Waiting times for bike tests?

SuprSi

I've just been told by the ever so nice man at the Driving Test Centre that the waiting times for the bike test are the same as for the car test. Surely this can't be true? I remember speaking to a different person at the start of the year and she told me something different.

Am I really going to have to wait for a year before I can take my test?

tk123

Get a letter from work and you'll have it in 3 weeks!

sutty

Yep, I applied for mine 2 weeks ago. I have it on Tuesday hehe

But yeah. The reason they are the same is that the instructer follows you in a car. Not on a bike. So there is no set instructer for bikes in each test center.

SuprSi

sutty wrote:

The reason they are the same is that the instructer follows you in a car. Not on a bike.

Hehe no filtering during my test then! I was going to use work for my car licence - do you reckon they'd be a little suspect if I used it for both my car and bike? Probably nobody would notice.

sutty

nope, I just made a photocopy of the note from work and put it in with my bike test applacation. not questions asked and they put both my tests on the one day to make things easy. Cars at 1:10pm and the bike is at 4pm

Steffano2002

Ah here c'mon! I applied a month ago and I'm still waiting for my letter telling me when it will be on! Might write myself a letter on company headed paper to speed things up!

tk123

Don't hold your breath Steffano - you won't get the letter to say when it is until abt 3-4 weeks before the test!

murphaph

The bike test queue is not the same as the car test (it's as separate as the HGV and bus test in fact). It's done by a specified tester in each centre. Some centres have no dedicated bike tester at all and one comes around on rotation, performing blocks of tests.

Raheny is your best bet.

Wishbone Ash

murphaph wrote:

Some centres have no dedicated bike tester at all and one comes around on rotation, performing blocks of tests.

Raheny is your best bet.

I did both my bike tests (failed first one) in Finglas and was called within a couple of weeks of applying.

I think Finglas must have a few bike testers as I've seen some of the tests run simultaneously. I had the same tester for the bike and articulated truck.

Steffano2002

murphaph wrote:

Raheny is your best bet.

Well, I applied in Raheny one month ago today and still nothing...

Chunkylover

ive been told to expect 14 months for wicklow, applied last august and called a while back and was told that it would be october if im lucky, anyone know what happens if snows/freezes etc on your test date

Horatio

Did my test in Wexford after waiting 4 months but did it in the middle of a monsoon, felt good when the tester had to get out of his car to walk along side me, I was already soaked bit it was fun watching him trying to stay dry.
Don't think they would cancel brcause of ice but my instrutor at the time told me that out of the 20 odd thousand applications for a test yearly only about 6 thousand actually do the test, most are refused at the centre for not being taxed, insured or for failing to have proper protecive clothing, ie helmet,
opther reasons are that people just don't show up and its too late at that point to give that slot to someone else

watsgone

Hey does anyone know what they are like around tipperary and kilkenny.

I would like to get the licence sorted