Riders of powerful "Big Bikes" will take separate tests and have different licenses to other motorcyclists

[ebonykap]

Just to confuse things, I recently purchased a Honda CBR300RA which I call my "little big bike"! ?

[HHTel]

4 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Big bikes START at 300cc.  Anything under that is a scooter.

 

And the bigger scooters are now 'big bikes'?

750cc and still a scooter in cases!

[HHTel]

Whilst I agree with the separation of scooters and bikes, how different can they make the tests that are done in the DLT car park? Even a truck/car doesn't venture on a public road.

[PhonThong]

2 hours ago, Vacuum said:

Yes, but not a powerfull or fast bike.

That's OK, I love it just the same.?

[Thaidream]

None of this will make any difference until attitudes are changed. I don't ride bikes but I have driven in Thailand for almost 50 years.  Speeding is the number one cause of accidents.  Motorcycles going the wrong way on the roadway.  Motorcycles overtaking on the left, even when a left turn signal is on. Cycles driven by 10 years old children and then going through red lights. Complete disregard for any type of driving etiquette by both cycle drivers or cars/trucks.

 

Until the police actually enforce the traffic laws and there is a nationwide traffic safety campaign that last all  year- the carnage will continue.

[Jeffrey346]

4 hours ago, Scottjouro said:

A wise move i think...the average Thai who is used to riding a motocy struggles with a "big bike" and then we have the dumb ass farangs who cant even ride a motocy properly trying to ride a "big bike" as well...

 

I would think capping the motocy at 125cc and anything above that is considered a "big bike" 

I have a 135 Yama and it's certainly not a big bike. 250cc is a good start.

[Guitar God]

Good idea. I’ve been riding big bikes since 1973 but when I moved to Europe I still had to take another 20 hours of instruction, a theory test, a practical test on exceptional maneuvers and a one hour road test. 

 

I doubt the bar will be as high in Thailand but any extra training will help. 

 

Making riders start off on a smaller bike first is another good idea. 

 

You’re not going to last long if you jump from a Honda Click to a Hayabusa that will do 300 kph. Right now the license is the same. 

[Janner1]

This is a good idea but the question is Who will the testers be? 

Will they have EVER had a test themselves?

Will they be the same people who ride and drive dangerously?

who have absolutely no road sense,

Do everything they can to be the first to turn right at traffic lights or junctions irrespective of oncoming traffic

Ride with the wife and 3 kids on the bike?

Don’t wear crash helmets

Sadly I could go on and on TiT

[overherebc]

36 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

Funny, but a bit naughty.

Can we have the same  for Harley Davison riders, like

caution over weight OAP in-charge of Armchair. ?

That's why you always get 3 or 4 together and never solo. If one drops the bike it needs all of them to get it back upright. I can admit similar for me when I had my Goldwing. ??.

Don't know if truth or myth but someone told me once that in Japan picking up the bike from its side was part of the test to get a big bike licence!!!!

[PhonThong]

As long as we can still ride 4 people on a bike, I'm OK with it.?

[Gulfsailor]

57 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

Glad i was not brought up in Holland. 

Was all the restrictions due to, to much pot smoking in the there teens  as they kept falling off the big bikes.  

 

Lowest risk of death by motorcycle accident in Europe though (both by population and number of motorcycles). 

https://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/specialist/knowledge/poweredtwowheelers/safety_of_ptw_s/moped_and_motorcycle_fatality_rates_en

[rwill]

great idea except for the fact that many don't have a license at all...

[blackcab]

A good idea. The attached picture is how the UK categorises bikes. It is done by age, CC and by KW/BHP so all angles are covered.

 

I have a category full A license from the UK... I wonder if I would be able to transfer it over here and not have to take the test?

 

 

 

[blackcab]

A troll post and a reply to it have been removed.

[GalaxyMan]

4 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Big bikes START at 300cc.  Anything under that is a scooter.

 

I don't know. My Vespa is a 300cc scooter. I don't think of it as a big bike at all. I've ridden bikes most of my life. I'd think anything 450cc and up would be considered a big bike.

[catman20]

5 hours ago, Scottjouro said:

A wise move i think...the average Thai who is used to riding a motocy struggles with a "big bike" and then we have the dumb ass farangs who cant even ride a motocy properly trying to ride a "big bike" as well...

 

I would think capping the motocy at 125cc and anything above that is considered a "big bike" 

agreed........................Tommy ? 

[MaxYakov]

Why not? After all Terminal 21 had separate parking for "big bikes" and, no, I have no idea what differentiated a big bike and wonder if even they did.

[LivinLOS]

5 hours ago, Scottjouro said:

I would think capping the motocy at 125cc and anything above that is considered a "big bike" 

 

Too many scoots are 135 150 155 etc for that to be put in practice.. 

 

I think a +- around the 250 range with either 224 and down being scoots and that including all the CRF KLX sized machines in big bikes, or 299 and down to keep them on small bike licensing. 

[killala]

so would that mean a 12 year old can no longer ride an H2R Ninja? absolute joke letting kids ride real bikes with no tuition whatsoever and no, a world of difference between a “twist and go” scooter of any size and a bike with a clutch and manual gearbox. 

[CGW]

Many are missing the point, its not cc or HP that is important, just make really, really noisy 50 cc bikes and most will be happy ? 

[Denim]

5 hours ago, Crossy said:

An excellent move, now let bikes over, say, 500cc on the expressways.

 

 

Bad move.

 

Separate tests does not mean that big bike riders will emerge with a greater sense of responsibility or awareness.

