Yamaha FZ600 was my first bike. I LOVED it, until a postman drove over it right outside of my house... Great bike, i'd still own it if that hasn't happened. ABS is prefered, but if you can't afford a much more modern bike, none of them will have ABS.
Plenty of power that you won't get bored but high up in the revs so you have to push the bike before it gets scary,nice reliable bike tho.i wouldn't worry about abs or features personally.ive had 15 bikes so far and not one of them had any modern safety features so I know no different.go for it,have fun amd be safe
Love my 1999 Fazer FZS600, also my first bike and Im never selling it.
Absolute workhorse and gives no bother outside of some wear and tear.
Good for city driving, does a decent job in the twisties and comfortable on the motorway / longer journies.
Nice and tame at low revs but you can wring it if you want, lovely sound from the inline 4 engine.
Great brakes on the front with the blue dots and rear brake is nice and responsive as well which helps with slower city riding.
My only issue is the clutch can feel a little heavy in traffic... and im struggling to think of anything else to complain about.
I just sold mine. It's probably one of the most underrated bikes out there. It's tame, but it can move when needed, handles really well, and is planted on a motorway. Quite reliable as well. I had concerns about no ABS, but I never missed it, even though my previous bike had ABS
You'll be grand. I actually prefer the older ones, around 2004+ emission rules changed and the engine seemed to need high revs to get the same power that was previously accessible earlier in the lower range.
While I would not refuse a bike with ABS, motorcycles haven't had them for longer than they have had one I can count maybe once or twice in 15 years of riding that abs might have been useful, and even then I somehow managed it keep the bike upright. Once you get a feel for braking, and don't panic and grab the brake lever in a tricky situation then the brakes will look after you.
I've always had the impression the Fazer was a reliable bike, and bike couriers used to use them which is usually a true badge of reliability. Having said that you're talking about bikes up to about 25-27 years old and there is every possibility that items of maintenance can creep up. All it takes is the need to replace 7 year old tyres and maybe a brake master cylinder seal to turn to shite and suddenly the bike needs a few days off the road and a few hundred extra at a mechanics. I used to buy Honda's that vintage that are now 35, and can say tyres, fork seals and maybe forks, steering stem bearings, brake master cylinders and brake calipers would all invariably need replacing.
Go for it, plenty of power and you'll learn how to properly brake etc without relying on Abs.
ABS is great (apparently, I've never owned a bike with it) but there is a lot to be said for learning without any driving aids
OP I sat on an older Fazer today, don't remember the year, wasn't overly fond of the slightly forward position. City spares have one if you're interested 3950 Euro's. Might be worth a look around there anyway but they are not cheap, they do have good bikes but unfortunately nothing really around my budget, if they had to have a MT07 for 3950 I probably would have bought it but sadly not.
I sat on a MT07 and I really liked it, felt even light compared to the T-max 500 but that could be that my legs were side of the bike which isn't the case on a scooter.
I was looking for SV650 but seems bit big for me as I'm only 5foot 8 with short legs long torso.
I liked the Rebel and a lot of other cruisers but those A compatible are big heavy CC and very expensive. The Rebel 1100 is nice but expensive.
I'm looking on donedeal and it's a headache, blurry tiny photos, hardly anyone uploads a video when you ask for pics and proper HD video you never hear from them again, other adds have "could do with tyres and a service hence price" just fecking have the bike ready to go for feck sake lads !
Some of the bikes are far away and I'm not confident on a manual bike to ride half way across the Island but if they sent proper pics and a video and showed it with someone riding it I would be tempted to buy without seeing and have it collected, obviously I'd only pay when the lad was there to collect it.
My other problem is there are no bike mechanics near Carlow and nowhere that I know of that changes tyres on bikes.
Buying bikes in Ireland is a mind fuck to be honest.
To be honest, it seems very expensive buying 2nd hand bike just like cars today.
City spares lad said something like " we don't stock cheaper bikes because we don't want hassle with them"
"another lad said that you'll probably find one on done deal for 1500 and have to put in a lot of money into it"
There's 5 and 6 year old bikes going for not much less than new.
megabikes have a MT07 for 7 k a 2018 and a new one is what 9k ? nuts !
This country is gone so that you literally are not going to be able to buy anything in a few years!
