Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Five pints that's a chaser where I come from lad.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Hi Adyf:

You might find it useful to look/work your way through the following links:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/eligibility.asp , if you haven't already done so.

As well as the Wiki here (it's at the top of the page).

There are several bikers on the forum, I expect they'll be along soon, although the first thing you need to do is work out what visa(s) you might be eligible for.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Brilliant. You're going to fit in here just fine. :lol:

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

The biking scene here is a little different than your used to. It's not so much about the freedom of the road, and more about how much noise you can make at traffic lights. The more people you can get to look at you like you are an attention seeking 16 year old girl the better a biker you are.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Doesn't sound great , after all when I drove around B.C. and Alberta some of the roads were stunning and set in wonderful scenery , was sat in the car wishing I was on my Honda carving the turns , work is one reason to choose Canada but the roads and remoteness are what I live for , like to ride 400 miles a day if I can , don't want to get off!

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Urban riding is dull and limited in its appeal as filtering is illegal. Once you're out of town there are some great roads to enjoy. Easy to cover the sort of distances you enjoy in a day as traffic is so light. There are lots of resources online to provide route ideas....

Ride Motorcycle Roads in British Columbia, Canada at MotoWhere.com
Destination Highways - Roads you journey to, to travel on...

I enjoy off-roading too and ride a couple of hundred kms on a day off without having to use a paved road.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Filtering is illegal! Dear God was hoping to use my bike across town in traffic , what's the point of a bike if you can't filter to the front at the lights , is there any other odd laws detrimental to bikes as this is very important to me.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

The only other detrimental thing I can think of is the seasonality of biking if you live anywhere other than coastal BC. I ride May through October, the winter roads preclude any biking. Insurance is pricey compared to the UK. I pay $1500 for 6 months riding (fully comp/full NCB, ZX10R), which is about double what I used to pay.

Insurance premiums are influenced by the engine capacity - I pay less than a similarly aged friend (same riding record etc) who owns a BMW GS. Once the capacity is over 1000cc premiums rise, even if performance levels are ultimately/comparatively lower. One positive thing about insurance is that NCB is transferable if you own more than one bike.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

There's lot of bike paths and more on the way.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Thanks for the heads up rich , so the BMW k1300s I was thinking of is gonna be dear to insure , not asking for specifics but do you get to enjoy your zx10r too it's potential? Yorkshire is good in that respect , and correct me if I'm wrong but undertaking is legal in Canada even if I massively hate it , still shocked about the filtering though ,thanks a lot for your advice , oh and those routes and book look awesome , cheers.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Oink don't think they would take kindly to me riding a 175bhp BMW down em! Lol.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Good point, I should probably pay attention a bit more. :o

Ignorance is bliss though. I had Suzuki 650cc when I lived in DC and I split lanes, especially at traffic lights all the time. Which given the horrible traffic at times was a considerable help. It wasn't until after I moved that I realized it wasn't permitted.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

It's not going to be cheap to insure - your postcode and garaging arrangements etc will determine the exact price of course, but expect to pay at least what I do, certainly more for a year-round policy.

I live in BC's interior, where there are plenty of mountain and rural roads to enjoy, so the bike can be used to (most) of it's potential. If you move to Vancouver you'll need to ride out of the valley (east or north) to really enjoy a K1300s, unless straight lines are your thing.

There's nothing here that really mirrors riding in the UK and around Yorkshire A and B roads. Even mountain passes are more fast sweeping bends than low gear tighter stuff. The scenery is spectacular though and summer weather far more reliable to enjoy dry rides.

Undertaking isn't an issue, especially on a powerful bike. Just look ahead, watch what the driver is doing and squirt past. You get used to slightly quirky road behaviour after a while and ride defensively.

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

Thanks mate , yeah I ride round Leeds quite a bit so used to defensive riding , been riding since 16 yr old on bike number15 beemer at minute so seen a few interesting manoeuvres in my time!

Re: Vancouver bound?
 

It is lane splitting here and you'll get a $175 fine and 3 points if you get ticketed. Personally, I think it is looking for an accident to happen. When you see how cage drivers are here you'll get it.

You can cross a double yellow to turn, but once crossed, coming back into the lane is illegal, there are parts of roads considered crossings, even without crossing marking, pretty much anywhere there is a sidewalk on each side. Don't cross a solid white line (lane marker), also illegal.

Gravel on roads, even in summer. Roads are not swept, winter gravel on roads can be there all year.

I pay $3200 a year, $5m liability, collision and comp, with my 43% discount. That would make it $5600 a year without discount.

Take a course, join a club, they all get you a discount with add on insurers. Take out liability with ICBC, Comp & Collision with Intact through Contact Us - Megson FitzPatrick - Megson FitzPatrick Beacon offer it as well, but more limitations on coverage.

Read this before going on the road.
http://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing...ide-Smart.aspx