 

Knowing Thailand, the ' separate tests ' being muted will translate to just another 20 multiple choice questions added to the ' standard ' test.

 

Also, there seems to be some strange belief by some posters that Thai males mature with age. I don't see much evidence of this on the streets.

 

I live just off route 21 , a popular road with big bike riders doing the compulsory  trip to Phu Thap Berk.  It has happened to me several times that whilst driving along this road at a steady 100 kph , large groups of big bikers scream past ( some to the right and some on the hard shoulder ) doing at least 160 kph.

 

On arriving at the big gas station at Wichien Buri ( another compulsory stop for the bb chicken ) I often see groups of 12 or more big bikers filling up.  These riders are not teenagers. Most of them are in their middle to late 20's, some a bit older.

 

Riding responsibly means riding according to the road condition along with consideration for other road users. I don't see how riding at 160 kph on Thai roads is a wise thing to do.

 

 

[Moonlover]

33 minutes ago, blackcab said:

A good idea. The attached picture is how the UK categorises bikes. It is done by age, CC and by KW/BHP so all angles are covered.

 

I have a category full A license from the UK... I wonder if I would be able to transfer it over here and not have to take the test?

 

 

 

Yes, you can obtain a Thai licence, using your UK 'A' licence. I did it myself 4 years ago and only had to do the braking  and light reaction tests.

 

 

[Kerryd]

45 minutes ago, overherebc said:

Don't know if truth or myth but someone told me once that in Japan picking up the bike from its side was part of the test to get a big bike licence!!!!

Not sure either but back when I was a wee lad (8 going on 9) and dad was teaching me to ride a Honda 90 he told me that if I couldn't pick the bike up from the ground by myself, I shouldn't be riding it, regardless of how big I was or the how big the bike was.

(And dad wasn't exactly a giant, he barely stood 5'6" himself and used to ride Harley's himself before I was born.)

While it would take time (and effort), Thailand should have Driver Education courses taught in all the schools with emphasis on motorcycles starting when kids are 9 or 10. They are more likely to listen at that age and may carry those lessons on through adulthood.

By the time they are teenagers, like all teenagers everywhere, they think they already know everything there is to know in the world so it would be a little harder to start training them at that age, especially as they'd probably have already been riding kwaii, farm equipment and scooters for years by that point.

[stanleycoin]

50 minutes ago, Gulfsailor said:

Lowest risk of death by motorcycle accident in Europe though (both by population and number of motorcycles). 

https://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/specialist/knowledge/poweredtwowheelers/safety_of_ptw_s/moped_and_motorcycle_fatality_rates_en

Can't see the column for,  knocked off bike whilst going to slow when stoned,   by large road sweeper. 

[blackcab]

1 minute ago, Moonlover said:

Yes, you can obtain a Thai licence, using your UK 'A' licence. I did it myself 4 years ago and only had to do the braking  and light reaction tests.

 

I already have a Thai bike license - I was wondering if I would be able to get a Thai big bike license if this scheme ever comes to pass. I guess the only answer is wait and see.

[Lokie]

I think too many are getting hung up on the words 'BiG Bike' as mentioned by previous posts it is down to power and speed.

 

Some of the 'Little' bikes you see young lads on can go like $ hit of a stick in high states of tune on them skinny wheels they ride so if we talk about making bikes safer then you really need a graded system similar to say the UK where there are age restrictions for certain hp capacities and weight which basically makes 3 or 4 bike groups ( e.g.16yr old only allowed up to 50cc, then next step is up to 125cc, then take test and have up to 600cc or can go for full entitlement to unlimited capacity) is roughly like that without going into exact details around age and riding on car licence with L plates on bike, but you get the idea

 

Then again none of that will really matter as there is no real competency based training here in LOS and a lot just do not even bother with taking a test so until the powers that be rectify that we can talk till kingdom come and nothing is gonna change.

[asiaexpat]

Big bikes are an extremely small part of the road death toll in Thailand. It is the under 155 cc motorcycle riders that make bulk of road deaths. While I agree bike riders should have better training and stricter license requirements, why is there a need to separate "big bikes" from other motorcycles other than maybe age requirements.

[ELVIS123456]

1 hour ago, mark131v said:

Bullshit!!

 

Anybody who is holding up traffic should be moving over anyway but will never happen unfortunatly

 

I ride every day and in  general Thais do have a respect for a bigger bike and so long as you arn't riding like miss daisy there is no problem, never had a problem on the motorway or normal roads other than the same cretins you get no matter what you ride/drive....

Crap !!!  Just because you ride fast enough, doesnt mean others do too - especially newbies.

My point is to warn - not to lecture - but rubbish like you say needs a lecture on safety - so be it.

 

I saw it often when driving in Thailand - especially on road from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai (not a recommended road).

Bikes are banned on freeways because they go too slow (small bikes) and will get killed.

It doesnt happen to you, doesnt mean it doesnt happen.

 

[garzhe]

5 hours ago, overherebc said:

Engine size isn't as much of a factor as it used to be.

Years ago a 125cc would max out at 60mph. It's very possible now for a 125cc to hit the 'magic ton' plus depending on state of tune.

How they can work out a system for increase in size/power isn't as easy as appears.

Edit.

Top example.

Rossi 2018 Aprila 125 cc 249kph.

Ok not your usual road bike but gives an idea.

 

 

Correct ! The limit needs to be on brake horse power. If it is limited to 125 cc or thereabouts dealers will soon be tuning to give the performance of 500 cc bikes. If its not implemented along with some good rider training I cant see it will make much difference to road deaths.

[Just1Voice]

For those who care to Google it, there are a number of videos showing how to pickup a big bike.