Motorcycle FAQ

MikeShiner

Ok thanks. What about the kawasaki ninja 250? Would it be a good starter bike? I know there's no generalisation for insurance, it varies but what is bike insurance generally like? Is it cheaper than cars or has it sky rocketed lately much like cars.

I have a full car driver licence for 12 years.

GBX

Yeah, good bike to start on. I'm not overly familiar with the liscenising side of things. Age dependant you might be able to to direct access (somebody could clairfiy this) and you can get a bigger bike.

Insurance seems to be creeping up for some. Starting out it is usually one of the higher costs involved. But get the IBT etc done and get yourself on the road!

MikeShiner

Taken from AllMoto.ie

There are 3 different licenses available and it's a different age for each!
M motorcycle licence: you must be over 16 years old. It will allow you to drive a 50cc that can't exceed 45km/h.

A1 motorcycle licence: you must be 17 years old. You can drive up to 125cc with a max power of 11kW (basically any 125).

A motorcycle licence: you must be over 18 years old. As a provisional holder you can drive ANY cc bike so long as it is below 25kW and or a power to weight ratio (0.16kW/kg). What this means, is that you can buy anything, and if it is over the limit you must fit a restrictor kit (this costs roughly €300).
It's also worth noting that with a restricter A license you can drive a lot of big cc bikes without a restrictor as these bikes are about the power to weight ratio. Examples include Deauville 650, most Harleys, etc

Obviously I'd be looking at an A license. Am I restricting myself too much at 250cc or is it a perfect starter? I don't want to sound like I'm a bee in a can if you get my meaning, a nice sounding bike preferably..

unattendedbag

You can ride any size bike if go for category A. That'd be my advice. Do your ibt and test on a category A bike and then you are free to buy whatever takes your fancy. You are not restricted with age so might as well use that to your advantage.

Nothing wrong with learning on a ninja250 but you may soon find the itch to go up to something bigger.

MikeShiner

unattendedbag wrote: »

You can ride any size bike if go for category A. That'd be my advice. Do your ibt and test on a category A bike and then you are free to buy whatever takes your fancy. You are not restricted with age so might as well use that to your advantage.

Nothing wrong with learning on a ninja250 but you may soon find the itch to go up to something bigger.

Thanks man. Is it normal to feel a little nervous about learning them? I suppose we all have to start somewhere don't we. What's the weight like on a Ninja250 because I know weight can become a factor in manoeuvring a bike. I don't want raw speed or something too heavy to start but a something that looks and sounds well would be nice.

Lumen

All motorbikes are heavy and learning to ride them feels like riding death into the gates of hell.

The extra weight and power of an A cat bike doesn't make that much difference.

pudzey101

MikeShiner wrote: »

I'm looking into learning how to ride a motorcycle. I've zero experience. I know what I need to do in regards to doing the theory test and then the IBT but what I want to know is, what is a good bike to start off with?

I've been told a Kawasaki Ninja 250 but it might need a restrictor and what would a 30 year old be looking at in terms of insurance costs for a bike of this nature?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was in same boat as you mike last year , never drove a bike in my life and went off and got a ninja 600 . you wont need any restrictor kit you will get the cat A licence . my insurance was about 500 i was 25 on a learner permit . Ninja 250 is a grand bike only worry is youll want more power before you know it on a ninja 900 a year later with a full lisence and insurance just over 300

Hotblack Desiato

That site is seriously out of date if it doesn't mention category A2.

Also it's wrong, the minimum age for category A1 is 16 (not that that matters to you or me )

Wishox

unattendedbag wrote: »

You can ride any size bike if go for category A. That'd be my advice. Do your ibt and test on a category A bike and then you are free to buy whatever takes your fancy. You are not restricted with age so might as well use that to your advantage.

Nothing wrong with learning on a ninja250 but you may soon find the itch to go up to something bigger.

Not sure that is correct, You still have to drive a restricted bike for 2 years after passing your test as far as i know !

frozenfrozen

Wishox wrote: »

Not sure that is correct, You still have to drive a restricted bike for 2 years after passing your test as far as i know !

that's not correct

Paulw

Wishox wrote: »

Not sure that is correct, You still have to drive a restricted bike for 2 years after passing your test as far as i know !

