New to bikes

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 24-11-2017 12:21am #1

Hi all,

Decided to book my theory test for the bikes for Thursday !

(Actually what I'm doing is doing my theory for C licence and A licence in the same day, going to do my C licence first and get that and during that time the 6 months waiting period for the bike test will be ticking away !)

So I have the theory test Thursday, is this the same as the car test ? I downloaded a free theory test app on the android phone and selected motorcycle but don't get an awful lot of questions for them,

Are there many specific questions on bikes or anything I should know for the theory test ?

(I should mention I've had the car licence for nearly 9 years and a bus licence nearly 4 years so not a complete newbie except for never riding a bike)

For IBT , I'll be hoping to do IBT before riding any bike, hopefully when the weather improves and get some practice going with an instructor,

Do you folk have any recommendations for instructors who will provide the bike and gear at a good rate for IBT (full category A licence) and also hire of bike for test ?

My goal from this is hopefully get a motorbike alongside the car, a comfortable enough bike for commuting, any tips on this ?

And finally when I do go to buy a bike hopefully in spring, what would be a good used bike to go for that would be comfortable to use where I won't be bent over ? (As much as I'd love something mad like a ninja, it's not the right thing for me)

I'd appreciate any and all advice ! Thanks folks !

Goose81 · 24-11-2017 1:52am

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

Hi all,

Decided to book my theory test for the bikes for Thursday !

(Actually what I'm doing is doing my theory for C licence and A licence in the same day, going to do my C licence first and get that and during that time the 6 months waiting period for the bike test will be ticking away !)

So I have the theory test Thursday, is this the same as the car test ? I downloaded a free theory test app on the android phone and selected motorcycle but don't get an awful lot of questions for them,

Are there many specific questions on bikes or anything I should know for the theory test ?

(I should mention I've had the car licence for nearly 9 years and a bus licence nearly 4 years so not a complete newbie except for never riding a bike)

For IBT , I'll be hoping to do IBT before riding any bike, hopefully when the weather improves and get some practice going with an instructor,

Do you folk have any recommendations for instructors who will provide the bike and gear at a good rate for IBT (full category A licence) and also hire of bike for test ?

My goal from this is hopefully get a motorbike alongside the car, a comfortable enough bike for commuting, any tips on this ?

And finally when I do go to buy a bike hopefully in spring, what would be a good used bike to go for that would be comfortable to use where I won't be bent over ? (As much as I'd love something mad like a ninja, it's not the right thing for me)

I'd appreciate any and all advice ! Thanks folks !

To answer one question, no it's not the same. There's about 9 different questions for a bike. Download the test cd off of the pirate bay (I didn't tell you that) it has bike and car

Where are you in the country?
Martin O'Reilly in tallaght is good and Mick Finlay in Kildare is good, I've used both

What bike do you want?
Chopper, cruiser , superbike

No bike is comfortable for commuting, I've had to start commuting on mine and it's ****. Takes the fun out of it , I'd say most people who commute don't even like bikes , it's a lifestyle choice. It gets very old very quick and my commute is only 20 mins

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 24-11-2017 2:18am

Goose81 wrote: »

To answer one question, no it's not the same. There's about 9 different questions for a bike. Download the test cd off of the pirate bay (I didn't tell you that) it has bike and car

Where are you in the country?
Martin O'Reilly in tallaght is good and Mick Finlay in Kildare is good, I've used both

What bike do you want?
Chopper, cruiser , superbike

No bike is comfortable for commuting, I've had to start commuting on mine and it's ****. Takes the fun out of it , I'd say most people who commute don't even like bikes , it's a lifestyle choice. It gets very old very quick and my commute is only 20 mins

Thanks I will get my hands on a cd.

I'm in Wicklow and work in Dublin so going to the likes of tallaght or close Kildare would be fine, its the bike and gear (jacket , helmet I would require the use of since I don't have my own)

I wouldn't want a Harley Davidson type bike or ninja either, I don't want to be leaning forward on one, but a middle of the road type bike that can be comfortable enough, something along the lines of a modern day honda duevalle perhaps

It may not be the most pleasent way to commute but with traffic volumes increasing, the car is taking longer everyday sadly

Lumen · 24-11-2017 10:00am

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

It may not be the most pleasent way to commute but with traffic volumes increasing, the car is taking longer everyday sadly

I commute from Wicklow to Dublin and it is both fun and comfortable.

