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Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Old Mar 28th 2009, 2:35 pm
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Default Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Trying to think of the cheapest and easiest way to get some wheels and get around.

My drivers license will only be good for 3 months. Then I will need to take lessons and get an Australian drivers license.

Is it possible to get a learners permit for a 125cc like in the UK?

I know it's pretty easy in the UK...just had a quick 1 hour course and then I was ok'd to ride.
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Old Mar 28th 2009, 11:05 pm
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Originally Posted by BeachBassist
Trying to think of the cheapest and easiest way to get some wheels and get around.

My drivers license will only be good for 3 months. Then I will need to take lessons and get an Australian drivers license.

Is it possible to get a learners permit for a 125cc like in the UK?

I know it's pretty easy in the UK...just had a quick 1 hour course and then I was ok'd to ride.
I've been told that in order to get a bike licence in Queensland I would need to get a car licence first
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Old Mar 28th 2009, 11:22 pm
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Originally Posted by BeachBassist
Trying to think of the cheapest and easiest way to get some wheels and get around.

My drivers license will only be good for 3 months. Then I will need to take lessons and get an Australian drivers license.

Is it possible to get a learners permit for a 125cc like in the UK?

I know it's pretty easy in the UK...just had a quick 1 hour course and then I was ok'd to ride.

Depends also which visa you're coming on. If its a temporary visa then you dont need an Aussie drivers licence (certainly the case in WA)
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Old Mar 29th 2009, 12:43 am
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Originally Posted by BeachBassist
Trying to think of the cheapest and easiest way to get some wheels and get around.

My drivers license will only be good for 3 months. Then I will need to take lessons and get an Australian drivers license.

Is it possible to get a learners permit for a 125cc like in the UK?

I know it's pretty easy in the UK...just had a quick 1 hour course and then I was ok'd to ride.
Where in Aus are you heading to? In SA you fill in a form, show your UK drivers licence and proof of address, then your SA licence is posted to you. No need to take a test.

Cheers

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Old Mar 29th 2009, 2:37 am
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Originally Posted by BeachBassist
Trying to think of the cheapest and easiest way to get some wheels and get around.

My drivers license will only be good for 3 months. Then I will need to take lessons and get an Australian drivers license.

Is it possible to get a learners permit for a 125cc like in the UK?

I know it's pretty easy in the UK...just had a quick 1 hour course and then I was ok'd to ride.
In WA you get a 250 cc licence but you can't ride unacompanied till you pass your test. I think you need to be a learner for 12 months before you can take your test (not sure where I heard this). I just transfered my old UK licence.

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Old Mar 29th 2009, 10:23 am
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

1) Go to the website of the RTA of the state/territory to which you're moving.

2) You don't need a car licence before a motorcycle licence.

3) IIRC, in NSW at least, having a car licence doesn't give you moped/50cc privileges like it does in the UK/EU (is that still true).

4) Whether you need a Aussie licence and how long you have to get it depends on your visa - temporary or permanent.
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Old Mar 29th 2009, 10:46 am
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Originally Posted by lapin_windstar
1) Go to the website of the RTA of the state/territory to which you're moving.

2) You don't need a car licence before a motorcycle licence.

3) IIRC, in NSW at least, having a car licence doesn't give you moped/50cc privileges like it does in the UK/EU (is that still true).

4) Whether you need a Aussie licence and how long you have to get it depends on your visa - temporary or permanent.
Be warned though - in Qld the RTA does rental properties, its Qld Transport you need to check out for licences.
www.transport.qld.gov.au/Home/Licensing/

Finally got round to checking it out today - in Queensland at least, among the requirements is this
To apply for a class RE (250 or less motorbike learner licence you must:

* be at least 18 years
* have held a class C (car) provisional or open licence for at least one year in the last five years

Requirements do differ from State to State though.
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Old Mar 29th 2009, 11:39 am
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Rules for motorcycle licence in Qld are complex and differ dependi5ng on how old oyu are and how long you've had a licence for2. I dont know whether your UK licence will count as licence history - but if it does you'd be elligable to take a QRide course (varies from place to place but you should get through in a day or 2 for ~$300) and get a "RE" licence for 250cc bikes.

I got my licence last year before the last rule change and after 2 days tuition got a full open licence - but you cant do that any more!

Riding a bike was the best thing I've done in ages - I ride a 250cc ZZR and love it - I spend around $30 a month in fuel and the bike cost me $4k, gear cost me $800, training was $300, Insurance costs me $200 a year - but thats only because I have a full no claims discount (65%) and am deemed 'old' (>35). Easily the cheapest way to get around - spending that much on car would have something that wouldnt come close to being roadworthy in UK!
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Old Mar 29th 2009, 5:34 pm
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Is this some GRATE (sic) experiment?

Why are there so many different rules & regs from state to state about (learner) driving license requirements in the same country???

Surely if your full car/bike license is valid from state to state (and indeed from another country like the UK) why all these different requirements for learners licenses etc? It's crazy!!!

For Example:

In the UK you can't ride a bike bigger than a 125cc as a learner but you can ride on your own everywhere.

In Oz you can ride a bike up to a 250cc as a learner but must be accompanied at all times and log the hours.

AND GET THIS: The accompanying licensed rider can be a PILLION passenger!!!

I'm gonna fast track my son here in the UK to get both his car and motorbike licenses before we get to Oz. He starts in August just after turning 17.

It appears it is quicker to get your skills assessment and PR Visa than it is to get a full drivers/bike license in Oz!
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Old Mar 29th 2009, 10:40 pm
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Originally Posted by Alfresco
Is this some GRATE (sic) experiment?

...
In Oz you can ride a bike up to a 250cc as a learner but must be accompanied at all times and log the hours...
Once again this is subject to state variations! In NSW and VIC they have the LAMS system (Learner Approved Motorcycle) which instead of using engine capacity as a measure uses a power-weight ratio. An Aprilla 2 stroke 250 does not comply (too powerful), but a Suzuki GS500 or GSX650 are both LAMS compliant and can be ridden by a learner. I also think that southern states allow learners to ride unaccompanied (but they do have a short practical test in a car-park before issuing a learners permit whereas in QLD you just answer 5 questions and pay $20!).


By the way - if the thought of negotiating this bureacratic minefield just to get a drivers licence is off-putting then you might want to consider the fact that MANY aspects of Australian life are full of similar seemingly endless, pointless red-tape processes!

Last edited by DadAgain; Mar 29th 2009 at 10:43 pm.
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Old Mar 30th 2009, 5:31 am
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Thats what I thought until some idiot went into the back of me

So I figured the cost of being injured of dead wouldn't be worth the fuel savings, plus a car is nicer in the rain

Originally Posted by DadAgain
Riding a bike was the best thing I've done in ages
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Old Mar 30th 2009, 7:15 am
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Originally Posted by DadAgain
Rules for motorcycle licence in Qld are complex and differ dependi5ng on how old oyu are and how long you've had a licence for2. I dont know whether your UK licence will count as licence history - but if it does you'd be elligable to take a QRide course (varies from place to place but you should get through in a day or 2 for ~$300) and get a "RE" licence for 250cc bikes.

I got my licence last year before the last rule change and after 2 days tuition got a full open licence - but you cant do that any more!

Riding a bike was the best thing I've done in ages - I ride a 250cc ZZR and love it - I spend around $30 a month in fuel and the bike cost me $4k, gear cost me $800, training was $300, Insurance costs me $200 a year - but thats only because I have a full no claims discount (65%) and am deemed 'old' (>35). Easily the cheapest way to get around - spending that much on car would have something that wouldnt come close to being roadworthy in UK!
I was a biker's girl for years, and really would've liked to learn to ride over here - but the fact I have to go through the rigmarole of getting a car licence for a year first - which has never appealed in the slightest - has killed that idea.
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Old Mar 30th 2009, 9:22 am
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Originally Posted by Alfresco
Why are there so many different rules & regs from state to state about (learner) driving license requirements in the same country???
'cos it's a federal system, so it can accommodate differences between states depending on what the local populace wants. There are also differences in licensing between all the US states etc...
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Old Mar 30th 2009, 6:11 pm
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

thanks for all the replies.

I'm heading to Queensland.

I think I'll just get some lessons and get my full drivers license. I used to ride bike for years in the UK and then moved to the Bahamas where I got a full drivers license. Now I'm 40, need trunk space and not much into riding through torrential down pours I think I'll end up getting a car. but for sure would like to do some weekend riding eventually.
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Old Mar 30th 2009, 10:23 pm
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Default Re: Cheapest way to get rollin ....a motorcycle?

Originally Posted by BeachBassist
...and not much into riding through torrential down pours ...would like to do some weekend riding eventually.
You'd be surprised how rarely it does actually rain on you! I commute daily on the bike and by picking my timing in the afternoons I usualy manage to miss the rain (when a storms comes through I check the radar to see whether I need to leave early to beat it - or whether to wait for it to pass, its VERY unusual that rain persists for longer than an hour).

In the last 12 months I've probably put on my wet gear on fewer than a dozen occassions and have ridden in a proper downpour only once.

Weekend riding around here can be superb - theres some fantastically beautiful scenery within a 2hr radius of Brisband and some great twisty mountain roads, some of which are almost defacto biker-tracks at the weekends! (Police are aware and do patrol these areas frequently so go easy on the speed ).
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