Once you pass the A test, you can ride anything. No restriction.

From RSA website -
Category A - All motorcycles including those greater than 35kW. The minimum age at which a learner permit can be taken out for this category is age 20, where an A2 licence has been held for 2 years. Direct access is possible at age 24.

Bundis

a_ominous wrote: »

Well since I suggested it, I'll start the ball rolling.

Licence
You need a licence to ride a bike. for some details.


Insurance
In Ireland, there are only 2 motorbike insurers, and Carole Nash. If you're under 25, you can try Carole Nash but they generally only insure over 25s on bikes obver 250cc. You can get online quotes from but only phone quotes from CN.

There are some brokers who deal with motorbike insurance. AON is the largest. They deal with Hibernian and offer discounts on the Hibernian price. Some of the bike shops can also sort your insurnace out. They have a deal with AON. Some examples of these bike shops:



There are 3 types of insurance:
Third Party (TP) - you pay for damages to you and your bike
Third Party, Fire and Theft. As above but also covers for fire and theft, strangely.
Fully Comprehensive. As above but also includes cover for damage to you and your bike.

Bikes are assigned a grouping by insurers. This is based on the power to weight ratio of the bike. So for example a 50cc 10 BHP scooter is group 1 and a 1300cc 150BHP sports bike would be group 12, and more expensive to insure. The differences between groups is small for riders over 40. A table of the prices is not available online at the moment.


Lessons
There are various places to learn to ride a bike. (ISM) will provide bikes. As will the Star Rider courses run by Fingal and I believe South Dublin Co Council. These are not year round courses though. And there is a long waiting list for school bikes. Most independent trainers ( IRTA) do not have bikes due to prohibitive insurance costs. This may change with driver instructor certification due in 2004.


Some URLs:



good information
on bikes and training.

there reviews of bikes and gear.

Liberty Insurance does motorcycle cover. I'm 3rd party fire and theft since i started on two wheels. They only asked me if i done a IBT and have a licence then asked for the usual paperwork ect and gave me cover no more questions asked.

TheShow

Hey all,
are there any other websites to buy bikes/mopeds other than adverts/donedeal to be aware of?

frozenfrozen

the for sale section of biker.ie

TheShow

has anyone any experience of Scooter Island that they would like to share? as per the website, seems to be good value scooters, not sure if warranty available etc. but seems to offer some piece of mind vs private sale? i.e. a lot of junk on done deal / adverts.

hazelk

Hi, I was wondering if you could help. Im looking at getting a motor cycle nothing bigger than a 250cc. Ive been driving a car since i was 18 and have 6 years no claims with it. I can seem to find any info on roughly the price of insurance is going to be on a bike? im 31 years old and female.

Any ideas on where to check?

Pugzilla

hazelk wrote: »

Any ideas on where to check?

You can use liberty insurance online quote system. Just put some fake details in and you'll get a rough idea.

Frank Bullitt

Hey guys,

I've mentioned in another thread but it seems like there is a bit more knowledgable info in here.

I am returning to Ireland at Christmas after living in Canada for 4.5 years. I have a full Class 6 licence here for the bike and I am shipping mine back (BMW Rnine T).

There is now an exchange with BC and Ireland for licensing so I can swap over my car back to a full Irish. I got my full bike over here though, I never had a full bike licence in Ireland.

Info is here - https://moving2canada.com/ireland-allow-exchange-bc-driver-licenses/

Here is where I am confused. I did my theory test way back in 2004, I rode a moped for a year and then it went out of date but I then renewed it as I was still within the 5 year window, and got my full car licence in 2011, I understand that once you do a theory and pass a test on that licence, that you don't have to sit one again. From what I gather I should still have a valid 'Type 1 AMBW' on file from reading a previous post in here.

In the link you can see that is says a class 6 will get me a A1, AM licence. I have have a clean record here in BC and have done a riding school. I don't really mind if I have to do mandatory lessons in Ireland and some form of road test, my main concern will be weather the licence that is issued back to me when I return will enable me to ride my BMW. If not, I can store it until I am ready to roll.

The licences are a tad confusing but I will do whatever is needed.

Thanks for the help!

P.S. This will be the last time i ask about licences in here again, I promise!