Ignore grinch81 :pac:

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 24-11-2017 5:30pm

Lumen wrote: »

I commute from Wicklow to Dublin and it is both fun and comfortable.

Ignore grinch81 :pac:

I'd say it's great fun wondering will we make it to work alive or not

In all seriousness, traffic has gotten shocking for the commute into Dublin and hopefully a motorbike will shave off a few mins. Not expecting miracles but surely will be better

Lumen · 24-11-2017 7:21pm

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

In all seriousness, traffic has gotten shocking for the commute into Dublin and hopefully a motorbike will shave off a few mins. Not expecting miracles but surely will be better

In the very worst traffic it takes me 45 mins to get from Glen of the Downs to St Stephens Green. Over the summer it's more like 30.

The the other day (after the big rain) the traffic was barely moving on the entire route. Horrific.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 24-11-2017 8:33pm

Lumen wrote: »

In the very worst traffic it takes me 45 mins to get from Glen of the Downs to St Stephens Green. Over the summer it's more like 30.

The the other day (after the big rain) the traffic was barely moving on the entire route. Horrific.

In the car at the moment, I'm in very south Wicklow , nearly Wexford !

If I commute at 5am for a 6am start in work (phibsborough) I'll make it no bother with time to spare for coffee obeying all laws etc

If I leave at 7 or 7:30 it could easily take over 2 hours to get in, that's just not workable

Then coming home, again if I come home late after say 8 it's about an hour but during rush hour or even during day time it's anything from 1hr 30 to over 2 hours again

If I could even cut that down by about 30 mins over all I'd be happy but from what I hear that is very easy !

Cian_ok · 24-11-2017 9:20pm

Lumen wrote: »

In the very worst traffic it takes me 45 mins to get from Glen of the Downs to St Stephens Green. Over the summer it's more like 30.

The the other day (after the big rain) the traffic was barely moving on the entire route. Horrific.

Horrific for them. I really got a buzz flying past them :-)

And a buzz zooming through the puddles... my inner child had a ball!

arybvtcw0eolkf · 25-11-2017 12:03am

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

In all seriousness, traffic has gotten shocking for the commute into Dublin and hopefully a motorbike will shave off a few mins. Not expecting miracles but surely will be better

I've a 25km commute, my fav modes of transport to and from work (year round) is cycling, motorbike and last is the car.

I've to be in work for 08:45, if I've to take the car via the M50 I've to be on the M50 before 7am.

Taking the motorbike I probably do it in 20-30 minutes comfortably.

Bicycle is less than an hour (I have two bikes, depends on whether I'm on a road or hybrid bike), this is my preferred mode because I love cycling, on the same route over twenty years now

Long winded reply sorry, just pointing out that yes you'll save a lot of time over a car getting into and out of Dublin during the busy rush hour traffic.

listermint · 25-11-2017 9:04am

Probably passed the OP sitting in their car regularly enjoying my commute in.

Wouldn't change it for the world.

Grumpy Bike Wizard · 25-11-2017 1:18pm

Same, car commute (Clane to city centre) went from an hour in 2007 (before they took the lights and roundabout out at the M50/N4 junction), down to 45 minutes, then up to 90 minutes and more since 3-4 years ago when things started picking up again.

On the bike it was 45 minutes pretty much on the button every day. Some days are better than others in terms of weather of course.

I also moved,because even 45 mins was doing my head in eventually, south wicklow to phibs is one of those commutes where mode of transport is only going to do so much for you!

Jackdaw89 · 25-11-2017 4:53pm

I'm new enough to bikes and I can't remember many if any boring spins and it's satisfying beyond words to pass a line of stationary cars in traffic or effortlessly pull away from a some dick in a Audi or clapped out jap import sitting on your back wheel.
Can't comment on commuting living only 2 minutes from work and on that journey I might meet the odd tractor. Iv always found driving cars boring but with the bike I might drive for hours on end with no real destination in mind.
I'd say do your theory test it's slightly different to the car then do your IBT, you'll get an idea of what gear to buy and what you want in a bike after doing your IBT.

yer man! · 26-11-2017 7:03pm

I'm new to bikes as well, started in August and loving every minute of it. For the IBT I used Martin O'Reilly in Tallaght, found him very good, really patient and easy going. Had never been on a bike before doing the IBT and all the gear was provided so I found it fantastic. After the IBT I bought a 600cc Honda for committing to work. Car was taking over an hour to get home and the bike cuts that time in half. As other people have said here, it's just a pleasure to be out riding, I now love my commute every day.

colm_c · 27-11-2017 12:23am

I'm commuting over 10 years by bike all year round, and for me it's the only way to get through city traffic.

