View Full Version : 125cc on L-plates, full licence, motorway?
Right then Oh might .Org.... a question if you will...
A colleague of mine has asked me to ride his new pride & joy from the seller to his house. This is naturally meaning he pays for my transport to the bike, fuel in the bike, and compensatory beer tokens after the keys are handed over.
It's a CBR125RR, and he's only just passed his CBT (yes, he's had a good ribbing from me!), so he's naturally weary about the ride back to his house especially since the easiest route includes motorway & A55 (which you're not allowed on part of on L plates).
So, the question is, where do I stand if I ride it? The bike is taxed/MOT'd & I'm insured for any bike, so that's not a problem.
I see cars on the motorway with L plates all the time, but guess that it's a fully licenced driver. Can you do that legally, or is it just asking for a tug? Same thing for the A55 Colwyn Bay section really (no L-plates allowed).
The bike will be able to do the required minimum speed, and I doubt many coppers would even know it was a 125cc bike to be honest - so I might just remove the L plates for when I'm riding.
Opinions/advice? Much appreciated. :)
You are not required to take the plates off. However, it is very likely if a copper sees you, you can almost guarantee your going to get pulled.
Cover the L plates up and you should be good - highway code only says that the engine has to be over 50cc and that you need a full licence, so you should be good to go.
Mr Speirs
16-10-08, 06:03 PM
Remove the L plates while your riding. It aint rocket surgery :)
BBadger
16-10-08, 06:03 PM
125's are allowed on motorways.
Just no L plates, as your covered your fine, but i would cover them up or take them off before you get going.
Cheers all, so in conclusion, my gut feeling was correct - remove the plates & "enjoy" the ride. :)
Might have to think of the beer following the ride to get me through... piddly little bike that it is...
BBadger
16-10-08, 06:08 PM
Just flintstone style it bk if you want to go faster:rolleyes:
Just flintstone style it bk if you want to go faster:rolleyes:
I was thinking of taking a pole, a sheet, some rope, and a couple of cans of beans to be honest...
Check the insurance again. Mine says I can ride any bike but that bike has to have insurance !!!!
Has your mate got insurance for it, I am guessing he has but you never know.
Why it matters, I don't know. It seems to matter to the insurers though.
I think it's to stop people buying "sporty" bikes and riding them on their er5/gs500 insurance.
custard
16-10-08, 06:27 PM
strip of gaffer tape over it will do it.
Jackie_Black
16-10-08, 06:31 PM
Check the insurance. A friend of mine narrowly escaped points as he was covered to drive anything but the vehicle had no other insurance.
You are not required to take the plates off.
Yes you are... legally, the only person with a full licence who can drive a car or bike with L plates is a qualified instructor. Of course, it's completely ignored by most people and the chances of getting pulled are minimum. On a motorway however, plod would probably take an interest in a bike with L plates. But then again, what are you chances of actually seeing any plod?
BBadger
16-10-08, 06:52 PM
sods law says it will be plod motorway convention the day he does drive with L plates though.
Take them off. Or turn them round if you're a lazy coont.
Yup the bike has to be insured and the person riding it must be allowed to ride other bikes tp.
Check the insurance again. Mine says I can ride any bike but that bike has to have insurance !!!!
Has your mate got insurance for it, I am guessing he has but you never know.
Why it matters, I don't know. It seems to matter to the insurers though.
Check the insurance. A friend of mine narrowly escaped points as he was covered to drive anything but the vehicle had no other insurance.
My insurance must be odd, it says basically that I have TPO cover to ride any other bike, so long as that bike is NOT covered by any other policy while I'm riding it. So unless my mate has insurance that covers any other rider (doubtful) it's on my insurance, otherwise I'm covered on his. Win-win.
strip of gaffer tape over it will do it.
Good idea, black bike, roll of black gaffa tape in the shed...
Spikenipple
16-10-08, 08:03 PM
I rode a mate's NSR125 on the M27 with L plates on without any trouble, although it is a small and relatively quiet motorway.
Dangerous Dave
17-10-08, 07:06 AM
Full licence on a 125cc, no problems. You do not have to remove the L-Plates but I would advise you at least cover them up.
Dicky Ticker
17-10-08, 09:00 AM
You could always take him as pillion
Warthog
17-10-08, 10:22 AM
My insurance says I can ride any other bike TPO OVER 350cc!! I questioned this but they didn't have a good answer.
flimbar
17-10-08, 10:47 AM
My insurance says I can ride any other bike TPO OVER 350cc!! I questioned this but they didn't have a good answer.
Mine says that too, weird, any theories?