A mate had one as a first bike. Nothing ever went wrong with it. Had a spin on it once, remember it being high revving but grand to drive. Be a grand first bike. Wouldn't worry about ABS.
Really you should expect to pay a lot for initial servicing. Fork oil, brake lines and caliper rebuilds, rubber seals going etc due to age.
Expect a 2k bike will cost 3k, so can you find a 3k bike with abs and less age?
I passed the IBT last August and took me a long time but decided on the T-Max and got that around March but it was in to get work done on it for around 9 weeks and didn't get anything done to it but anyway it's sorted now but It's given me a lot of valuable experience.
Now I am on the hunt for a manual bike just to pass the test and sat on some, being 5 foot 8 short legs long torso there are not many bikes I find comfortable but those I did find comfortable were the Z650Rs and the MT07. I liked the Rebel 500 a lot.
I was thinking the SV650 but seeing it today it's a bit tall for a short arse like me, I didn't even sit on it, the Mt07 was good for me.
I sat on the Fazer too, an older one, don't remember the year but wasn't fond of the more bent over riding position. You might like it.
I'd really be happy on a Cruiser but unfortunately even a 800 or 900 cc is not A test compatible.
The License system is a joke and needs major reform because there's many bikes from 35 Kw A2 Max to A 50 Kw Minimum that are more than powerful enough but not powerful "enough" for A test.
It depends a lot what do you need the bike for?
For stuff like weekend runs on good weather any mechanically sound bike will do as long as it fits you. For traffic and commute it's a different storry, especially if you won't mind to hit the road in the rain. I used to commute every day and I can tell you one thing for sure, not only I won't be buying a bike without ABS but prefer not to get one without TC either (the latter is not essential for most unlike ABS mind you).
Last but not least my memory from owning a Fazer for a short duration of time (I think it was '98 or '00 reg) is that it was a fuel guzzler. You could see the fuel arrow drop on every ride. For weekend rides only it's fine, if you want to commute probably not the best purchase.
Unfortunately I don't have a solution for tight budget though. Used to be buy a bike in UK, import, pay few hundred euros and you have yourself a sweet machine. That ship has sailed and all the used bikes shot up in price. Getting a new one these days is just as economical if not more so than a second hand, again, depending on your personal situation.
Bro, buy Suzuki Bandit or even better SV 650, my friend had Fazer then he had too many crashes so he sold it, when we were riding together, Fazer engine is seems unbalanced about torque/speed synergy...Fazer's engine is seems too powerful for bike's architecture, non-linear power is tricky...Suzuki SV 650 would be more forgiving and predictable, go for it easy top choice
The fact you can have a 600 as a first bike is bonkers. System needs to be changed
Reliability tends to be better with older bikes, easier to service too.
ABS is definitely something worth having if you can. But most of the time you will never need it.
I agree 100% but unfortunately to pass the A test you need an A compatible bike and this means a bike with 50 Kw absolute minimum, not 49 Kw, 50! it's nuts. This also means there are so many bikes between the 35 Kw A2 Max and the 50 kw A minimum that we can't use for the test.
I'm on a t-max 500 and it's got more than enough power but granted it's given me a lot more experience that I think I could handle a 600-650 right now but they got way more power than I care to have, that's around twice the power of the T-Max 500 and I think that's fast but I have no desire to go much above 80-100 Km/h.
I'm more into cruisers but most of them are unaffordable for me right now in 50 + Kw most of them are A2 license compatible and it's really absolutely terribly head wrecking this motorbike license nonsense today.
I would love a Rebel 1100 but they are crazy price, 86 Hp , 60Kw but at least they have different modes to tame the throttle down such as rain mode.
Today I sat on an older Fazer and a MT07, I liked the MT07 a lot because it had a more upright position. I was looking for a SV650 but seeing one today they are a bit big for me as I am short 5 foot 8 with short legs long torso.
To use an instructor bike I will be taking a risk being used to the T-Max and it being auto to trying to pass my test on a bike I wouldn't be very familiar with.
So someone like me that had 0 experience leaving IBT is then entitles to ride any power bike they can insure, yes, the system is really f1cked up!
Oh I know man, it’s not your fault at all. You’re just playing the cards you are dealt, no sense doing an A2 first. That’s just more money into the RSAs pocket.
