered one, but I guess I'll have to stick to being a cager from now on.

Octang Frye

Guindalf, get a Ural! Plus you get to share the fun with someone else or a dog.