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I've been asked by a couple of people about the review I did 6 months ago. I couldn't find the complete piece so Im going to re post it again.

On getting a scooter licence.

Getting my L’s.

I was looking at scooters one day when I found the one I wanted at the right price. I put it on visa and was ready put it on the back of the ute when the dealer asked me if I had booked to get my L’s. I hadn’t so he did it for me on line. The Pre learner course was for two 3 1/2 hour sessions over two days and cost $72. As I had experience riding dirt bikes the dealer suggested that I do it on a manual bike rather than an auto scooter. I did some research later and found out that as a mature rider (over 30) it really didn’t matter that much if I did it on a auto or manual as I would be able to get an unrestricted licence when I got my P’s. So I changed the booking to do the test on an auto twist and go scooter.

There was quite a long waiting time before I could do the test and I ended up having a scooter but no licence for about 4 weeks. The inevitable happened and although I didn’t get caught I was essentially uninsured and taking a major risk but I was like a kid at xmas with a new toy.

2000 ks later it came time to finally doing the Pre Learner test. I was glad to have made the decision to do it on the scoot. It was so much easier than the guys and girls on the 250cc Honda road bikes and I got to ride a couple of other scooters to boot. All of the riding is slow circuit work under 20k/h. One girl failed because she had trouble holding up the Honda. It was pretty basic but it did get me to think about certain safety issues like turning my head to check my blind spot, lane splitting and leaving enough buffer space between me and other cars.

Anyway I passed the course and that afternoon I went to the RTA. I had booked a knowledge test for the next day but asked over the counter if they could slip me in and they did. The test is mainly commonsense multiple choice and I’d revised it on the RTA website a couple of times. If you’ve driven a car you’ll know most of it but a young girl sitting beside me failed.

The only mistake I made was telling the RTA that I had type 2 diabetes. At this point they said that I had to get a doctors certificate saying I was fit to drive. This ended up taking several hours and I only just got back before 5pm to pay my $20 get my photo taken and be issued with a new licence with R LRN A written on it. Now I’ve got my L on my scoot and at last I am street legal.



Provisional Rider Training.

The next day I tried to book online for my provisional rider training. 1st problem was that there were no vacancies for the next 60 days at any of the Sydney locations. Then 1 position turned up but when I tried to get it the computer told me I was not eligible to book it. This is because the RTA says you need to have had your learners for 3 months before going for the provisional rider training, unless you are over 30. Then you can do what I was doing. But I had to go into the motor registry and book it over the counter. Two hours later the 1 position left in Sydney was still there and so I made my booking for a week later. It cost $151 for 8hrs of rider training and the 15 minute MOST rider skills test.

The training centre was in an industrial site in Sydney with several slow riding circuits laid out. There were two 125cc scooters, and about 6X 250cc road bikes. Some guys hired bikes which cost $150 for the day. Again the course was about slow circuit riding skills. There was work on weaving slowly around 5 cones and coming to a stop, there was a tight u turn (about two lanes wide) without feet touching the ground, There was braking quickly from 20/25k/h plus a left hand swerve at the same speed. The course was set up differently from the MOST test later in the day, but contained the same components. The instructor really pushed us to do head checks before we did anything. The session was interspersed with some classroom talks on motorcycle safety.

After lunch we went on a road ride with several stops. It was single file through a series of industrial areas, suburban back streets and a short run on an arterial road. Returning to the training centre we had one last practice on the slow circuit. Then they set the course for the MOST rider skills test.



The MOST rider skills test.

The MOST rider skills test was on the slow riding circuit and we had to do it 1 on 1 with the instructor who had put his RTA hat on and stressed that we would loose points if we didn’t do things right. 8 points and you were out. If you stalled, crashed, or hit an obstacle you would be eliminated. I was glad I was on a twist and go scoot, which seemed much more adept for this sort of stuff than a 250cc Honda road bike.

Although we had been practicing all day it was quite nerve racking. You had to do it exactly by the book. There were slow turns thru narrow lines, cone weaving, stopping accurately, stopping as fast as possible from 20k/h and swerving around an obstacle from 20k/h and always remembering to do head checks for your blind spots when starting. Forget to do this 3 times and you were out. The girl before me was doing well till she hit an obstacle on her last test (a half tennis ball) and was eliminated.

I decided to play it safe and did everything slowly and carefully. Only just remembered to do the head checks as I started. It really helps with cones and obstacles to keep your eyes on the horizon and your peripheral vision takes care of it. Look to where you want to go to, not at the ground beneath your wheels. It was tricky getting to know what 20k/h felt like without looking at the Speedo. Under 20 and you had to go again, too far over 20 and the obstacle got tricky. I don’t even think I looked at the tennis ball on my last run. At the end of it the instructor shook my hand and congratulated me. I’d passed. I lost 2 points because I didn’t brake quickly enough. Another guy lost 6 points for forgetting to do head checks. But we all got through and with great relief we were issued with pink completion certificates. There was a Kiwi with a big grin. “I’ve been riding bikes for 20 years and I finally got a licence” he beamed.