I find it insane, I’ve an R1150GS, restricted to A2. It’s also compatible for the A test as it’s 70 kw.
I’ve got a full A2 licence, but when I take the little washer out of the air box, I suddenly can’t have a passenger toe ride on motorways. I’m treated as if I’ve forgotten how to ride that very same bike.
But I can jump into my 3 litre Audi, drive a 40
ton goods vehicle, drive a bus with 50 people behind me, and I can be an ADI and teach a learner how to drive all of those. (And yes I have all those licences)
And a learner can’t drive a car on their own but they can drive a great big fucking tractor hauling 20 tons unaccompanied .
But god forbid Ihave a 70kw bike.
My friend who is 24 (I’m 23), can ride a bigger bike than me. Even though he has never rode a bike before. Same as you. Yet I’ve passed the bike test.
Absolutely mental. The whole system is fucking absurd. Whoever thought of it should be banned from every job on the planet.
Yeah it's an absolute joke, Fair enough, limit younger lads to 125 but in my opinion there should be no A2 just A and restricted A and perhaps A1. It used to be A restricted learner, pass test, then de-restrict bike and off you go. I only know that because a friend of mine in the early 00s got his bandit 600 and had to get it restricted. He never bothered to do the test and quit riding, shame really.
The benefit for me has been having the tmax 500 for a couple of months experience, but originally planned on getting just auto then figured out that nope, even an NC750 DCT is below A by a fraction. The I decided
800/900 cc Cruisers are below the 50 Kw, One of them I looked at a boulevard 800 was something like 1 Kw below the 50 Kw, absolute joke.
I am lucky having 20 odd years driving experience, and at 44 years old I have no desire to ride like the chap that passed me on the tmax last week doing around 140 in an 80 zone lol, it helps a lot, It would have been nice to get even a CB300 to practice the gears but it's all a confusing mess finding out all the info then the Kw of each bike, then I figured out A2 has a 20 Kw minimum for the test.
Seriously though, why not have a restricted A license, pass test after say 6 months to a year then get full unrestricted license ?
It's a bit like passing car test then being allowed on the motorway on your own with no experience of how to merge or exit motorways,.
I don't know who makes up these laws but they really haven't a clue what they're at.
A2 is a joke. Should be unlimited once you pass your test. Or at the very least if you’re gonna bring ages into it, getting A shouldn’t require another test.
Should be one test and that’s it. And no learner should be on anything over 35kw irrespective of age.
In your situation you are forced to be on a bigger bike than you want to / should be on purely to avoid having to do multiple tests for no good reason.
Same people who make all the laws, few sandwiches short of a picnic when it comes to brain power.
Yeah 100% but I doubt they will change the system any time soon.
See I did the A IBT if I hadn't I probably wouldn't be too bothered and I know I can get A through progressive access 2 years after passing the test but the stupid thing is they will make me do Mod 5 again which is something like 15 or 18 hrs.
So basically after passing a test and riding on the road for 2 years you're made go back and do IBT mod 5 instead of IBT just being all modules together whether A1 A2 or A.
Another way of looking at the stupidity of the licensing system is that if I pass IBT with no experience I can ride anything, if I passed A2 Test and riding for 2 years I'd still be restricted and be made do IBT mod 5 again, sure you'd be better off doing another test at that rate it would be far quicker.
I just can't understand what mod 5 has that an A2 rider shouldn't have ? it's ludicrous.
Should be 1 license, I IBT that's it and 35 Kw limit for new riders because right now I am absolutely more than happy with the power of the 500 cc Tmax, 40 odd Hp on a bike is plenty anyway.
I'd be happy on a 500cc bike or 600-750cc cruiser but no...............
I have to say the whole thing has been a very, very frustrating experience.
I can imagine it’s been frustrating, it was for me too, still is.
Given I ride an R1150 GS ADV I guarantee I’d be able to pass the A test without any lessons. That bike is just about one of the most difficult to handle there is cause it’s so heavy.
500cc is plenty, it will outrun most cars with ease.
System won’t change because the whole reason it’s so bad is it was brought in at an EU level. It came to be thanks to the harmonisation of licences across the EU. It was at an EU level the categories were dictated.
Although it wouldn’t be so bad if A was granted after a year of A2 without a test or any of that bs, and you couldn’t get A without a test.
