TheLostPhotographer

I want a big bike for cruising around the mountains.

Has anyone here taken a bike test in Spain? What's the procedure, costs etc?

I'm a proficient rider with plenty of experience up to 125cc. If anything, my Spanish language skills will be the biggest problem, but I'm sure I'll cope.

Do I need to apply for a Spanish car driving licence firstly? I'm currently just driving occasional hire cars on a UK licence.

Any pointers gratefully received.

Thanks.

Rotor

I`d do it in the UK first then convert it because of your language level ,may even work out cheaper, If you can ride okay and know the highway code you could do it in a week I think,get a copy of Motor Cycle News, theres loads of training schools advertising there,

Rgds

Rotor

TheLostPhotographer

Thanks for the suggestion, but I was hoping that it might be cheaper here. My Spanish would improve enough to get through a test I'm sure. Just a quick bit of relevant vocab building.

If I took the test in the UK I would have to sort out a 125 on UK plates, insurance, somewhere to stay, flights/trains, plus the training and test fees.

Pretty sure it wouldn't cost anymore than €400 here and I could rent a bike easily enough before buying a Spanish registered proper bike.

I'll ask a few Spanish friends this evening and report back if no-one replies here who has a Spanish bike licence.

littlelambfound

Hi lost Foto person,
I suggest you take a trip to any of the Central European countries. there you will find that your money will speak for you, and a license (for anything within reason) can be yours...I got my bike license in Budapest for the grand sum of £50!! And the air fares are still cheap.
As an aside....what do you photograph, as I'm a photographer too boot.

bakehouseboy

Sounds quite interesting, care to expand.

lcortez

Spunds like a good idea!
Is there an equivalent of a Direct Access Course?

TheLostPhotographer

That's an idea I guess. Will I need a good grasp of Hungarian? Or, is it simply a matter of 'buying' a licence? I can see that may be a problem in the future. I plan to travel around South America for a few years. British passport, with UK driving licence and Hungarian bike licence could raise questions, but I guess if it's an EU licence with EU badge it shouldn't make any difference.



I photograph stuff in a very arty, pretentious way. I also paint in a very unpretentious naive way and do other art stuff.

<snip, sorry re rule 9. please put your site link in your signature. thanks>

Recent painting:

TheLostPhotographer

Think I'd sooner take the challenge of a test in Spain

MVA

There are a lot more bike accidents in Spain than the UK and this, I think, is due to the quality of training. A Spanish friend recently obtained his licence here with almost no training. He's limited to 33BHP for 3 years but then...

The Spanish papers seem to be talking about limiting the performance of bikes here rather than the quality of the training.

The training in the UK is very good. If you decide to save money and get a lience here please take additional on road training.

lcortez

Not sure about that,have a lot of friends and relatives who ride,and they are just as capable as their GB counterparts
When making these assertions,please remember their are a lot more bikers in Spain than in GB,also bear in mind that the numbers of these bikers increases dramatically in the summer months
With regard to road use in general (in the context of Spain),it is also important to check the date on any sources,as the regulations have tightened considerably,along with any punishments for infringment,in recent years.
The effect of all this regulation has been to reduce the number of road deaths by 40%~,in the first year of operation

MVA

I didn't say that Spanish bikers weren't as good as UK riders. They generally are very talented as most have ridden scooters from a young age. However, the current training regulations are not as good as the UK and the number of injuries and deaths for both car and bike users is higher in Spain per 1,000 than the UK.

So it's not due to the number of road users but the attitude of the road users. I don't want to get into a pointless argument I'm just trying to ensure that I give new bikers good advice as I don't want to see any more restrictions due to avoidable accidents.

bokeh

That's not true. 2006 figures (which are the most recent available) were: Spain 480 fatalities; UK 561. That 11.7 per million capita, in Spain; 9.4 per million, UK

lcortez

Your actually contradicting yourself
In you first post you clearly stated;"...and this, I think,is due to the qaulity of training."

You then go on to further contradict yourself,by stating the number of road
deaths in Spain is due to the attitude of road users.
If its down to the attitude of road users,then surely the OP,would be ok regardless of where they undertook their training,as they seem to have a pretty level headed attitude.
With regard to the overall number of road deaths in Spain,you state that the number of road deaths in Spain,per 1000, for BOTH car and bike users is higher in Spain,than GB,is this an agregate fig,or both sets indivdually?

I am willing to concede,that prior to the institution of the new regulations,there was a considerable disparity in deaths per 1000 amongst road users in Spain and GB.However more recent figs indicate that the gap has considerably narrowed,to a point where in statistical terms there is little difference.
Again I would make the point (respectfully) about checking the date on sources!

Just a question,are you actually involved in bike training in Spain?,do you know if there's an equiv of the direct access course in Spain?

TheLostPhotographer

Nah, I'm after the cheapest possible legal option. I have far to much road experience already. I doubt I would learn anything worth while that would improve my safety awareness after 25 years of car, van, truck and 125cc road experience.

BTW: Anyone thinking of heading to Eastern Europe to bribe a policeman will get all they deserve.

bokeh

Lost, just out of interest, are you living in Spain? You need an EU citizen registration cert to get a license here and for that you need to have been in the padron for more than 3 months. If you live here you could convert your British license to a Spanish one and being already a holder of a full license you may be able to sidestep some of the procedure (theory test). Just guessing though. I've tried to find the facts on dgt.es but can't locate them. Sorry I can't be more help but I did my bike test 24 years ago, before CBT and direct access, etc. existed. I converted to a Spanish license recently and it was pretty painless.