It was dark as I headed for home when the heavens opened up on me and it started pissing down. That was my first night ride in torrential rain which was an interesting lesson in itself .

Postscript. This morning I went to the motor registry, paid my $20 and got my new unrestricted motor riders licence. After 10 days, and three licences, one doctors certificate and $263 I was street legal to go ride a Super bike… (but I’ll just stick to the Daelim for now.)

petegailey:

I've been asked by a couple of people about the review I did 6 months ago. I couldn't find the complete piece so Im going to re post it again.

On getting a scooter licence.

Getting my L’s.

I was looking at scooters one day when I found the one I wanted at the right price. I put it on visa and was ready put it on the back of the ute when the dealer asked me if I had booked to get my L’s. I hadn’t so he did it for me on line. The Pre learner course was for two 3 1/2 hour sessions over two days and cost $72. As I had experience riding dirt bikes the dealer suggested that I do it on a manual bike rather than an auto scooter. I did some research later and found out that as a mature rider (over 30) it really didn’t matter that much if I did it on a auto or manual as I would be able to get an unrestricted licence when I got my P’s. So I changed the booking to do the test on an auto twist and go scooter.

There was quite a long waiting time before I could do the test and I ended up having a scooter but no licence for about 4 weeks. The inevitable happened and although I didn’t get caught I was essentially uninsured and taking a major risk but I was like a kid at xmas with a new toy.

2000 ks later it came time to finally doing the Pre Learner test. I was glad to have made the decision to do it on the scoot. It was so much easier than the guys and girls on the 250cc Honda road bikes and I got to ride a couple of other scooters to boot. All of the riding is slow circuit work under 20k/h. One girl failed because she had trouble holding up the Honda. It was pretty basic but it did get me to think about certain safety issues like turning my head to check my blind spot, lane splitting and leaving enough buffer space between me and other cars.

Anyway I passed the course and that afternoon I went to the RTA. I had booked a knowledge test for the next day but asked over the counter if they could slip me in and they did. The test is mainly commonsense multiple choice and I’d revised it on the RTA website a couple of times. If you’ve driven a car you’ll know most of it but a young girl sitting beside me failed.

The only mistake I made was telling the RTA that I had type 2 diabetes. At this point they said that I had to get a doctors certificate saying I was fit to drive. This ended up taking several hours and I only just got back before 5pm to pay my $20 get my photo taken and be issued with a new licence with R LRN A written on it. Now I’ve got my L on my scoot and at last I am street legal.

 

Thats too spooky..Thats just about the same story for me only a week or so ago..

 Hmm..I made the same mistake of telling of the T2 Diabetes...but the RTA cert is still in my pocket and Ive got my Ls..I'll drop the cert on my next day off...Just looked at my licence and its got the C, R LRN then the date it expires..no A. it does state Auto on the back though 

Ive been a good boy and had the scoot 5 weeks and still havent rode it(except from the garage to the backyard and back again,SLOWLY)...still waiting on the Jacket from the store..No safety gear, No scootin. 

 If you ride/own a Auto 125cc or smaller you can get a conditional rider licence in NSW, whatever that is. Anything geared(if there is any less than 125cc)Auto +125cc and up must be on a M/C licence

Linz:

 If you ride/own a Auto 125cc or smaller you can get a conditional rider licence in NSW, whatever that is. Anything geared(if there is any less than 125cc)Auto +125cc and up must be on a M/C licence

The NSW RTA has increased the CC capacity for automatic exemption from the Scooter License course.

Effective immediately the NSW RTA has increased the capacity from 125cc to 160cc for exemption from the pre-provisional course for automatic motorcycles and scooters. Riders of scooters less than 160cc will still need to attend and pass the pre-learner course (7 hours held over 2 days) and the Motorcycle Operator Skills Test or MOST (1 hour). However they will not be required to attend the 6 hour pre-provisional course immediately prior to the MOST.

Details of the new rules can be found on the RTA's website:-

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/gettingalicence/motorcycle/about_motorcycle_courses.html
(Cam; Sydney Scooter Club ƒorum}

Thanks for posting this again Pete. Much appreciated.

Tony

Linz:

If you ride/own a Auto 125cc or smaller you can get a conditional rider licence in NSW, whatever that is. Anything geared(if there is any less than 125cc)Auto +125cc and up must be on a M/C licence

Something I've been trying to find an answer too...

It's my understanding that this recent change by the RTA is only about making the Pre-P course (but not the MOST) optional for "low power" automatic riders.