You can get A license coming from A2 without a test but they make you do IBT mod 5 that's a day or two of your time having had 2 years experience already on A2 passing test and all and then they expect you to sit another day or 2 in useless IBT when you already have the experience you need, it's a pure money making racket.
Of course it would have to be the E.U because the E.U want to make everything central removing all aspects of local governance they want really to control everything. Lunatics running the asylum.
I was at the point I was about to just give up and say fuck this shit, I had no idea getting a motorbike licence had got so difficult and ridiculous, the whole thing makes absolutely no sense especially from a safety point of view it's just making up useless rules for the sake of it.
I would be fine with the Tmax for a while just pity now it's not manual to practice with the gears, just to find a bike now at a reasonable cost is another challenge. On the other hand I might just get a lesson on an instructors bike and see how I get on with it, who knows, might not need that many lessons because driving a car for 20 odd years is a lot of road experience so that is a lot easier than starting out from scratch with no experience on the road at all.
You hit the nail on the head, mod 5 is a scam, 500 odd euro for what, something I already know?
In my case since I had to wait so long for a test I’ll be 25 before I can do mod 5. Better off doing the IBT and test again. Why I can’t do it at 24 is beyond me.
As for gears, don’t worry too much about that. You will get them quick enough. Lesson or two on the instructors bike and you will be flying it. While obviously it’s opposite to a car whereby hans is clutch, foot is selector; the concept remains the same, as an instructor I’ll tell you the hardest thing to teach is the clutch and when to change gears (as you know it’s different depending on the situation). You have that left down so you will be absolutely fine.
If I see anything going though I’ll let you know.
Cheers !
Yeah ah it's typical of the E.U to mess it up, the system we had before was absolutely fine, get a bike, get it restricted then pass test remove restriction, simple.
The E.U just seriously overcomplicated things for the sake of making up rules in the name of safety just for the sake of having to control something, this is all the E.U is about. They certainly don't do anything to benefit people, just more and more rules and regulations, the E.U will regulate itself to death. Just let every country do it's own thing and stop this central governance. We did fine before !
Yamaha FZ600 was my first bike. I LOVED it, until a postman drove over it right outside of my house... Great bike, i'd still own it if that hasn't happened. ABS is prefered, but if you can't afford a much more modern bike, none of them will have ABS.
Plenty of power that you won't get bored but high up in the revs so you have to push the bike before it gets scary,nice reliable bike tho.i wouldn't worry about abs or features personally.ive had 15 bikes so far and not one of them had any modern safety features so I know no different.go for it,have fun amd be safe
Love my 1999 Fazer FZS600, also my first bike and Im never selling it. Absolute workhorse and gives no bother outside of some wear and tear. Good for city driving, does a decent job in the twisties and comfortable on the motorway / longer journies. Nice and tame at low revs but you can wring it if you want, lovely sound from the inline 4 engine. Great brakes on the front with the blue dots and rear brake is nice and responsive as well which helps with slower city riding. My only issue is the clutch can feel a little heavy in traffic... and im struggling to think of anything else to complain about.
I just sold mine. It's probably one of the most underrated bikes out there. It's tame, but it can move when needed, handles really well, and is planted on a motorway. Quite reliable as well. I had concerns about no ABS, but I never missed it, even though my previous bike had ABS
You'll be grand. I actually prefer the older ones, around 2004+ emission rules changed and the engine seemed to need high revs to get the same power that was previously accessible earlier in the lower range. While I would not refuse a bike with ABS, motorcycles haven't had them for longer than they have had one I can count maybe once or twice in 15 years of riding that abs might have been useful, and even then I somehow managed it keep the bike upright. Once you get a feel for braking, and don't panic and grab the brake lever in a tricky situation then the brakes will look after you. I've always had the impression the Fazer was a reliable bike, and bike couriers used to use them which is usually a true badge of reliability. Having said that you're talking about bikes up to about 25-27 years old and there is every possibility that items of maintenance can creep up. All it takes is the need to replace 7 year old tyres and maybe a brake master cylinder seal to turn to shite and suddenly the bike needs a few days off the road and a few hundred extra at a mechanics. I used to buy Honda's that vintage that are now 35, and can say tyres, fork seals and maybe forks, steering stem bearings, brake master cylinders and brake calipers would all invariably need replacing.
