Sebastian Heise :: Blog :: Photos

Road Rules in New Zealand don’t allow you to ride any motorbike with more than 50cc, if you just have a ‘normal’ car driver licence. (That’s the same in Germany, it’s the same almost anywhere in the world).
This means, I can’t ride Barbaras 150cc scooter (even after asking her for approval ;-) ).
In windy, hilly Wellington anything less than 150cc just isn’t any fun to ride on. So I decided to get the motorbike license.

Getting a motorcycle license over here isn’t quite the same as in Germany. There are three types of licenses: Learners, restricted & full license. Total cost is under $450.
The process takes between 9 and 12 month.

Step One: Learners license
Getting your learners license isn’t too hard. You need to pass:

• a basic handling skill (BHS) test, in which you have to proof that you can keep your balance even at walking speed, come to a stop within a target square and stick to a given (slalom) path
• a road rules theory test

While on a learner licence:

• you must ride a motorcycle of up to 250cc only
• you must not go faster than 70km/h
• your motorcycle must display a learner (L) plate – rear only
• you must not carry a passenger
• you must not ride between 10pm and 5am

You have to have your learners license for at least 6 months, before you can take the test for the restricted license.

Step Two: Restricted License
While on a restricted licence:

• You must only ride a motorcycle of up to 250cc
• You must not ride between 10pm and 5am
• You must not carry passengers.

Update 27.10.2010:

I’ve done my restricted licence test. Not that hard. Basically a little driving around in Wellington (mostly Mt. Vic), showing that you can do a U-turn and get around in moderate traffic. Don’t forget to check your bike before doing the test: It needs to be in road-safe condition!

Step Three: Full License
You can apply for a full licence after three to 18 months on a restricted licence. How quickly you can apply depends on your age and any approved courses you’ve taken.

To progress to a full licence you have to pass a practical test to demonstrate that you:

• have basic riding skills
• can recognise and respond to a range of common road hazards
• can ride in higher speed zones

The full licence test takes about one hour in total and is made up of three parts:

• Part 1: Basic riding (about 15 minutes).
• Part 2: Detecting and responding to riding hazards in built-up areas (about 20 minutes).
• Part 3: Detecting and responding to riding hazards in higher speed zones (about 10 minutes).

… to be elaborated …

Fees (as of April 2010)