Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Has anyone got any knowledge of what’s involved in getting an Alberta motorcycle licence?

Thanks

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Doesn't look like Australia is part of the Alberta Reciprocal Licensing Agreement? You may need to re-test - details here

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

You have to sit the test reciprocal agreement or not. I think Piff Poff was the only one who struck it lucky with an inexperienced Alberta Registries employee who just gave her her motorbike license along with her driving one!!!!

From what I remember its not a long test but i'm sure Triumph Guy will be along with more advice tomorrow =)

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

My OH learned the motorcycle bit this past year! He used these people: http://albertamotorcycletraining.com/register.html

It involved a week of lessons on a borrowed bike (from the training centre) they had a selection of sports/trail/easy rider type bikes to use. They did mainly car park with a bit of road/test route training at the end of the week he did the road test (booked and paid for seperately) and away you go. From my understanding you will only fail if you kill someone:eek:

You can't actually just exchange your motorcycle licence from another country;) But it's not complicated to get a new one really, you just have to get yourself booked on a course PDQ as they book up really quick.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

If you have experience then you can challenge the test. But in Calgary (YMMV)they are much, much stricter than the regular driving test. Lots of slow speed maneouvering through figures of eight, circles, sharp turns, emergancy turns, hill stops and starts. If you put your foot down during the slow speed stuff you fail.

Taking the course REALLY helps, especially because many riders (in my experience) get lazy with tight manoeuvres and put their feet down for stability.

I used www.toocoolmotorcycleschool.com They were extremely thorough and worth the money. All the instructors are professional racers of one sort or another. And like piff poff said they'll put you on all types of bikes.

If what you meant by your post was, can I take my British licence and exchange it for motorcycle licence then I believe that you cannot. That will only work for the regular class five driving licence.

Here's how to get your licence in more detail:

http://www.toocoolmotorcycleschool.c...ndex.php?id=21

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Thanks Triumphguy, you’re correct you can’t swop your licence from UK or OZ to Alberta. My concern is do you have to do a set period on a set maximum capacity, one year on a 250cc for instance. I read somewhere you Mod on a forum, would be interested to know which one? This would not be the place to pick someone’s brain to death on the motorcycle scene in Calgary.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Thanks Triumphguy, you’re correct you can’t swop your licence from UK or OZ to Alberta. My concern is do you have to do a set period on a set maximum capacity, one year on a 250cc for instance. I read somewhere you Mod on a forum, would be interested to know which one? This would not be the place to pick someone’s brain to death on the motorcycle scene in Calgary.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

No, there's no "apprentice" licence, like in Europe where they limit the bike's HP. You can get right onto a Rocket III if you want!

I'm a mod, under the name of Haggis95 on www.triumphrat.net

Go one there to Biker Hangout and ask away.

http://www.triumphrat.net/biker-hang-out/ :thumbsup:

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

No you can go and get any sized bike you like. I still think that is a scary thought for any one with just 20 hours of training, going around cones and up and down gentle slopes (for the hill starts) etc but hey ho - who needs to be safe:thumbdown:

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

My first bike was a 118hp triumph! Nice - but scary. I just rode safe while I broke it in. What made a difference was taking an advance course a few months after getting my bike. What a difference!

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

I prefer that option to a nanny state that doesn't allow for personal responsibility or accountability. Should we ban new car licence holders from vehicles with more than say 80bhp, or an arbitrary power to weight ratio?

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

What concerns me is a 17 year old on say a GSXR 750 after just 20 hours (most of those in a car park going around cones) of learning, to me that is just plain irresponsible. I have one of those, it's not for a new inexperienced rider. I find it a handful (0-60mph in less than 3 seconds) after owning several sports bikes - my fave being a Ducati 900ss. I have always believed that every car driver should have to ride a bike before getting a car licence and bike licences should be graduated, I graduated myself, starting on a 50cc, then a 125cc, then a 350cc then upto to the bigger sports bikes.

It is of course different if you are on a cruiser, the power to weight ratio etc is very different giving different torque and the throttle reacts in different way, same goes for trails bikes etc.

I may not know all the technical terms and the right way to use them but I do know a little of what I'm talking about seeing as I have ridden bikes since I was 16.

At the end of the day you would not put a 14 year old that's just got her learners licence in a Zonda for her first lesson.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

The cc limit in the UK is sensible. Having ridden a motorbike for 15 years, I have seen a lot of damage caused by boys with new licenses who get onto bikes bigger than they can handle. And the damage wasn't always to themselves either.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

There's no capacity limit, there's a HP limit :)

33bhp for two years if you don't do a test on a 'bike bike'.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Oh wow, didn't realise you needed to redo a test in Canada. Just thought you'd be able to do a transfer as for driving licence! How comparable is the test to the UK test? I passed mine here in 2003

Thx

H

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Cubic capacity is pretty meaningless, as you suggest above. A 900ss is low powered for it's engine size - the current KTM's 600cc singles aren't far behind in terms of power output, and being lighter their power to weight ratio's probably better.

I passed my test in the days before power limitations on new riders and made my own decision to graduate through the ranks of progressively bigger bikes, albeit less than a year between 125cc and 900cc. The rider controls the throttle, not the government and it irks me that personal responsibility is watered down in so many aspects of life.