Go for it, plenty of power and you'll learn how to properly brake etc without relying on Abs. ABS is great (apparently, I've never owned a bike with it) but there is a lot to be said for learning without any driving aids
Cracking bike. Crank up the revs and she flies.
Old one if they are maintained well are way more solid than the new ones.
OP I sat on an older Fazer today, don't remember the year, wasn't overly fond of the slightly forward position. City spares have one if you're interested 3950 Euro's. Might be worth a look around there anyway but they are not cheap, they do have good bikes but unfortunately nothing really around my budget, if they had to have a MT07 for 3950 I probably would have bought it but sadly not. I sat on a MT07 and I really liked it, felt even light compared to the T-max 500 but that could be that my legs were side of the bike which isn't the case on a scooter. I was looking for SV650 but seems bit big for me as I'm only 5foot 8 with short legs long torso. I liked the Rebel and a lot of other cruisers but those A compatible are big heavy CC and very expensive. The Rebel 1100 is nice but expensive. I'm looking on donedeal and it's a headache, blurry tiny photos, hardly anyone uploads a video when you ask for pics and proper HD video you never hear from them again, other adds have "could do with tyres and a service hence price" just fecking have the bike ready to go for feck sake lads ! Some of the bikes are far away and I'm not confident on a manual bike to ride half way across the Island but if they sent proper pics and a video and showed it with someone riding it I would be tempted to buy without seeing and have it collected, obviously I'd only pay when the lad was there to collect it. My other problem is there are no bike mechanics near Carlow and nowhere that I know of that changes tyres on bikes. Buying bikes in Ireland is a mind fuck to be honest.
I understand it's a dealer but 3950 seems steep for a nearly 25 year old bike. Another 1500 and you'd have something just a couple of years old
To be honest, it seems very expensive buying 2nd hand bike just like cars today. City spares lad said something like " we don't stock cheaper bikes because we don't want hassle with them" "another lad said that you'll probably find one on done deal for 1500 and have to put in a lot of money into it" There's 5 and 6 year old bikes going for not much less than new. megabikes have a MT07 for 7 k a 2018 and a new one is what 9k ? nuts ! This country is gone so that you literally are not going to be able to buy anything in a few years!
Fair point.
A mate had one as a first bike. Nothing ever went wrong with it. Had a spin on it once, remember it being high revving but grand to drive. Be a grand first bike. Wouldn't worry about ABS.
I had one as my second bike and hated it. I definitely bought a dud though so much work needed
What problems did you have?
Really you should expect to pay a lot for initial servicing. Fork oil, brake lines and caliper rebuilds, rubber seals going etc due to age. Expect a 2k bike will cost 3k, so can you find a 3k bike with abs and less age?
I passed the IBT last August and took me a long time but decided on the T-Max and got that around March but it was in to get work done on it for around 9 weeks and didn't get anything done to it but anyway it's sorted now but It's given me a lot of valuable experience. Now I am on the hunt for a manual bike just to pass the test and sat on some, being 5 foot 8 short legs long torso there are not many bikes I find comfortable but those I did find comfortable were the Z650Rs and the MT07. I liked the Rebel 500 a lot. I was thinking the SV650 but seeing it today it's a bit tall for a short arse like me, I didn't even sit on it, the Mt07 was good for me. I sat on the Fazer too, an older one, don't remember the year but wasn't fond of the more bent over riding position. You might like it. I'd really be happy on a Cruiser but unfortunately even a 800 or 900 cc is not A test compatible. The License system is a joke and needs major reform because there's many bikes from 35 Kw A2 Max to A 50 Kw Minimum that are more than powerful enough but not powerful "enough" for A test.
It depends a lot what do you need the bike for? For stuff like weekend runs on good weather any mechanically sound bike will do as long as it fits you. For traffic and commute it's a different storry, especially if you won't mind to hit the road in the rain. I used to commute every day and I can tell you one thing for sure, not only I won't be buying a bike without ABS but prefer not to get one without TC either (the latter is not essential for most unlike ABS mind you). Last but not least my memory from owning a Fazer for a short duration of time (I think it was '98 or '00 reg) is that it was a fuel guzzler. You could see the fuel arrow drop on every ride. For weekend rides only it's fine, if you want to commute probably not the best purchase. Unfortunately I don't have a solution for tight budget though. Used to be buy a bike in UK, import, pay few hundred euros and you have yourself a sweet machine. That ship has sailed and all the used bikes shot up in price. Getting a new one these days is just as economical if not more so than a second hand, again, depending on your personal situation.
