Hi all,

hubbie and I were thinking about getting a second car, but then figured as we are on a student visa and money is tight, that we could just get a moped to share.

At the moment we are still on our UK licences, which do not have anything about motorbikes on them.

So what do we need to do to learn to ride a moped here? I am assuming get our licences changed to Ozzie ones with provisional for bikes first?
And then do you have to pass before you can go on the road?

Thanks everyone.

Not sure about the UK licence situation, but bike licence regulations vary from state to state.

here in Qld the following is true (until July 1st when it gets harder):

1) 50cc scooters - No special licence required beyond your car licence

2) 250cc scooters & bikes - "Learners" licence available after paying $17 and answering 5 very tricky questions (like "Where do you put your feet? a) mid-air, b) the handlebars or c) on the footrests provided"). Learners permit means you can ride the bike but only when supervised by an experienced rider.

After some months you can go for a test. OR you can immediately go to a Q-Ride approved rider training course and get a different licence:

"RE" - full bike licence but restricted to vehicles under 250cc
or
"R" - full open bike licence - no restrictions

I'm doing a Q-Ride course this weekend which will hopefully take me from "no experience" to "open licence" in one go - I'l then ride around in a 250cc bike anyway - but its nice to have the full licence for future!

Other states have widely different rules - so make sure you check

Will my bike licence convert or will I have to take a test? I have held a full bike license for 26 years (god that make me feel old )

I'm not sure if it's different rules for different States, but when I applied for my SA driving licence, they automaticaly carried over car and motor bike, from my UK licence. They didn't let me keep my HGV1 (C+E) though. Good job I didn't come here to be an HGV driver. Sorry don't know about the other States though. Hope this helps.

Thanks, we are in SA. I have had a google and it doesn't look like we can drive the 50cc on our normal licence. They don't make it very clear.
They say you have to do the basic course, and then recomend you don;t do the advanced one for 6 months, so presumably you could ride a bike after just doing that one? Can't see anything about engine sizes though.

Thanks again.