Dooglestar

I hold a full UK driving license. I would like to do my motorcycle test too but 'a man down the pub' told me I would have to sit another theory test, as well as a practical, and that they didn't do the test in English anymore.
Can anyone advise or shed any light on this?

Thanks

Rotor

Unless your spanish is spot on do your test in the UK while you still have a UK license,I think you can book intensive one week courses, then your license is valid through out the EU so

Fred James

Also note that you can drive a 125cc motorcycle on a UK car licence in Spain.

Dooglestar

Thanks, I knew that but I'm looking to go a bit bigger than 125.
Cheers

Dooglestar

Does that mean I would have to do a theory test again? My spanish isn't bad, I'd just rather do it in English...
thanks

Mitzyboy

Why dont you go back to the UK and do a condensed 1 week course, that would solve it

poolboy

The Spanish motorbike test has just changed - a bit stricter I read last week. The UK one is changing in Oct to include more slow speed manouvers. I´d book a quick intensive weeks training & sit it in UK before it gets harder. You then get class A1 status on your licence & can ride legally & safely anywhere.

I paid 500 GBP or so for a bike, test & 5 days training winter 07. The theory is easy peasy & you book it online, just read the book the day before.

Hope it helps & safe riding.

Rotor

I passed mine 26 years ago , very lucky, just had to ride around the block without falling off,passedvery different now.

Dooglestar

Yes that would solve doing my test but it's not what I need to know, thanks.

Flying back home is a big expenditure along with time off work etc is the more complicated option.
I want to know if Spanish law requires me to do my theory test again for my motorcycle license as I've already done it for my car license. If I do have to do the theory again is it still available to do in English, not a major problem, just a bit trickier.

Cheers

poolboy

don´t know i am afraid but in UK the theory is different for car, motorbike, bus etc. It is valid for 2 years & then you have to renew unless you do the practical.

I looked at doing it in Spain but the test is a joke - reflected in the mortality rates in bikers here. You ride round Mercadona car park for 20 mins without touching the floor, pass, that afternoon buy a 200 + kmhr bike. Seen the crash barriers on the bends of popular bike routes with the extra metal protection - it´s there for a reason & not a very nice one, it´s to keep your head attached to your body when you slide underneath the barriers.

I´d do it safely & properly or you may be having a lot more time off work than you expected.

Cheers

Peter B

Does anyone know if there is any power restrictions on what bike you can ride in Spain on a UK car licence?

In the UK you can ride a 125cc, after your CBT, so long as it doesn't produce more than 15hp (11kW), (this is to stop the youngsters derestricting their Aprilia RS125s and bombing around everywhere.

Does anyone know if the same is true here? I found a standard (i.e. UK learner legal) 125 is just a little too slow for most of the A-roads round here, I quite frequently found myself either being agressively overtaken by cars while doing 60 or stuck behind lorries doing 50 with no chance of overtaking for miles.

fionamw

As an add-on to that, are there any restrictions (insurance a separate issue, accepted) on how long you must have held your UK full car driving licence before being allowed on the road on a 125 bike in Spain?
And can you take a pillion passenger on a 125/any cc? (legally)

Fred James

You must have held a Class B car licence for 3 years.

vicki_tora

Hi

Go back to the UK and do it there if you want to do it properly!! You do have to sit your bike theory test do your CBT and then you can start on larger bike lessons - take an intense course you'll have your test at the end of the week.

Peter B

The only thing to remember with this is that you have to take (and pass...) your theory test in the UK before you can book your practical test. Therefore the test school will probably tell you to go and do your theory test first before it books you in for a course -this will involve a trip to the UK on it's own.
There's no guarantee of passing the bike theory test first time mainly because of the hazard perception part of it - I barely scraped through despite (or maybe because of) having passed my car driving test 20 years previously and the way the guy behind me stomped off after getting his result led me to believe he had failed. If you fail you are normally required to wait a couple of weeks to retake.

You should also bear in mind that there is no such thing as a 'guaranteed pass' when you actually take the practical test itself. Any Training School offering such a guarantee usually mean that if you fail they will enter you for a retest free of charge, though this may be 3-4 weeks down the line and will probably mean another trip back to the UK. Apparently, the pass rate for existing car licence holders taking their bike test is 80-90% but you can be failed on as small a thing as putting your foot down while doing a u-turn.
I speak from painful experience having tried to take my test the week before I flew back to Spain - There were 2 people on my course, both experienced car drivers, and we both failed, albeit on minor points. Maybe the examiner was having a bad day as the instructor was gobsmacked that neither of us had passed.

The process may appear onerous but do remember that this is a UK test process designed for those resident in the UK. There is even a small box on the driving test form you have to sign which asks if you have been normally resident in the UK for the last 6 months - not sure what happens if you say no to this...