You can't show l plates if you have a proper licence - it's 3 points per plate!
yorkie_chris
17-10-08, 10:59 AM
Bit of tape over the plates. Whats so complicated?
Dangerous Dave
17-10-08, 11:05 AM
You can't show l plates if you have a proper licence - it's 3 points per plate!
A load of twaddle mate, how do driving instructors manage when they go to pick up the learners?
Look at all those BSM/RAC/AA learner fleet driving on the roads, they do not all have learner drivers in them.
yorkie_chris
17-10-08, 11:07 AM
Literally an X of gaffer tape over the plate will show any coppers that it's not L plated and avoid trouble, might still get you some attention, but you're insured so a tug isn't going to be end of world.
Luckypants
17-10-08, 11:34 AM
Take your insurance certificate with you and your mate's cover note to show the bike is insured at all times.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069868
A load of twaddle mate, how do driving instructors manage when they go to pick up the learners?
Look at all those BSM/RAC/AA learner fleet driving on the roads, they do not all have learner drivers in them.
I refer you to post number 12.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069868
Vehicles. Any vehicle driven by a learner MUST display red L plates. In Wales, either red D plates, red L plates, or both, can be used. Plates MUST conform to legal specifications and MUST be clearly visible to others from in front of the vehicle and from behind. Plates should be removed or covered when not being driven by a learner (except on driving school vehicles).
Widely ignored, but I think you're just asking for a tug if you don't X them out with tape.
Dangerous Dave
17-10-08, 12:15 PM
I refer you to post number 12.
I stand corrected. So all those mums and dads driving around with L-Plates on there cars without there kid inside learning are breaking the law then?
I think the old bill need more of a refresh on the laws more than anybody else these days....
Dave20046
17-10-08, 12:22 PM
you need to rev the knackers off them to get anywhere and watch the back wheel locking up!
Dave20046
17-10-08, 12:26 PM
I stand corrected. So all those mums and dads driving around with L-Plates on there cars without there kid inside learning are breaking the law then?
I think the old bill need more of a refresh on the laws more than anybody else these days....
yeah they are but coppers don't know the law. As said; x of gaffa tape, job done. That's what my instructor does anyway.
fatneck
17-10-08, 04:03 PM
Whatever you do, take all the paperwork then if you do get plodded that should be the end of it there and then.
PsychoCannon
17-10-08, 04:58 PM
heh when I asked my Insurance company they said I can ride any bike I like on my Insurance...as long as I have the bike owners Permission 0_O.
Well DUHHH!!!!, I didn't know you could get insurance on steeling bikes =p
xXBADGERXx
17-10-08, 08:20 PM
So where have you got to pick this bike up from then Baph ?
So where have you got to pick this bike up from then Baph ?
I'm picking it up from Widnes in the morning, then riding it back down to Caernarfon. So I'll be getting the train up in the morning, then I've arranged with ziv that he'll follow me from Bangor to Caernarfon, and give me a lift back to Bangor. :)
xXBADGERXx
17-10-08, 08:42 PM
Ah ok so your covered on that aspect then , was gonna offer pillion service for you to go collect bike and follow you back etc .
Ah ok so your covered on that aspect then , was gonna offer pillion service for you to go collect bike and follow you back etc .
Cheers fella, but it'll be aiight. :)
fastdruid
17-10-08, 09:29 PM
yeah they are but coppers don't know the law. As said; x of gaffa tape, job done. That's what my instructor does anyway.
Still likely to get a pull if seen. I've been pulled on 2-up on a CBR125, taped over L plated with the owner on the back.
Was quite funny really, saw the police car coming the other way and knew as soon as I did he was going to pull me, watched him in the mirrors do a U turn behind me and follow before flipping the lights on and pulling me over.
"Is this your bike sir?", "er no it's hers" and point to the pillion! :lol:
Didn't even get a producer as he got called away to something more serious.
Anyway, back to any point I was trying to make, you should be OK with taped up L plates but carry all your documents to save having to visit a police station for a producer later...
Druid
Nifty little bike, one of those. I wouldn't have minded one if I'd stopped at CBT.
Dave20046
18-10-08, 11:31 AM
Nifty little bike, one of those. I wouldn't have minded one if I'd stopped at CBT.
I had one they're not brilliant. I can u-turn an sv but not one of those :confused:
And they're sooooo slow!
And they're sooooo slow!
+1 on that!!
In the end, I used the under-seat toolkit & took the L plates off before I moved it from the sellers drive (the dog tried it's best to stop me though).
Then I rode back on the M56/A55 - and OMG, you can overtake, but you have to plan it about 3 weeks in advance - vision in the mirrors was good, but they vibrate a hell of a lot.
