sumo

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

Thanks

bsmith

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

mandymoochops

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 =)

Piff Poff

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

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.

triumphguy

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

sumo

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.

sumo

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.

triumphguy

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/

Piff Poff

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

triumphguy

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!

R I C H

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?

Piff Poff

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.

elizabeth_action

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.

rubberduckofdeath

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'.

Hermione

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