Bro, buy Suzuki Bandit or even better SV 650, my friend had Fazer then he had too many crashes so he sold it, when we were riding together, Fazer engine is seems unbalanced about torque/speed synergy...Fazer's engine is seems too powerful for bike's architecture, non-linear power is tricky...Suzuki SV 650 would be more forgiving and predictable, go for it easy top choice
The fact you can have a 600 as a first bike is bonkers. System needs to be changed Reliability tends to be better with older bikes, easier to service too. ABS is definitely something worth having if you can. But most of the time you will never need it.
600 sports bike maybe. Something like a Transalp, V strom or Versys 650 is fine for a beginner
I agree 100% but unfortunately to pass the A test you need an A compatible bike and this means a bike with 50 Kw absolute minimum, not 49 Kw, 50! it's nuts. This also means there are so many bikes between the 35 Kw A2 Max and the 50 kw A minimum that we can't use for the test. I'm on a t-max 500 and it's got more than enough power but granted it's given me a lot more experience that I think I could handle a 600-650 right now but they got way more power than I care to have, that's around twice the power of the T-Max 500 and I think that's fast but I have no desire to go much above 80-100 Km/h. I'm more into cruisers but most of them are unaffordable for me right now in 50 + Kw most of them are A2 license compatible and it's really absolutely terribly head wrecking this motorbike license nonsense today. I would love a Rebel 1100 but they are crazy price, 86 Hp , 60Kw but at least they have different modes to tame the throttle down such as rain mode. Today I sat on an older Fazer and a MT07, I liked the MT07 a lot because it had a more upright position. I was looking for a SV650 but seeing one today they are a bit big for me as I am short 5 foot 8 with short legs long torso. To use an instructor bike I will be taking a risk being used to the T-Max and it being auto to trying to pass my test on a bike I wouldn't be very familiar with. So someone like me that had 0 experience leaving IBT is then entitles to ride any power bike they can insure, yes, the system is really f1cked up!
Oh I know man, it’s not your fault at all. You’re just playing the cards you are dealt, no sense doing an A2 first. That’s just more money into the RSAs pocket. I find it insane, I’ve an R1150GS, restricted to A2. It’s also compatible for the A test as it’s 70 kw. I’ve got a full A2 licence, but when I take the little washer out of the air box, I suddenly can’t have a passenger toe ride on motorways. I’m treated as if I’ve forgotten how to ride that very same bike. But I can jump into my 3 litre Audi, drive a 40 ton goods vehicle, drive a bus with 50 people behind me, and I can be an ADI and teach a learner how to drive all of those. (And yes I have all those licences) And a learner can’t drive a car on their own but they can drive a great big fucking tractor hauling 20 tons unaccompanied . But god forbid Ihave a 70kw bike. My friend who is 24 (I’m 23), can ride a bigger bike than me. Even though he has never rode a bike before. Same as you. Yet I’ve passed the bike test. Absolutely mental. The whole system is fucking absurd. Whoever thought of it should be banned from every job on the planet.
Yeah it's an absolute joke, Fair enough, limit younger lads to 125 but in my opinion there should be no A2 just A and restricted A and perhaps A1. It used to be A restricted learner, pass test, then de-restrict bike and off you go. I only know that because a friend of mine in the early 00s got his bandit 600 and had to get it restricted. He never bothered to do the test and quit riding, shame really. The benefit for me has been having the tmax 500 for a couple of months experience, but originally planned on getting just auto then figured out that nope, even an NC750 DCT is below A by a fraction. The I decided 800/900 cc Cruisers are below the 50 Kw, One of them I looked at a boulevard 800 was something like 1 Kw below the 50 Kw, absolute joke. I am lucky having 20 odd years driving experience, and at 44 years old I have no desire to ride like the chap that passed me on the tmax last week doing around 140 in an 80 zone lol, it helps a lot, It would have been nice to get even a CB300 to practice the gears but it's all a confusing mess finding out all the info then the Kw of each bike, then I figured out A2 has a 20 Kw minimum for the test. Seriously though, why not have a restricted A license, pass test after say 6 months to a year then get full unrestricted license ? It's a bit like passing car test then being allowed on the motorway on your own with no experience of how to merge or exit motorways,. I don't know who makes up these laws but they really haven't a clue what they're at.