If you're planning on commuting a decent distance, buy the best gear you can to keep the elements out and get a bike with some sort of fairing.

If you're dry and comfortable it makes the journey so much more pleasant.

colm_c · 27-11-2017 12:23am

I'm commuting over 10 years by bike all year round, and for me it's the only way to get through city traffic.

If you're planning on commuting a decent distance, buy the best gear you can to keep the elements out and get a bike with some sort of fairing.

If you're dry and comfortable it makes the journey so much more pleasant.

Cienciano · 27-11-2017 7:19pm

colm_c wrote: »

I'm commuting over 10 years by bike all year round, and for me it's the only way to get through city traffic.

If you're planning on commuting a decent distance, buy the best gear you can to keep the elements out and get a bike with some sort of fairing.

If you're dry and comfortable it makes the journey so much more pleasant.

Agree with you here colm. I'd put a screen over fairing though and decent gear is vital. Goretext stuff for the winter. I use the same jacket all year round now, but worth having summer and winter gloves that fit well. Well fitting gear makes it far more comfortable. That's probably fairly obvious.
A flip up helmet is great, if you're going through slow moving traffic or stopping a lot in the city in the summer it's great to be able to flip it up

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 28-11-2017 12:22pm

Thanks for the good points there regarding gear and bike

For some reason I had it in my head to get a flip up helmet, probably for the show city speed to keep ventilated.

Bike wise was thinking like a modern comfortable honda duevalle..... Or , dare I say ..... BMW ? :O

Theory test in two days time, any pointers or trick questions to be careful of ?

Thanks again lads

Grumpy Bike Wizard · 28-11-2017 12:29pm

Flip up lids are grand, but most are not designed to be flipped up while moving. Personally I wouldn't wear any kind of open face lid but up to yourself. I wear a flip up and keep it locked down at all times.

Deauville is a grand bike, I had one a few years ago, can be a bit heavy. Something like the BMW F800gs or F800GT is lighter and probably easier on the eye, a little more fun as well.

BMW are grand, they're just expensive and you get hassle from spas.

frozenfrozen · 28-11-2017 1:11pm

courier, IBT instructor, garda, smoker, etc.. flip up lid is amazing but for your first helmet I would suggest you get something with no designs on it, no flip up or clasp or flip down visor etc and just get a basic lid with a good safety rating.

a basic lid for 200 euro will be much better than a 200 euro one with flip up and flashy lights and drop down visor and other gadgets

I made a mistake buying my agv k5 for 245 euro 2 years ago, they can be had for less than 200 now and they always felt that way. 250 euro 2 years ago could have got me a new old stock more premium helmet

I don't think there are any tricky questions in the theory test. Minimum tyre tread is 1.00 mm on bikes which is different to cars

Cienciano · 28-11-2017 2:18pm

Worth a trip to Cotters for gear.
https://www.cottermc.com/

I posted in the bargain thread, but not a bad price if you don't mind yellow:
https://www.cottermc.com/ls2-ff393-convert-hi-viz-yellow.html.html

I just bought a helmet off these: https://www.thevisorshop.com/ but if you're buying a helmet definitely try it on first

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 30-11-2017 8:13am

Theory test today lads,

Here's hoping !

All the tests / pre tests I did on the disc I passed , some very well some just bearly !

Light a candle !

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 30-11-2017 12:49pm

Well lads, I did two theory tests today

Truck theory test - 89/100 - passed

Motorcycle theory test - 34/40 - fail.

But sure not giving up , booked back in for the 11th December and will do plenty of practice in the run up !

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 30-11-2017 12:50pm

Well lads, I did two theory tests today

Truck theory test - 89/100 - passed

Motorcycle theory test - 34/40 - fail.

