9 Months and a lot of cash & i finally got it..........

[Peter Y]

Yep after nine months of lessons, four exams, 2000 euros in cost, tactical emergency manouvers, 40 one hour lessons I finally got my license today.

Its just insane. I can now turn a narrow corner and 90KMh and almost scrape my boots and ive just managed to get a license???

And if there is anyone out there that still thinks after all this I couldnt ride a 600CC bike well I will just politley agree to disagre

Yep the standards in Europe a very very different and even though I got my license now i still think its way over rated.

I realise its very dangerous however one still should not have to go through what I did.

Anway Im driving to Paris this weekend.................

[storysunfolding]

Glad to hear about the license. However, since you keep bringing this point up I can't help but ask. How do you think you'd do on a 600cc sportbike before taking any of that instruction?

It may not be a possibility in Europe, but it's a common reality in the States. It's not uncommon for people to ride without a license. It's fairly common for riders to ride without any form of instruction. Those are the riders that we try to prevent from getting a 600+cc supersport. As I recall you've got a katana which while it falls into this catagory, still doesn't have the power of the gsxr cbr rr and yamaha r1/r6 bikes that are a common choice of our new riders.

[Peter Y]

Glad to hear about the license. However, since you keep bringing this point up I can't help but ask. How do you think you'd do on a 600cc sportbike before taking any of that instruction?

It may not be a possibility in Europe, but it's a common reality in the States. It's not uncommon for people to ride without a license. It's fairly common for riders to ride without any form of instruction. Those are the riders that we try to prevent from getting a 600+cc supersport. As I recall you've got a katana which while it falls into this catagory, still doesn't have the power of the gsxr cbr rr and yamaha r1/r6 bikes that are a common choice of our new riders.

U know totally fair comment. I must say the way I view/observe and evaluate things is totally totally different to say the first half of my biking lessons etc. Its amazing to be able to understand the difference that being 30 cm more to the left or right or going 5 KM slower in a turn can make.

Without knowing /experiencing this I agree its incredibly dangerous....

[jstark47]

And if there is anyone out there that still thinks after all this I couldnt ride a 600CC bike well I will just politley agree to disagre

I dunno..... CAN you ride a bike well?? Are you the same guy that posted this 9 days ago??

I was riding the bike from the garage to the front door at walking speed so I could park the bike at the front and put my gear on while the engine was warming up.

I was just about to turn right to park and I suddenly had the bike on the ground. Honestly I have no clue what happened.

40 lessons. You turn the fork at walking speed, hit the brake, put the bike on the ground, and you "have no clue what happened."

Whatever.

Dude, I'm happy for you that you got your license. Seriously. But you tend to come in here with a chip on your shoulder, then someone knocks the chip off and the flame wars ensue. What would you expect?

Enjoy your Kat. Ride a lot. Check back in once in a while and let us know how it's going. Brag on your superior Euro training standards, etc, push peoples' buttons about 600cc sportbikes, do whatever floats your boat. Meh. It gets old.......

[Peter Y]

Dude, I'm happy for you that you got your license. Seriously. But you tend to come in here with a chip on your shoulder, then someone knocks the chip off and the flame wars ensue. What would you expect?

U know I/we could go on forever with this discussion. I openly agreed with storysunfolding comments and agree that the 600CC is not appropriate without training. There is a difference between training & first bike and no training and first bike.

However to link this to my previous incident is totally unfair. If you had followed through in as much detail as you did to bring up my previous you would also see that there were people who had been riding for years that experienced the same thing. So what then?

Anyway the weekend is comming........

[thume]

Funny, my 'high standard European License' consisted of me paying the $1000 for the mandatory '26 hours' of training. That was followed by about 5 hours of parking lot training where I rode around in circles by myself, and a parking lot test in which the examiner didn't even watch me (was talking to his buddies) but passed me.

Then I had about 2 hours of road training and a 'road exam' that I didn't even do but passed cause the (same) examiner showed up 3 hours late and my teacher just told him I should pass. I guess he didn't feel wasting 30 precious minutes of his day doing his job.

Money well spent right?

Good thing I already had a couple years of riding experience, otherwise I would've been sent out into the wild with a serious lack of skills.

No wonder there are so many morons on the road here (bikers and cagers alike).

[Peter Y]

Funny, my 'high standard European License' consisted of me paying the $1000 for the mandatory '26 hours' of training. That was followed by about 5 hours of parking lot training where I rode around in circles by myself, and a parking lot test in which the examiner didn't even watch me (was talking to his buddies) but passed me.

Then I had about 2 hours of road training and a 'road exam' that I didn't even do but passed cause the (same) examiner showed up 3 hours late and my teacher just told him I should pass. I guess he didn't feel wasting 30 precious minutes of his day doing his job.

Money well spent right?

Good thing I already had a couple years of riding experience, otherwise I would've been sent out into the wild with a serious lack of skills.

No wonder there are so many morons on the road here (bikers and cagers alike).

What and Im supposed to now provide a contrary view and tell all about my very different experience?

[FlyinRegie]

Funny, my 'high standard European License' consisted of me paying the $1000 for the mandatory '26 hours' of training. That was followed by about 5 hours of parking lot training where I rode around in circles by myself, and a parking lot test in which the examiner didn't even watch me (was talking to his buddies) but passed me.

Then I had about 2 hours of road training and a 'road exam' that I didn't even do but passed cause the (same) examiner showed up 3 hours late and my teacher just told him I should pass. I guess he didn't feel wasting 30 precious minutes of his day doing his job.

Money well spent right?

Good thing I already had a couple years of riding experience, otherwise I would've been sent out into the wild with a serious lack of skills.

No wonder there are so many morons on the road here (bikers and cagers alike).

Same thing about the European Exam for me, now I am training alone. A lot of morons, but things are getting better. A lot of riders without license, the most popular bike is Yamaha R1, recommended first (and sometimes the last) bike..

Think your own head, do you really feel like you are ready for supersport track bike? Katana isn't from that category. Ride for two years and then read your post again.

[Peter Y]

Same thing about the European Exam for me, now I am training alone. A lot of morons, but things are getting better. A lot of riders without license, the most popular bike is Yamaha R1, recommended first (and sometimes the last) bike..

Think your own head, do you really feel like you are ready for supersport track bike? Katana isn't from that category. Ride for two years and then read your post again.

Im not here taking all of Europe in the scope of my discussion. I can only talk about my experience in the Netherlands. U know I cant comment on what happens in Germany, UK, Lithuania etc etc