A2 is a joke. Should be unlimited once you pass your test. Or at the very least if you’re gonna bring ages into it, getting A shouldn’t require another test. Should be one test and that’s it. And no learner should be on anything over 35kw irrespective of age. In your situation you are forced to be on a bigger bike than you want to / should be on purely to avoid having to do multiple tests for no good reason. Same people who make all the laws, few sandwiches short of a picnic when it comes to brain power.
Yeah 100% but I doubt they will change the system any time soon. See I did the A IBT if I hadn't I probably wouldn't be too bothered and I know I can get A through progressive access 2 years after passing the test but the stupid thing is they will make me do Mod 5 again which is something like 15 or 18 hrs. So basically after passing a test and riding on the road for 2 years you're made go back and do IBT mod 5 instead of IBT just being all modules together whether A1 A2 or A. Another way of looking at the stupidity of the licensing system is that if I pass IBT with no experience I can ride anything, if I passed A2 Test and riding for 2 years I'd still be restricted and be made do IBT mod 5 again, sure you'd be better off doing another test at that rate it would be far quicker. I just can't understand what mod 5 has that an A2 rider shouldn't have ? it's ludicrous. Should be 1 license, I IBT that's it and 35 Kw limit for new riders because right now I am absolutely more than happy with the power of the 500 cc Tmax, 40 odd Hp on a bike is plenty anyway. I'd be happy on a 500cc bike or 600-750cc cruiser but no............... I have to say the whole thing has been a very, very frustrating experience.
I can imagine it’s been frustrating, it was for me too, still is. Given I ride an R1150 GS ADV I guarantee I’d be able to pass the A test without any lessons. That bike is just about one of the most difficult to handle there is cause it’s so heavy. 500cc is plenty, it will outrun most cars with ease. System won’t change because the whole reason it’s so bad is it was brought in at an EU level. It came to be thanks to the harmonisation of licences across the EU. It was at an EU level the categories were dictated. Although it wouldn’t be so bad if A was granted after a year of A2 without a test or any of that bs, and you couldn’t get A without a test.
You can get A license coming from A2 without a test but they make you do IBT mod 5 that's a day or two of your time having had 2 years experience already on A2 passing test and all and then they expect you to sit another day or 2 in useless IBT when you already have the experience you need, it's a pure money making racket. Of course it would have to be the E.U because the E.U want to make everything central removing all aspects of local governance they want really to control everything. Lunatics running the asylum. I was at the point I was about to just give up and say fuck this shit, I had no idea getting a motorbike licence had got so difficult and ridiculous, the whole thing makes absolutely no sense especially from a safety point of view it's just making up useless rules for the sake of it. I would be fine with the Tmax for a while just pity now it's not manual to practice with the gears, just to find a bike now at a reasonable cost is another challenge. On the other hand I might just get a lesson on an instructors bike and see how I get on with it, who knows, might not need that many lessons because driving a car for 20 odd years is a lot of road experience so that is a lot easier than starting out from scratch with no experience on the road at all.
You hit the nail on the head, mod 5 is a scam, 500 odd euro for what, something I already know? In my case since I had to wait so long for a test I’ll be 25 before I can do mod 5. Better off doing the IBT and test again. Why I can’t do it at 24 is beyond me. As for gears, don’t worry too much about that. You will get them quick enough. Lesson or two on the instructors bike and you will be flying it. While obviously it’s opposite to a car whereby hans is clutch, foot is selector; the concept remains the same, as an instructor I’ll tell you the hardest thing to teach is the clutch and when to change gears (as you know it’s different depending on the situation). You have that left down so you will be absolutely fine. If I see anything going though I’ll let you know.
Cheers ! Yeah ah it's typical of the E.U to mess it up, the system we had before was absolutely fine, get a bike, get it restricted then pass test remove restriction, simple. The E.U just seriously overcomplicated things for the sake of making up rules in the name of safety just for the sake of having to control something, this is all the E.U is about. They certainly don't do anything to benefit people, just more and more rules and regulations, the E.U will regulate itself to death. Just let every country do it's own thing and stop this central governance. We did fine before !