For those that know it, Rhuallt hill on the A55 (long downhill 4:3 ratio)... I was tucked in life a mofo, in top gear, and if I'd of turned the throttle any more it'd of probably snapped. Any guesses as to how fast I was going?
Yup, 75mph! :(
Oh, and the alternator has popped on the way back to my colleagues house - good job the bike is still under dealership warranty & breakdown recovery eh?
xXBADGERXx
18-10-08, 09:37 PM
Dude . My Varadero was no better , I managed to squeek 81 out of it down Rhuallt hill , a figure I never ever saw again . I detested that bike , all the 125`s on the market are gutless sacks of crap compared to what I grew up with . I thought my Stan Stephens Stage III Tzr was slow ....... how wrong I was . So you made it in the end without dying of boredom :D
Cmon ffs its a great bike for what it is, A learners bike. Its aimed at new riders so how fast do you want it to go? As for u-turns it is easy on them. When I first got mine I thought it was brilliant. Of course its easy to grow out of but you can't take away from the fact they are great bikes to learn on.
xXBADGERXx
18-10-08, 09:54 PM
They are ****e , end of . I learnt to ride on bikes that actually gave you the opportunity to overtake and make progress . I`m not knocking them , if anyone has spent longer on 125`s on the org than me then stand up and be counted (17 years myself) . The current crop of learner legal bikes have had their nuts removed for legislation reasons . I personally think you would get yourself into trouble trying to guess an overtake on these things (like my Varadero) and having to go back in , My TZR`s , Cagiva Mito , KTM Sting could all go like the clappers and do a decent overtake with ease and less stress .
As for u-turns it is easy on them.
Yea, I'd agree on that, it's definitely a light flickable bike.
I got back on my SV after dropping the CBR off, and it felt like an oil tanker with a spaceship engine!
I personally think you would get yourself into trouble trying to guess an overtake on these things (like my Varadero) and having to go back in
Where the M56 merges into the A55 (just before all the road works)... there was a moment that because of the vibrating vision of a gap in traffic, combined with the 3 week run up to an overtake, I may/may not* of got about 3in from the car in front.
* who am I kidding? :lol: Don't think they were best pleased about it, but like I was going to let go of the throttle!
xXBADGERXx
18-10-08, 10:06 PM
Dude , I was on the Downhill bit of the A55 just before the Chester turnoff and I couldn`t even overtake a car pulling a Caravan , I had to pull in and could almost feel my mates sniggering behind me on bigger bikes . I detested the modern 125`s , My Standard Tzr would have screamed past those cars all the way to 76 mph , the Varadero just got to 70 and chugged for 15 minutes to get the last 6 miles per hour out of it ...... it was the bike that broke me and made me go DAS , so I have that to thank it for that at least .... still miss my smoky 2 stroke youth though :D
2 stroke i salute you and your valiant effort to make 125's fun shame the euro fools killed you off.
xXBADGERXx
18-10-08, 10:24 PM
Only ever owned one 4 stroke 125 ............. Never again LOL , well obviously as I passed my test , BUT .... if anyone offered me a ride on a 125 of any sorts I wouldn`t turn it down . It`s where I cut my teeth and we should all be reminded of where we came/started from . Everybody should have the experience of riding a sorted stroker :D
i did and loved it the smell god that smell and that ting ting ting reaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh ning ning noise really fun.
xXBADGERXx
18-10-08, 10:35 PM
I treated my TZR`s to Rock Oil "Gold" , it was £9 a litre every week and dayammmn , was the smell worth it :D
rock oil yeah thats the stuff mine just had the the rock oil in the green bottle used to go through a fair whack if i remeber rightly but surprisingly it was a dead reliable bike.
xXBADGERXx
18-10-08, 10:50 PM
Well it was better to have the oil pump turned up a tad higher rather than starve it LOL . I only used Gold as I had a stage III tune and the Gold had a higher Sheer strength on the oil which made me think it would be better for a crazier state of tune ......... I may be wrong but my baby stayed together for me and we had many a happy gallivant into the wilds of North Wales :D
yorkie_chris
19-10-08, 11:39 AM
Nah castrol TTS FTW in the smell stakes.
xXBADGERXx
19-10-08, 11:40 AM
I avoided it as it made me feel sick ...... then I had to use it in my Mito later on as it was the only 2 Stroke oil around here on sale . I held my breath on starting up and at traffic lights :D
yorkie_chris
19-10-08, 11:41 AM
Oooh a mito. I've got a planet in the garage.
Hmmm if I've got the money, a powervalve motor would be nice in it...
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