But sure not giving up , booked back in for the 11th December and will do plenty of practice in the run up !

frozenfrozen · 30-11-2017 2:08pm

what questions caught you out if you can remember, just for the next person looking up theory tests on here

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 30-11-2017 4:19pm

frozenfrozen wrote: »

what questions caught you out if you can remember, just for the next person looking up theory tests on here

More than I expected to be honest.

They related to riding the bike itself ,

Rules of the road were fine.

I actually think the blood alcohol level for a novice driver caught me. I said max was 10g/ml or whatever it was and the other limits were 20, 80 and 90

Taking emergency/corrective action I got one wrong
Vulnerable road users I got one wrong
Two wrong on riding motorbike
Observance of safe distance one wrong
Drugs and alcohol one wrong. (Which I think is the novice driver one)

GBX · 30-11-2017 4:23pm

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

More than I expected to be honest.

They related to riding the bike itself ,

Rules of the road were fine.

I actually think the blood alcohol level for a novice driver caught me. I said max was 10g/ml or whatever it was and the other limits were 20, 80 and 90

Taking emergency/corrective action I got one wrong
Vulnerable road users I got one wrong
Two wrong on riding motorbike
Observance of safe distance one wrong
Drugs and alcohol one wrong. (Which I think is the novice driver one)

At least you know where it went wrong. And fair play for having it booked again. You should be well versed on it by the time the next one comes around

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 30-11-2017 4:42pm

GBX wrote: »

At least you know where it went wrong. And fair play for having it booked again. You should be well versed on it by the time the next one comes around

I'm hoping so !

I don't have a disc for the car / bike myself but the local library has one that I've been spending some time on so I'll keep chipping away on that, back for the 11th so hopefully plenty learned by then

I think one that sticks in my mind is going into a left bend it asked me what position I should take entering the bend and I tossed and flipped between center of road and just right of center. But I opted for center in the end thinking leaving room for any vehicle that might straddle the line coming against the motorcycle ,

Maybe they were looking for just right of center going into a left bend

Or they could've been looking to keep close to left for the left hand bend ? But I opted against keeping left incase visibility was reduced ?

thos · 30-11-2017 4:51pm

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

I'm hoping so !

I don't have a disc for the car / bike myself but the local library has one that I've been spending some time on so I'll keep chipping away on that, back for the 11th so hopefully plenty learned by then

I think one that sticks in my mind is going into a left bend it asked me what position I should take entering the bend and I tossed and flipped between center of road and just right of center. But I opted for center in the end thinking leaving room for any vehicle that might straddle the line coming against the motorcycle ,

Maybe they were looking for just right of center going into a left bend

Or they could've been looking to keep close to left for the left hand bend ? But I opted against keeping left incase visibility was reduced ?

For a left hand band, you would be in a right-hand position in the lane in order to give yourself better visibility through the corner. This is on the assumption that it is clear and safe to do so.

Edit to ad - take a look at the RSA Bike leafleft, it covers a lot of the motorcycle information, and covers things like road position
http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/Road%20Safety/Motorcycles/This_is_your_bike.pdf

Cian_ok · 01-12-2017 10:34am

thos wrote: »

For a left hand band, you would be in a right-hand position in the lane in order to give yourself better visibility through the corner. This is on the assumption that it is clear and safe to do so.

I remember in my test getting a similar question and getting confused. Just remember that the answer depends on if they ask your *road* position or your *lane* position.
OP mentioned road. You mentioned lane.

TheShow · 01-12-2017 3:28pm

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

I'd say it's great fun wondering will we make it to work alive or not

In all seriousness, traffic has gotten shocking for the commute into Dublin and hopefully a motorbike will shave off a few mins. Not expecting miracles but surely will be better

I invested in a scooter, just 50cc, to avoid having to do IBT etc. Commuting up the N81 from Blesso in to the city centre.
It takes an hour. The commute itself is grand, but the weather can be horrible.
Starting to look at the IBT now to move up to something bigger so I keep ahead of the traffic rather than driving on the hard shoulder and reduce the commute time even more!

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime · 11-12-2017 12:37pm

Passed the theory test today for the motorbike

A respectable 39/40

Very happy with that so off to get the permit today hopefully to get the clock ticking on that 6month waiting period before sitting test !

Will be back when there's more progress on this.

Thanks for all advice and help folks !

New to bikes

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