Hotblack Desiato

You will probably not have to do the theory test - if you did it when cars and bikes were still on the same test. You'd need your Irish driver number (not licence number) and ring the RSA to find out exactly where you stand.

Thought you'd get an A2 - only an A1 is a bit crap - but anyway you want A so (assuming you are over 24) you can do direct access to class A - apply for a class A learner permit and do IBT on a class A bike and you are road legal (no motorways or pillions) then pass the class A test for a full licence.

You are supposed to wear an L-tabard while on a learner permit. Having the full car licence should get you off the requirement to wear an N-tabard for two years after passing your bike test. (N-plates or tabard apply when you have passed your first test in any class) not sure if an exchanged car licence will cover this, but again the RSA will tell you.

Seabhac14

Sorry if this has been asked before, but how exactly does motorcycle insurance work in Ireland? What factors such as age, cc power and specifications are considered or determined and how to they increase the cost? Is the insurance annual or monthly?

And would anyone be able to give me a rough example of how much it would cost per year, if not sharing their own financial cost? Just to give me an idea of how much you would be paying a year.

Thanks

Paulw

Seabhac14 wrote: »

And would anyone be able to give me a rough example of how much it would cost per year, if not sharing their own financial cost? Just to give me an idea of how much you would be paying a year.

Maybe you should have a read of - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=291219

dermur

Hi - I'm an A2 learner with a 250cc bike at the moment. I'd like to upgrade to something I can actually use daily and take to the test with me when the time comes.

I'd really love to get a 2nd hand Kawasaki W800. Maximum power is 35Kw, displacement is 773cm3 and power/weight is ~ 0.16kW/kg. All these figures seem to fall within the A2 test vehicle requirements (max power=35kw, minimum displacement=395cc and max power/weight=0.2kW/kg).

I'd still like to confirm if this is the case but the W800 doesn't appear on the RSA bike database: http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Learner-Drivers/Motorcyclists/Driving-Test-Vehicles---Motorcycles/

I'm guessing I need to contact the RSA and ask them directly? Or would a bike shop know?

Any advice appreciated!

cantdecide

dermur wrote: »

Hi - I'm an A2 learner with a 250cc bike at the moment. I'd like to upgrade to something I can actually use daily and take to the test with me when the time comes.

I'd really love to get a 2nd hand Kawasaki W800. Maximum power is 35Kw, displacement is 773cm3 and power/weight is ~ 0.16kW/kg. All these figures seem to fall within the A2 test vehicle requirements (max power=35kw, minimum displacement=395cc and max power/weight=0.2kW/kg).

I'd still like to confirm if this is the case but the W800 doesn't appear on the RSA bike database: http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Learner-Drivers/Motorcyclists/Driving-Test-Vehicles---Motorcycles/

I'm guessing I need to contact the RSA and ask them directly? Or would a bike shop know?

Any advice appreciated!

I say buy whatever bike you like and hire an instructor's bike for the test if need be. With that in mind, are you over 24? If you could get a hold of the cat permit, you could also just buy the W800 (as it does seem to conform to A2) or other bike of your choice and hire a cat A bike for the test.

dermur

Thanks cantdecide. I suppose my thought is to have a bike that I can ride around on for a year, get really used to the clutch, handling, etc. and take the test on that bike as opposed to an instructor bike that might have a stubborn gear change or whatever.

I think I'm just basing this on my IBT experience! the bike I used for that was fine for slow manouevres but I had lots of trouble with gear changes on the road. No such troubles with my own bike...I guess that's the only reason I'm hoping to do the test on my own bike.

Frank Bullitt

Whats the longest someone has waited for the there A licence to arrive? It's almost a month now for me!

punisher5112

Gintonious wrote: »

Whats the longest someone has waited for the there A licence to arrive? It's almost a month now for me!

Give them a call but it can be slow at times.

Frank Bullitt

punisher5112 wrote: »

Give them a call but it can be slow at times.

Thanks, did that and they just said there was a high volume. Patience isn't a virtue of mine.

punisher5112

Just have to sit tight....

Frank Bullitt

punisher5112 wrote: »

Just have to sit tight....

Its hard when my bike is sitting in my garden...looking at me.

Frank Bullitt

Finally got the text to say it was shipped!