What's a 14yr old got to do with this? They can't hold a licence anyway. There are 19 year olds that race in F1 - it's down to appropriate training and competence, not a blanket ban on freedom of choice.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

A 14 year old can hold a learners licence, so theoretically you can put a 14 year old in a Zonda, you'd just have to be bloody stupid to sit next to one. We are also talking public roads not race tracks.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

It seems to me as thought it's an easier test than in the UK. My OH took lessons last year (never having ridden a bike), he passed his test within the week and is now able to go buy the biggest bike he wants.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Are you suggesting driving an F1 car competitively on a track doesn't require the same level of skill or ability as driving on public roads? My point is that individuals can learn to handle powerful machines at a young age, and the UK govt. shouldn't effectively legislate to prevent it.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

How many F1 drivers smashed their race cars before being able to "safely" drive an F1 car? Would you like them to learn how to do so on public streets. (Wasn`t it Stirling Moss that, famously, never held a drivers` licence while he was racing?)

I understand your argument, but it is based on the presumption that individuals will act rationally. Unfortunately, a large number of them don`t. If they only injured/damaged themselves, I would agree with you, unfortunately, the potential for collateral damage is too high.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

No! You know that's not what I'm suggesting, I am sure it needs a completely different skill set actually. I am also not disputing that young people can't learn to handle powerful machines respectfully.

The thing is young people (partucularly boys) are often stupid and often want to show off to their mates, look how fast I can go, look at me go through the workers cones, look at me wheely down the motorway, look at me crash and die.

We have all seen idiotic bike riders put their own and other peoples lives at risk. The same as we see hot hatch 'boy racer' types exerting dangerous driving.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

So I go back to my original post - why legislate against recently licenced bikers and not motorists?

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Very good question. Does Great Britain reciprocate with any of the Provinces? That may be the explanation.:confused:

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Do you mean in general or just those transferring licences from the UK? I would be quite happy to see legislation come into effect limiting the power of one's first vehicle, wether it be a car or a bike. I have a 15 year old that can learn to drive and hold her own licence from next year (providing she passes her test), If she was only limited to selected vehicles (other than insurance prices) I would be very pleased.

For those transferring from a foreign licence, I think there should be a test, but previous licence history taken into account.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Comparing race crashes to on road safety seems somewhat irrelevant, as public roads aren't (IOM and other locations excepted) designed for competitive driving, which inevitably increases crash risk.

There's a car involved in over 60% of KSI (killed/seriously injured) motorcycle accidents, and only 4% of bike accidents are attributed to excessive speed (DfT figures). Careless/reckless riding account for 10% of KSI's. Perhaps the need for improved car driver training, or restrictive licencing is just as important, so they act with better judgement?

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

'Can' but all too often and with tragic consequences 'don't'. I am a motorcycling mother of three boys and I can tell you I would appreciate graduating HP here, as in the UK. Try arguing your point with the hundreds of parents who lost sons because they were riding bikes too big to handle. Why should the learners mind? People don't understand the awesome power of some of these bigger bikes; a small flick of the wrist and you've flipped the bike.

By being limited, you'll end up the better rider for it.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

SK offer a bike licence swap for Brits, but I don't mean with regard to the reciprocation issue (though that's a odd anomaly), I mean the practice of restricting bhp to newbies in the UK.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

It must be a females perspective?:thumbsup:

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Really? Can you prove that?

Would I be a better rider if I'd taken my test 15 years later?

Anyone that's taught that 'a small flick of the wrist' is a safe way to ride/accelerate a larger capacity bike needs better instruction, not a restrictor in the engine to counter lack of training.

People absolutely do understand the power of bikes, I'd suggest that's half their appeal. What government doesn't seem to want to do is offer appropriate training for new riders to handle it.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Female wrists are inherently too weak to wind a throttle on quickly, so they end up frustrated and having to justify their shortcomings on teh interweb ;)

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Do you have some facts to back that statement up?:p

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Yeah, my wife always followed, never led a ride out. :p

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Have you ever thought that was just your wife?

I never used to ride in groups, always found it too restrictive.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Nah, she's too competitive to make a decision not to overtake without female physical restrictors being a factor :)

No group riding for me either, out as a pair or on my own.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Flipping a bike without dumping the clutch is a pretty difficult thing to do, especially with the smoothness of the newer models.

I disagree. It will allow you more road time at lesser speeds but the 33bhp bikes can still break speed limits. This would be likened to a person driving a 1.0L VW Polo for 3 years before graduating to your Zonda as a next step.

The only thing that limits risk on a supersport bike is the riders wrist/mental control.

One thing i'm confident in saying is that anybody, no matter what age, who jumps straight onto a 130hp+ supersport bike with no experience will poo their pants and learn to respect the power pretty soon after opening the throttle for the first time. The crashers (in my experience) are those who have held the license long enough to build false confidence.

Most (if not all) of my acquaintances who have crashed through their own doing have been experienced riders.

I think all riders should spend at least one day on a race track to understand the limits of their bike. I would hazard a guess that over 90% of riders do not know the limits of their bike and when in a pickle underestimate their ability to rectify the situation (approaching a corner too quickly in their mind and panicking when in fact the bike will turn)


.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Most motorcycle crashes (where ther's only the biker him/herself involvded) will occur because of inattention, object fixation (riding into the object you are looking at, but want to avoid), not riding with respect to road conditions.

OTOH Most accidents happen TO bikers, because of the cagers inattention etc.

Kinda similar to bicyclists really, and they only have shanks pony, not even one horsepower!

I have found more horsepower more helpful than not in tricky situations.

I think training is the key, not horsepower restrictions.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

'Mother' is usually a female...

:rofl:

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

You can't 'train' the average 18yr old's gung ho/I'm-indestructable/watch-me-on-my-fast=Jap-bike attitude. You have to hope they'll be sensible.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

It's not a crazy idea, but IMO they don't because, as a proportion of new license holders, a great deal more bikers are injured or killed than car drivers.

Re: Motorcycle licence Alberta
 

Duh! I'm agreeing with you hence the thumbs up:confused: