Can You Ride A Motorbike On A Car Licence In The UK?

Want to get the thrill and experience of riding a motorcycle, halving your wheels from four to two? Well thankfully it is incredibly easy to do so these days with the CBT being very accessible.

To ride a motorcycle on the road you must first pass a Compulsory Basic Training test, CBT for short. This test allows riders of 16-years-old to ride a limited 50cc motorcycle on the road at a maximum speed of 28mph, at 17-years old the rider can automatically upgrade to a 125cc motorcycle on this same CBT test without any additional training, whilst riding with a CBT the rider must display 7”x 7” ‘L’ plates on the front and back of the motorcycle and re-take the CBT every two years.

What if I want to ride on the roads without taking a CBT?

It is incredibly difficult to ride on the roads without taking your CBT with most cases it being completely illegal to do so, even if you have your full car license. There is however one loophole thanks to grandfathers’ rights that allow car drivers who gained their driving license prior to 31st January 2001 to ride a 50cc moped with a maximum speed of 50km/h without the requirement of the CBT or any further testing.

The on-road sessions are a minimum of two hours long, once the instructor is happy with each part of the test and happy that a basic level of understanding has been shown, they will move on to the next stage, eventually handing out a pass if they feel the rider is capable of riding at the CBT standard.

The CBT is incredibly hard to fail as it is designed to give you the best training possible with the goal always being a pass, you will continue to train and train until the instructor feels you have reached a satisfactory level and can ride on the roads by yourself.

The license lasts for two years and must be re-taken every two years to prove that the rider is competent and can still ride to the minimum standards set out by the test.

The A2 test consists of four parts, the CBT, theory and hazard perception test and the practical test module one and module two. If a rider already holds a valid CBT at the time of taking their A2, they do not need to retake this. If the rider holds a valid A1 license, they will not be required to re-do a CBT or theory test.

A motorcycle with a cc of more than 395cc will be used for the tests, even if you don’t plan on riding a motorcycle of this size.

At 24-years-old a rider no longer needs to take the A2 test and can do a ‘direct access’ test to ride unrestricted, riders under 24-years-old must have held an A2 license for two years and be over 21 to be able to complete the test before 24. For example a 21 year old who passed their A2 at 19 and has held the license for more than two years will be allowed to do their full unrestricted A license.

The items they will be tested on in the full unrestricted license will be the same as the A2 however will be on a bigger capacity motorcycle.

The full A1/A2/A licenses consist of a theory test with 50 questions and a pass requirement of 43 or more and a video hazard perception test to ensure you can quickly identify possible hazards on the road.

Module 1 is a car park based course that will test and help to develop the skills required to complete slower manoeuvres on a bigger motorcycle, once passed the Module 2 can be undertaken.

Module 2 is the final step and you will head out onto the road to prove you can ride a motorcycle comfortably to an acceptable standard, there will be hill starts and independent riding alongside an eyesight test at the very start.