Now, using the provided scoot at the NSW Pre-L course gets you an "automatic only" restriction (one year, blah.blah) -- yet I'm confused by seeing lots of comments that it's also an "automatic and <=125/160cc" restriction... RTA handbooks & etc. don't explicit state this anywhere that I can find, "only people on innernets.."

is it correct or incorrect that I'll have to pass the pre-L on a "full" motorcycle before riding an automatic scoot >160cc on an L-licence?

 

(I ask this because I've failed the Pre-L twice on a motorbike from not having the Clutch Gene.. :-/ )

c.j.b:

is it correct or incorrect that I'll have to pass the pre-L on a "full" motorcycle before riding an automatic scoot >160cc on an L-licence?

 

(I ask this because I've failed the Pre-L twice on a motorbike from not having the Clutch Gene.. :-/ )

NO, I did my L's on their Auto scooter and my licence shows R LRN, with an auto restriction on the back of the card(Which should disappear after 12 months on the full licence).

 IF you go the 'Conditional'(Ls and No MOST) riders licence you will be restricted to auto  <160cc(Kinda like the WA/QLD 50cc rules). I can only assume your new card would show R CON or RC LRN??. I feel you need to have your drivers licence first for that though

 I completed the MOST (NSW) course a few days ago and can now get my full liscence. I have had L's for just on 3 months.

I did the course on my yamaha majesty 400 - a big maxi. On the day I did it, 3 of the 6 in my group failed and one more lost 8 points (9 is a fail).

I did the course at Clyde, near paramatta (Sydney). They have courses 7 days a week and it is a relatively easy place to get a booking for a course because of this.

I went to the RTA website and found the information about the MOST test and practised the things that would be in the test - about 8 sessions of 30 - 40 minutes each. I also ride 200km each to work and home. In practise, I cut 4 tennis balls into halves and used them as markers for the drills shown in the MOST test info from the RTA.

On the course / test day, the most important thing was to listen to the instructor and concentrate all the time. I found that as I was listening and making an effort to participate, the instructor was more helpful to me (teachers love to teach people who want to learn - I am a teacher). In the end, although I was nervous, the test was not too hard.

1 guy who failed just did not follow the test instructions = instant fail   /    1 guy didn't pay attention all day and the instructor asked him if he wanted to leave well before the test. He then knocked over some cones and failed the swerve test - probably as a result of not lostening all day.   The third failure happened because the rider did lots of silly things on the road ride including riding with an undone helmet.

 

The guys who failed were genuinely unintelligent - not trying to be mean but they struggled to understand simple instructions. 

 

The instructor was excellent, his instructions were very clear and he gave good advice on how to improve and ride safely.

 

 

 These are great reviews and especially appreciated since I'm doing my MOST test next Saturday.

I will check out the RTA site but does anyone have any 'must practice' advice that would really help me? I have been riding for 4+ months,  7 days a week and commuting into the city etc throughout this time. I think I have a firm grasp on not only my scoot but also road basics etc. That being said I don't tend to swerve through cones at low speeds too much on a regular ride 

Thanks in advance!

Go to an empty car park and practice riding really slowly with your rear break half on doing figure eights, dont look down, look where you want to go. Nothing in the test is faster than 20kph. Its all about riding really slowly.

just one question, the RTA website says there are 8 test segments but only mentions 4 (left turn and stop in the box, cone weave and u-turn, braking and obstacle turn). what are the other 4 segments?

jenman:

just one question, the RTA website says there are 8 test segments but only mentions 4 (left turn and stop in the box, cone weave and u-turn, braking and obstacle turn). what are the other 4 segments?

That's all I remember doing.

jenman:

just one question, the RTA website says there are 8 test segments but only mentions 4 (left turn and stop in the box, cone weave and u-turn, braking and obstacle turn). what are the other 4 segments?

 

From VERY recent memory

1) Short left curve (stay between the lines)

2) Come to a stop with front tire in painted box (no speed requirement)

3) Slow weave around cones

4) U-Turn within 2-carspace area (don't hit lines)

5) Hard braking test at 20-25 km/h

6) Fast 'weave' around tennis balls (20-25km/h)

I think that was the whole test as far as I remember...

IS there a road ride incorporated in that too??

Linz:

IS there a road ride incorporated in that too??

 

Not as part of the test but it is part of the 'day'..yes

I'm booked in to do my MOST on 20th January. I'm just a little worried about doing it though. I've been road riding for plenty of K's each day but the slow riding gets me. I went out today to an empty carpark and practiced the U-turns and cone weaving. I think I have that okay but will keep practicing. I did the quick stops okay and also practise the obstacle turns - which I did okay most of the time - hit the tennis balls once or twice though, so that would be an instant fail wouldn't it? I just seem to get so nervous when I'm trying to do these things!! So does getting my license rely entirely on the MOST test? And am I right in understanding that you practise these exercises first, then do a road ride and then do you test? Any help with settling the nerves would be appreciated. Any tips on anything else I should be doing?